Before the rockets

Earlier Builds

Model aircraft from before the rocketry work, from kits to my own designs.

Where it started

First RC plane

The first one, a Sport Cub S for my birthday.

Holding my first RC plane, a blue and white high-wing model, in a park — My first RC plane.

Flying the Sport Cub S at a park, the plane a speck in the sky above — Flying the Sport Cub S at the park.

Kits

Flite Test builds

Foamboard kits built from Flite Test plans: the FT Simple Scout, the FT Corsair and the FT DR1. The Scout later flew FPV.

Building the FT Simple Scout at the dinner table — Building the FT Simple Scout on the dinner table.

FT Simple Scout parts spread across the dinner table mid-build — Mid-build, parts across the table.

The finished FT Simple Scout, with red markings — The finished FT Simple Scout.

Building the FT Corsair at a garage workbench — Building the FT Corsair.

Standing on a dirt field with a transmitter, the FT DR1 triplane on the ground — The FT DR1, a Fokker Dr.I triplane.

FPV view from the Simple Scout over a neighbourhood, its red wing in frame — FPV from the Simple Scout.

Designed freehand

Mother Hen

A high-wing, single-motor RC plane, designed freehand and built by hand, later modified to drop fishing bait past the surf break.

Mother Hen just after it was built, held up indoors — Mother Hen, just built.

Mother Hen held up on a field, seen from above — From above.

Mother Hen held up on a field, seen from below with blue roundels — From below.

Mother Hen on a workbench with the bait-drop release mechanism mounted on top of the wing — The bait-drop modification.

Two teenagers on a beach at night holding up Mother Hen — Dropping bait past the break.

Mother Hen sitting on grass, seen close up from behind the propeller — On the ground.

Designed in Adobe Illustrator

Space Shuttle

An original design, drawn up in Adobe Illustrator and built from my own plans. The build right before the FW-189.

Building the space shuttle plane with a friend in the garage — Building my original space shuttle plans with Matthew.

The finished space shuttle plane on a field — The finished Space Shuttle.

Two boys in a garage holding a hand-built twin-boom, twin-propeller model plane

Designed in Adobe Illustrator

FW-189 Scratch Build

A twin-boom, twin-motor foamboard RC plane modelled on the Focke-Wulf Fw 189.

Designed and built a fully functional foamboard RC aircraft from scratch using custom Illustrator-based plans derived from aircraft schematics.
Drew schematics in two straight days of work, and assembled it with a friend afterward.
Integrated propulsion, control electronics, and balance tuning to achieve stable flight, later modified for FPV operation.
Early hands-on experience in aircraft design, structural tradeoffs, and flight testing.

Adobe Illustrator cut plans for the FW-189: every foamboard part laid out flat, with side and top views of the aircraft — The Illustrator plans: every part laid out flat for cutting from foamboard, with side and top views of the aircraft at top right.

Two boys assembling the FW-189's twin booms in the garage — Putting the FW-189 together.

Holding the FW-189 up on a field with a transmitter in the other hand — Holding the FW-189.

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