Two useful modelflight guides

Batteries and Charging

This guide to batteries used in radio controlled model flying was written especially for beginners by Paul Scott, modelflight reader and electronics engineer. It introduces the different types of battery encountered in the hobby, what they are used for and, most importantly, explains the best way to charge and care for them to ensure they remain in good and safe condition. Paul's article appeared on the December 2009 issue of modelflight, and is here available as a .pdf file. for those who might like to keep it to hand. Your copy is immediately available by simply clicking this link.

With acknowledgments!

Volts and Amps for Dummies The Magic of Electric Flying or Volts and Amps for Dummies is a straightforward guide for those who may be confused with what goes where and why, and what motor and prop should be used on what battery, and so on, insofar as electric flight is concerned. Written especially for modelflight by John Wheater, this is a .pdf file of the article which appeared on the November 2009 issue and can be printed out for permanent reference. John simply explains the basics of electric flight and then taking a particular motor as his reference point, explains all the significant elements of its specification and how to determine the right combination of motor, battery and prop for any given application. Click here to get your copy now!

Plan files from modelflight!

'Combat' glow engine flying wing from John Hubbard

This 32-inch (813 mm) wingspan flying wing is designed for a .10 to .15 glow engine and could be great fun with several of them in the air at the same time chasing ribbons. The plan is self-explanatory and is available in both .dxf and .dwg file formats. An email to modelflight stating your preferred file format will bring it to you by return email!

'Smokin' electric flying wing from John Hubbard

Being something of a self-confessed speed nut, 'Smokin' is John's own design which he describes as 'a go-fast, a-bit-hard-to-see-at-times flying wing'! It will also fly pretty slow and is next to impossible to stall. This wing does 110 mph on two 2500 3-cell lipo's wired in parallel. Wingspan is 36 inches (914.4 mm.) and it has a wing area of 328 sq. in. (2116 sq. cm.). John's recommended power train is the 45 amp Phoenix ESC from Castle Creations, Mega 16/15/3 motor, APC 4.75 x 4.75 prop, HS85 servos and a thin rx, 3-channel minimum. Please note that John does not recommend FM (PPM) although, having said that, he has never had any trouble with FM PCM.

The plan is only available as a .dxf file, so you will need appropriate CAD software to be able to open and print it. (Blackflight Models' 'Tileprint' software mentioned at the top of this page is suitable and currently costs just $15.95). With the plan, you will also receive John's step-by-step building instructions as a Word file. It's all yours for absolutely nothing if you send me an email to request it!

Paul Cook original designs and available free only from modelflight

This is Paul Alexander Cook's lively little electric plane - fast, aerobatic and fun, specifically designed to use ultra-slim lithium polymer cells, and fully reviewed on modelflight July 2003.

In similar fashion to his 'Twiglet', Paul's 'Topic' is once again a small flying wing but this time spanning only 20" (508mm) and much more aerobatic. With virtually zero setting-up time you can literally plug and play, making it ideal for cold hands or a quick lunch time fly.

'Topic' uses standard off-the-shelf micro radio gear and a cheap 15 Watt GWS motor, all of which should not make a huge dent in the wallet. It is also suitable for an electric ducted fan motor, as pictured. Paul used lithium polymer batteries to obtain maximum performance/duration. Alternatively you could use a 7 to 8-cell nicad/NiMH pack for power, though at a cost of reduced duration. See the full review of this little beauty on modelflight April 2004.

'Twiglet' and 'Topic' plans are available in .dwg and .dxf format, which you should be able to import into most drawing packages, as well as tiled .pdf format which you can view in Adobe (Acrobat) Reader ® version 4 or higher, print out the pages, trim and stick the plan together.

Send me (Reg) an email stating which model and type file you require and I will respond by return - you are, of course, welcome to them all!

If you do not already have it, the latest version of Adobe (Acrobat) Reader ® is available FREE from Adobe.

Special thanks to Tom Girling for producing the .pdf files of Paul's original designs.

The latest versions of these plans along with a large and increasing range of other micro/small electric R/C model designs by Paul and Gordon Cook are available for sale direct from Flight Line Plans, distributed by Micron Radio Control. Click this link to go straight to the Flight Line Plans page of the MRC website for details and ordering.

Control line model plans from Eric Stephen

Electrotor. Eric's own design power-down-the-lines control line autogyro. Peter says, "About one circuit is needed to build up rotor speed from stationary. Gentle handling is not far removed from fixed wing but give it full up and the model slows down dramatically and sits nose high but doesn't really climb. A dab of down and it speeds up again reaching a fair rate of knots within less than one circuit. It is not possible to land vertically indoors due to lack of prevailing breeze but with careful use of primitive switching throttle, steep descents are easy and fun."

The plan is available in .dxf, .dwg and .pdf format. Email Reg, state which format you would like and it's yours!

CL117E Stealth Fighter. The power-down-the-lines Stealth Fighter is actually based on an Australian design called Stealth Platter, for 049 engines. Eric scaled it to give suitable wing area, changed the construction to balsa and added a profile fuselage. The Stealth Fighter requires careful ground handling due to the narrow undercart and tendency to tip over because of the weight of lines. However it hurtles along once airborne.

Available in .dxf, .dwg and .pdf file formats. Email Reg, state which format you would like and it will be sent by return.

