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Complete Guide to Building Your First DIY RC Foamboard Planeby FoamboardRC on May 16, 2014

Table of Contents

Complete Guide to Building Your First DIY RC Foamboard Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   Complete Guide to Building Your First DIY RC Foamboard Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 1:   Ingredients: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 2:   Getting Started With the Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 3:   Transmitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 4:   Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 5:   ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 6:   LiPo Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 7:   Brushless Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 8:   Servos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 9:   Which Connectors Go Where? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 10:   Soldering Time! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 11:   Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 12:   How To Make Push Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 13:   How To Make Hinges on Foamboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 14:   Different Types of Foamboard Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Step 15:   Building the Fuselage p.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Step 16:   Building the Fuselage p.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Step 17:   How to Fold the Fuselage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Step 18:   Building the Fuselage p.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Step 19:   Finishing the Fuselage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Step 20:   Making the Rudder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Step 21:   Making The Horizontal Stabilizer p.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Step 22:   Making The Horizontal Stabilizer p.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Step 23:   Making The Horizontal Stabilizer p.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Step 24:   Connecting the Vertical and the Horizontal Stabilizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Step 25:   Gluing the Stabilizers to The Fuselage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Step 26:   Installing The Rear Servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Step 27:   Armin Wing p.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Step 28:   Armin Wing p.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Step 29:   Making The Ailerons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Step 30:   Installing Wing's Servos and Control Horns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Step 31:   Attaching The Pushrods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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Step 32:   Mounting The Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Step 33:   Colet Adapeter Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Step 34:   Access Hatches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Step 35:   Adding Wing Mounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Step 36:   Adding the Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Step 37:   Finding The Center Of Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Step 38:   37 Steps Later, Finish! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Step 39:   Adjusting The Pland BEFORE Flight! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Step 40:   Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

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Author:FoamboardRC¿Qué tal? I'm 16 and enjoy learning about electronics. I am self-taught. I love programming my Arduino and soldering circuits. My newest hobby is to makeRC planes. I've spent many fun (and mad :) hours building and flying my planes. I'm looking for an Arduino club in my area and an RC club. I also likeSpanish! ¡Estoy comiendo pizza porque son mejor que hamburguesas!

Intro:  Complete Guide to Building Your First DIY RC Foamboard PlaneNow I'm sure the main question you have right now is why would I make your plane over somebody else's? Well let me explain why I feel my plane is the right one foryou, a beginner.

"When I began to get land sick and wanted to get up in the air I was all pumped and excited about RC flying! So I saved up about 100 bucks and I went to my local hobbystore but was sadly disappointed when I noticed that all the decent sized planes were $200+. So I spent some time researching RC planes, and decided to make onemyself. But what material should I use? I need something easily available and pretty cheap. After seeing guys like Experiment Airlines and Flight Test I decided uponusing foamboard. It cost a dollar a sheet and was at my local Dollar Tree. I had my material, and they suggested using HobbyKing.com to purchase products from.Although HK is cheaper quality stuff I knew that spending 10$ on a battery was definitely better then spending 60$ for a name brand battery at a hobby store. So far allmy of my HK parts have been working fine, especially the motors! I've had this same motor for a year now, and I've crashed it so many times and that thing just keeps onworking!"

Finding material and electronics for a plane is just half the story. You need to have a design! After browsing on Experimental Airline's page I absolutely loved his ArminWing and his tape-covering technique. But I wasn't to happy with the method he used for making his fuselages. So I looked over at Flight Test, and I really liked theirfoam-folding technique, so I decided it was time to mix and match and to design my own plane. Combining techniques from FT and EA, as well as using my own head, Imade my own foamboard RC plane.

Here is a list of the many advantages of my particular plane.

Step-by-step instructions with video (coming soon!)Very inexpensiveEasy to buildNot very time-consumingSturdy and durableEasy to repairSimple designFully modifiableFairly largeEasy flying for beginners

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Step 1: Ingredients:So you've decided upon making an awesome foamboard RC plane, but it's time to do a little e-shopping! Now all of the parts listed below are from HobbyKing.com, thecheapest website to get RC equipment. If you go to the hobby store (like HobbyTown USA) for a 3S 2200 mAh 20c battery you would pay $60 and up. On HobbyKing youonly pay around or less then $10. So far all the pieces I've gotten from them have worked very well, and none of them were cheap or nonfunctional.

All the parts below are from the global warehouse, which takes 20-30 days to ship. They also offer most of the same parts from the US warehouse, but they might be outof stock. To find a piece in the US warehouse set your location at the very top bar of the website to US. Look at image 1

Oh and by the way I will be explaining use of all the electronics later in this i'ble. Just click on the description of the part and it will open a new tab to where you can buy iton HobbyKing.

Now before I give you the list of items I need to tell you something. I am going to give you two lists, the first list, the Premium package, has a better battery charger(Turnigy Accucel-6) and the OrangeRX Trasmitter and reciever. Both of these items are highly recommend. The Premium Package also includes a handy tool, wheels,and some coloring equipment (not crayons :).

However, if you are short on money like me you can go with the Money Saver Package, which includes a HobbyKing brand 2.4 Ghz radio and a 5 dollar Turnigy batterycharger. Now I have both these cheaper items myself, and they work great! What they lack in features, the make up in price! I will explain more about these items later.

