Summer Fun Project: Build Your Own RC Plane

Summer time is here and the kids are out of school. What better way to keep them entertained than by building a RC plane to fly out at the park. Although some sites have some pretty intimidating plans that look complicated to build, once you get the plans printed and laid out then start building them it can be lots of fun for you and the young ones. Remember the days when we use to build model airplanes and cars and the countless hours of peeling glue out from under our fingernails? But when it was all said and done we were rewarded with a model that we put together ourselves (sometimes with help from mom or dad) and had a great time doing it. So let the good times roll again -- and this time around add the excitement of radio control. Spend quality time with the kids building model planes that really fly. Try some of these sites that provide free RC airplane plans.

The aircraft plan sites offer many different styles of planes to choose from including those that are quite complex and best suited to the experienced plane builder. You can generally tell how difficult a plan will be based on the number of parts and the steps required to build it. Plus some sites will tell you if the plan is designed for beginners or more advanced DIY builders. Before you go downloading those free RC aircraft plans though be sure you have a viewer that can show you what the plans look like. Often plans are designed in CAD or drafting programs and the downloads are provided in DWG and DXF format. Here is a link to some free CAD viewers.

^{Image © M. James}