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  WELCOME!!!

So you want to build a foam parkflyer plane?

Well this is my page where we explain our foam building techniques and also what we use to build our planes. We hope to make the art of foam flight easy for you to understand. Our goal here is to help you over come the bumps in foam flight technology. At the same time we plan to share our experiences with the hopes of putting you into the air with little or no real experience in foam plane building and construction.

FLYING FOAM???

The art of R/C model plane building has taken many turns overs the last few decades. Starting with paper planes right into balsa covered aircraft of scale. Today being able to experience R/C flight is now a more reachable goal with foam. With the age of electric flight and the use of easy to build materials such as foam, the art of building and flying a R/C model aircraft has been opened to many more. Foam does have it's restrictions such as strength and the fact that it is a light material makes flying outdoors limited to 5 to 10mph wind days if you want to fly outside. Foam construction planes are used more indoors then outdoors but the way you construct your foam plane also determines your outdoor success in flight. The key to using foam as your building material is to build your foam plane to with stand the enviorment you plan to fly in. The stronger you make a foam plane, the better it will fly, and also the weight is a key factor in stable foam flight. If you plan to hover of slofly indoors, you want a lite foam plane construction, but if you plan to fly outdoors, you want a well constructed and heavier foam plane to handle the winds, and high speed flying.

WHY FOAM???
As a new pilot, there is no more of a let down then to build a expensive balsa covered aircraft with the hopes of a successful flight someday only to learn the chances of you crashing are high and until you learn to be a pilot. Your balsa plane might be a pile of splinters soon after your first take off.

So why foam? Well lets just say you need a material that will put up with your learning curve. Foam parkflyers are simple to build, and at the same time can be constructed to withstand any torture you may inflict on the plane. Also think like this, with a foam plane...repair or plane replacement is not only quicker, and cheaper....but not so much of let down if you do crash. Most cases foam can be fixed right at the flying field, and your day of learning will not be over just because you have a rough landing or two.

ELECTRIC POWER???

Today the technology of R/C flight has taken a big turn towards electric flight. Because the cost electric has come down dramatically over the past few years and with the newest technology of brushless electric motors and lipo batteries. Electric flight is the easiest most affordable way to fly R/C today.

With electric flight, your power is instant, motor failure is less, and having power on demand is always there. For any new pilot this is critical. Most newcomers to R/C flying find the wealth of knowledge on the interent real intimidating when it comes to electric flight. The question of what to get or use, and how to make it work always fears the new pilots getting into electric planes. We plan to make it all simple to understand and also give you simple motor, ESC and lipo battery combos that will fly most any 30" to 50" inch foam planes. This way when you choose your plane your going to build, you will have the proper power plant to fly it with success.

LET'S BUILD A FOAM PARKFLYER!!!



PLANE SELECTION AND CHOICES

Because there is millions of plane designs to choose from, selecting a plane to fit your style can be tricky. When choosing a foam plane to build we suggest you research any plane you choose. You want to make sure its a good flier to start and most of all it's something you can fly. Most new pilots will always go for the HOTTEST plane out there not realizing it takes a skilled pilot maybe to fly it. So don't always go for looks, and most important don't go for speedy planes either like parkjets or pusher prop planes, like wing type planes if this is your style. Faster planes are usually harder to fly and more responsive then say a trainer type slower flying plane. Save your faster planes for later when you have more flying time under your belt. As a new pilot you want a trainer style aircraft or a top wing type aircraft as it flies much slower then say jets and this will allow you time to react to flying movements better as a new pilot.

SEARCHING FOR A PLANE TO BUILD

The internet is full of free plane plans. There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of free plans to choose from it's just a matter of what your style is and what you can fly and build. I find that most electric aircraft forums carry the best plans. I say this because in most cases where the plans are located is usually a detailed post on how to build it too. This makes it simple for the new pilots and is a great source for making your first foam plane. Below are the forums we suggest, just use the search button of the website you visit to search plane plans. Most forums have sections dedicated to foam plane design and building, so it makes it even easier to find a plane plan that fits you. Just remember investigate the plan fully before building, sometimes a thought comes from a designer but doesn't fly, or is not easy to construct. This doesn't happen often but as a precaution, do research before you build any plane.










