RC Plane Lab is a podcast, a growing collection of practical RC airplane guides, build logs, troubleshooting help, and a community of modelers who enjoy talking about what works—and what did not work quite as planned.
If you are not sure where to begin, choose the description that sounds most like you. You do not have to work through the website in a particular order.
What brought you to RC Plane Lab?
I’m completely new to RC airplanes
Start with the basics: choosing a forgiving first airplane, finding a safe place to fly, understanding the equipment, and planning those first flights.
I have an airplane that needs to be set up
Work through the model in a sensible order: airframe and linkages, control direction, throws, receiver, stabilization, power system, center of gravity, and final preflight.
Something isn’t working
Start with the symptom you can see—a beeping ESC, receiver that will not bind, servo trouble, overheating, an engine that quits, or an airplane that handles badly.
I need help with a power system
Compare electric, glow/nitro, gasoline, and turbine power, then move into the detailed guides for the system in your airplane.
I’m building or repairing an airplane
Find help with materials, adhesives, foam and balsa repairs, plans, structural inspection, mechanical setup, and projects that can teach you how other airplanes go together.
I want to browse all the guides
The Learning Library organizes RC Plane Lab’s educational pages by subject, including beginner topics, radio systems, setup, power, flight, safety, building, and troubleshooting.
Listen to the RC Plane Lab podcast
Tom, Dave, and I talk about our airplanes, builds, crashes, events, equipment, and whatever else has been happening in the hobby. The archive includes more than 200 episodes, with new episodes added regularly.
See what we have been building
The build logs follow real RC airplane projects rather than pretending every build goes exactly according to plan. You will find kit builds, rebuilds, repairs, modifications, and the decisions made along the way.
Explore RC airplane build logs and projects →
Learn at the level that fits you
Beginners Lounge
A free step-by-step course for someone starting from the beginning.
Learning Library
Individual guides when you want an answer or want to explore a subject more deeply.
RC Airplane Glossary
Plain-language definitions when an unfamiliar abbreviation or hobby term gets in the way.
Join the RC Plane Lab community
The podcast is more fun when the conversation continues after the episode. You can join Discord, follow the video side of RC Plane Lab on YouTube, support the show, or tell us about a project, question, or possible guest.
- See all community options
- Join the RC Plane Lab Discord
- Visit RC Plane Lab on YouTube
- Be a guest or suggest a topic
Shop and support RC Plane Lab
RC Plane Lab also has airplane kits, apparel, merchandise, and ways to support the podcast. We keep those separate from the educational paths so you can use the guides without feeling like every answer is trying to sell you something.
Visit the RC Plane Lab shop page →
Stay connected
If you would rather have occasional RC Plane Lab updates come to you, join the email list. You can also use the contact page when you need to reach us directly.