I put this in OffTopic because I’m not using any V1 machines. I am using the laser I recently upgraded with a lot of help from people on this board and I thought I’d show why I did those.
I’ve been having an itch to fly something again. The son wants to try flying RC airplanes too. The small foamies are OK, but I enjoy building as much as flying. I also like the older balsa-built up instead of foam stuff (I’m getting old).
I stumbled on a site that has the plans from an old magazine that no longer exists. I’m assuming using these plans is a grey area.
The PDF was just an image in a container, but with judicous use of inkscape and freecad, I was able to get the following set up. Just need to order some materials and start building.
I’m not sure where you’re located, but the US Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMS) has a “plan vault” for all the plans that were published in Model Aviation magazine and from a number of other sources. You can view online at https://plans.modelaircraft.org/ but they only sell paper plans, nothing digital, due to copyright restrictions.
The one in my image? This is the Simple CAP. It was in a magazine article in the mid->late '90s. It’s a 1/2a designed for a .049 cox engine. My plan is to slap an electric motor on the front. I also hope to 3d print a cowling for it instead of the balsa block it’s designed for. I’m debating trying to do a clear plastic canopy out of a water bottle and a heat gun.
I will see if my dad remembers where the plans were from. Some of them were kits that came almost complete tissue paper and paint, balsa sheets with parts printed on them that you used a razer blade to cut them out. I could never afford a motor but tossed one out the second floor window my dad still brings that up at Thanksgiving and other family gatherings
I encourage anyone interested in starting (or restarting after several years away) the RC Planes hobby to check out Flite Test. Their YouTube channels have hundreds of build videos for planes built from “Dollar tree foam board” that go together quickly with a hot glue gun, how-to videos for getting started in the hobby and successful first flights, programming radios, really anything you can think of. Many of their early designs are available for free download from their forums, and there are links to other designs as well. They do sell kits and all the accessories for their models, and they publish the specifications for motors, ESCs, batteries, and props so you can shop elsewhere if that’s more convenient.
For me, the beauty of this approach is that you don’t have tens or hundreds of hours invested in the build, so you’re not afraid to go out and fly it. If it lands hard, hot glue and packing tape will most likely get it flyable again. If it “re-kits” itself, you’re out a couple of hours for the build and maybe $15 for foam and barbecue skewers. The electronics and landing gear will be salvageable to use in the rebuild, or can be pulled out and used in the next model as your skills increase.
Not all their designs are “square boxes with wings” either. Their Master Series models amaze me with the complexity they are able to achieve. Those videos are online as well.
Elsewhere in these forums you can find links to needle cutters for turning a stack of foam into airplane parts with a spare brushless motor and ESC, if you don’t already have a laser to do that.
I built a few of their models a few years ago. Flew them for a while.
The first one I built a little too fast. Never could get it to trim right. The plane tip-stalled in a banked turn and went straight into the ground. I blamed that one on not carrying enough airspeed and possibly having a slight twist in the wing.
Subsequent builds went better, but I lost the field I was flying on due to a hotel. There’s a corn field behind my house I think I could fly over when the corn isn’t growing.
And any questions you may need answered, go to Painless360 Youtube channel. Lee Schofield is a nice, honest, knowledgible RC plane (and quad) expert. I am a Patreon of his, where I get extra personalised advice and Patreon-only Livestreams and RC givaways.
I seriously thought about it. There was a person in my life that was Wealthy, He is where my motorcycle came from, he was like a 2nd dad almost, in ways. He took on this hobby, and ALMOST had me there, but the money that was associated with it, even back then, was crazy! But he got right into it, bought the most expensive sims, the best trainers through advanced plains, bought remote with a buddy system so they could take off and land (or takeover if he got into trouble) he bought it all. I so wanted it, then I got intro’ed into copters, and wanted a tri copter. Lucky with licensing and everything, I did not get into that. It is a great hobby, but expensive!
That’s what makes FliteTest so great. Their planes are very inexpensive. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have ever gotten back into flying.
PS: I’m getting my Foam Ripper back in shape so I can cut out some FliteTest planes again. I have to reprint the core because it sagged some sitting in my garage rafters. I am also going to use a Jackpot v2 instead of the miniRambo I was using.
Some people get into expensive hobbies because they are expensive, getting enjoyment impressing others with their kit. There is a lot of that in RC modeling. Also spending a lot to always have the latest and best kit. But you CAN get into RC flying pretty cheaply. The foamboard models of Flitetest are one way. You can get a very decent transmitter (“radio”) for about $100. If you are willing to fly only Line-of-Sight (LOS), you save a lot of money as FPV (first person view) equipment is pretty expensive. Save a lot and learn a lot by putting your own models together, from carefully selected components from China. Banggood is a good source, as is Aliexpress.
I used to race quads, so I have some fpv gear already. I don’t plan on flying fpv airplanes to start. I do plan on putting a f405 wing running inav in the plane to help with hand launching.
The balsa building is part of the hobby for me. I have a larger airplane in the shop that I built many moons ago.
I also flew helicopters for a while. “expensive” is relative.
I never got rid of any of my gear. I still have a taranis radio with opentx on it, although it will probably need a firmware update.
I would like to 3d print a vtol drone at some point, but I want to get more experience flying first. The 3d printed planes seem a bit more fragile than even balsa models.
I have been watching a guy on YouTube that builds using a combination of wood and depron. His builds look interesting. His channel is numavig.
The end goal, and what started this, is to build a twin .60 sized scale model of a Grumman Widgeon that I have plans for. I have a few builds and steps I plan on going through to get there.
This first build is a smaller, cheaper build to not only test whether I remember how to fly, but to test out the cad, laser, and building method.
oh wow, just what i do not need is to get into something else! Back then there were no Battery/elecric oprions, and controllers did not have a 100 dollar option neither, appears alot has Changed!
There’s an FAA safety test you take and you get a registration number. It costs $5. You are supposed to write the number on your planes. It’s annoying, but not difficult to do.
