The dream was simple: to create a light, graceful glider from foamboard—a humble material that seemed like the perfect gateway into scratch-built RC planes. Cheap, versatile, and easily replaceable; it should have been ideal. But what I thought would be a straightforward journey turned into a relentless scavenger hunt through store after store, aisle after aisle. Weeks have passed. I’ve wandered through at least ten dollar stores, only to find empty shelves, or worse yet, pricey boards at $5 or more per sheet. The only semi-reliable source? Walmart—where I finally snagged a few sheets at $2 each. Just when I thought I'd found a steady supply, I returned to stock up and hit a wall.

The latest batch, same brand, same packaging, felt like a betrayal. The paper—once peelable and perfect for light RC builds—was now fused to the foam, impossible to separate. Six sheets, each full of promise, now utterly useless. I stared at them in disbelief, feeling the mounting frustration. Desperation drove me to tinker, attempting to build a hot wire cutter to strip the stubborn paper, but each attempt only yielded butchered, unusable pieces.

Then I discovered NumaVig on YouTube, skillfully crafting planes from foam underlayment—lightweight, clean, seemingly perfect. It felt like a glimmer of hope, until I realized that finding bare XPS foam sheets here in North America was near impossible. The thrill faded fast. Now, I’m here, one last attempt to find a solution, hoping that somehow, somewhere, someone has cracked the code to finding the elusive peelable foamboard. Please if anyone knows of a cheap source of xps sheet in America I will marry you.

The tip of the nose on my UMX ultrix broke off perfectly, i.e if you tried to fit both pieces back together, they would fit perfectly and look like there was no break. I assumed that I could just put a dab of ca on it to put it back on, but it came back off again on another flight. How can I fix this?

Hello,

I just bought my First RC Plane and now i need a radiocontroler. From my helicopter, i have a Spektrum DXs, which i initially wanna use for this plane. Sadly, i found out, that a spektrum receiver, costs 90 Euros. On a RC-Fair, i found the brand radiomaster, which would fit for my budget, because i spend 120 Euro one time for the transmitter and could buy a new receiver for 20 Euro, if i buy another plane. I also found out, that i can connect my helicopter from Horizon Hobby with the transmitter. Do you have any experience with radiomaster and does it fit in my usecase?

A few weeks back I made a post asking for recommendations of RC planes. Planes in question were a volantex ranger 1600, a zohd altus and a few others. I decided on the volantex ranger even though many of you said that it flys poorly and is too heavy etc.

I got it. It is, infact, to heavy and flies poorly. I think it would be awesome for long range FPV but I don't do that. Optimal planes for me would be an atomrc swordfish wich is too expensive or a reptile dragon, wich is not available here.

So theoretically I'd have to go back to designing and building planes myself then. I mean I have a 3d printer and a case software to learn but man, I'm just bad at joints. And I have to have the wings easily removable. Also I REALLY don't want to sell the plane I literally just got. AGAIN.

Maybe I could just sell ofy entire build with flight controller and batterys again and start from scratch with something perfectly suitable for a new build.

Most problematic for me is that that plane was a birthday present and it just tears my heart to give it away again. I just hate the idea. Maybe I could reuse the wings and only... I fucked up big time.

Problem with selling is too that while my soldering spots are clean af, the isolation looks terrible as I forgot shrink tube every time and used very bad isolation tape.

I just do sportier flying than that absolute fucking C H O N G U S of a plane can dream about doing. Maybe I should try long range fpv lol... Also it is way too loud to fly where I fly.

TL;DR:

My plane does not fly how I want it to by design and I also don't really have the heart to sell it

I’m looking for a fast rc plane

Ready to build, whats the last thing before buying the electronics?

How do you guys carry all your airplanes? I want to see some setups. My trailer is 6x12 foot.

I bought a 4ch P51D rc from aliexpress and after played with it for a few times I noticed the propeller reduction gear box is missing a few teeth.

Now I am wondering how to dissemble it. The toy came in fully assembled, and it seems there are two different versions of P51D RCs on the market. One with an acrylic cockpit, with the other like mine:

https://preview.redd.it/pd6ixnnpslyd1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e29c8d0811d990504d44265f5dd2703641cd8f2

It seems I can somehow "tear" open from along the region circled in red, below:

https://preview.redd.it/nk6jwzactlyd1.png?width=2752&format=png&auto=webp&s=525842fb2e3c220a4b9b36c2417d129ed110db75

https://preview.redd.it/a5gbh914ulyd1.png?width=2767&format=png&auto=webp&s=fa3f291e7cfe8f2fda6c73b4fa14580991dcf134

But I can't find any mounting screws, and I tried wiggling it and it didn't feel like there is any locking tabs.

Has anyone successfully dissembled and reassembled it?

Thanks in advance!