Note: The packages only include the items that you need to order (except the foamboard). The rest of the pieces can be found at local hardware and grocery stores. Forthe list of these items please look under "Additional Items"

Premium Package:

• Adam's Foam board. This can be found at Dollar Tree or Dollar General for a dollar per sheet. It must be Adams Foam Board because it is very cheap and the papercan be removed. It is also lighter than other foamboard companies.• 160 watt 1450 KV Outrunner Brushless Motor ------------------------$8.95• 3s 2200 mAh 20c Li Poly Battery ---------------------------------------$8.50• Turnigy Accucel-6 Battery Charger --------------------------------------$22.99• 20 Amp ESC (electronic speed controller) -----------------------------$6.70• Transmitter ---------------------------------------------------------------------$64.99• Receiver ------------------------------------------------------------------------$8.99• Propellers (5ps) ---------------------------------------------------------------$2.38• 4pcs Servos (9-gram) -------------------------------------------------------$8.36• Control Horns (10pcs)--------------------------------------------------------$0.97• 2 mm Gold Connectors (10 pairs) ---------------------------------------$2.85• XT60 Male/Female battery connectors (5 pairs) ---------------------$3.99• 2mm Heat Shrink Tubing ---------------------------------------------------$0.25• 11-inch Servo Lead Extension ------------------------------------------- $3.24• 11-inch Servo Lead Splitter (Y servo lead) *2 -------------------------$4.52• Z-Bend Pliers ------------------------------------------------------------------$6.49• Wheels (5pcs) -----------------------------------------------------------------$1.50• Colored Packing Tape• Push Rods (Music Wire size 0.47" (1.19 mm)

Grand Total ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ? $180

Money Saver Package:

• Adam's Foam board. This can be found at Dollar Tree or Dollar General fora dollar per sheet. It must be Adams Foam Board because it is very cheap and the paper can be removed. It is also lighter than other foamboard companies.• 160 watt 1450 KV Outrunner Brushless Motor ------------------------$8.95• 3s 2200 mAh 20c Li Poly Battery ---------------------------------------$8.50• Battery Balancer Charger --------------------------------------------------$4.49• 20 Amp ESC (electronic speed controller) -----------------------------$6.70• 6 Channel Transmitter and Receiver ------------------------------------$25.10• Transmitter Programming Cable ------------------------------------------$2.99• Propellers (5ps) ----------------------------------------------------------------$2.66• 4pcs Servos (9-gram) --------------------------------------------------------$8.36• 11-inch Servo Lead Extension -------------------------------------------- $3.24• 11-inch Servo Lead Splitter (Y servo lead) *2 --------------------------$4.52• Control Horns (10pcs)---------------------------------------------------------$0.97• 2mm Gold Connectors (10 pairs) ---------------------------------------$1.83• XT60 Male/Female battery connectors (5 pairs) ----------------------$3.99• 2mm Heat Shrink Tubing ----------------------------------------------------$0.25• Push Rods (Music Wire size 0.47" (1.19 mm)

Lovely Total of ---------------------------------------------------------------- ? $85

Additional Items:

1/2" sheet of balsa or 1/4" sheet of basswood (for 2" x 2" motor-mounting squares)MiniWax Polyurethane Oil-Based Semi-Gloss -----------------------$6.47Paint BrushSpray Paint

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Kabob SkewersRubber BandsDuct TapeClear Packaging Tape

Tools:

• Box Cutter (more on this in step X)• Metal 3-foot ruler• Metal 1-foot ruler• Metal Square• Pens/Pencils• Hot Glue Gun• Drill• 3/16th Drill Bit• Little Clips or Clamps (more on this in step X)• Wire Strippers/Cutters• Pliers• Soldering Iron• Various Sizes of Heat Shrink Tubing• Electrical, Packing, and Duct tape.• Paper Towel, (napkin, or a few tissues)

*For the music wire it is kinda hard to order the correct type unless you've seen it before and used it, so hit up your local hobby store and check out their collection ofmusic wire. The guage wire I found to work great is (size X).

Image Notes1. Select the warehouse closest to you.2. Set your country.

Step 2: Getting Started With the ElectronicsInstead of showing you how to make the plane first I will show you how to connect all the electronics and what they do. This is so that you can order your electronics,know what they do, connect them all, make sure that they work, then build your plane. If you wish to go to the build skip to step 11.

If this is your first plane you will need to gather all your electronics and begin to solder on all the connectors and jacks. Below is the list of electronics:

Transmitter/ReceiverBatteryESC (electronic speed controller)Brushless MotorLiPo batteryServosServo extenders and spitters2mm gold bullet connectorsXT60 battery connectors

Tools and equipment needed:

Soldering gun and solder2mm and 4mm heatshrink and heat gunWire cutter/strippersHelping Hands (You WILL want these!)Small screwdriver

In my previous instructable I explained a little bit about what each electronic part does but I'm not going to make you go there. In the following steps I am going to giveyou an explanation of what each part does. I will not go in depth, but you are just that awesome and want to know more than you can Google each part and find greatarticles.

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Step 3: TransmitterA transmitter is a handheld device that transmits a signal that is picked up by a receiver. Most RC transmitters nowadays work on the 2.4 Ghz frequency. RC transmitterscan be classified according to how many channels they have. Channels are the amount of things you can control. For instance a 3 channel transmitter means you canonly control 3 motors/servos/accessories. For your typical RC plane it has a rudder, elevator, ailerons, and a motor: 4 channels. In this case, a 3 channel transmitterwouldn't work for us. Most transmitters are 6 channels, which includes the rudder, elevator, ailerons, motor, and 2 AUX channels. Auxiliary channels can be connected toadditional servos to control various things, such as bomb drops or air brakes.

Transmitter can either be computer programmable, in-radio programming, or non-programmable. Computer programmable transmitters are connected to a computer viaa USB cable and software on the computer can program the transmitter. In-radio programmable transmitters have a a small LCD screen on the front with several buttonsfor control. Instead of having to connect the radio to a computer you can change all the settings from the handy little screen installed right in the transmitter.

Why would you need to program the radio? Well programming a radio allows you to change most settings, such as reversing the direction a servo goes, changing thefunctions of the AUX switches, and setting in and out points for the servo.

Step 4: ReceiverThe RC receiver is what picks up the signal sent from the transmitter and converts the signal into commands via PWM (pulse width modulation) for servos and ESCs(electronic speed controller). Oftentimes the more expensive receivers are equipped with gyros for flight stabilization, and even GPSs!

Random receivers cannot just be controlled by random transmitters. You must have a specific transmitter(s) for a receiver, and they must be wirelessly bound togetherusing a process called, you guessed it, binding!