After you have chosen your plane to build the next step is choosing the material that you will build it out of. As foam planes have progressed in design, some plane designers and builder have experimented with different foams. This has lead to certain foams being used in certain types of planes, and also each foam used in foam plane construction has a specific way it must be used or supported structurally or it will fail in flight. Most of your builders today use a foam call Depron or EPP foam. Because the cost of these foam can be high or hard to find in certain areas, the use of other foams like Blucor FanFold and Pink Polyethylene foam. This foams are usually available at your local hardware and building stores such as Lowes and Home Depot. Below we have listed the most commonly used foams in plane construction. Choose the foam that best suits your needs.

DEPRON

Depron is a millimeter thin insulation sheet manufactured of fully recycled material, free from freon and halogen. The sheet is produced of foamed polystyrene, a material that does not age. The cell structure in the sheet is built up of fine, closed cells that give it its excellent physical and mechanical characteristics. Depron comes in two colors white and gray from thickness of 1mm to 12mm. The most common size used for plane construction is 6mm and 9mm depron.

EPP

EPP foam generally comes in 2 different sheet sizes (36"x12" & 36"x24") and 2 different densities (1.3lb & 1.9lb) . Density is expressed in pounds per square foot and is representative of how much a 1 foot x 1 foot x 1 foot cube of epp would weigh. 1.3lb is most commonly used because it is light and usually durable enough. 1.9lb is heavier and more rigid so thinner sheets can be used to achieve the same structural stability. EPP is a great material for building wing cores, ribbed wings, full fuse models and many other types of RC aircraft. It does not have many of the harmful chemicals that other foams contain and is completely recyclable. EPP is also a very elastic foam, meaning it takes the most punishment of all foam used in RC foam planes. EPP will bend and flex more without snapping like some other close cell foams. This foam is usually used on slofly planes and indoor aircraft.


PINK FOAM BOARD

Foam board is a high density insulation board with a relatively high R-value. Foam board is sold in pink or blue colors to differentiate it from white styrofoam board. (The trade name of Pink Foam Board is Foamular Rigid Foam Insulation. Pink Foam Board is usually sold at Home Depot. Pink foam board is used mostly on larger scale foam planes as the thickness of the board is to small for parkflyer size plane. At Lipo Pilot we use pink foam alot as a wing material because it is easy to shape and gives better performance then the thinner depron wings.


BLUCOR FANFOLD

BlueCor is also a brand name. It is manufactured by DOW and Georgia Pacific, and is primarily used as insulation under vinyl or aluminum siding. Fan-Fold, is a generic term. The Dow product (which is Blue), one made by Owens Corning (Which is Pink), and Amocor (Green), and a few others fall under this category. The foam is sold in 3/16" (or 3/8") thick sheets that are 4 feet tall, and 50 feet long. Generally about 20 planes can be made from one pack of fan fold depending on waste. Fan-fold is used more often then all other foams because of cost and you can get it just about anywhere there is a hardware store.

FOAM POSTERBOARD

Foam posterboard made by manufacturers such as Elmers is a good airframe material. Some choose to remove the posterboard paper from the foam making it more flexible. Elmers foam posterboard is available at Walmart and other craft outlet stores nation wide. Foam posterboard is the lowest cost material in the foam plane building of all other foams used.



CYANOACRYLATE CA

Cyanoacrylate or CA glue has changed the way models are built more than any other advance in modeling technology. In the good ol' days, model cement like Ambroid, Duco, Comet, and Sigment were the glues of choice. They all had a strong, unpleasant odor, dried slowly (compared to CA) and became brittle with age. CA, on the other hand, is stronger, works almost instantly, and is bottled in three different viscosities (thicknesses). CA is used for most glue joints, except where epoxy is specified. CA does emit rather strong fumes (some say it's like tear gas) as it cures, so rule number one is to work in a well ventilated area. When using a CA for foam you want to make sure the CA specifies use on foam or " Foam SAFE". Non- foam safe Ca's will only eat the foam and melt it.

EPOXIES

Epoxy glues are among the strongest glues used in model building. They will bond a large variety of materials together. They are also very good for laminating wood sheets because they will not cause the wood to curl. With epoxies, the longer the cure time, the stronger the joint. This is because longer cure times allow the glue to get good penetration into the pieces being joined. It also allows the molecules in the glue to align better, which gives the joint its strength.



COMING SOON!!!


COMING SOON!!!!


COMING SOON!!!


RC airplanes are made up of many different parts. Even if you buy an airplane that’s already assembled, you’re going to need to learn every part if you make more than one flight–because you’re going to break something, and then you’re going to have to fix it.