When I started building my newest project, the Balsa USA 1/3-scale Fokker Triplane kit, I followed the instructions as much as I could, and that included some of the lamination of balsa parts to created curved surfaces. Here’s some construction tips that aren’t obvious but will make your laminating chores a bit easier. Wingtips When [...]

We test them—you pick the right one for you! One thing is for sure—electric-powered aircraft is not a passing fad! E-power is here to stay and will continue to improve with each passing year. Because of this, we are surrounded with a variety of battery chargers to pick from for our electrical needs. One of [...]

In this how-to, Martin Zeller shares how to precisely calculate your model’s center of gravity. He writes, “I recently finished a scratch built, ¼ scale, WACO UPF-7.  The ship was 38 lbs with 16 sq ft of wing area.  It is a difficult maneuver to pick up a large aircraft like this to determine the [...]

It was cold. SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Otto Skorzeny turned his back to the biting wind, burying his hands in the deep pockets of his SS topcoat. As he chatted with the bald-headed man he’d come to rescue, he glanced at the small band of exhausted Wehrmacht soldiers huddled in the shelter of their broken glider. They’d just [...]

I often enjoy attending the annual Warbirds and Classics over the Midwest RC event held in Fond du Lac, WI as there’s always a bunch of great looking scale airplanes to photograph. One airplane that just looked so interesting I could not help but be drawn toward it. Looking like a cross between a WW2 fighter [...]

Reviewer Aaron Ham calls this bipe “a compact little hotrod with a ton of power and mind-numbing maneuverability!” Designed for a 40 to 50cc gas engine, this ARF features straightforward assembly and, in the air, it is capable of scale aerobatics as well as unlimited 3D maneuvers. Photos are by Hope McCall. The Bulldog II, flown by [...]

In this flight technique video, West Coast senior editor John Reid takes you step by step through the teardrop with a roll, a center stage maneuver that allows you to change direction at either end of your aerobatic box. Real-time transmitter inputs shown with the plane in flight will make it look easy! Click here [...]

In part-two of soldering like a pro West Coast Senior Editor, John Reid shows you how to solder any connector onto your battery without transferring any heat to the pack. Enjoy Part Two of Soldering Battery connectors. video platform video management video solutions video player

Wouldn’t your scale plane look so much better on display with a scale metal propeller? Making your own is easier than you may think: you just need a damaged wooden prop and a few cardboard tubes. Let master modeler John Tanzer show you how to do it. After building my giant-scale Top Flight Stinson SR-9 [...]

I recently started a scratch-built micro light project of a Sopwith Pup of a design by Mats Johansson. This required me to build two scale 1-inch-diameter spoked or covered wheels. The plan calls for building them from three layer of shaped balsa, but my skills being what they are, my version would have been a [...]