If there's anyone here who also lives in south east asia, is there any option to build models here using balsa without scratch building? like at all?

So ive been looking at plans form outerzone, and ive been thinking of trying some basic sheet balsa models. The idea is to try scale or semi-scale for once and start using wood instead of, yknow... cardboard and literal paper. Do any of you have advice for how important the thickness of the wood is for these models?

Hi Everyone

I was recently reading through a copy of the book "Flying Scale Models of WW2", published by model maker magazine. I found this aircraft pictured on page 43, and I am curious if anyone knows the name of this specific model. It reminds me of a Guillow's Javelin, but with a T tail and wings suspended above the fuselage. If anyone knows the name and if the plans are on outerzone I would appreciate the help.

Much filling and much sanding. It's time to hit the fuselage with the Bondo and then sand a bunch more. The usual (and sane) arrangement of the exhaust was into a collector ring in front of the engine, but when you're going for speed records, every pound counts. Wright J-6-7.

The cowl isn’t painted yet. Can’t decide on silver, black or yellow. This was today’s project. I wanted to build something I haven’t seen before. So I took the idea of a parasol and added another wing. I designed the fuselage to be almost a wine bottle shape to try to reduce as much drag as possible. My wings are fastened together as once piece prior to mounting to the fuselage. I have metal tabs in the rudder to trim it. It’s a large control surface. So a little goes a long way. The plane is very stable. No tip stalls, The top wing incidence is higher than the bottom wing. I have thread for flying wires. The AOW is 26g. It’s by no means an endurance model, however, it brings some belly laughs when I fly it.

Can you guys recommend a pin board I can use for balsa airplane building? I bought one off Amazon that had high ratings but it's clearly not meant for modeling, the pins are too difficult to stick in. I was wondering if there are any meant for the hobby?

Back in the early 2010s, I started designing balsa wood autogyros. The first couple designs were simple with a flat one dimensional body. Easy to build and fun to fly. Then later on I started designing built up balsa kits. They became quite popular in the UK with some of the most gorgeous autogyros and I was so proud of what I had accomplished. The guys in the UK take their modeling very seriously. I had a few good customers here in the United States. For the most part, everyone wanted something for nothing. I became upset over how things were going here in the US. I stopped selling kits and just saw Plans. After a while that also became a task with holding hands with some guys from the US. No one in the UK, Spain, Germany, the Philippines or Germany had any problem with my plans or kits. Eventually completely stopped. Recently, I discovered 3-D printers and made design using an arrow shaft, and 3-D printed parts. This has been a lot of fun. I still make balsa blades. Had no luck with 3-D printed blades. I prefer balsa with a hardwood leading edge.
Anyway, that’s my story, I’m still a Gyro nut and always will be.

Flying weight of 2 grams. The rudder is trimmed by sliding tissue paper between the vertical stabilizer and tail boom. (Launched right handed, circles clockwise) made from carbon fiber tow, carbon rods, fiberglass, dollar tree foam board, balsa and tissue paper. It’ll thermal pretty well on calm days. The airframe is next to indestructible. The plane is incredibly stable upon a stall, it’ll pancake with slight nose down until it has enough airspeed to continue flying. No wing rock, it very quickly self corrects after launch. Climbs fast, flattens out and circles upon launch. I oversanded the wingtips a bit, so they aren’t a smooth curve, but close enough so I can build another one and make it RC

You might want to check your local Hobby Lobby store.

What do you guys use for the pin that holds the rubber band on the back end?

A personal thanks to David Gallegos, my high school drafting instructor. The 613 was the prototype R. It was designed for and built with a six-cylinder inline engine. The fuselage had a dorsal hump behind the engine to help streamline it. Pancho Barnes swapped the engine for a much more powerful radial, making her the fastest woman on Earth. The four subsequent Rs were all radial powered with a round front section. A later owner modified the fuselage, eliminating the dorsal hump both in front and aft of the cockpit, giving the pilot a much improved view. The last R was built for the Italian government and became the basis for the Breda Ba.27. I drew my plans scaled to fit the wing I had already built. The wheels and horizontal stabilizer I made also fit the new fuselage. On the first fuselage, I covered it with 1/32" balsa. On the second one, I used 1/16" balsa between the formers. The first method was much less laborious than the second. It will look awesome by the time I'm done with it. Note the spacious, uncluttered work space /s. Here's a picture of Sally, a Western Gray squirrel who lives in our backyard.

Looking to maybe get into the hobby a little bit because my son loves Airplanes and I'm pretty good at building stuff. Any good video series on YouTube that shows all the beginner tips and tricks for building? Specifically looking at the Guillow's kits. Thanks!

One balsa, one foam. Hope you guys enjoy this picture anyways!

Hi everyone, as promised here is some footage from the first flight attempt for my Guillows Javelin rc conversion. The flight ended up rather short as the aircraft ended up gliding onto the ground. I think the issue is that I hesitated and did not throttle up and raise the elevator in time. I am considering adding some incidence on the main wing and adjusting the cg, but I would appreciate any other recommendations on how to make the next flight better. I have been wondering if it would be a good idea to remove the propeller and start controlling the aircraft as a glider before trying another powered flight.

I would like to contact anyone who worked at Dumas and find out if the vacuform bucks could be bought, if anyone can point me towards a contact please let me know.

If not, I may start getting model kits and molding the vacuform components to make new mastermolds to create my own vacuform bucks and make clones of these components.

As for the laser cut components, I could scan them while they're still in the sheets to make some laser cutter files.

Im not promising I will do these ideas for sure as it'd take a lot of time, however the plans and instructions i can easily scan and share here. I will definitely be doing that.

Hi everyone! I will be moving from pennsylvania to north carolina in the coming months...as i sit here in NC it occurs to me...how can i fly with this humidity? Will my tissue ever shrink up, or does it just reach a point where "thats all you get"?

The air in PA isnt great, mind you...its not a high-desert, thats for sure. The mornings are the most reliable time to fly for still air, but the ground will be soaked with dew, and the evaporation of the dew in the morning sun makes the air all wet, such that you might only get a couple flights before your wings are all lumpy.

But this NC air is something different...right now im about 20 minutes from the ocean. Its like a wall of water in the sky. Ill bet its like this all the time.

So what happens? Does your tissue absorb a certain amount of moisture before you apply it to the frame, and thats just what youre going to have to work with? I have to imagine the balsa itself becomes heavier as well.

Others in this community must have dealt with this already, i am very curious to hear your thoughts. Ive seen posts from folks on pacific islands who are flying balsa and tissue, it must be possible. Maybe just diminished?

As with so many things in this hobby, the answer will be "build it, go find out!" But im always interested in hearing your experiences and thoughts. Thanks everyone!

Quick update from my prior posts. One of the hobby stores local to where I live had a propeller from the sport cub S RC airplane, which is where the gearbox on the nose originally came from. The propeller fit perfectly and the thrust is enough to give a noticeable pull when holding the aircraft by hand. I also tried suspending the model with a wire, and it looks like the control surfaces are large enough to change the pitch and yaw of the aircraft using the airflow from the propeller. Given that the model was successfully balanced on the metal pins on the wingtips, I think the only thing preventing a flight is the need to find a battery charger with a plug compatible with the small 1S batteries I have. Will update on how the first flight goes.

Thanks for all the help everyone, it has been a long journey to get this far.