Cessna 182 Balsa Build

[Timmy P]

Hey, I'm new to the hobby and I've never built a kit in my life. This looks likes a pretty simple kit good for fresh-out-of-the-box beginners. How much does it cost to get it?

If your set on having a Cessna like this, and new to the hobby I could recommend a foamboard version of this plane. Its thee most durable plane I've ever crashed lol.. I just published an article with plans. . Cessna 180 swappable.

 

[Turbojoe]

Agreed 1000% with Joker. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone that will disagree that the Mountain Models SwitchBack Sport is THE best parkflyer kit ever produced for ease of build and all around flight performance. I've got 9 of the things and am always looking for reasons to build even more. As far as flight skills I've progressed way beyond the basics but there's just something about bringing out a SwitchBack Sport for fun, relaxing flight. You can still slam the throttle and tear up the sky if you wish though. Order one. Order it NOW. You won't regret the purchase.

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

Or if you want more performance out of an easy kit, the Lucky ACE from Mountain Models is actually the first balsa kit I ever built. In some ways I found it a little easier than the Switchback, but both were FAR easier to build than the Hobby King kits. I have a build thread on this forum for the Mountain Models Dandy I built for my dad a year ago - it's essentially a high-wing version of the Switchback. Take a look at it for an idea of how easy the kits are to build.

On the other side of the coin, I learned tons about building and bashing kits by building the Hobby King kits, as they force you to improvise, adapt, and improve - it's sink or swim with those kits.

The temptation is strong to get another Switchback kit and do a very detailed build-thread on it for this forum. As Joe said, it's a fantastic parkflyer. Mine has 96 flights on it for 13 hours of flight time, and will be taken with me again to Flite Fest this year. The only plane I've flown more times is the MM Lucky ACE, which is also going back to Flite Fest with me. If I had the disposable income or the need for another Switchback the order would be placed today! Maybe my dad needs me to build one for him....!

 

[Turbojoe]

If you're skills are a bit beyond parkflyer then by all means the Lucky Ace is an absolutely amazing point and shoot aircraft. Pack at least 200+ watts in the nose with something like my favorite Scorpion 2215-18 motor and have more fun than should be legal. I lost mine a few years back due to a traffic incident on the way to the field that caused damage I didn't see before flight. 100% write off when the tail section departed and the airframe hit the ground. No fault of the design at all.

I still have the 150% version that Brian sent me a long time ago. I've had it built, covered and ready to fly forever but I just have never gotten out to maiden it. I know.... shame on me......

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

With my DLG done now and waiting for a maiden I decided to try and finish up my Cessna. First task is modifying the motor mount by reducing its length by 1.5 CM. this should put my motor at the proper location.




While the epoxy dries I applied a vinyl decal I made, just to give it a little character. I tried duplicating the Cessna font and character spacing. The ailerons servos were also installed and tested, although I think I'll have to modify my setup for more travel.

 

[Joker 53150]

Wing struts really make a big difference in the looks of this plane, so they're being made for my build. They'll also give the wing a little strength if needed. Maybe. To make them I started with a couple sticks of hard balsa. The ends were shaped and split so I could insert plastic tabs in the ends. These ends will be attached to the wing and fuselage. The balsa and plastic should be sufficiently weak to break in a crash, but strong enough in flight to keep the wing from folding. Kind of the same idea as the Hobby Zone Super Cub wing struts.

 

[paultbg]

Due to a combination of bad weather and lack of free time I have postponed the second maiden of this plane until last week. As a reminder, on the first try the weak undercarriage (front leg) just bent when trying to take off. I have reinforced the front leg with some extra 2.5 mm wire just to keep it straight. Finally, we had take off.
First, of all disregard the COG from instruction, my plane was flying balanced with the COG at 1/3 of the leading edge, and from the top of my head that is like 5 cm.
Second, this is not a beginner plane, because of the narrow(ish) wing it needs some good speed to fly.
Third, it's touchy, it needed a lot of dr (60) and 30% expo in order to fly decent.
Fort, even the metal main carriage is weak and bent easily on a hurried landing.
In summary, if you like building chinglish kits, than it' good. As a plane however, well... there are other a lot better there.

 

[artw]

I am having a ton of fun flying mine. It does a really nice stall turn. good vertical too. someone could use a smaller motor and get a more scale-ish/lighter plane I would think.