The receiver doesn't to get power directly from the battery, rather it gets the power it needs to run from the ESC, which converts the 7.4 or 11.1 volts down to a save 5vfor the receiver.

Range all depends on the receiver! With my TX/RX system I can fly so far away that I cannot even see my plane anymore, and yes, I was sooo close to losing my plane!

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Step 5: ESC (Electronic Speed Controller)The ESC (electronic speed controller) does three main things. First, it converts the 7.4v ~ 11.1v of the battery to a safe 5v for the receiver to run on. This capability is notoffered on all ESCs. You can know that it will lower the voltage to 5v if it has BEC or UBEC printed on the side. This stands for Battery Elimination Circuit and UniversalBattery Elimination Circuit. Second, the ESC controls the motor based off of a PWM signal sent from the receiver. Third, it converts the the battery's direct current (DC)into alternating current (AC) that is required by the brushless motor.

ESC's have different max amperage ratings. So say if I have a motor that pulls 50 amps and my ESC is only rated for 20 amps then we have a huge problem! My ESCwill catch on fire and my plane will come crashing down in flames!

ESCs will also show whether they are for brushed motors or brushless motors. All the RC motors that we use now in our RC planes are brushless.

ESCs are programmable too, but that are a bit harder to program! Things you might want to program on an ESC include things like how fast the motor starts off,helicopter mode, timing and many other things. Take a look at the second picture to see all the different types of programmable features there are.

Step 6: LiPo BatteryBefore I even get started with this LiPo (lithium polymer) batteries are very dangerous when used incorrectly, so be sure to read all the safety information before usingone!

If you'd like a really good video by Painless360 (youtube).

LiPo batteries are standard for the RC hobby mainly because of their light weight and high power. Unlike alkaline batteries (AA, AAA), LiPo batteries are composed ofmultiple cells that each measure 3.7 volts. For instance the battery shown above is a 3 cell battery, so 3 cells @ 3.7v is 11.1v (3.7v x 3).

Next there is the Amp capacity, the amount of energy stored in the battery pack. The battery shown above is a 5000 mAh battery. This means the battery can supply5000 milliamps over a 1-hour period. Milliamps are 1000th of an amp, so 5000 mAh = 5A.

Then there is the C rating, which in the battery above it has a C rating of 20. The C rating is how much power you can pull from the battery at any given time.

The way Painless360 explained it was like this, "Think of the amp capacity as how much the tank of water holds (pic 2). Think of the C rating as the size of the hose isand how fast water can flow out of the, and think of the voltage as how much pressure the water in the thank is under."

http://youtu.be/Oda0JYzGG3w?t=5m22s

If you click on the link above it will take you right to the part of the video where begins explaining this analogy.

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Thanks Painless360 that really helped me understand it all!

Step 7: Brushless MotorThe motor is the power plant of your plane. The motor will turn your propeller at a high speed to propel it through the air!

In RC planes there are two main types of motors, brushed, and brushless. Brushless motors are more common, more efficient, have faster rpms, have more torque, but alittle bit more difficult to control. Brushed motors run on DC power, and brushless motors run off of AC power. As brushed motors are mostly not used in RC hobbies I willnot talk about then.

We have a little problem. If we use brushless motors that are powered by AC power, then how do we get them to spin from our battery, which supplies DC? That is whatthe ESC does, it converts the DC power of the battery to AC.

Brushless motors' speed are measured by a unit of measurement called KV-- RPMs per volt. Even though you think this might mean Kilivolts per volt it doesn't. It meansrevolutions per volt. So if I have a 1500kv motor then it will spin at 1500 rpm when supplied 1 volt, 3000 rpm when supplied by 3 volts, and so on.

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Step 8: ServosAlthough servos and brushless motors are both types of RC motors, they are drastically different. Servos are meant for moving a surface, such as the ailerons orelevator. Inside the servo is a little DC motor that is controlled by the receiver. The DC motor is geared so that when it turns, the speed is lowered by a huge percent butthe torque is increased. A servo arm gets attached to the gears and can move has a 180? rotation. They cannot spin all the way around though, they come to a stop.

Step 9: Which Connectors Go Where?

Step 10: Soldering Time!Now that we know what are electronics are and what they do we need to do a little bit of soldering work before we continue. Each electronic component needs a specialconnector, and this step will show you how to do all that.

I'm not going to show you how to do all the plugs but I'll show you how to do them for the ESC, and you can just copy that for the motor and if need be the battery. Thestep number below corresponds with the photo above- step one matches with pic 1 etc.

Fill the XT60 gold plug with solder.1.Strip the ends of the two big red and black wires coming out of the ESC.2.Slide heat shrink tubing over each wire. Don't mix up the colors!3.Solder the red and black wires from the ESC to the connections on the XT60 plug. On the sides of the plug it will have a + or a -. DO NOT MIX THESE UP! So be4.super careful when dealing with this. One the plug the tapered side is the negative side.Slide the heat shrink over ALL exposed wires and shrink it!5.The battery connections are finished.6.Fill the end of a 2mm female bullet connector with solder. The end that you need to solder to will have a little hole on the side of the tube.7.Slide heat shrink over all the tubes before you begin. Place your soldering iron the the bullet connector to heat it up and push the wire into it.8.Slide the heat shrink up and shrink it!9.All done!10.

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Image Notes1. Pic 1: Fill the XT60 gold plug with solder

Image Notes1. Pic 2: Strip the ends of the two big red and black wires coming out of the ESC.

Image Notes1. Pic 3: Slide heat shrink tubing over each wire. Don't mix up the colors!

Image Notes1. Pic 4: Solder the red and black wires from the ESC to the connections on theXT60 plug. On the sides of the plug it will have a + or a -. DO NOT MIX THESEUP! So be super careful when dealing with this. One the plug the tapered side isthe negative side.

Image Notes1. Pic 5: Slide the heat shrink over ALL exposed wires and shrink it!

Image Notes1. Step 6: The battery connections are finished.

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Image Notes1. Pic 8: Heat the tube up and pus the wire into it.

