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Rudder: Use it to Fly Better!

Rudder: Use it to Fly Better!

Actually, pilots should begin their flying careers by using rudder from the very beginning. One of the ways we used to help beginner pilots is by programming in an aileron/rudder mix from the very start. This improves the plane’s performance by eliminating adverse yaw, which is the opposite yaw or skid inherent with aileron deflections […]
New Rubber Toughened — ZAP Glue

New Rubber Toughened — ZAP Glue

There’s probably not one single RC modeler on the planet who hasn’t heard of ZAP Glue. Distributed through several outlets including Robart Mfg., www.robart.com and, Frank Tiano Enterprises (FTE) www.franktiano.com . The Zap Gang www.zapglue.com has an adhesive for just about every conceivable job where you want to stick two things together regardless of what they […]
Install a Smoke System in your RC Airplane

Install a Smoke System in your RC Airplane

At full-scale and RC airshows alike, watching aerobatic aircraft equipped with smoke systems adds greatly to the appeal for both spectators and pilots. Experienced pilots will make the aircraft all but disappear within the smoke during torque rolls, tail slides, and so forth. Simply put, SMOKE is a pure attention-grabber! I recently decided to upgrade […]
Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the workshop Not a creature was stirring or sanding, the work had all stopped. The airplanes were hung from the ceiling with care, In hopes that new ARFS soon would hang there. The R/C Modelers nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of IMAC gold danced […]
Model Airplane Screwdrivers Are Not All the Same!

Model Airplane Screwdrivers Are Not All the Same!

If you have ever put together a European or Asian model you have probably experienced the need to have access to a “Phillips” head screw driver.  I do a lot of mechanic work on my farm and I am a big fan of Craftsman tools.  But even if you do use quality tools these American […]
RC Airplane Easy Scale Tips & Tricks

RC Airplane Easy Scale Tips & Tricks

I started this exercise with an idea, an ARF model and a small investment in time and materials. Since scale is really the focus of most of my RC activity, I thought it would be great to take an off-the-shelf ARF, gather some basic documentation (which becomes the bible in Scale competition), and choose some […]
Model Airplane Covering Tips: 3-color fuselage

Model Airplane Covering Tips: 3-color fuselage

The fuselage adds some complexity to our covering procedures because of the compound curves and the overall shape of the fuselage. Plus we have three different colors that have to be added on to different parts of the fuselage. The placement of the color seams will have to match up from one side of the […]
RC Model Airplane Flight Tech: Tips for Rudder Turns

RC Model Airplane Flight Tech: Tips for Rudder Turns

A rudder turn is performed using the rudder to yaw the nose of the airplane in the direction that you want to turn, and while space does not permit going into all the details, most airplanes will also inherently bank in the direction that the rudder is applied.   There are basically two different techniques […]
RC Model Aerobatics: Conquer the Three-turn Negative Spin

RC Model Aerobatics: Conquer the Three-turn Negative Spin

In the early days of aviation,  spins were often fatal because most pilots did not understand how to properly recover from a spin. While in an upright spin, the pilot would pull back on the elevator stick in an effort to save the airplane (and their life!) and only make the situation worse. Since the […]
Model Airplane News Workshop Tip — Installing Hinges

Model Airplane News Workshop Tip — Installing Hinges

Perhaps the most important technique any RC modeler needs to learn is to properly install hinges for his model’s control surfaces. They need to be strong, in proper alignment, and sized correctly for the model being worked on. The crew over at Du-Bro Products has lots of good tools and supplies to get the job […]
Soldering Wire Landing Gear — The easy way!

Soldering Wire Landing Gear — The easy way!

While building sport airplanes from kits, often the airplane will have landing gear made from formed and bent music wire that you will have to solder together. For Fun Fly airplanes like the Florio Flyer 60, the music wire are a little extra long to provide plenty of ground clearance for the propeller, very important […]
Weight and Balance: Find the CG the old fashioned way

Weight and Balance: Find the CG the old fashioned way

Setting up a plane for your first flight is a critical step. Most of us fiddle with stuffing all the electronics into the fuselage and then placing it on the center of gravity (CG) stand.  If we are wrong, we move some things around and try it again hopefully getting it right through trial and […]
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