There is a certain appeal to firing up the engine on a model airplane, taxiing out to the runway, adding power until it's airspeed is sufficient, and then lifting off the ground and into the air, just like the full size planes. There are countless model types availible from simple trainers all the way up to the large multi-engined scale planes or even modern military jets powered by ducted fans, and more recently, jet turbines.

My first attempt at flying an R/C power plane was in 1986. A Cox Black Widow .049 mounted on a simple pylon, turned a small slope soaring glider into a motor glider. It wasn't until Spring of 1987 that I finally had a model with the requisite throttle, landing gear, and the usual 3-axis control. Takeoffs took some getting used to but thanks to previous glider experience, landings were not too difficult. Click on the thumbnails to see a larger image.

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House of Balsa AT-6 Texan. My first "full-house" power plane. O.S. 20fp Deceased	50" span SE5A. Plans built. O.S. 48 Surpass Deceased	Modified Dynaflite Fun-Scale P-51 O.S. 46sf Blue nosed: Deceased Yellow nosed: Active	A Twin!! Heavily modified Pica Duellist. O.S. 46sfp (2) Active
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Bud Nosen 1/4 scale Citabria

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Links to R/C related sites:

B.A.R.C.S(club link)

Sheldon's Hobbies

last updated 03/08/2005