With the latest surge in foam plane popularity, most serious hobbyists own at least one. The beauty of foam is the speed at which a decent looking model can be stamped out. But that's where the beauty ends.
Even the toughest foam is delicate and difficult to keep looking crisp. It is especially weak in a crash where foam cracks with light to moderate force. While it is relatively easy to repair with foaming gorilla glue, epoxy, or if you are really in a hurry, hot glue, the fragility of foam means it needs to be repaired more often.
A high quality balsa and ply frame covered using a name-brand plastic film can last for a decade or more without looking worn. Balsa and ply is about five times stronger than foam, making it more resilient in a crash. If you manage to break a balsa and ply frame, the damage is usually substantial because of the force required to do serious harm. However, it is possible to reconstruct a wooden structure from scratch with very little cash outlay, unlike foam planes where spare parts are rare and too often, pricey. It isn't uncommon for foam plane manufacturers to gouge customers $20 or even $30 for a foam replacement part that only costs pennys to mint.
Laser cut wood kits, assembled en mass, have brought the price of balsa and ply kits down to the foam level, or even less. Since wooden kits are generally aimed at a more sophisticated crowd, pre-builts are usually sold as ARFs. The great thing about purchasing a film covered-wood ARF is that base kit is relatively inexpensive, so you might buy two for the price of a similar scale foam RTF--one to build, and one to keep for quick-replacement parts.
Finally, balsa and ply models fly straight and true long after foamies are twisted, scratched, bent and broken. Foam deforms and bends under aerodynamic force making the plane a lot less predictable during maneuver, especially at high speeds and G forces, and also in gusty winds.The additional strength of quality wood kit lets the plane cut the air with greater speed and agility at a similar power level.
Hands down, if you have a choice, go wood.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Z8RC Open Discussion
Feedback | Suggestions | Questions
Please note, reader comments do not appear immediately after hitting submit.
Please note, reader comments do not appear immediately after hitting submit.
I like to fly:
Top 10 This Week
-
Computer simulation has gotten good enough to be useful for learning to fly RC. Some might even say a good sim is a modern necessity. Can ...
-
Update 8/30/2012: See http://z8rc.blogspot.com/2012/08/aeo-rc-50mm-ducted-fan-combo-w5800kv.html for a great fan upgrade (and noise reduc...
-
The HK P-38 flies beautifully, so it was an easy choice to sink $35 into a decent set of 32g servoless retracts . The stock retracts don...
-
Completed model including guide wires, painted prop and 9 cylinder radial. Update 11: Paint and landing gear mods. I added two 2 mm c...
-
Update: Coming Soon - AS3X Head-to-Head comparison. Yes, I admit it, I knew from the start that my easy-hovering gyro-enhanced Cessna 150...
-
If you have a Horizon Hobby Ultra Micro with faux wheel pants, then you probably have a Ultra Micro with broken or loose, dangling wheel pan...
-
Radio control flight is unbearable fun peppered with heart ache. Yesterday, my triple-redundant Optima Rx lost the ability to control what...
-
Update: Here is the Fw-190 with a Power 10 running on 3S (4S is not a Power 10 option). It achieves about the same speed as the stock airp...
-
INTRO Update: The Edge is insanely overpowered wi...
Top 10 This Month
-
Update 3: See also: http://z8rc.blogspot.com/2012/01/blade-mcp-x-100-tail-blow-out-fix.html Update 2: mCP X with Z8RC truss upgraded to A...
-
Scam alert. After posting a few of actual reviews on RCGroups.com, I was met with this message: Critical of a paying sponsor, your post h...
-
This area is for feedback, suggestions, or questions about any topic...
-
Continuing and ending my mini-series on how to land, this article focuses on flying a good traffic pattern: the military Overhead. The Ove...
-
Individual model recommendations are based on an overall grade of B- or higher. This overall tabulation revealed that covers the 67th per...
-
Update: Scoring matrix added, below. Update: Z83X vs. AS3X flight testing is complete. Flight videos and conclusions listed below. Mane...
-
Update 8/30/2012: See http://z8rc.blogspot.com/2012/08/aeo-rc-50mm-ducted-fan-combo-w5800kv.html for a great fan upgrade (and noise reduc...
-
Completed model including guide wires, painted prop and 9 cylinder radial. Update 11: Paint and landing gear mods. I added two 2 mm c...
-
The new Ares company has stormed onto the Ultra-Micro scene. Offering apparent competition to Horizon Hobby micros, I've found the new ...
-
Update 2: Video with a 3S 180 mAh 25C: Pretty fast little jet! Update 1 : In early December, 2011 Z8RC began exclusively designing an...
Z8RC Resources
A Practical RC Simulator Comparison
AMA Under the Microscope (& Part 2)
Balancing a ducted fan or prop perfectly
Balsa or Foam?
Blade mCP X 100% Vibration Fix
Choosing the Right Motor
FAA Guarantees Your Right to Fly RC in the USA
Fixing those broken UM wheel pants
How to Land from The Overhead Pattern
Online RC Discount Codes
Soft Throttle
Understanding CG
Z8RC Thrust-to-Weight Ratio Database
Z8RC Manufacturer Rankings