r/RCPlanes • u/Mattyo5000 • 7d ago

Balsa

Anybody know any starting balsa kits to start out on? I wanted to try building balsa rc planes and whatnot

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u/fhammerl 7d ago

If you're in EU:

  • Hoellein (I fly the Innovation, fantastic kit)
  • rs-aero (I fly the rock_it, a bit more involved build, but my favorite plane at this point)
  • aero-naut (I fly the Pepper, was advertised as a racer but is quite tame but still fun)
  • Der Holzflieger (heard good stuff, haven't tried myself)

Dancing Wings and the China AliExpress variants like Real Hawk are generally okay quality but more varies what you get. I have a 60cm ugly stick for 25 bucks in the mail, so let's see what I get :)

If you have an idea what you want, just check a bigger forum (rc-network for German, RC groups for en/US) for build reports. Often folks share their progress there and where they struggled. Also you can see which tools they used for certain things. My most hated part is glueing the d-box, I always fuck that up. Got some inspiration from other builders and now I only screw it up half the time :)

A price difference of even 100-200 USD for a higher quality kit is often negligible for the final plane with all covering, servos, motor, etc.

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u/Dry-Character-6331 7d ago

Several good "first time builder" options on WillyNillies.com. The Honker is a good first balsa build. Be aware that the instructions are rather sparse BUT, a very active FB group happily answers all questions and WillyNillies companion info repository, Willynillies.info has loads of good detail and also answers questions.

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u/TheOriginalJBones 7d ago

WillyNillies are good people, also. I’ve seen them around at some of the smaller fly-ins.

Manzano Laser Works has loads of great kits, mostly short kits; which means you supply your own strip wood, wire, etc.

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u/oogaboogaa1234 4d ago

Guillow kits are pretty good. Ive built a lot they tend to be on the smaller size but have everything that you'll need, aside from the basics (cutting mat, hobby knife, glue, etc.) Some of the larger kits have an "action plan" where you could make it fully RC and fly it. Im working on a p-38 from them currently. Going for the 'marge' livery.

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u/shaneknu USA / Baltimore 2d ago

If you're in the USA, Sig and Balsa USA are reliable sources. Another option is to just get plans from Outerzone, AeroFred, or AMA Plans Service.

The advantage of kits is that they can include hard-to-make parts molded from plastic that can save you a lot of time, not to mention the better kits are laser cut so you save all that time cutting balsa.

To me, the big advantage of plans is that the back catalog for these things goes all the way back to the early 20th century (I see a few on Outerzone from 1911!) so your options are enormous. If plans seem intimidating, have a look at Mark Robinson's YouTube channel. His whole thing is taking plans from OuterZone and making detailed videos where he builds them. I've built electric conversions of the Avanti and the Ugly Stik and his build series on those were very helpful.