Hello,

I am a beginner both in building and flying rc planes and I really enjoy both thanks to all the info available on the forum :-)

The first plane I built was not based on a plan but loosely inspired by the shape of some balsa gliders I had seen before. After experimenting a bit and tuning the design I now have a plane which flies quite good.

The point of this plane is to be easy to build (and repair) but also to be super stable and easy to fly. It does not look the best, it cannot do crazy aerobatics, fly very fast or fly in windy conditions but it has been a great plane for me to learn how to fly rc planes without breaking too many things.

Here is a video of it flown by a pilot with below 1 hour plane flying experience (but a bit of experience flying a coaxial helicopter):

Easy to build beginner rc plane (2 min 22 sec)

And here is a video of me practicing taxi, take-off and landing in the garage:

rc plane in garage (2 min 21 sec)

Here are the characteristics and components:
* Wingspan: 105cm
* Length: 70cm
* Wing Surface: ~1600 cm²
* Wing Airfoil: KFm2 (Leading edge: 6mm, Trailing edge: 3mm) in 3mm Depron
* Control surfaces: Elevator and rudder
* Weight: about 100 to 125g (without battery)
* Battery: 2S 300 to 500 mAh or 3S 300 to 600 mAh
* Propeller: 6030 or 5043
* Motor: [18-11 2000kv Micro Brushless Outrunner (10g) (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=5358) - $7.99
* ESC: [Hobbyking SS Series 8-10A ESC (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=6455) - $6.15
* Servos: 2 x HXT500 5g / .8kg / .10sec Micro Servo (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...?idProduct=663) - $3.49 ($6.98)

It is a quite fun plane to fly with a 3S battery and once trimmed properly it is very stable and has very gentle stall characteristics.

I have attached a rough plan and some pictures. If someone is interested I can provide more details on how I built it.

I love how it ate those 2 back to back loops for breakfast completely at random. haha. Nice looking plane, if you are just starting to build/fly, you're already 10x better off than I was with both things!

Thanks, I am actually cheating a bit because I have been flying and fixing helicopters before. What I really like with planes is the possibility of building them almost entirely (and not spend half the time waiting for expensive spare parts :-) )

Here is an initial SketchUp model of the plane. This is the first time I use SketchUp so it is not really complete but it shows the basic dimensions and structure of the wings and tail.

Not bad. I am still completely clueless with Sketchup, I think I attempted to use it for about 15 minutes before giving up. I think learning that would really be a big jump for me in designing planes for myself (and being able to share the plans with others). So far I just imagine it as much as my feeble imagination allows and then hand draw/sketch it out on the foam board as I go. It takes a good 1-3 hours figuring/cutting out the parts but I suppose that's no different than designing it for several hours on SU first. B) baby steps I guess heh.

It looks like a good tool, much simpler than industrial CAD tools but I still used some hours to draw this simple model where an experienced user would probably need 10 minutes... Anyway there are a set of video tutorials on the SU web site which I found useful to get started.

ok.. guys.. im newer than new here. ive been flying heli's for more than a year and im intrested in fixed wing.. i never flew one thou.
im thinking of building this as my first plane.. but i was told its better to learn on a plane with ailerons than without..
is it possible to add ailerons to this plane ?

This is so simple to build, just do it. If you put the rudder on Ch 1 (right stick), the dihedral on this guy will give similar response as when you get into 4ch and put ailerons on ch 1 and rudder on ch4. It's what I did and the transition was almost seamless.

It is always possible to add ailerons but as it is this plane really does not need them. As springer said, the rudder should be plugged on the aileron channel and with the dihedral of about 45° at the tip of the wings it actually responds like ailerons.

I had no problem going from this plane to planes with ailerons and rudder. I think that because of the heli experience we are kind of used to use both aileron and rudder inputs in turns so it makes it natural for us.

I noticed that even if there is nothing plugged on the rudder channel for this plane I sometimes still use a bit of rudder input in turns just by reflex :-)

You can try flying it as 3Ch and then make another wing without the dihedral and with ailerons (or flaperons) to have a 4 or 5Ch plane. The only potential problem is that the plane will be a bit heavier.

Hi !
very nice plane!...no cf road in the wing!?...is no need to do that?
cheers!

Hi!

This is a good remark, the top of the wing is not visible on the pictures but there is actually a 3mm CF tube right behind the step of the wing to make is more rigid.

It will fly without CF (and I actually started like that) but the wings flex a lot in tight maneuvers so it is not optimal.

I will post more details on how to build the wings, tail and fuselage.

Originally Posted by ffranck

Hi!

This is a good remark, the top of the wing is not visible on the pictures but there is actually a 3mm CF tube right behind the step of the wing to make is more rigid.

It will fly without CF (and I actually started like that) but the wings flex a lot in tight maneuvers so it is not optimal.

I will post more details on how to build the wings, tail and fuselage.

Thanks!...another thing,the motor ,have some down or right ,degreees?
For the fuselage,a 4 mm cf rod,is enaugh?
cheers

For the motor, I have not set any down or right thrust. The wings are so large for the weight that there is no big need to counter the motor torque.
I suggest mounting the motor strait and adjust later if you feel it can improve flight.

For the stick a 4mm rod should do the trick. My experience is that the part of the stick which takes the most effort in landings and crashes is the part from the front of the wing to the motor which supports the landing gear. I used a 8mm pine rod for that part instead of balsa for the rest. With CF I guess there is no need for reinforcements.

Good luck with the build!

Originally Posted by ffranck

Hi!

This is a good remark, the top of the wing is not visible on the pictures but there is actually a 3mm CF tube right behind the step of the wing to make is more rigid.

It will fly without CF (and I actually started like that) but the wings flex a lot in tight maneuvers so it is not optimal.

I will post more details on how to build the wings, tail and fuselage.

Hi..it will be avesome
cheers

anyone know where to get the rod locally ( or out of foam ? )
i found some chopstick in the house ( typical Asian family kitchen lol ) and they are heavy