I am spending 2025 Spring and Summer on designing RC planes. I am still unsure where this journey will take me. I wanted to keep this page as a journal of my progress, or a reminder when I am not making progress. And, a source of information and collaboration for others interested

Goal

Build an RC plane to understand the aerodynamic concepts
Log flying hours, and continue to make design changes
Assemble a commercially available RC plane
Log flying hours to observe it's performance

Research

Building Material
Where to fly?
Commercial pre-assembled options

For materials I had to choose between foam and Cardboard. I decided to go with cardboard.

Where to Fly?

I researched clubs and decided to join AMA - Academy of Model Aeronautics
AMA has local affiliated clubs in most of the United States, and I found a couple nearby

RC Planes vary by

Power source: Electric vs. Fuel/Gas
Design: Fixed Wing, Helicopter, Ducted Fan
Size: Park Flyers (small), Giant Scale (large)
Use/Purpose: 3-D (aerobatics), Pattern (precision), Pylon Racing (speed)

Why Clubs List These

Flying sites have rules, size limits, and noise restrictions, so they list supported categories:

A quiet park field might allow electric park flyers only
A larger AMA field might support fuel-powered giant-scale planes and 3-D aerobatics
Some sites don’t allow helicopters or jets due to safety or noise concerns

RC Glossary

3-D (3-Dimensional Flying)

3-D flying refers to aerobatic flight that includes extreme maneuvers like hovering, torque rolls, and flat spins. These aircraft typically have high thrust-to-weight ratios and oversized control surfaces for maximum agility.

Ducted Fan

Ducted fan aircraft use an enclosed electric or gas-powered fan to produce thrust, simulating jet propulsion. They offer high speed and a sleek appearance, often used in RC jets.

Electric

Electric RC planes are powered by battery-operated motors, usually LiPo (lithium polymer). They're quiet, clean, and beginner-friendly, with fewer maintenance needs than fuel models.

Fixed Wing

Fixed-wing aircraft use stationary wings to generate lift, like real airplanes. They rely on forward motion for flight and come in various styles from trainers to jets.

Fuel/Gas

These aircraft are powered by nitro, gas, or glow fuel engines, offering longer flight times and higher power than electric. They require more maintenance and are typically flown by advanced hobbyists.

Giant Scale

Giant scale refers to large RC airplanes, usually 1/4 scale or bigger, with wingspans over 80 inches for monoplanes or 60 inches for biplanes. They require more space to fly and are often used in shows or competition.

Helicopters

RC helicopters use rotating blades for lift and control, offering vertical takeoff, hovering, and agile movement. They're more complex to fly than planes and often used for precision flight or training.

Park Flyers

Park flyers are small, lightweight RC airplanes designed for flying in parks or small open spaces. They’re easy to transport, typically electric, and ideal for beginners.

Pattern

Pattern aircraft are used in precision aerobatic competitions, where pilots fly a set of defined maneuvers. These planes are designed for symmetry, stability, and smooth control.

Pylon Racing

Pylon racing involves high-speed airplanes racing around a set of pylons in a triangular course. It's a competitive and adrenaline-driven sport requiring fast, agile aircraft.

Radio Control

Radio control (RC) refers to the wireless transmission system that allows a pilot to control an aircraft remotely. Signals are sent from a transmitter to onboard receivers that move control surfaces and motors.

Build Project

Prebuild

Material List

Wire Propeller Motor Super Glue Exactoknife The Template Cardboard
Look for Look for the . Look for a Any liquidy super Any durable Exacto The template The cardboard should
2 -3 mm wire. 5045 prop. 1000 - 1250 kW motor. glue works fine. knife works. is found (here) be at least 27' x 33'

Zipties Transmitter Small Magnets Straps Controller Battery Servos

Any spare 2/3 zipties The transmitter I used for Make sure the magnets around Any velcro straps I used the Look for a battery I used the.
will do for this project.4 fthis project was the FlySky FSi6Xf are under half a centimeter in diameter ffwill do. 30A ESC around 1000 mAh. c Maxmoral mg90s

Prebuild

The Introduction

My goal for building this RC plane was to get a base understanding of what it takes to fly a functioning plane and learn a bit about aerodynamics. I decided to follow along with a tutorial (here) and had a fun but challenging time building this RC plane. A few important things to note for the build are that the battery I had bought originally didn't work with this build, so I had to get a new one. Also, getting good cardboard is important so that one can cut it the easiest.

Day 1

Task 1
Today, my first task was to line up all the A4 pages into a proper template on the cardboard. I realized my printer didn't print the pages with the proper margins so I had to leave gaps in between the rows of paper which I had to draw the template out on to.

Day 2

Task 2
Today, my second task was to cut out all plane elements using the Xcto Knife. This task was grueling as I had to push hard to get the knife to cut through the cardboard, and I got a couple of blisters on my fingers from the knife. My first cuts were to separate the pieces to make them easier to work with, and I only got through some of the more precise piece cuts before leaving it for the day.

