Balancing Bipes: The Right CG for Safe Flights
When it comes to RC airplanes, I am of the “two sets of wings are better than one” kind of guys. For any model to perform properly and be safe to fly, it has to be properly balanced. This is especially true for multi-wing models. As a basic rule, you first find the MAC or “Mean […]
EZ Build WW1 SE5a Scout
MAN contributor and prolific model airplane designer Pat Tritle has another great construction article coming. This time it is the famous British dogfighter the RAF SE5a Scout. Electric powered, this parkflyer size WW1 biplane will be in the next issue of MAN and plans will soon be available at the AirAgeStore.com website. Pat will also […]
Functional Scale Cockpit Hatch RC Airplane Access
When it comes to RC Golden Age racers, no one does flying models better than the world recognized guru of scale Gee Bees – Henry Haffke. When I teamed up with Henry to build the 1/3-scale version of his Howard DGA-5 “Ike” Golden Age racer, I added several details that a racer this size needed to look right. One […]
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 […]
RC Model Airplane Workshop — Tips for Better Building
For several years now I have been highlighting my projects and workshop builds online to share some of my building tips and Techniques I use. In the long view, I have always thought that learning how to fly RC planes was a lot harder that the actual building of the planes, even when kit-building. MAN readers are […]
Model Airplane Construction: Firewall installation for a Zenoah G-38
We always look for good techniques to share with our readers so I reached back to some of my Sopwith Camel Build-along posts. With this post we turn our attentions to the front end and work on the firewall installation. The techniques can be used with any RC model you want to modify so you […]
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!
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 […]
Top Gun Video Interview from Warbird Alley
Without a doubt, the most popular tent this year at Top Gun belonged to P.J. Ash. P.J. is the motivator behind the Warbird Alley gang, and Warbird Alley is the watering hole at the Top Gun flightline! It’s also where the MAN crew set up our home base! This year, P.J. had three huge tents to house all the models […]
Florio Flyer 60 — Build-Along Project — First Flight Video
Looking for an easy to build kit airplane that’s a blast to fly? Check out the Florio Flyer 60! Wow! what a great conclusion to this winter builder’s project. Our Florio Flyer 60 was one of our most popular postings on the MAN website and I just could not wait for the weather to turn favorable […]
RotoFlow Fuel Systems — No Maintenance Required
RC Fuel Tanks haven’t changed in decades and we all deal with the same old problems of leaks and misplaced clunks after a hard landing! On the market now for a couple of years, the RotoFlow Fuel system from JL power Products is truly revolutionary with its internal “clunkless” design. I have have one installed […]
Model Airplane Bomb Drop Mechanism
OK, it’s really called a payload release mechanism, and it plugs directly into your receiver, but this slick Payload Release from E-flite is the perfect solution for scale modelers who want mechanical options like drop tank and bomb drop function on your scale plane. For less than $25, the unit plugs directly into the receiver […]