 

[rc-plane]

my first rc plane

thanks for this thread, looks gr8
I remember as a kid living in South Africa my first plane was a balsa kit cessna 182 from china, I had no clue how to build it , and then one days a chinese man came into my father's store, and i just happened to have my build plans with me, quickly I asked him to explain some of the instructions for me, after reading for about 15-20 minuets, he told me "It says, you need to put this together with glue" and with that he left.

Maybe I will build this as a foamy.

 

[Turbojoe]

Hey guys. The offer I made back in post #196 to give my kit away to anyone that crashes theirs has to come off the table now. I have a friend that wants to get into R/C and wants a challenge. What better challenge than this little beastie? I gave it to him this morning and he's stoked. We'll see how he feels after he gets started on it......

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

Wow, STARTING off with this kit? Hopefully this doesn't scare him off too badly!

 

[Turbojoe]

Wow, STARTING off with this kit? Hopefully this doesn't scare him off too badly!

Nah, he's pretty resourceful. If he can do a decent build I'll set him up with most of the rest of the gear he needs and teach him to fly. Probably with a SwitchBack or Tyro 150 though. I want him to have a chance at learning to fly with a GOOD plane.

Joe

 

[Joker 53150]

Good choice. I got a LOT of education flying the Switchback.

 

[Turbojoe]

Good choice. I got a LOT of education flying the Switchback.

For the longest time I've thought about doing an extreme lightweight SwitchBack and just never got around to it. I've got nine of 'em laying around here. Maybe I should grab one and see just how much weight I can peel off it. Pull the gear off, 450mah 2S LiPo and a small light 50-75 watt motor. It could be interesting....

Joe

 

[Ken-The-Woodman]

If you work with wood you can never have to many clamps

 

[artw]

I've given mine a few good crashes (all for the same reason, pulling it off too quickly and stalling/spinning in)
The weak point is where the wing front "receptacle block" or whatever you want connects to the fuselage. since it is just glued to the balsa fuselage side pieces it just pulls out there, breaks the nylon screws at the back, and flies off.
I guess this is a good thing since in 2 good crashes there has been no damage to the wing.
the vertical stablizer is also a weak point where it connects to the fuselage but that is probably because when I did the balsa tail rebuild I had the grain going the wrong direction.

it would be nice if this plane had the wing loading like an eflite apprentice. I have to put larger wheels on it to take off properly in our grass but it will be very *heavy*.

 

[paultbg]

Donating the Cessna

Due to a combination of bad weather and lack of free time I have postponed the second maiden of this plane until last week. As a reminder, on the first try the weak undercarriage (front leg) just bent when trying to take off. I have reinforced the front leg with some extra 2.5 mm wire just to keep it straight. Finally, we had take off.
First, of all disregard the COG from instruction, my plane was flying balanced with the COG at 1/3 of the leading edge, and from the top of my head that is like 5 cm.
Second, this is not a beginner plane, because of the narrow(ish) wing it needs some good speed to fly.
Third, it's touchy, it needed a lot of dr (60) and 30% expo in order to fly decent.
Fort, even the metal main carriage is weak and bent easily on a hurried landing.
In summary, if you like building chinglish kits, than it' good. As a plane however, well... there are other a lot better there.

Since I have too many planes and I will (most likely) never fly this one again I am willing to donate it.
Anyone around Birmingham, UK can come and collect. It will be frame only but already built and covered (all red)
Add your own servos, esc, motor and battery and away you go.
I need the space and I don't want to throw away so many hours of work.

 

[Joker 53150]

I thought that "too many planes" was a fantasy, like unicorns and mermaids.

On a related note, I think Hobby King has discontinued this kit, or at least saw mention of that on their site somewhere.

 

[BWfirefighter]

Has anyone a good setup for this plane ? I'm just install a motor and esc but don't know wich. i would it fly with a battery 3S 2200mAh 20C

 

[Joker 53150]

7 years later, time for an update! The Cessna has been sitting in my hangar for years, collecting dust. I think all it really needed was a windshield made/installed and new wheels installed that actually roll (the original ones are garbage - shocking...). After all that time, the covering remained perfectly taught without wrinkles, just crying to be finished and flown.

So what to do? I gave it away. Heck, I haven't flown since 2020 and have been sitting on so many different kits and projects, it was finally time to clear out some space. Recently I met a guy with kids and their friends who are very interested in RC, so they've been the recipient of 8-10 planes and various accessories so far. A Tower Trainer 60, a Tower Trainer 40, this Cessna, a Bixler II, a Kadet Senior, and a few others will hopefully see some flight time with these guys as they learn to fly.