How to Make RC Jets
Remote-controlled (RC) jets are an exciting entry into the RC aircraft hobby. With great speed, an RC jet is capable of aeronautic stunts no other RC aircraft can come close to pulling off. To perform at such advanced levels requires careful building, with a high degree of attention to detail and assembly to exact measurements. There is no room for mistakes when building an RC jet---the slightest problem could result in your highly tuned aircraft heading at top speed straight into the ground. So first-time jet builders should begin with a trainer model kit.
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Things You'll Need
- RC model of trainer jet
- Epoxy glue
- Sandpaper
- Drill
- Heat gun
- Clear tape
- Radio transmitter
- Radio receiver
- Electronic speed control
- Battery
- Servos
- Fabric hook and loop fastener tape
Instructions
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1
Purchase an RC model jet trainer kit. Most trainers use a propeller in the rear of the plane to push the plane through the air. Check that the kit comes with all the electronics required for assembly, along with the aircraft body. If it does not, purchase them separately, as required by the kit.
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2
Assemble the forward fuselage using epoxy glue. Install the support bulkheads, gluing the bulkheads onto one fuselage half and then gluing the second half of the fuselage to both the first half and the installed bulkheads. When dry, glue on the top and bottom pieces.
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3
Build the nose cone by laminating the multiple nose cone foam layers together with an adhesive. Glue the solid nose cone block to the fuselage front and allow it to dry. Cut the rough shape of the nose cone, and then sand the nose cone and forward fuselage to create the forward shape of your jet. Sand with 100-grit sandpaper to round out the shape, 220-grit to finalize the shape, and 320-grit to smooth out the surface.
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4
Create the canopy for your aircraft using the same techniques used for the nose cone.
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5
Glue two small plywood squares to the rear fuselage sides to provide a pivot support for the stabilizer. Place them so that they cover the same portion of the fuselage sides. Put the sides together, and then drill a hole through the plywood centers.
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6
Use a heat gun to curve the rear fuselage side pieces, and begin to assemble the rear fuselage. Place the side pieces against the rear fuselage bottom, and bend according to the bottom's shape. Apply a small amount of heat to bend the foam, and once shaped, glue the sides to the fuselage bottom.
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7
Laminate the motor mount piece and glue the motor mount hardwood stick to it. Place the piece in the center of the rear fuselage at the rear edge and mark the stabilizer pivot point. Drill a hole at this point, and then glue the motor mount support piece into place.
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8
Install the rear stabilizers and the movable tailpiece, hooking it to the servo that will move the tail up and down.
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9
Place a carbon rod down the length of the wing to provide extra wing support, gluing the rod in place, and then slide the wing through the rear fuselage, gluing it in place.
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10
Glue the forward fuselage assembly to the rear assembly, and then attach the flaps to the wings using hinges created from tape. Glue the top of the rear fuselage into place along with the air duct tops. Sand the entire fuselage to round off the edges.
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11
Install the flap servo, running the control rods down the wings of the plane and then install the plane's electronics inside the forward fuselage, mounting the receiver, electronic speed control, and battery, and wiring all the electronics to the receiver.
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12
Use a fabric hook and loop fastener tape to put the canopy in place. And then attach the motor to the wood motor mount stick in the rear, screwing the motor into place and wiring it to the speed controller, finishing the building process.
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Tips & Warnings
Paint the model with whatever paint design you desire.
Model kits are built to emulate a specific aircraft design, but regardless of actual design, pusher jet models (which have the propeller in the rear, pushing the model through the air) operate much the same way aerodynamically.
