I flew some different RC planes before but it has to be said that this one is the best trainer I ever touched. You can easily built it from cheap foam, add some basic electronics and off you go. It basically flies itself. You just need to point it back form time to time in order not to loose it going out of sight.
Electronics needed
hexTronik 24gram Brushless Outrunner 1300kv (great value for money and very light)
H-KING 10A Fixed Wing Brushless Speed Controller (cheapest and lightest)
Turnigy 1000mAh 3S 25C Lipo Pack (or 2s, depending on how much power you want)
2x Turnigy TG9e 9g / 1.5kg / 0.10sec Eco Micro Servo (rudder and elevator)
Pictures of the final result
update 1: Pictures after abuse
These pictures are all before flight… You should see it after the massive repairs I did so far. The cool think of these foamies is that you can just crash em knowing you can simply glue them all back together again. This is a picture of my first blu baby after I redid the wing:
update 2: Better wings
And much later on I finally had a great set of wings. It’s much better to use some solid (at least 5mm) depron sheet. I still use the carving technique where I have around 4 carves on top of the wing to bend it. Then I added some strips on the inner side for strength and taped the edges and the carves for strength. In the center I also have a carbon rond for strength.
I still fly this plane. Although I now have more experience and harder planes to fly. If it wasn’t for my girlfriend who gave me a Multiplex easystar this one would be used to help people getting into this hobby. The Easy start is just a little easier to fly. This one is cheaper though.
I’ve been experimenting with some other motors. You can go for a much heavier motor since the model has such a short nose and the tail really needs some counter weight.
It now has a balsa covered fuselage with the servo’s in the inside. It’s still basic, a box construction with some formers. But it handles rough landings much better now. Maybe I’ll once make a decent full balsa wing also. Too bad it takes so much time to complete. I also did some testing with an aileron wing but for that an UC wing is just no good. Really needs a proper balsa wing.