How-tos Archives - Model Airplane News

Workshop Soldering Tips

There is always that occasional opportunity to do some soldering. When you need to add some connectors to a battery pack, or to make a set of wiring adapters for your battery charger, using heat and molten metal to join wires together is one of the oldest do-it-yourself tasks for RC hobbyists. The task is […]

Scale RC Pilot Figure Painting — Add life to your fighter driver

I put a huge amount of detail in the helmets of my Best Pilots pilot figures because its the topmost thing that’s viewed when your pilot is sitting in the cockpit. Most flight helmets are leather and that’s what’s shown here. The following technique works like magic in replicating leather of all kinds, but it […]

RC Model Airplane Shop Table You can Build Yourself

As a long-time-fan of the PBS show “New Yankee Workshop” I’ve seen quite a few good woodworking projects, but none more handy than the large roll around shop table. I knew I’d have to build it one day when I had the room for it in a workshop I hadn’t even yet built. Sorry to […]

RC Model Airplane Wing Repair

We all make dumb moves when flying. Practice is the best cure for this problem, as the ones who make the least dumb moves are usually the ones who fly the most. Since I have moved about an hour’s drive from the flying field, I no longer go flying several times a week. And this […]

Flying off Water Made Easy

With 70% of the earth covered with water, shouldn’t we have a similar percentage of RC model float planes? Well, maybe that’s too much to ask for but if have never given it a try, you’re really missing out. And with suitable open flying sites becoming more difficult to find, flying from public waterways, is […]

Easy RC Model Engine Testing — Keeping it Cheap and Safe!

When ever I test run and adjust a new engine, I prefer to set it up on a sturdy test stand/table instead of on the model airplane. Here is my Zenoah GT-80, 80cc twin-cylinder gasoline engine for my Fokker Triplane that I am test running. Fuel tank (and smoke oil tank) are installed and the throttle […]

Pro Tips for Spray Painting

Here’s a great workshop technique from editor Gerry Yarrish’s workshop. Over the years, the products may have changed but today, painting your model airplane with “rattle can” spray paint is a less expensive alternative than using an air compressor and an automotive touch-up gun. When you start building models that have formed plastic or fiberglass parts such […]

Laminating Balsa Made Easy

When building model airplanes, especially scale WW I subjects,lamination work for parts of the wing and tail are a requirement. This technique has been used for decades but to new RC model builders the technique of producing lightweight curved parts may need some explaining. Here’s how I do it. There’s nothing exotic about the technique. […]

RC Airplane Lights

Why not customize your aircraft so that night flying will be as simple to do as flying during the day? (That is, for those of you who find it easy to fly during the day!) I decided to give night flying a try and I have outlined here how I went about installing lights on […]

Easy Scratch-built Skis (fly off that snow!)

Now that many flying fields parts of the country are covered in snow, it’s the perfect time to add skis to your favorite flier! This classic how-to from our good friend Roy Vaillancourt provides a great project that will not only use up some of those leftover pieces of wood in your workshop and but also let […]

Wing-to-Fuselage Fillets

Advice from expert scale designer and builder Nick Ziroli: Instead of adding the fillet after the wing and fuselage are built, I make the shape of the fillet areas as part of the fuselage formers themselves. This requires having at least the wing center section built and attached to the fuselage, but to make sure […]

Getting Started with E-Power

Today, our hobby is enjoying a literal “Golden Age” of RC electric flight. The amount of quality motors, batteries, controllers and connectors is just about limitless as are the types and sizes of airplanes you can fly with E-power. Even though there are plenty of plug n play packages out there where you get everything […]