Image Notes1. . . . and the three smaller wires go to the motor with the 2mm bullet connectors.2. The XT60 plug attaches to the two big red and black wires. . .

Step 11: PreparationThis plane requires of lot of measuring and cutting, but if you don't want to have to do any measuring, you can just print out this PDF! In there I have all the lines andguides that you need. Here are the steps:

1. Print out the designs on a large printer. Make sure the printer is not resizing the image. It must be printed at 100%. If you were thinking about tiling the print, it's notworth it! You'd get better results if you measured everything with a ruler. You need a printer that can print at least 3x3 feet if you were to print out the designs. Oh no! Idon't have that big of a printer! No worries, an office supply store like Staples or Office Depot will have these large printers. You can get several plans printed off for asmall fee.

2. Cut along the dashed orange lines. These lines form a 20"x30" box, which is the same size as Adams FoamBoard.

3. Tape the 20" x 30" square to the foamboard.

4. BEFORE you start cutting see the video attached to this step explaining the different types of cuts. Cut out the designs following the guide provided on page one. Makesure you are certain what type of cut you are going to make before you cut! As they say, "Measure once cut twice-- wait, that doesn't sound right-- Measure once, cuttwice" While cutting you may find it easier to align a ruler up with the lines so that you can rest the edge of the razor blade on it. This will ensure that you get straight cuts.This is especially important for the fuselage. Take your time when cutting!

If you are not using a template and you'd rather do it the old fashioned way and measure everything out with ruler well then lets get started!

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Image Notes1. My awesome kitty helped me a ton with designing!

Step 12: How To Make Push RodsSorry for my dead voice! When I did this it was 3 AM because I needed to get it done for the contest!

Step 13: How To Make Hinges on FoamboardAbove is a small video explaining how to make hinges.

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Step 14: Different Types of Foamboard CutsAbove is a small video explaining the main 3 cuts I will use during the build.

Step 15: Building the Fuselage p.11. Begin with a full sheet of foamboard that should be 30" long. Make markings that are parallel with the length of the board at these: 1 13/16"-- 2"-- 3 13/16"-- 4"-- 513/16"-- 6"-- 7 13/16". Refer to Exhibit 1 & pictures 2A, 2B. (no clue why I used the word exhibit when I drew these plans :D) Repeat on the other side of the foamboard.2. Draw lines running parallel to the length of the board (30") across all the little markings you made. When you are done it should look like the blue section "Fuselage" inpicture 4.3. Cutting time! Now make sure you watch the video in step 13 on the different cuts before you get to hackin away! On all the lines you drew except for the last one (theline that was 7 13/16" in) will be cut through the first layer paper and foam, just leaving the last piece of paper uncut. In the video I call it a 90% cut.On the 7 13/16" line just cut that all the way through. Try to use a ruler as a cutting guide so that the line is as perfectly straight as possible. Do not try to cut it without aguide.

Image Notes1. 20" x 30" foamboard piece!2. These are very important! :D

Image Notes1. 1 13/16"2. Pic 2A3. I have NO CLUE why I used the word Exhibit :D. I didn't even spell it right!

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Image Notes1. Pic 2A

Image Notes1. This is a 20" x 30" square. This is a representation of a sheet of foamboard.2. Pic 4

Step 16: Building the Fuselage p.21. After you are done scoring the foamboard, break the foamboard on all the lines. This adds bends to the board. See picture 1. You should be left with four panels thatare 1 13/15" wide and three smaller strips that are 3/16" wide.2. It's time for those little 3/16" strips to go! You should be able to push them out with your thumb. See the video if you need help. When you are done peeling out thestrips, your piece of foamboard should look identical to the one in pic 4.

Image Notes1. PIc 1

Image Notes1. This board has been successfully broken on all the score lines.

Image Notes1. Start peeling off those 3/16" strips. You should just be able to break them offwith your thumb.2. Pic 3

Image Notes1. When you are done peeling of those strips you should be left with a flat boardwith 3 grooves.2. Pic 4

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Image Notes1. 3/16" gap between each piece.

Step 17: How to Fold the FuselageWhen I say 90? cut I mean 90? angle.

Step 18: Building the Fuselage p.3Now the way I designed this is quite simple! After you cut out the gaps, all you have to do is to fill them with glue, and fold them over. Click on the first picture. It is a GIFso it will show you how to fold the board.

Fill each crack with glue then fold it over on top of the previous piece of foamboard. See images 4A, 4B, & 4C for reference. It is easier if you use a square to make surethat each piece is level. The more level you make it, the better quality your tube will be.

After you have glued this all together you should wind up with a really strong 2x2x30" tube!

If you are still clueless see the video! The should help out!

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Image Notes1. Click on me, I'm a GIF!2. This is how to properly make a fold. Fill the gap with hot glue, them bend the toppiece over the bottom piece.

Image Notes1. 4A

Image Notes1. 4B

Image Notes1. 4C2. Try to make everything square!3. Use a square here to get this piece up and down, them rotate and repeat.

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Step 19: Finishing the FuselageWe will begin working on the back of the fuselage, and taper it a bit. Since the back won't get banged around too much we can cut off some unneeded foam to lighten upthe back, because we want the tail (the back) to be as light as possible.

Start by making a mark 6 inches from the back and 3/16" from the bottom on two sides of the foamboard. These sides must be opposite each other. Then draw a line onunderside of the tube. What I mean by this is when you folded the tube over, you ended up with the end of the foamboard on one side, so the foam inside is exposed andthe cut isn't very nice. You want this side down.

On the same sides as your first markings draw a mark 3/16" from the top and 0" from the back. Make a mark on either side draw a line that extends from the line youmade to the very edge of the top corner. See picture 2. You will repeat this on the opposite side of the tube.

Time to cut the foam along these lines! When you are done it should look like pictures 3A and 3B.

Image Notes1. Try to make this mark 3/16 a inch under the top.2. Pic 23. Don't cut all the way to the bottom. Just cut the flatside of the foamboard. Iexplain this better in the video!!

