Category Archives: Radio Controlled Aircraft

RC helicopters and airplanes. Anything having to do with the hobby. Talks about transmitters, aircraft, and having fun.

FAA’s Ridiculous Drone Registration

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Recently, the FAA has mandated the registration of all sUAS which are greater than 250 grams. This was done because of the reckless use of “drones” or multi-rotors by people in highly populated areas and near airports. According to the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, HR 658, a community based organization, or CBO, can oversee model aircraft so long as the aircraft operate within the guidelines of the rules outlined. A gross simplification of this means that in the special rule a set of guidelines were prescribed and a CBO would make sure that its members followed those rules. The Aeronautical Model Association, or … Continue reading →

Gracia Maxi Obituary, Xplorers Are Expensive!

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The Xplorer Mark III by Nan Models is the pinnacle of thermal duration gliders. It’s light, weighing only 1700g for the 4 meter version. The Xplorer line has a number of championships and wins to its name. I consider it the defacto standard for F3J gliders. Here’s a picture from the last Florida Soaring Society event in 2015 in which I participated: Of the eleven people which participated, eight of them flew some version of the Xplorer. This glider is so popular that I often ask other RC pilots who are not flying it why they chose something different. The reason … Continue reading →

Sbach 342 Completed

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The blog has been quiet for a while. Too quiet! Work has been a mess. I also attended a bunch of soaring events over the latter part of the year. I even spent a couple of weeks in South Africa! Anyhow, Christmas came up fast and I got to take a couple of weeks off. During my time off I was able to put in a couple days to get the Sbach completed! Where I last left off in the previous build update I was with working on the emmpenage. In that post I showed the elevator setup. Unfortunately I forgot … Continue reading →

Flying Gators RC Club – FlyingGatorsRC.com

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Announcing the opening of the new website for the Flying Gators RC Club: FlyingGatorsRC.com! I am a member of the Flying Gators Model Airplane Club in Gainesville, FL. During the last year our website went down due to a member passing away. I wasn’t able to get the domain name or hosting access to salvage the site. Instead I took the knowledge I gained from running this site and built up a WordPress site using GoDaddy’s WordPress hosting services. Was a bit easier than setting up this site by hand! Anyhow, if you’re in the Gainesville, FL area and fly RC … Continue reading →

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Evolution W – Build Update 2

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In the second update on the Evolution W I’m going to discuss working on the leading edge. This section of the wing looks to be easy work but can be a little frustrating! Also, I’m going to talk a little about fixing a goof regarding the mis-glued rib and starting the sanding process. Continue reading →

Evolution W – Build Update 1

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Here’s the first build update on the Evolution W, the woody DLG. In this thread I show the setup of the formers, taping the wing skins, and gluing the ribs and shear webs. A lot was done for the first two days of a build! Continue reading →

Sbach 342 Empennage – Build Update 2

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I had hoped to get most of the empennage, the tail feathers, done by the first weekend after starting work on the Sbach 342. Well… Making Some Progress on the Sbach 342 I tried to get the horizontal lined up just right. I spent time measuring and making sure that each half out of the fuse was the same distance. To me this is “centered”. I then measured from the tips to the center of the motor box. There was about a half inch difference. After wiggling things around to correct this I thought I was good. I mixed up … Continue reading →

Evolution W – The Woody DLG

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I ordered a new DLG. The Evolution W! Some may call it an addiction… Others would call it a hobby! I’ve been following this thread on RCGroups about a balsa DLG. A balsa DLG?! Yes! The wings and emmpanage are completely made from balsa and ply, the pod is carbon/kevlar, and the boom is carbon. If you know anything about Discus Launch Gliders then you’ll know that most are made from composite materials. That is what drew me in on this build. I wanted to know if it was possible to build a DLG out of balsa or wood and … Continue reading →

Sbach 342: Build Update 1

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Hinging the Wings Previously I talked about getting a new Skyline-RC Sbach 342. The other night I started work on putting it together. There was no paper manual in the box but a CD which contained an electronic version. When I ordered the model I looked to see if I could find a copy online. I couldn’t find one so I thought that it would be a good idea for me to upload it: Skyline-RC Manual for 70 Series. Hopefully it will help others looking for the same information. Anyhow, the first thing in the manual is hinging the ailerons. The … Continue reading →

The Next RC Build: Sbach 342

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Recently I’ve been consumed with unpowered flight. Not too long ago a “blowout deal” arrived to my inbox from GeneralHobby.com. It was for this 70 sized (60″) Sbach 342. At the time it was $149.99 plus shipping. Having wanted a Sbach for some time and the seemingly good deal I was ready to pull the trigger. I have only heard good things about the manufacturer, Skyline-RC. They seem to work with the same models that are produced by Goldwing. A member of the club where I fly has a few of these models. He puts them through their paces and … Continue reading →