Electro Aviator Electric RC Airplane Plans
Construct the Electro Aviator from radio control model airplane plans
An easy to build RC model airplane for outdoor venues - great for first time builders!
Electro Aviator model plane plans fuselage side view drawn with TurboCAD
Electro Aviator electric powered model built from RC plane plans
The RC airplane plans Electro Aviator is an electric powered model I designed for outdoor radio control model airplane flight. While not suitable for indoor flight due to its size, the Electro Aviator RC airplane plans does offer some good insights to the design and construction of a typical balsa and plywood RC model airplane, as well as some useful background for any RC airplane plans you may be thinking about for future projects.
Building from RC plane plans allows a variety of covering color schemes
The RC airplane plans for the Electro Aviator are available from Quiet and Electric Flight International magazine, and were originally published in the March 2007 issue. The RC airplane plans came in a reduced size pull-out in the magazine, and are designed to be enlarged to full size at a local graphics shop.
The Electro Aviator is built directly on the RC airplane plans. As I mentioned in the plans overview section of this website, the ability to build an RC model airplane with just the plans gives you access to an incredible variety of models for indoor radio control flight. Try the free RC plane plan of the Snapper here. Most of the early model aircraft were lightweight designs for free flight, and are ideally suited for today's indoor radio control model airplane purposes. A great example of this is the RC plane plans Blackburn Type D monoplane, first flown in 1912.
Electro Aviator RC plane plans were drawn with TurboCAD and are available from Quiet and Electric Flight International magazine
Video of Electro Aviator in flight
Make a "kit" of the RC airplane plans parts before you start construction
With any RC airplane plans, it is a good start to make a list of the various types of balsa and plywood needed, and cut out all the wood parts needed to make a "kit" of the radio control model airplane.
Electro Aviator fuselage - strong and simple construction
The RC airplane plans can be studied to show how many wing ribs, fuselage formers, etc. need to be cut out, and what types of wood are suitable. All this information is shown within the plan.
Once the Electro Aviator's RC plane plans parts are cut out, the fuselage and wing can be assembled. The Electro Aviator RC airplane plans has a minimum of curves in its design, which eases construction. And if nothing else, this type of design makes repairs simple from model airplane crashes.
Electro Aviator wing is balsa and plywood construction, built directly over the plan
The wing is constant chord (same width along the entire wingspan), and the tail surfaces are sheet balsa. The wing is held onto the fuselage by rubber bands, and the electric motor is fully enclosed in the easy to fabricate balsa cowl. Quiet and Electric Flight provides a complete construction article for this simple to build RC model airplane.
Like most sport radio control model airplanes these days made from RC plane plans, covering is done with the remarkable iron on and heat shrink materials, which provides a light weight and attractive finish. There is plenty of room inside the Electro Aviator RC model airplane for batteries and any small size radio control set.
Squadron patches made from computer decal paper
One fun aspect of building a model from RC airplane plans these days is the ability to use your computer to make unique decals. Any image you can make, or obtain from the internet on your computer, can quite easily be made into a decal.
A quick internet search will provide a source for these computer decal papers. You just print out your design from the computer onto the decal paper, and apply the decal with water to your model. Note the USAF squadron patches on the side of the Electro Aviator.
Electro Aviator is an easy to build RC airplane from plans that flies great
As I mentioned earlier, the Electro Aviator RC airplane plans is designed to fly outdoors at a regular RC model airplane field. Practical electric motors are a fairly recent arrival in the world of radio control model aircraft, becoming widely available within the past eight years.
Prototype Electro Aviator on a fly by
Electric motor RC model airplanes start with the flick of a switch, and provide a quiet source of power, as the noise from a regular RC model airplane internal combustion engine can cause the loss of a flying field due complaints from the surrounding population.
RC Airplane Plans Electro Aviator