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Image Notes1. BOOM!2. Pic 3A

Image Notes1. This is the underside of the plane.2. Pic 3B

Step 20: Making the RudderNow this step is super hard, and requires many hours of experience. . . just kidding! This step only takes a few minutes to finish. Here are the steps:

Make a 6" x 6" square on the foamboard.1.Look are picture 1 to see where marks should be made.2.Connect the lines like pic 23.Cut out!4.

Image Notes1. Pic 1

Image Notes1. Pic 2

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Step 21: Making The Horizontal Stabilizer p.1Now you can either print out the designs provided in the beginning, or you can get out your ruler and begin measuring!

Start from a corner of a sheet of foamboard and measure 12" to the left/right.1.Draw a line straight up that is 4" inches tall. Make a mark at 2" on the 4" line.2.In the center draw a line that is 6" tall.3.Connect all the lines. It should look like picture 2.4.Draw a 1" line from either side of the center line at the top of the 6" line. See pic 3, 4.5.Draw a line from the 1" mark line at the top of the 6" line to the 4" mark on the far left/right side of the design, and repeat on the other side.6.From the 2" line to the 6" line draw two lines that are 3/16" on either side of the middle line, running up and down (parallel) to the middle line. It should look like7.picture 5.Cut around the perimeter! Pic 6.8.On the two parallel lines from the center make a 10% cut (just the paper) along these lines. Then you should be able to peel that middle piece of paper out just9.like you see in pic 8. When you are finished it will look like picture 9.

Image Notes1. Pic 1

Image Notes1. Pic 2

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Image Notes1. Pic 3

Image Notes1. Pic 4

Image Notes1. 3/16" on either side from the middle.2. Pic 5

Image Notes1. Pic 6

Image Notes1. Make a paper cut along this horizontal line in between the two vertical lines.2. Pic 7

Image Notes1. Pic 8

Image Notes1. Pic 9, paper gone!

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Step 22: Making The Horizontal Stabilizer p.2Flip the horizontal stabilizer(elevator) upside down so that we are looking at the bottom. Make two markings running lengthwise, one at 2" and the other one at 2 3/16".On the line at 2" will be a 90% cut, (first layer of paper, foam, but not the the last layer of paper), and the line at 2 3/16 will be a 10% cut, which is just the first layer ofpaper, so basically, a score. Then peel out that little 3/16" strip of paper. Bend the the 2" flap of foamboard back, just like in picture 3. Now take a sanding block like theone in picture 4 and begin to sand away at all the foam in that 3/16" strip. When you are done it should be sanded just like in picture 5.

The goal of all this is to make a hinge for the 2" control surface, which will control the up and down movement of the plane. If you are confused as to how to make a hingewatch the video in step 12.

Image Notes1. 3/16" strip of paper peeled. . .

Image Notes1. 2" line: 90% cut2. 2 13/16" line: 10% cut.

Image Notes1. Pic 32. 3/16" strip of paper peeled.

Image Notes1. This is just some sandpaper glued to a piece of scrap wood.2. Pic 4

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Image Notes1. 45% sand angle. Since there is still paper on some of the foam it will act as aguide, so just sand all the exposed foam, but don't sand the paper.2. Pic 5

Step 23: Making The Horizontal Stabilizer p.3BEFORE YOU CONTINUE: At this point you will want to paint and coat the horizontal and the vertical stabilizers. Once you tape them you will be unable to get a goodcoat of paint on them.

Since the horizontal stabilizer is likely to get beat up and tossed around it would be a good idea for us if we added some reinforcements to the edges of it. Clear packingtape will do just the job, but knowing a few tricks before you get started would be helpful.

Start by centering the tape over the front edge of the horizontal stabilizer as shown in picture 1. Then, on the bends of the stabilizer, make small slits with a razor bladeupwards and downwards, just like in picture 2. Next push the top sides and the bottom sides of the tape down onto the foam. Use a flat object to help you. On the bendsthe tape should overlap. Finally, at the ends use a razor knife to trim off the excess tape. See picture 3.

Put a piece of tape across the back edge of the stabilizer, and fold it over the back. Cover the sides with tape as well. See pictures 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.

Image Notes1. Pic 12. You will need about a 14" piece of clear packing tape. Center it and place it overthe front edge.

Image Notes1. Small slits in the tape going upwards. . .2. and downards. . .

Image Notes1. Pic 3.2. Trim off any excess tape.3. There will be some overlap in these areas.

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Image Notes1. Leave this little bit of tape here for now, we will cut it later.

Image Notes1. All edges taped!

Image Notes1. Leave this little bit of tape here we will get to it later.

Step 24: Connecting the Vertical and the Horizontal StabilizersThis part is quite simple but it's important that you get the vertical stabilizer (rudder) as straight as possible. In order to do this you will find a speed square quite handy.Place the horizontal stabilizer (elevator) on a table. The hinge should be on the bottom, leaving the peeled strip on top. Down the area of removed paper in the centersquirt a large strip of glue down it. Don't get any glue onto the 2" control surface. Place the vertical stabilizer down on the glue just like shown in picture 1. Use a speedsquare to make sure that it is standing up perfectly straight, and check to see if the is pointing straight, and not pointing slightly right/left. Pictures on and 1 and 2 shouldhelp you understand.

Image Notes1. Pic 1

Image Notes1. Pic 2

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Step 25: Gluing the Stabilizers to The FuselageStill with me? Well good! Lets hurry up and finish the back end of the plane! From the very rear of the fuselage (the side with the taper) draw a line that is 3 13/16" fromthe end. Fill the area with hot glue then press on the horizontal onto the fuselage. Once again, check all the alignment and that everything is straight. Look at all thepictures they will help to explain this!

Image Notes1. Draw a line 3 13/16" from the back end.2. Cover this whole area with hot glue and press the elevator/rudder onto thispart. The front of the elevator should not extend past the line. Try to make sureeverything is squared off.

Image Notes1. If you glue the elevator any higher then this the elevator won't work properly,because the hinge will be hitting the fuselage on the underside.