Notes re the plans. The .pdf files print fine on A2. People with printers smaller than A2 will have to use the "tile" option when printing. Alternatively they could print smaller then scale up on a photocopier. I added a scale to the master copies of the drawings as a reference.

.dwg and .dxf files. These are saved as AutoCad ACAD2000 files and should be compatible with most people's drawing programmes except some very old ones. Note that each file contains a block called "READMEAT00-A". The file name will mean something to anyone half competent at CAD and contains pen width details for plotting. In CAD the line colour is normally used to represent a pen width for plotting.

Eric is happy to answer any queries you might have about the plans and will also print fullsize copies of the drawings and post them to you for the nominal cost of £1.50 each incl. UK postage. International postage would have to be calculated for each destination but would only be at cost. Contact Eric at electrotor@tiscali.co.uk

Eric also has details for handles and power sources which have never found their way onto a proper drawing and which he is willing to share with anyone - just ask him!

Unique Peter Rake EIII

Specially commissioned from Peter Rake as a show give-away, Manzano Laser Works have also kindly made the plan of this delightful little EIII electric available to modelflight readers! This cute little model is intended for LPS power. It is 24" span and is covered in Litespan, but, tissue or Solite would be just as applicable. The prototype flew with the "long can" version of the LPS drive and has more than enough power. Ready-to-fly weight is 5 oz with the 2s300 LiPo loaded up in the nose. The plane is fine for outdoor flying and can handle light breezes; a few weight-saving modifications would also make it fine for indoor flying.

The plan is available as a .pdf file (Adobe Acrobat Reader required, obtainable free from Adobe if you haven't already got it), available by return from your email request. Just email Reg and it will be on its way!

Mal Pring designs, originally appearing in Australia's Radio Control Model News

These plans are .jpeg files which you can print out directly. They are large files and may take some time to download. Just click on the thumbnail image or plan name below to view the plan; you can then right click on any part of the plan image and save the file on your own PC to print it out. If you send each file directly to your printer, it should print the plan in a reduced size to fit an A4 sheet. You will then need to get your print photocopied up to full size, using the centimetre scale that appears on each plan to determine the degree of enlargement necessary. Due to the way these plan files have been produced the outlines appear thicker than they should be when scaled up, but unfortunately this cannot be avoided. However, this can be overcome by the use of Stefano Duranti's IsiPlot software which is specially designed for the scaling and printing of .dxf and raster files like .jpegs. Click this link to read all about IsiPlot. .

INSTRUCTIONS for Pockit Rockit are also available as a Word file - just email Reg and request it!

Free-flight peanut size Cub

Mike Havard has kindly donated a .dxf plan file of his delightful little 13-inch wingspan free flight Cub. It is a non-scale, peanut size model which he designed as a CAD learning exercise and as a simple introduction to indoor flying (don't be deceived by Mike's picture!). It is simple to build and will fly well enough even if constructed from 1/16th balsa, provided it is not too heavy.

You can obtain the plan file by simply sending Reg an email requesting it - Mike says to print it out such that the wingspan is 13 inches.

Chuck's lucky dip!

Chuck Wallace has kindly donated a whole heap of miscellaneous plans in various formats, with only the file name to give any clue as to what type of plane they might be - and even then you can't be sure! Some are control line, others are foam or balsa, but Chuck reckons they are all good stuff and worth having.

Here's a list of the titles of the plans which I will be happy to forward to anyone who might care to ask for them. I have grouped the files into Packs of up to 1 MB; all the files are Zip files and all are guaranteed virus free! I cannot tell you anything more about the plans - just send for some and see what you get!

Chuck's Plan Pack 1 - .20 size floats, .40 size floats, A10, Acro, Agwagon, Albatross, Bigbro, Flyabout.

Chuck's Plan Pack 2 - P47, Tigersport, Ult 40, Xfoil, Xp55.

Chuck's Plan Pack 3 - Extra 300S, Hawker Giant, Martha, Qualt 200L.

Email Reg and name your Pack number and your choice will be on its way - have 'em all if you want them!

Panel instruments file sets

Set 1. This is a set of 148 image files of panel instruments and complete panels donated by Norm Kirton and Ken Spears. The individual instrument images are large enough to be sized as you see fit to print out for the construction of your own panel. Also included with the set is an article by Norm Kirton on a simple method of making a printed instrument panel using Microsoft Word. Set 1 will be sent to you as four zip files in four separate emails.

Set 2. An additional set of 45 black and white panel instruments donated by Fred Steer. These images were all scanned from a Smiths Instrument advert of about 1950 or so - so they should be perfect for WW2 fighters/bombers and quite a few of the civil aircraft of the period.

Just email Reg and ask for the instruments file set/s of your choice and it/they will be sent by return!

Ski skids

Here's a straightforward drawing for the construction of ski skids which has come from Anders Ödéhn, and first appeared in the October 2007 issue of modelflight.

Just click the picture for a larger version image which you can copy and print off for your own use.

Darcy Whyte's 'Squirrel'

Whilst not strictly a modelflight freebie, this simple little rubber-powered plane that can be made in a matter of minutes is ideally suited for youth and school projects. Kits are available, but Darcy Whyte also makes the plans available for free in the form of a .pdf instruction sheet here. Video instructions and support can also be found on his web site.

MORE CONTRIBUTIONS ALWAYS WELCOMED!