Build A Foamie Blog

Ready to build your very own RC Airplane? This is the place to start. This guide will help you with common questions you may have with your first foamie.

The first question beginners always ask is, “If I am starting with nothing, how much will it cost to build my first RC foamie airplane?”

The Answer to that question really depends on what aircraft you want to build, what parts and equipment you buy, and where you buy those parts and equipment. The short answer is you can build most of our planes for less than $100. That is including a radio transmitter and receiver. If you reuse parts with every plane you build, your next one will be much cheaper.

1. Radio Control and Receiver - This is probably the most expensive requirement for the RC Flight hobby. However, this can be a one-time purchase. Your radio receiver can be moved from plane to plane. There are two different radio system technologies to chose from:

Old School – Traditional narrow-band

Traditional narrow band control systems are still available and can make great systems. We recommend finding one with digital trims and the ability to reverse servos. I personally use the Hitec Flash 4 system pictured below. I found this system on ebay for around $30.00.

New School – 2.4 GHz

Probably the biggest benefit of  a 2.4 GHz radio system is that you will never have to worry about radio interference. 2.4 GHz systems automatically  scan the radio band for free and used frequencies before ever broadcasting a signal. Once they have located a free frequency, they can start broadcasting on it.

More benefits of 2.4 GHz systems can be read here.

A great 2.4 GHz system (transmitter and receiver) that we’ve used and recommend can be purchased for $32.95 at HobbyKing.

2. Power Systems

Motor: We try to use the same electric brush-less motor for most of our airplane plans. This makes it easy to reuse motors for new planes that you build, thus saving on cost. We recommend the hxt 2730, available at Hobby King for $8.59.

Propeller: Various propellers are needed for different airplanes. In each plan we specify which prop we used. Props can be purchased at Hobby King, or at your local hobby shop.

Speed Controller: This component is what allows you to control the throttle of your motor. Without a speed controller your motor would either be at full throttle or off. This is the one we use and recommend: 10a Electric Speed Controller $6.50.

Battery: For the parts we listed above, this makes a good battery: Rhino 750mAh 3S 11.1v 20C Lipoly Pack $8.99

Servos: Most of our plans use this 5 gram servo: Turnigy Servo 5.5g/0.9kg/.10sec

3. Construction Materials

Foam: For most of our projects we like to use the Pink Owens Corning foam insulation from Home Depot. It comes in big 8′ X 10′ sheets. We use a hot wire cutter to cut it down to the thickness we need. There are lots of alternative foams. RC Foam is one resource.

Glue: We use a mini low temp hot glue gun. This works great for most all of the construction of a foamie.

Miscellaneous: When finding materials for your foamie, be creative. We use sprinkler flag wire for push rods, Popsicle sticks, old telephone wire, and other items found around the house. Our Plans are just a guide, feel free to modify and improve them and above all else, have fun!