Image Notes1. Get this rudder pointing in the same direction as the fuselage!

Image Notes1. If you glued the elevator any higher than the 3 13/16" then this hinge would hitthe fuselage.

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Step 26: Installing The Rear ServoThis servo controls the elevator, which controls the plane around the lateral axis. This makes the plane either go up or down.

Trace the shape of the servo onto the fuselage and cut the rectangle out.1.Depending on which side your servo arm is sticking out, glue a control horn onto the elevator, pic 3.2.Create your pushrod. If you need help watch the video or go to step 12.3.Attach the linkage arm (push rod) from the control horn first then to the servo arm. It's much easier if you remove the servo arm, attaching the rod to it, then re-4.attaching the servo arm. Make sure the servos are in the middle. You can do this by quickly plugging in your battery. The servo will automatically go to the middle.

Image Notes1. Trace the shape of the servo onto the fuselage.

Image Notes1. My servo arm sticks out to the left, so I will put my control horn on the left sideof the rudder. Give yourself enough room to work with!

Image Notes1. Review the steps for making a pushrod in step where I show you how to doit for the wings.

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Image Notes1. Now would be a good time to cut out this tape holding the hinge shut!

Step 27: Armin Wing p.1The Armin wing was designed by Experimental Airlines, and he has a really good build video that I suggest you watch. In the plane that I made I used my own design ofwing but I don't have a camera to take pictures of it yet, so in about another month I will add my design of the wing and take down this one. But for now the Armin wing isa very good wing and it will work for you.

Find a complete piece of foamboard. Try to find the smoothest one that you have.1.Draw lines across the board lengthwise at 1", 7", and 14" from the bottom. On the last cut measure from the top down. From the very top of the board measure 2"2.down and make a line.Cut off (100%) on the 2" line, and for all the other lines (1", 7", 14"), make 10% cuts.3.Peel off the paper from the bottom to the 1" line, then again from the 7" line to the 14" line. See picture 2.4.On a new sheet of foamboard cut 2 more strips that are 2" x 30". You should now have a total of 3 2" x 30" support strips. On your last strip, peel the paper off of5.one side, just like in picture 3.

This next part is to help with getting the wing the correct shape for a smooth airfoil.

Lay your wing on a desk or table with the 1" paperless strip of wing facing you. Using a sanding block, sand down the foam at a steep angle (pictures 4, 5, 6, & 7).1.

Alright lets add the support to the wing

Lay the wing flat on the ground. Place one of the 2" strips down and along the 7" line (paper/foam transition). See pictures 8 & 9. The top of the 2" strip should not1.go past the 7" line. The bottom half of the strip should be on the 5" from the bottom. Glue the other two 2" strip on top of the first one. The top strip should be the2" strip with paper removed. This will leave you with 3 2" strips with the top layer having foam exposed.

Image Notes1. All of these are measured from the bottom up. . .2. And this one is measure from the top down.

Image Notes1. The paper gets peeled off here.2. And here.3. Pic 2. Completely cut off the 2" strip.4. Don't peel this paper off! It's very important to keep it on!

Image Notes1. Pic 3

Image Notes1. This is the paperless 1" part of the wing.2. Pic 4

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Image Notes1. PIc 5

Image Notes1. Pic 62. Don't sand past the paper!

Image Notes1. I made this sanding block by hot gluing sand paper to a scrap piece of wood.

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Step 28: Armin Wing p.2After you glued the supports in the wing it should look like picture 1. Take a blunt object and try to mash it down and to make it look like picture 2.

Time to bend the wing! Cover the top support strip with hot glue and fold the wing over on itself! Watch the video (picture 3) so you know what you are doing!

Step 29: Making The AileronsWhen you folded the wing over on the underside you should have had a lot of over hang. Well this is going to make our ailerons. Our ailerons will be 1 1/2" long, so cutoff any excess.

Place a straight edge or ruler up against the overhang on the underside of the wing and make a 90% cut.1.Place the a ruler or straight edge 3/16" away from the 90% cut you made and make a 10% score.2.Peel the paper off the small 3/16" strip. You should have a small piece of foam showing.3.Lay the wing on a desk and fold the aileron back as far as it will go. It should be able to rotate all the way on top of the wing. See picture 5.4.Using a sanding block sand away at the 3/16" strip of foam until you have a nice 45? angle with the foam. See picture 5. Once you have sanded away at this foam5.you should be able to move the aileron both forwards and backwards pretty easily.

But we need separate ailerons so lets get to cutting them apart!

On the aileron make a line that is 1 1/2" away from the middle on either side.1.Cut it out. Now you should have a 3" gap between either aileron. See pictures 7, 8, & 9.2.

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Image Notes1. Our ailerons will be 1.5" wide.

Image Notes1. Right here where the overhang begins you will make a 90% cut.2. This is the overhang3. This is the wing. . .

Image Notes1. PIc 3: Line that is 3/16" from the 90% score. . .

Image Notes1. Peeling off that paper

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Image Notes1. Pic 3

Step 30: Installing Wing's Servos and Control HornsNote: For all these lines you will want to use a pencil so that you can erase them. I just used a red marker so that you can see the lines well. Otherwise you will have biglines on the bottom of your wing.

In the middle of wing (15" inches from either side) draw a line straight up and down. Then draw a line that is 5" from the bottom of the wing (the thin part). Next draw a linethat extends the 8 1/2" on either side of the middle on top of the 5" line, outwards, just like picture 1.

When you are done making reference lines place a servo on the ends of the 8.5" lines, and trace around it. See picture 2. Repeat on the other side and cut out therectangles. Also, in the middle, cut out a small square, no bigger than 1" x 1". After that your wing should look like picture 3.

Feed the wire into the wing from the servo hole then push the servo down into the wing. The after shaking the wires you should be able to get them to fall out the centerhole. Install both servos with the head facing the ailerons (the side of the servo with the circular gear column should be closest to the ailerons). Put servo arms on boththe servos and face them inwards towards the center of the wing but don't screw them down yet. See picture 5.

