Hello :)

Bastich

New member
Hello :)
I am from the UK were the weather is absoluitly terrible ATM :( Ive been flying quads for around 12 months. Mainly micro indoor ones although I do have 2" & 3" out door ones. Been a big fan of all the videos and especially like the build videos. Looking to build a plane or wing later this year.
 

kdobson83

Well-known member
Hello :)
I am from the UK were the weather is absoluitly terrible ATM :( Ive been flying quads for around 12 months. Mainly micro indoor ones although I do have 2" & 3" out door ones. Been a big fan of all the videos and especially like the build videos. Looking to build a plane or wing later this year.
Welcome. Dont know much about the weather across the pond but it's not horrible here in the central Ohio valley, specifically Louisville KY. It's about 50/50 calm weather and rain/wind.
Why wait till later this year? Dive right in!! Start simple like the Tiny Trainer and then move up to a Spitfire or Arrow. There's something special about doing high speed passes with the Arrow.
 

Bastich

New member
I was just looking at some of the awesome plans that are available :) @kdobson83 your Tiny Trainer recommendation is a great place to start. I just need to find a good source for foam board as finding bigger than A3 pieces at a good price is difficult here. I may try making a scaled down version of some of the other plans also :)
 

CarolineTyler

Legendary member
Hello :)
I am from the UK were the weather is absoluitly terrible ATM :( Ive been flying quads for around 12 months. Mainly micro indoor ones although I do have 2" & 3" out door ones. Been a big fan of all the videos and especially like the build videos. Looking to build a plane or wing later this year.
Waves hi from Yorkshire.
Yes, the weather has been all over the place and the forecasts seem to be next to useless! The Tiny trainer is an excellent newbie plane, simple to build and yet pretty capable.
I enjoy flying quads, planes, wings,even have a tiny helicopter..... basically if it can fly, I want to try it!
Everyone is super helpful and supportive on this forum, ask and you will receive.... at least five different views on how to achieve something! :)
Caroline
 

FDS

Elite member
Hi from the UK. It’s due to blow over soon.
Tiny Trainer is an excellent first FT build, the speedbuild kit is not easy to find in the UK right now but the FT foamboard is sold in a few model shops and plans are free. I would look for a kit for your first plane build, it’s quicker and easier. Sussex Model Centre, Model Shop Leeds, Gliders UK, Steve Webb Models and a few other online stores have FT stuff. You can get alternatives to the FT power packs as well, both from Hobbyking and Model Shop Leeds, for much less £ than the Graupner ones.
Don’t buy heavy UK foamboard if you are building FT designs without modifications, it’s much heavier and alters the centre of gravity as well as the flight characteristics.
Planes are a little different from quads but much of the muscle memory you have from those will be useful. Just remember the throttle doesn’t make the plane go straight up!
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Welcome to the forums. Our weather reports have not been of much use either, they said there was a 75% chance of it getting dark tonight.
 

basslord1124

Master member
I agree...start building it now. :) Best of luck with finding foamboard. There are others from across the pond as you've seen here so maybe they can help you locate foam. If you end up with different foam with a different weight than stock let us know and we can help you find appropriate electronics to accommodate the extra weight.
 

Hondo76251

Legendary member
Can you Brits order the speed build kits from FliteTest or is shipping outrageous?

Weather could be worse, its been snowing here for 3 days! Really putting a damper on my flying! :mad:
 

CarolineTyler

Legendary member
Can you Brits order the speed build kits from FliteTest or is shipping outrageous?

Weather could be worse, its been snowing here for 3 days! Really putting a damper on my flying! :mad:
Some places here stock the Speedbuild kits but the choice is limited. Shipping from the states is very expensive.

Bronco speedbuild kite is £46.99 from the Leeds Model Shop $39 from the flite test store + cheapest/slowest delivery of $21 =$60 or £46.... so about a pound cheaper than getting it locally.
 
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Bastich

New member
After looking around for some foamboard I have found that HobbyKing sell some very similar foamboard in 3 and 10mm thicknesses. You can a 20 pack of 3mm * 500mm * 700mm for around £16 delivered which seems good.

Thinking of making the Sparrow as me and my son just watched the build video and he liked the look of it. Not sure how the 3mm non water proof foam will go however.
 

Hondo76251

Legendary member
After looking around for some foamboard I have found that HobbyKing sell some very similar foamboard in 3 and 10mm thicknesses. You can a 20 pack of 3mm * 500mm * 700mm for around £16 delivered which seems good.

Thinking of making the Sparrow as me and my son just watched the build video and he liked the look of it. Not sure how the 3mm non water proof foam will go however.
I might have to try the 3 mm stuff...

I use non water proof dollar store stuff all the time, a little packing tape and its quite durable!

Here's my crashes for a good example! Lol

 

CarolineTyler

Legendary member
After looking around for some foamboard I have found that HobbyKing sell some very similar foamboard in 3 and 10mm thicknesses. You can a 20 pack of 3mm * 500mm * 700mm for around £16 delivered which seems good.

Thinking of making the Sparrow as me and my son just watched the build video and he liked the look of it. Not sure how the 3mm non water proof foam will go however.
The Hobbyking foam board does not have the paper laminated on it, it's actually more like Depron. To use it for flitetest plans you will need to add a laminate to the outside of the bend or it will just snap. Also for 3mm width you will need to cut your channels 2mm thinner.
 
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FDS

Elite member
This^
You need the paper to make A and B folds and the FT wings rely on it. You can make totally foam planes, there’s tons of designs for them online. FT stuff is good because the build videos are detailed. The skills you learn on foamboard will translate to other materials but using a pre cut kit or following a known good design with the correct materials will result in something that flies better.
Do yourself a favour and follow an easy path for the first build. I have been making card and foamboard models and other kits etc for 25+ years, I did a speedbuild kit for my first FT build and was glad I did. It’s still flying great 6 months later.
 

Bastich

New member
Thanks for the information. I had not noticed that it was not laminated which would have been a real problem. Back to the search :)
 

Bastich

New member
Score!!! Well hopefully anyway. One of my friends owns and runs a cross stitch company (also used to do picture framing). He says one of his suppliers sells it. They use it for mount cards and trade show displays. Just waiting on some information from him now but it should be way cheaper than retail :)
 

CarolineTyler

Legendary member
Check the weight, if it's by Westboard ( most in the UK seems to be) then it's a lot heavier than the Flitetest dollertree type. Leeds model shop sell both the kits and the sheets at a reasonable cost.
Westboard is fine for building with buts it's weight means the planes turn out heavier and often tail-heavy.
The mini planes come out too heavy unless you take measures like removing the internal paper covering.