3d Printed RC Model Aircraft

I’ve been wanting to try a Radio Controlled 3d printed model aircraft for a while and when we had a spell of bad weather and I couldn’t fly I decided to try building one. I use many 3d printed parts on my foam models but until now I had never printed a complete model.

There are a few free models available and after some research, I choose the Eclipson Model A. The free version doesn’t include landing gear which is fine because the small wheels at my flying club’s grass field wouldn’t work well anyway. As you can see I’ve printed a few now and all fly great.

Flying skills required

3d printed model aircraft aren’t as durable as foam or balsa models so I wouldn’t advise one until you are confident with your flying. If you search on YouTube you will see many 3d printed models that have crashed and it’s usually a complete write-off.

But once you can fly with confidence then it opens up many possibilities for some great-looking models.

Eclipson Model A Pre-Sliced G-Code

I used the pre-sliced g-code on my Creality CR-10 V2 which printed without any issues. This should work on most Cartesian-style 3d printers. As my 3d printer has a bigger bed than most popular printers it printed slightly offset from the centre. The filament chosen was FilaPrint White PLA, only because it’s what I had.

As you can see, it was all printed without any issues, and I was very impressed. The assembly was very straightforward with medium CA and activator. I chose not to have the rudder moving to save weight with one less servo. I wasn’t intending to try any aerobatics, and with it being hand-launched, it wouldn’t be needed. I fixed it with tape, so if I decide to use it later, I can.

The motor is a 1400kv brushless with a 30 Amp speed controller with an 8×4 folding prop. I used a 1500 mAH 3s Lipo battery and adjusted its position to get the centre of gravity correct.

Maiden Flight

The weather forecast was for 7-8 mph winds which I thought would be fine, but down at the flying field, it was much more than that. I debated if I would risk it but it did calm a little and I decided to try it. As you can see from the video below it flew very well. The landing was OK as well which as I mentioned in the video was my main concern.

So what’s next?

After the success of Model A, which one would I try next? Several companies now offer 3d printed model files, which you can download for a small cost. As you may have seen on this website, I do like aircraft from World War 2. I have several, including an Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane and DeHavilland Mosquito. My first warbird many years ago was P-51D Mustang, and I was very pleased with it. It didn’t last long. I was a very inexperienced flyer back then and crashed it beyond repair.

I have purchased the 3D Lab Print P51 Mustang, which was reduced for the Black Friday sale to $16. It flew on the 7th Feb 2024 very well. Check the post https://rckeith.co.uk/p51d-mustang/ for more details.

Happy 3d printing