Attach both the servo leads to the servo splitter, and check to make sure the positive and the negative leads are matched up. See picture 6.

Glue both the control horns onto the ailerons. They should butt up against the hinge but not into it, and they should be straight behind the servo. This way you can put astraight wire going from the servo arm to the control horn. See pictures 7 & 8.

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Image Notes1. The square below should be up here. I made it a little bit smaller than 1" x 1".2. 5" up. . .3. 8.5" on either side from the middle4. Pic 1

Image Notes1. Pic 2: The wires from the servo should be sticking out the bottom.

Image Notes1. Pic 3

Image Notes1. Pic 4: Put a light ring of glue around the servo, and place the arm on top, butdon't screw it in tight. The arm should be facing inwards towards the center ofthe wing.

Image Notes1. Rotate the servos so that the head is closest to the ailerons. Attach thecontrol arms, but don't screw them in yet. Both arms should be facing the centerof the wing.

Image Notes1. Servo splitter

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Image Notes1. The control horn (the white piece on the aileron) gets glued on the very edgeof the hinge and goes right behind the servo.

Image Notes1. Butt the servo horn right up to the hinge. Don't get the horn into the hinge oryour range will be limited.

Step 31: Attaching The PushrodsThe tools that you will need for this step are two pairs of pliers and a pair of wire cutters. Now all the bends we will be making should either be at 45? or 90?. All of the90? bends should be made as small as possible. Pictures 2 and 3 show you how the ends of the music wire should look like. In the middle I make a little V. Now thereason for this is so that you can easily adjust the length of the push rod.

So make a end bend like the one show in picture 3, then put it into the servo arm. Make a V bend, and lay the wire down. Make a mark where it hits the control horn, andmake a 90? angle at the bend. Make the bend so that the wire sticking out is facing the control horn. Then make another 90? bend and cut the wire off 1/4" from the lastbend.

Image Notes1. Make the bend shown in picture 3 and put it into the servo arm. Then lay thewire down.

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Image Notes1. While checking to make sure that the aileron is straight make a mark on themusic wire. In this picture I will make a 90? bend to the right. (from ourperspective)

Step 32: Mounting The MotorOk! Now that you are done cutting and making all the pieces it's to put them together! Let's start by putting the motor on.

I designed the tube so that the outside of the tube is 2" x 2". This is easy enough! So on your 1/8", 1/4", or 1/2" piece of balsa/bass wood all you have to do is to1.cut out a 2" x 2" square. Draw lines that cross the middle like picture 1. This will come in handy when trying to center the motor.Hold the fuselage up and down with the tail near the ground. Squirt hot glue over the rim of the open end, then press the balsa wood onto the end. Wipe away any2.glue that squeezes out. Your finished product should look like pictures 2 & 3.In picture 4 are all the parts that come with the motor, except for the bullet connectors. You need to have these on the motor's wires before you mount it.3.

The screws shown in picture 5 will be the screws that I use to mount my motor. These are the screws that came with the servos. If you servos didn't come withany screws then pretty much any small screw will do the trick.Screw the mounting plate to the motor using the screws provided. It is important to get these very tight because vibrations from the motor can cause loose screws4.to jingle out. See picture 6.In order to mount the motor to the plane simple center it on the firewall (the piece of wood in front) and screw it down! Check all the screws to see that they aren't5.stripped or loose. You don't want your motor flying off mid flight!

Image Notes1. Pic 1: 2" x 2" piece of 1/8", 1/4", or 1/2" balsa or bass wood.

Image Notes1. All glued on! You may want to round the edges of the wood with sandpaper, or,my personal favorite, a CHAINSAW!

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Image Notes1. All the pieces that come with the motor.2. Bullet connectors

Image Notes1. Make sure that you get these really tight!

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Step 33: Colet Adapeter AssemblyYour motor came with a bunch of weird-looking hardware so what do you do with it? Read the steps below then scroll the the pictures to help you.

Collect the shaft, head nut, and the pressure ring.1.Slide the open end of the pressure ring over the shaft.2.Slide the propeller onto the shaft above the pressure ring.3.Screw on the head nut very loosely. If you make it really tight, we won't be able to get it on the motor shaft.4.Push the propeller with the colet adapter onto the motor shaft.5.Tighten the head nut. You don't want to go too hard and crack the propeller but you don't want you propeller coming off mid flight.6.

Image Notes1. Pressure ring2. Shaft3. Head nut

Image Notes1. Pic 2: Slide the open end of the pressure ring over the shaft.

Image Notes1. Motor shaft

Image Notes1. Tighten it really hard! You don't want this falling off mid flight either!

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Image Notes1. If your head nut has a hole through the top you can insert a small rod through itto help you tighten it.

Step 34: Access HatchesEven though we have a nice solid tube for a fuselage we must cut into it so that we can get our electronics into it! In my plane I made two hatches, one for thebattery/ESC and one for the receiver. Lets start with the first one.

I'm sorry please ignore the red lines. When I was doing this I kinda messed up, so the correct lines are the black ones.

From the front of the fuselage makes lines at 3" and 6".1.Draw the edges 1/2" from the ends of the fuselage, and create a rectangle. Look at pictures 1 and 2.2.

Cut three edges of the box, leaving the edge closest to the front of the fuselage uncut. (pic 3).3.Stuff a small wad of paper towels/ napkins in the front. 2 napkins or a 1 half-piece of a paper towel will do.4.Draw two more lines further down the fuselage at 3" and 5" from the 6" line you first made. Again, draw lines 1/2" from the edges of the fuselage, and make5.another rectangle. See pictures 6-9.Cut the second hatch completely out. I didn't in the pictures but go ahead and do it.6.

Now would be a good time to put your receiver and your ESC in. If you forgot how to plug the ESC into the receiver go back to step(X).

Image Notes1. Draw lines at 3" and 6".2. Draw the edges 1/2" from the ends of the fuselage.

