Looking for a model rubber powered airplane building kit

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hi flight enthusiasts!

I’d like to ask you for a suggestion, since I’m a complete noob in the field of model airplanes: I’d like to buy a rubber band powered model airplane building kit for a friend of mine who’s a dentist ,and I think he’d get a kick out of putting the thing together and watching it fly.

So what I would like from you is suggestions of complex airplane kits (I’d like to make building the plane a little challenging, but I need the kit to be complete) along with the links to where I can buy them from. I’m not sure how much to invest in this, but I’m willing to pay as much as it takes for a quality kit.

Thanks !

AfterW

2

Most of the Guillows balsa kits can be rubber band powered. They’re a blast to put together and reasonably accurate as well.

Jerry

3

AfterW,

Dumas makes some nice kits that many of the folks over at RCGroups.com have converted to RC models. (Laser Cut) http://www.dumasestore.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=50 Dare Engineering makes some nice stuff too. (Again, Laser Cut) http://www.darehobby.com/airplanes/index.htm Guillows has converted a couple of their kits to Lasercut, but outside of those few kits the rest are still die cruched. Beyond these, please check out the RCGroups electric forum: http://www.rcgroups.com/aircraft-electric-airplanes-4/?s=eabbadc9ca131f110ee2fdcb1dc0ea99 and more specifically the Scale electric forum: http://www.rcgroups.com/scale-electric-planes-10/ The threads for rubber models are more centered around conversion from rubber to RC but it may help.

Dave

4

Thanks for the advice, all those models look great. I found a video on youtube of the model plane I like best, it’s an ultra-light design made for indoor flights. Do you think I can find a building kit for one of these (or similar) dragonfly-like machines?

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=424052#vid-976e8bea

5

Historic Aviation historicaviation.com has several balsa kits that can be rubber powered. Most of them are probably from the aforementioned makers. I built the Guillows Stearman, and it was a fun diversion from plastid. And it flew to boot! I would recommend using lots of epoxy when making a flying balsa kit since landings can be rough.

Dave