Radio Controlled F-15 Eagle 1:17 Scale

Radio Control planes can be daunting to make and build, however this F-15 eagle made of dollar tree foam board is fast and nimble while not hurting your wallet. It has plentiful thrust for maneuvers but is also relatively forgiving in stalls. WARNING: THIS IS AN INTERMEDIATE RC PLANE. The plans are free to download from Parkjets.com, By Steve Shumate, and the build is relatively simple.

To build the RC F-15, you will need a few simple tools you probably have lying around and a few electronics that are relatively cheap on Amazon, Temu, Aliexpress .Etc. the plans are available here.

Tools:

Hot glue gun + sticks

Hobby Knife

Ruler

Pen

Plans

Sandpaper 100, 250, 400 grit

Drill

Screwdriver

hot wire cutter (optional)

Materials:

4-5+ sheets Dollar Tree foamboard (Adams Readi Board)

1/8 inch thickness balsa wood

5 min Epoxy (or similar glue with high bonding capabilities)

Packing tape

5mm Bamboo or carbon fiber rod 3 Ft.

Electronics:

2300 Kv brushless motor + mountig hardware

3 9g Servos

Compatible Servo pushrods, clevises, control horns

Rc plane transmitter and reciever

3s 1300-2200 LiPo Battery Xt60

30A ESC Brushless Xt60

Esc extensions at least 2 Ft. Xt60

6x4.5 ABS prop

First, print the plans at 100%size and transfer them to foam and cut all the pieces out. glue the aft fuselage bottom to the forward fuselage bottom and the aft fuselage sides to the aft fuselage bottom. Glue the bulkheads in there places on the forward fuselage bottom, also glue to the 2 sides of the forward fuselage sides. connect the 2 forward fuselage sides to the forward fuselage bottom cut out the canopy pieces and glue all 11 together shaping with sandpaper, glue the nose NOT THE CANOPY in the correct location. Do the same with the nose cone pieces then shape into cone with knife, hot wire cutter, and sandpaper. Glue the top forward fuselage to the front of the fuselage in dedicated area construct the turtle deck in a similar matter cut out the squares in the rear of the aft fuselage sides and fill with balsa wood squares of the same size with holes fitting the balsa dowels drilled in them. Glue the forward inlet tops at the front of the intakes and cut the full aileron out of the wing.

To make the ailerons hinge cut at a 45 degree angle at the hinge point, and cover the top with packing tape. Use the dowel to strengthen the wing in the location recommended. Fit the aileron servos into the cutouts on the aft fuselage sides. Make sure to attach the motor mount foam piece, then glue the wing down flush with the bases of the vertical stabilizers. Attach control horns to bottom of ailerons and plug into receiver in channel 1 and 4. Then plug ESC into channel 3 and the battery into the ESC. Make sure servos are centered and use control rods to link with control horns. Next make a mixture of channel 1 and channel 4 so that the moving the aileron stick to the left makes the left aileron go up when facing the plane from the back and vice versa. use about 25% expo and 75% throws (or based on preference)

To construct the elevator slide a drilled out double sided servo arm to the dowel. cut the proper length of dowel and slide through the wood squares in the rear of the aft fuselage sides so that the servo arm is inside the fuselage. glue the stabilizers perfectly level and even on the rod. Next attach the elevator servo in its spot on the motor mount plug the servo into channel 2 on the reciever attach a servo arm to the servo then control rod and into the double sided servo arm then test at 60-75% throws and 25-40% expos (or based on preference)

Cut a 1.25 by 1.25 square of balsa and use 5 minute epoxy to attach the square to the rear of the motor mount as well as another supporting piece of wood slid into the slot on the mount as seen in the picture and shown in the plans. Attach the propeller to the motor and the motor to the ESC throttle the motor up being careful of the spinning prop. If it is pushing the plane it is how it should be otherwise switch 2 of the connections around to reverse the polarity.

make sure your wiring looks like the pictures or similar with the extensions connected to the ESC then cover the fuselage with the additional panels the turtle deck and optional aft engine fairings. Test all the electronics and add a magnet to the bottom of the canopy and the top of the battery access location between bulkheads 2 and 3.

For the first flight, choose a calm day and an open schoolyard or designated flying area (does weigh more than 250 g) To take off, throw plane at about 5 degrees up angle, advance to full throttle and only use small stick movements until you're comfortable with the controls, adjust the trim, and feel out the control throws until it's comfortable. Flight time: 5-6 minutes. Happy flying!