The Wright Flyer may have been the first successful powered aircraft but it was not the easiest to build or fly. I use two rules of thumb when picking good flying models -
The links to these first two kits will not only take you to the full kit descriptions, but you will also be able to watch the step-by-step builds of these planes. Check them out!
It takes very little time to build these 4 models and they are very easy to fly. I highly recommend these kits for the first time builder/flyer. When my sons were 9 and 11 each built an Imp in about 45 minutes and flew them at our local indoor contest. My son, Christopher, won with a 2 minute flight! A really fun airplane, the kids learn very quickly how to tweak it for the best flights. When you order these kits to build with your kids be sure to ask for our "seconds" free TissueCal™ markings. Kids love to decorate their planes!
Note: If the plane says 'laser cut' we have cut the parts out for you. If not, you must use a hobby knife to cut out each part which we printed on sheet balsa using our 1903 printing press.
These are all endurance type models with great flying characteristics. They were designed for both fun flying and competition.
In order to guide you in choosing kits, we've indicated the difficulty level in the following way - type of kit/building difficulty/flying difficulty. The type of kit is either a scale model, a sport model (designed for competition or fun flying), or a display model (not designed to fly but it can be if modified). Building difficulty is either easy or experienced. Stick with easy kits until you are comfortable building from the plan. Experienced kits are for those with several successful models completed or with plenty of help nearby. Experienced builders usually make small adjustments as they build and don t follow the plan exactly. Flying difficulty is also either easy or experienced. Easy to fly airplanes require little tweaking to fly - they want to fly. Those recommended for experienced fliers will need encouragement to fly right. You ll have to play with finding the center of gravity, getting it balanced, adjusting the wing warp, etc. A soft landing area is very important for this stage.
So, if you are just starting out, or if you re looking for a great Christmas gift, and especially if you do not know anyone with model building experience to assist you, I strongly encourage you to add a copy of Don Ross books Rubber Powered Model Airplanes and Flying Models to your bookshelf. These comprehensive books are packed full of useful information and enjoyable reading too.
Keep on having fun,
Dave
Rubber Powered Models: Adjustment of rubber powered models
This article is from the 1952 Air Trails magazine.
We suggest you print yourself a hard copy of this outstanding article
and illustrations so you can refer to it whenever you are trimming
out your plane.
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Includes a hobby knife, 5 blades, straight point tweezers, 5.5" x 9" Self Healing Cutting Mat, Jet Instant glue, Jet Super glue, Jet Tips, glue stick, canopy glue/tacky glue, MagnaBoard XL™ set, Minus Magnets 20 pack, and Rubber Powered Model Airplanes book. Save 25% off individually priced items! There is a limit of 2 sets per order.
item B329 Price: $79.95Excludes the book on rubber power and the glue stick. Includes a hobby knife, 5 blades, straight point tweezers, 5.5" x 9" Self Healing Cutting Mat, Jet Instant glue, Jet Super glue, Jet Tips, canopy glue/tacky glue, MagnaBoard XL™ set, and Minus Magnets 20 pack. Save 25% off individually priced items! There is a limit of 2 sets per order.
item B332 Price: $66.95Includes Sanding Stick with 120, 240, 320, 400, and 600 grit belts, Pull Saw Blade, K5 Heavy Duty Knife with beveled blade, Narrow Keyhole Saw Blades 5 pack, Curved Tip Tweezers, 1/16" Ball Tip Burnisher, Jewelers Needle Point Awl, Steel Ruler 6" x 1" with drill gauge, 15 piece drill set (1.05mm - 2mm). Save 30% off individually priced items!
item B330 Price: $45.99Includes a 10:1 winder, moldable nose weight, FAI SuperSport rubber 32 feet each 3/32", 1/8", and 3/16" and 32 feet EBM 1/16" rubber. Save 23% off individually priced items!
item B331 Price: $34.95