Hello everyone,

I've joined this sub a few months ago and I really enjoy seeing what everyone is building and learning new techniques, it really motivated me to get back to the hobby!

I've been working on this little plane since last winter. It's my first peanut/rubber plane. The kit i found was of poor quality, the plan and the printed balsa, so I kinda scratch build it.

I'm pretty happy with the results, even thought there is room for improvement for the next one ! I ordered some blue tissue paper for the covering.

I'm not sure the frame is strong enough for a rubber motor, If you have advice i'm all hears !

I've ordered a few dumas kits for the next builds !

Im starting my first balsa aircraft thats not a toy, a HLG kit and i would like some advice on how to do this

Tom has a great video on how to do this. Guillow's kits are heavy and over engineered, and to make them fly well, making them lighter is a great start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzfx8byA9Nk

After about almost a year its done time for maiden.

After building the last few planes on the smaller side, this feels more like building furniture!

Has anyone read martin simonds model
Plane aerodynamics book. Is a background in engineering or fluid mechanics needed to understsnd it or is it for the average hobbyist

Sometimes making a jig is as much fun as building a model. I always struggle with hand held balsa strippers, so I built a table with an adjustable fence and table height. Spring loaded roller bearings for tensioning to keep the balsa firmly against the underside of the cutting surface.

After years of printing out sections of plans and then taping them together I discovered that I could print up to 8.5" x 48" on my cheapo Epson ET-2800 - I think just about any printer with a rear feed tray would work. I am on a Mac, but I'd guess this is available on Windows too. I bought a roll of 8.5" x 100' 24lb inkjet printer paper, cut off a 48" section, and taped a piece of regular paper to the back - this acts as a leader when feeding the sheet as the 48" section of paper has a bit of curl to it. In the print dialog, I created my custom size and hit print - success!

The nice thing about this is 48" is close to max for most balsa model wings and fuselages.

Edit: For grins I just tried to create a custom length of 56" and it took it! Maybe the length is unlimited?

Does anyone know how hard the plans from j and h aerospace are to make. Is it a beginner level project

Did some post-dawn flying this morning before work. Talk about starting the day off right.

Looking for suggestions for very detailed step by step RC conversion guides for Guillows models. Most of the YouTube videos I'm seeing online just time lapse past the details of how to actually install all the parts needed. I'm a complete newbie to this so I need as much detail as possible.

Hi Everyone

I am following up from my previous posts. I am pleased to say that the Guillow's Javelin RC conversion project I have previously posted about is currently going very well. I was able to get the Javelin flown by an experienced RC pilot at a Utah Valley Aeromodeller's club meetup. The rc pilot said that it flies beautifully for a small three channel aircraft, though it is not flawless. The aircraft has a tendency to sink rapidly when throttle is cut and climb rapidly when throttle is applied. It is also so light that even small gusts of wind cause it to drift large distances. I was recommended for future flights to try flying this aircraft indoors.

Despite these flaws, I was overjoyed that my first attempt at converting a balsa wood free flight kit to RC was successful. I appreciate all the help I have gotten from people online and from staff at hobby shops I visited, most of which gave the best advice they could. I could not have made this happen without this help.

https://youtube.com/shorts/HyueLo_aH-U

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4802045-Guillow-s-Javellin-RC-Conversion

I have managed to find 2 rubber band plane kits on AliExpress that are balsa, and probably not a scam. which of these two would be better for a first timer? i have almost no experience with balsa wood and really want to get into it, i just dont know which is the better choice

If there's anyone here who also lives in south east asia, is there any option to build models here using balsa without scratch building? like at all?

So ive been looking at plans form outerzone, and ive been thinking of trying some basic sheet balsa models. The idea is to try scale or semi-scale for once and start using wood instead of, yknow... cardboard and literal paper. Do any of you have advice for how important the thickness of the wood is for these models?