How-tos

From assembly secrets to repair tricks


Don’t trash that crash!

Don’t trash that crash!

We’ve all done it. That one dumb thumb move, the very brief moment when our brain wanted to go right and our thumb decided to go left. There’s nothing you can do but pick up the pieces and take them back to the shop. Some professional aircraft impact testers even have a trash bag in […]
Where should you put a smoke tank?

Where should you put a smoke tank?

This tip comes from my friend Albert Tejera who owns TME. Albert is an enthusiastic flyer and just an all-around good guy. Many new RC smoke users wonder if they should balance their airplane with the oil tank filled or empty? Generally we recommend that the tank be placed as close as possible to the […]
Homebuilt Project — Construction Article Extras — de Havilland DH90 Dragonfly

Homebuilt Project — Construction Article Extras — de Havilland DH90 Dragonfly

As a bonus for the upcoming construction article in the November issue of Electric Flight, here is the full-length construction notes from designer Ivan Pettigrew. With limited pages in the print magazine, we are pleased to offer this fully detailed version of Ivan’s article for our online readers to enjoy. All the construction photos are […]
Workshop Build-Along — Sopwith Camel Part 9 — Cheek Fairings

Workshop Build-Along — Sopwith Camel Part 9 — Cheek Fairings

After a bit of break to cover the Warbirds over Delaware event, I got back in the shop for a little more quality Camel time. We left off with the aft turtle deck stringers being installed. From here forward at the top of the fuselage, the cockpit area and the machine gun “Hump” section is […]
Workshop Build-Along — Sopwith Camel Part 7 — Tail Surfaces

Workshop Build-Along — Sopwith Camel Part 7 — Tail Surfaces

Leaving the soldering iron and landing gear alone for a while, let’s switch gears a little and break out the ZAP glue and build some wood parts again. The build of any model airplane is based on certain tasks that need to be done in order for other tasks to take place. With the Sopwith […]
Making helicopter pushrods: a fast & easy solution!

Making helicopter pushrods: a fast & easy solution!

Charlie Hynes has a lot of helicopters, and he found an easier way to assemble pushrods and ball links, using his cordless drill. Check out his how to! A lot of helicopters come with ball links and pushrods that need to be assembled by hand. Here’s how you can use a drill motor instead of pliers […]
Rivet Detail Made Easy (well, easier!)

Rivet Detail Made Easy (well, easier!)

Don’t you just hate it when an article starts off with a question? Me too! But sometimes it does serve the purpose of grabbing the reader’s attention. With that in mind, how often have you been to a scale modeling event and wondered, “How the heck did he do that?” Whether it’s a technique in […]
Workshop Build-alone — Sopwith Camel Part 5 — Forming Wire

Workshop Build-alone — Sopwith Camel Part 5 — Forming Wire

Now that the landing gear mounting blocks are installed in the fuselage, it’s time to switch to the landing gear itself. That is to check out the drawings and get the materials we’ll need to cut, bend and eventually solder the landing gear together. What I used is 3/16 inch Music Wire for the main […]
Light up the night! Easy add-on

Light up the night! Easy add-on

RC’ers love novelty — anything to make flying a little different. Float flying, aerotow, aerial video; all these add variety, but one of my favorites is night flying. There’s something absolutely magical about flying in the dark. My efforts with night flying go back nearly 20 years, starting with spotlights, then Cyalume light sticks and […]
How to: Make Bubble Windows

How to: Make Bubble Windows

Many full-scale airplanes and helicopters feature bubble windows to allow the crew greater visibility. Replicating these windows can be tricky for scale modelers, as it’s inconvenient to make a vacuum-forming plug for each uniquely shaped window frame. In full-scale aircraft manufacturing, these bubble windows are almost always free-blown from sheet plastic clamped in a frame. […]
First flight success

First flight success

Earn your wings the pain-free way! A 4-channel, aileron-equipped, molded foam trainer like the Multiplex Mini Mag is ideal for flight training. So what’s all this excitement about small RC planes? Well, there are a lot of reasons why people choose to fly park flyers. They are very quiet and can be flown just about […]
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