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Image Notes1. Pic 6

Image Notes1. Pic 7. Here I forgot to cut the hatch completely off.

Image Notes1. Pic 8, receiver fits perfectly!

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Image Notes1. Pic 9: the two hatches. Remember, on the smaller hatch completely cut it out.

Step 35: Adding Wing MountsFor my plane I decided to use the quick and easy connecting way of rubber bands and skewers. I like this because for one it makes wing remove quick and easy and twowhen in a crash the wings will harmlessly pop off the plane.

For the first skewer poke it through the foam right where your hatch ends. All you need to do is to poke the sharp end of the skewer through the foam and trim it withscissors or wire cutters.

Place the wing on the plane and butt the front of the wing up to the very back of the first hatch. Poke the second skewer in the fuselage right behind the wing. See picture4 to see where it should go.

Find an unused credit card and cut it into 4 small squares that about about 1" x 1". Drill hold at the very top that are the same size as the skewers. See picture 7. Slidethese over the skewers while they are on the plane, and glue them to the fuselage. This will take strain from the wings off the foam. See pictures 8 and 9.

In picture 10 you can see that I covered the credit cards in some white duct tape to make it look better. If you wanted to you could find your white spray paint and givethose cards a coat or two.

In pictures 11 and 12 I show how to correctly attach the wing to to the skewers using rubber bands.

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Image Notes1. This should go anywhere from 1/2" to 1" behind the wing.

Image Notes1. Pic 7: Thanks Ace!

Image Notes1. Glue this card to the surface of the fuselage. Make sure that no glue gets on theskewer.

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Image Notes1. Pic 10: I covered the cards with white duct tape to make it look better. If youwanted to you could spend the time to spraypaint the credit card white.

Step 36: Adding the ElectronicsThe wires from the motor should be off to one side. Wrap them around the edge of the fuselage just like in picture 1. Cut a small hole on the side of the fuselage for thewires coming from the ESC. Connect the wires from the ESC and the motor together. Don't tape the wires down just yet. We need to make sure that the motor is spinningthe correct way first. We'll do this a little bit later.

The ESC should slip right into the tube, and push it up against the side of the inside of the fuselage. The battery can slide alongside it like shown in picture 3. Push thebattery as far up in the nose as it can go. It should slightly compact the paper towel you placed inside earlier.

In the second hatch further down the body put the receiver in. Using a servo extender on the servo lead from the tail, connect it into slot 2 on the receiver. Consult withyour receiver's manual to see which side the positive and negative wires go. Also plug the servo lead from the ESC into slot 3. (pic 4).

Plug the servo splitter into slot one on the receiver. Again, consult with your receiver's manual to see which side the positive and negative wires go. (pic 5).

Put a piece of duct tape on the hatch door so that you can tape it down for flight! (pic 6).

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Image Notes1. The ESC is right here.

Image Notes1. This wire should be inside the fuselage.

Step 37: Finding The Center Of GravityNow that you have put in all the electronics, including the motor, propeller, battery, ESC and the receiver, it is time to see where the center of gravity for your particularaircraft is. This step has to be done after ALL pieces have been loaded into the plane. If you forget something then you will have to re calculate the CG.

Lay down two rolls of tape (pic 1).1.Balance the wing on top of the tape (pics 2 & 3).2.Place the fully loaded fuselage on top of the wing and drag it forward or backwards until it balances perfectly on wing (pic 4). After it balances move it forward just3.a tiny bit until the nose it a bit lower than the tail.The CG will be a 1/3 the way back from the front of the wing. Our wing is 7 inches wide, so 1/3 the way is about 2.3" back from the front. Make a small mark on4.the wing 2.3" back from the front of the wing. Lay your ruler along the wing and measure from the very front of the fuselage to the mark you made. As you can seein picture 5 my CG is around 8.5" back from the center.Keeping the plane balanced measure how far back the front of the wing is from the front of the fuselage (pic 6). You can see that mine was 6" back from the front.5.Here you can draw an line and now you know how far up to place your wing! Your CG and this second measurement should be similar.

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Image Notes1. My CG is about 8.5" from the front.

Step 38: 37 Steps Later, Finish!Yeah! You are so close to being done! Strap the wings down to the skewers with rubber bands taking care to stuff the servo splitter down into the smaller hole in thefuselage. Test the CG one last time by putting your fingers 1/3 the way back of the wing and seeing if it balances slightly nose heavy. Picture 2 will show you were to putyour fingers. I

f you plane is still not balancing then move the battery around. If the plane is too nose heavy, add another wad of paper towels to the nose and scooch the battery back abit. If the plane is tail heavy, mash the battery forward some more. If you sill can't fix the problems, scoot the wing up or down on the fuselage.

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Step 39: Adjusting The Pland BEFORE Flight!There are several important things to check before you are ready to launch your plane!

Always make sure that your CG is good, and that the plane is slightly nose heavy.Plug in the battery and check to see if all the control surfaces are level. If they are not, adjust the V-bend in the push rods until the surfaces are flat. For theailerons make sure they maintain the slope of the wing.Is the motor spinning the right way? Turn on the propeller and see if the air is being blown backwards. If it is being blow forwards, then just switch any two wires ofthe 3 attaching the motor to the ESC.Do both ailerons work and does the elevator work?Here's a problem you might have! You push up on the stick, and the elevator swings upwards. What's happening is that the servo is needs to be reversed. Findchannel 2 on your radio LCD or computer program and change that channel. You may need to do the same thing for the ailerons.All wires are secured and nothing is hindering the prop.

Before you fly please watch all the videos in this step! You don't want your brand new plane to crash on its first flight because of a build error!

Step 40: ConclusionWell I must say that I have being going through this i'ble as fast as possible because I wanted to get it done for the Launch it Contest. I will be regularly fixing theinstructions and adding more videos, and eveuntually, a complete video. I just bought a new camera that will be coming soon so I should have the complete build videoup soon! I hope you learned a lot from this i'ble if there's anything you need help with or want to know please PM me or leave it in the comments below.

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