Day 3

Problem
After cleaning up the paper and cardboard for the day, I opened up the electronics I had gotten for the build and tried assembling them. As I did, I discovered that the red connector plug wouldn't connect with the yellow ESC controller plug, so I had to order a new battery.

Day 4

Task 3
Today, I started fresh with the specific goal of cutting out all my pieces. Before I could do that, though, I had to complete my template as my printer chopped off two centimeters of every print on every page. I scaled my phone screen to my paper using a ruler to measure the different lines and eyeball it to completion.

Day 5

Task 4
Now, I had to make the precise cuts to get all my pieces. It was painful. Some pieces needed to be scored, while others were meant to be completely cut apart. It was a monotonous task of slicing lines until the cardboard came apart, reorienting, and repeating. Fortunately, I got all the pieces done, except the two largest pieces.

Day 6

Problem 2
While cutting away through the pieces, my lapse in attention punished me. I was distracted and lost in my thoughts, and before I had processed what I had done, I'd cut through a section meant to be creased. This meant an entire section of the cardboard was detached from the rest of the piece. Even worse, I had run out of tape, so I had to scour the paper waste I had left behind to find some tape I could peel off and put here as a temporary fix.

Day 7

Task 5
I have finally finished cutting out all the cardboard pieces. Some of the larger pieces, like the main body, had a flex because of the creases that used to be in the original folding of the box, but it won't be a problem when I start building. I had to swap the blade on my Exacto knife because it got incredibly dull. This was all that I did for the cardboard today.

Day 8

Task 6
With another few minutes before I had to pack up, I decided to try putting together the electronics. I was able to connect the ESC, battery, and motor together. Also, after the propeller motor connection had me stuck for 10 minutes because of how unintuitive it was, I could get the pieces together.

Day 8

Task 6
->->->->

Day 8

Task 6
continued.

Day 9

Task 7
Final day of work, and the final pieces came on. I glued on the rudders and a small makeshift box to the front to smooth out the design. I scored the box with the X to allow it to bend more, as it didn't want to hold the shape that I wanted it to.

Day 9

Task 8
Ultimately I finished the build by gluing some wire to to the ailerons that I had scored to the servo motors for flight control. I had the incorrect gauge of wire so I superglued and wrapped the wire around the black pieces that came with the servos to pull the flight controls up and down.

Day 10

Conclusion
I'm still not able to give the plane a proper test flight. It works with the transmitter and can receive commands to the servos and propeller. I'm working to make some modifications, as using larger-gauge wire and stronger servos.

Goal

Research

For materials I had to choose between foam and Cardboard. I decided to go with cardboard.

Where to Fly?

RC Planes vary by

Why Clubs List These

RC Glossary

Build Project

Prebuild

Prebuild

Day 1

Task 1 Today, my first task was to line up all the A4 pages into a proper template on the cardboard. I realized my printer didn't print the pages with the proper margins so I had to leave gaps in between the rows of paper which I had to draw the template out on to.

Day 2

Day 3

Problem After cleaning up the paper and cardboard for the day, I opened up the electronics I had gotten for the build and tried assembling them. As I did, I discovered that the red connector plug wouldn't connect with the yellow ESC controller plug, so I had to order a new battery.

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 8

Task 6 ->->->->

Day 8

Task 6 continued.

Day 9

Task 7 Final day of work, and the final pieces came on. I glued on the rudders and a small makeshift box to the front to smooth out the design. I scored the box with the X to allow it to bend more, as it didn't want to hold the shape that I wanted it to.

Day 9

Task 8 Ultimately I finished the build by gluing some wire to to the ailerons that I had scored to the servo motors for flight control. I had the incorrect gauge of wire so I superglued and wrapped the wire around the black pieces that came with the servos to pull the flight controls up and down.

Day 10

Conclusion I'm still not able to give the plane a proper test flight. It works with the transmitter and can receive commands to the servos and propeller. I'm working to make some modifications, as using larger-gauge wire and stronger servos.

Task 1
Today, my first task was to line up all the A4 pages into a proper template on the cardboard. I realized my printer didn't print the pages with the proper margins so I had to leave gaps in between the rows of paper which I had to draw the template out on to.

Problem
After cleaning up the paper and cardboard for the day, I opened up the electronics I had gotten for the build and tried assembling them. As I did, I discovered that the red connector plug wouldn't connect with the yellow ESC controller plug, so I had to order a new battery.

Task 6
->->->->

Task 6
continued.

Task 7
Final day of work, and the final pieces came on. I glued on the rudders and a small makeshift box to the front to smooth out the design. I scored the box with the X to allow it to bend more, as it didn't want to hold the shape that I wanted it to.

Task 8
Ultimately I finished the build by gluing some wire to to the ailerons that I had scored to the servo motors for flight control. I had the incorrect gauge of wire so I superglued and wrapped the wire around the black pieces that came with the servos to pull the flight controls up and down.

Conclusion
I'm still not able to give the plane a proper test flight. It works with the transmitter and can receive commands to the servos and propeller. I'm working to make some modifications, as using larger-gauge wire and stronger servos.