Hobbies And Interests
Building Materials
Choose your building materials with care. The choice you make will determine not only the engine size you'll need to compensate for weight but the flight characteristics of your aircraft as well. The most common materials in use for smaller planes are woods. Basswood, pine, spruce and balsa are those usually found in prop driven RC planes. Balsa is especially popular in light aircraft design due to its light weight and durability. If you're looking to build a larger plane either prop driven or with a jet engine, you should consider working with a composite material such as fiberglass or carbon fiber. These materials are not as easy to shape as wood, but stand up to more extreme flight conditions and require that you build less support structures in the plane body when working on a larger scale.
Your choice in materials for skinning your plane also has an effect of possible size and flight characteristics. For lighter aircraft you can use sanded wood or paper. For larger more powerful models, an aluminum or Mylar film makes for easy to apply, and durable aircraft skins. Keep in mind that the heavier the aircraft body the more power required to drive it. Use parts that are as light as possible as additional engine power can only go so far.
Aircraft Assembly
The best builds are created during the design phase. Design your aircraft carefully and completely before you buy the first part. Once you have a design you like you can begin the assembly process. Carve and form all pieces before beginning the assembly. This lets you do a dry fit of parts before applying the glue to make sure everything is in working order. When building your RC airplane you should do so in module form, completing a body part at a time. Assemble the wings separately, the tail and the body before bringing the parts together.
Make sure your internals such as engine and servos are easy to reach for maintenance. Finally, once you have the plane assembled it's a good idea to check and if necessary correct its balance.
A balanced plane means less corrections made to remain level and on course during flight. Find the airplane's center of gravity and then lift it using a string tied to fuselage. Examine the airplane to see if it tilts in any direction. If it tilts you'll want to attach weight to the plane in order to level it; attaching the weight counter to the direction of tilt. Once you've finished with the balancing you're ready to test your homemade RC airplane, and then enjoy flying.