How-tos Archives - Page 4 of 17 - Model Airplane News

Painting RC Pilot Figures

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 […]

Easy 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 […]

Laminating Balsa Parts 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. […]

Stop the Vibration!

RC Prop Balancing Made Easy. I have been often asked, “Do I need to balance my prop?” and the quick answer is always “Yes!” A properly balanced prop will give you more rpm from gas, glow and electric engines. A balanced prop will reduce the wear and tear on your aircraft by greatly reducing vibration, […]

Easy Landing Gear Repair for ARFs

Damaged landing gear caused by landing off-field is probably the single most common repair needed during an RC model’s lifespan. While flying a 30cc Ultimate biplane from Aeroworks, an engine out on the downwind gave us a bad case of landing gear down. Test Pilot and MAN contributor Aaron Ham was doing an inverted pass […]

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 […]

RC Airplane Night 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 […]

Covering Wingtips made Easy

Covering a wing panel with film covering is fairly simple and easy to do, even for those with little skill; that is, until you get to the wingtip. Of course, all wingtips are different shapes, and not all fall in the category of difficult to cover. Some have a gentle taper to a rounded […]

Micro Warbird Makeover

Over the past several years, the arrival of ARFs has provided a means for many to quickly get into RC flying. Today, preassembled models have improved to the point where many exceed the level of ability, interest, and even flying skills of the purchaser. No matter the reason, ARFs do fill a very necessary niche […]

DIY Vacuum-Forming Machine

You know all those models you wanted to build, but did not attempt because they required a vacuum formed canopy? You remember reading about all manner of complicated vacuum formers that took a month to build and cost as much as a seven channel transmitter? Got $20.00 for materials, a few hand tools and an […]

Scale Leather Cockpit Coaming

I am always looking for things I can use in my scale modeling projects. So when I was finishing up my latest project I needed something to duplicate the leather coaming that protects the pilot from the cockpit opening edges. I found that an easy way to make good looking coaming right at a local […]

Shop Tip: Extend your Axle Length

The stock hardware that comes with many of today’s ARF models is designed to do the job assigned and for the most part, they all get a passing grade for quality. If however you try adding accessories, the hardware may have to replaced or modified. An example of this is the new E/Z brake system […]