Model Airplane Design Made Easy
Tips and techniques for your first model airplane design
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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Keep this thought in mind as you start on your personal journey of preparing your first original model airplane design. By following a few straightforward steps, we can provide a framework for model airplane design made easy. Video CD training speeds CAD plan drafting skills as well.
Know how to build a model airplane from a kit
As discussed elsewhere in this website, the absolute first step in preparing for your own original design radio control model airplane is to ensure you are fully capable of building a model airplane from a kit, followed by an aircraft made from a set of construction plans. Start with an uncomplicated project, such as a trainer. Advance to more complicated model airplane kits and plans as your building skills mature.
Initial pencil sketch of the Chickadee plan
The next step in making a model airplane design is to learn how to draw a simple, basic model airplane plan. You can draw your first set of model airplane plans by hand on paper. But I strongly recommend that you take the plunge and learn how to draw plans with a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program. There are several consumer CAD programs available for the RC plane designer. I have used TurboCAD since around the year 2000, and recommend it to anyone wishing to draw up a set of model airplane plans. My TurboCAD training videos will provide a big boost with getting you proficient quickly with this powerful drafting program.
Draw a plan
Once you have learned how to build a radio control model airplane on your own and are comfortable with the mechanics of a CAD program, draw up your initial plane plan. For this initial step on seeing just how easy it can be to prepare your own model airplane design, simply copy an existing plan of a model plane you built from a kit or a set of plans. Measure off the dimensions from the original plan, and recreate that plan on your drawing board or CAD program.
TurboCAD video training here
Go ahead a make a few changes from the original drawings, the equivalent of “kit bashing” to this new set of airplane plans. Going from the prototype Robin to the Robin II is a great example of "plan bashing." Keep the same moments and surface areas from the original aircraft to your version, but experiment with such non-critical items as different wingtip shapes or tail surface outlines. The goal here is building proficiency with drawing an accurate set of plans without having to worry too much on determining the proper dimensions of the model. Build and fly the model from these plans to validate your first design activity.
Your first original design
At this stage of the model airplane design process, you have learned how to construct a model airplane and prepare a complete set of plans. Now it is time to start on your first original design. Click here to view a guide on what dimensions to use for nose and tail moments, as well as wing and tail surface area calculations for a typical sport radio control model airplane or balsa park flyer. Be sure to select the correct airfoil, such as the Clark Y.
There is an old adage in model airplane design, and this states that “if it looks right, it will fly right.” There are numerous exotic and specialized model aircraft designs out there flying, and flying well. For your initial forays into model airplane design, stick to a conventional layout. You desire success for these first efforts. You can easily branch out into more challenging airplane designs as your design and flight skills mature.
Note that you can pattern an RC plane design from an existing successful model. The Pietenpol has a similar set up to the Fokker D.VIII. Pattern a model of the "Flying Razor" after the Air Camper for flight success.
Blackburn model antique model airplane plan drawn with TurboCAD
Balsa wing dowels on Blackburn wing
Use an incremental approach
I have prepared and flown several original RC model airplane designs. As described above, I recommend an incremental approach with building the necessary skills achieve this goal of model airplane design made easy, using useful building tips as applicable. Each of my aircraft designs builds on work done with an earlier design. I have also collected a lot of useful information on various kits that I have built over the years to prepare my next design. A good example of this is the unique balsa dowel and metal tube wing attachment method used on the Sig Demoiselle. I used this innovative wing attachment scheme on both the Chickadee and the Blackburn monoplane with excellent results.
Finch uses micro RC electronics - FREE plans here
After discovering the performance of the E-flite micro electronics in the 4-Site foam indoor aerobatic airplane, I decided to prepare a model airplane design using these components. With the magic of TurboCAD I quickly drew up a set of plans that decreased the Chickadee’s 44 inch wingspan to 20 inches for the Finch. Using the same layout parameters as the Chickadee, the Finch came in at just over an ounce total weight and flies like a champ.
In conclusion, the critical first step in making model airplane design easy is to start now on your journey. Know how to build a model airplane, sketch out a plan by emulating a proven design, and branch out to new variations on these first projects. It is not hard at all to prepare your own model airplane design once you take these first steps!