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806674689887.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.9.7a1c6facxxBeKl&algo_pvid=fc952c5e-5342-427f-a8a3-e171851fbe35&algo_exp_id=fc952c5e-5342-427f-a8a3-e171851fbe35-4&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%2199.83%2134.93%21%21%21708.02%21247.73%21%402101ec1a17305968944537917eeae4%2112000038542712262%21sea%21US%210%21ABX&curPageLogUid=SE5f3i4yI51y&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A

Brand new to this. Picked this up for my son’s birthday for $200, crashed it about 12 seconds into the maiden voyage (I was at the controls, humbling as I’m an actual pilot). Figured it’s toast, but it seems like people fix these?

My 9 year old holding up his DLE-111 powered hangar 9 35% extra 260. He started flying 7 months ago and has progressed extremely fast! #prouddad

I'm using this Rx as recommended by the description on a build but I'm curious about what plug from RX to battery I need. It's a tiny 150mah battery with a mini JST plug I think? The battery's plug measures less than .5mm and is found with the RageRc vintage micro stick. Thanks for any help!

I have been building confidence with my aeroscout. I’m flying it 90% + out of Safe mode. Today I had it trimmed really well and was working on learning aerobatics. I was very pleased with how it was flying and how I was doing. As I got to my last couple minutes, I decided to work on approaches - my last couple have been pretty high and I am touching down near the end of the runway. So I started my approach, and began descending. I thought I was at least 20 feet to the near side of the trees. Nope!

After unlocking the engine I disassembled it to find out why it was leaking and found a busted gasket, but that should be easy enough to remake. Although it was still having trouble moving fully and I’m guessing the bearings in this part are busted. so is there a good way to get replacement parts for this engine?

hello, I've started to build the 3d printed j3 cub and bought all the parts but turns out my printer really isn't good enough to print the body so I want to just buy a body now, doesn't have to be the j3 any really, can anyone recommend me a model or website I can look at for reasonably priced models. I have a 275w motor for reference.

Im looking to get into the rc plane hobby but dont want to spend to much money in case i dont like it.

Hello everyone!

I’m currently in the process of designing and building my own UAV, and I’m looking for some feedback on the electronics I plan to use. Here’s a brief overview of my project and the current electronic components I’m considering:

Project Overview:

• Type: Fixed-wing UAV
• Wing Design: High straight wings using a Clark Y airfoil
• Total Weight Estimate: Around 1.5 kg

Current Electronics Setup:

Flight Controller: Matek H743-WING (running Ardupilot)

GPS Module: M8N GPS Module

Motor: MİToot 2213-935KV

ESC: 30A or 40A ESC

Batteries: Two 3S 4000mAh LiPo Batteries

Servos: 5x Tower Pro Micro SG90 Servos

Camera: HDZero Micro Camera and RunCam Split 3 Nano

• HDZero Micro Camera for the forward-facing view.
• RunCam Split 3 Nano for below-ground scouting.

FPV System: HDZero Video Transmitter (VTX)

Transmitter: RadioMaster TX16S with ExpressLRS 2.4GHz Module

Telemetry: 915MHz Telemetry Module for ground control

• Are there any known compatibility issues with the components I've selected? Will they work well together?
• Do the power ratings of the ESC and BEC align with the motor and servos I've chosen?
• Is there any component you think I should consider adding or replacing to enhance the performance or reliability of my UAV?
• What are some common mistakes or pitfalls I should avoid when integrating these electronics?

Got this pic from an online auction for the same model, mine had no box.

So a while ago when clearing out our old family house I found an old rc plane, looked unused, seemingly something my late father had purchased at some point.

It was some rather cheap 2 channel (throttle + rudder) model from 2004, with a crappy 27Mhz TX, brushed motor and NiCd battery. I don't know whether he ever flew it, it did look rather pristine.

So I wanted to breathe new life into this, put some modern gear in it, make it lighter and more capable - and it all went pretty well.

Wing span 625 mm, original weight was 165g, that's a wing cube loading of 8.

New weight with 1811 3000kv brushless motor, 7A ESC, four 2g servos and 4ch RX on a 2s 250 lipo: 138g, cube loading of 6.8.

It has ailerons now and around 160g of thrust, which is nice but nothing insane. Tried hovering and she somewhat can, but the ailerons are pretty far outwards, it didn't feel like I can control it.

Also, she doesn't really want to roll, not until I persuade her with a lot of additional rudder, then she snaps right over - I guess that's because of the dihedral? Have never flown any 4ch plane with dihedral before... Seemed impossible to get into a knife edge, but I'll try that again some other day.

Anyways, very happy how it turned out and making my late father's little rc dream come true.

Remaining pieces after ripping off most of the decals, these weren't in great shape and poorly applied

old stuff I ripped out, bottom left is weirdest coil driven actuator servo thing I have ever seen

new 2s power train and RX

firewall and tail servos

ailerons installed

Done - just waiting for white rubber bands to look a little bit cleaner

I cant find a mod for an Airliner in PicaSim and I realy want one. There is the webside tap a talk but I have to log in to download anything but I cannot log in. Please help.

I am looking for a mini running internal combustion engine for a approx 20 inch plane i am building hopefully under 400 usd. I just need advice for what sise and model.

Why there are holes present in bulkhead in aircraft fuselage ?

When scratch building a dual prop airplane, should each esc be connected to a separate battery or should they share a battery?