In todays age of drones and and the militarys pilotless aircraft performing all sorts of missions, what modeler has not thought of flying his own RC version of the drones now in the headlines? The Pioneer, the Shadow, and ultimately the infamous Predator, all fixed wing drones, allowed our military forces to bring the battle [] . The post Thorpe King of Drones 1/2-Scale Models of Military Drones appeared first on Model Airplane News.

When it comes to WW II bombers, the B-17 Flying Fortress is the recognized icon for all heavy bombers This video shows off the giant scale RC Aluminum Overcast B-17, piloted by Peter Pfeffer Peda Mastab. The 1/5.6-scale Flying Fortress has a 19 foot wingspan, is 14 feet long and took four years to build.

The 345th Bomber Group (BG) was first activated at Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina, in November 1942 and was christened the Air Apaches. As a B-25 bomber group, it was broken into four squadrons: the 498th, known as the Falcons; the 499th, Bats Outa Hell; the 500th, Rough Raiders; and the 501st, the Black [] . The post New for Premium Members The Story of the 345th Bomber Group appeared first on Model Airplane News.

The method of making a round cowling involves laminating a cylinder from 1/64-inch plywood and capping it with a balsa ring for the leading edge. In the photos that are featured in this article, I show two cowlings that I made this way; one was for an original design and the other was for a [] . The post Scratch-Build a Radial Cowl appeared first on Model Airplane News.

A great way to add fun and excitement to your RC flights is to add a smoke system. Do a loop or a roll and then add a dense, white smoke trail and you have an airshow! And its easy to save some bucks by modifying your stock muffler instead of buying a commercial smoke [] . The post Home-Made Smoke Muffler appeared first on Model Airplane News.

Heres a common, very popular way to install aileron servos. To make field maintenance more convenient, install your servos with hatches built into the wing so they are flush with the wings underside..

We just received the new Rotorball Sweeper quadcopter from Graupner USA. This fun and unusual rotordrone is very rugged and crash proof with its built-in dome like cage. Ideal for the beginner as well as experienced drone pilots, the Sweeper is about the size of a basketball.

A very popular Air Racing pilot in the Red Bull Series is Race #99 Mick Goulian, and he has been burning up the race course for several years. Back in the early 1990s, Mike was a top level competition aerobatic pilot flying his beautiful red and white Staudacher GS-300. The same characteristics that made his [] .

One thing Ive learned over the years is that the response of your airplane relies a lot on the hinges you install. Weak hinges allow your control surfaces to flex which minimizes control crispness. This is especially true with high performance and fun fly airplanes.

One of North America's most accomplished aerobatic pilot Michael Goulian is a recognized aviation professional with a 30-year-plus career of excellence in the air. Now a prominent competitor in the Red Bull Air Racing series, Mike took time out if his hectic schedule to answer some questions about his time in the cockpit. Model Airplane [] .

In the early years of the Cold War, one strategic bomber, the Convair B-36 Peacemaker was at the forefront of the USAFs efforts to blunt Soviet aggression. Entering service in 1948, the B-36 was the primary nuclear weapons delivery vehicle of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) until it was replaced by the jet-powered Boeing B-47 [] . The post 19-Foot Convair B-36 Peacemaker appeared first on Model Airplane News.

Heres a great workshop technique from editor Gerry Yarrishs workshop. Over the years, the products may have changed but today, painting your model airplane with rattle can spray paint is a less expensive alternative than using an air compressor and an automotive touch-up gun rig. When you start building models that have formed plastic or fiberglass parts [] .

The Imperial RC Club, is getting ready to host their first annual Florida E-Jet Fest at the clubs local RC field. The date for this new Jet-In is February 8 thru 10, 2019. If you need even more of an excuse to enjoy the weather in Florida, the event will also have three events you [] .

This new DHC-6 Twin Otter has great scale looks and features fiberglass cowls, functional opening doors and scale details printed into the covering. A large battery hatch makes changing packs easy. It is fun a fun airplane thats easy to assemble and it has easy flying characteristics.

When building model airplanes, especially scale WW I subjects,lamination work for parts of the wing and tail are a requirement. This technique has been used for decades but to new RC model builders the technique of producing lightweight curved parts may need some explaining. Heres how I do it.

MIT engineers have built and flown the first-ever plane with no moving parts. Instead of propellers or turbines, the light aircraft is powered by an ionic wind a silent but mighty flow of ions that is produced aboard the plane, and that generates enough thrust to propel the plane over a sustained, steady flight. [] .

One of the more popular aircraft to come out of the Great War was the SE5 and SE5a Scout built by the Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF). No surprise that the SE5 Scout is also a very popular choice for scale RC modelers. We caught up with our good buddy and Top Gun Static Scale Judge [] .

The new 60-inch span F6F Hellcat from VQ Warbirds is a great looking .46 EP/GP ARF with awesome looks and performance. The Hellcat features working flaps, a painted pilot, machine guns, antenna and lots of other scale details to make this warbird really stand out on the flightline! With a generously sized battery hatch, you [] .

Master model builder and Model Airplane News contributor Ron Peterka, checked in with us recently to bring us up to date on an interesting project. Ron, who recently received his 25 year pin from the San Diego Air & Space Museum and the model shop just finished its most recent assignment of a 12-foot wingspan [] . The post Museum Modeling at its Best appeared first on Model Airplane News.

One of the important tasks you need to do correctly while building a giant scale airplane is to produce a smooth and flowing outer surface to apply your finish and paint too. Theres an old saying that a fair paint job applied to a superior surface will look much better than a great paint job [] . The post Workshop Tips: Smooth Sheeting appeared first on Model Airplane News.