The Balsa Workbench

Back in ancient times, if you wanted to fly a model airplane you had to build it yourself. In those days hobbyists would trade advice and building tips at the flying field. Now that most folks simply buy airplanes prebuilt, it can be difficult to find people who know how to build. I hope this site can help neophytes get started on the right track and avoid a lot of the frustration that plagues new builders.

I started building balsa airplanes in 1986.  When I was learning to fly I would build a plane, repair minor crash damage, then sell it and build another to avoid the total financial loss of a major wreck.  For a couple of years I even built airplanes as my main source of income, until inexpensive ARFs put an end to that.

I still build a lot of airplanes. I fly them for a while and then hang them up for sale at the hobby store to make room for the next batch. Over the years I’ve picked up a lot of simple tricks that make it easier to build a straight, strong, light airplane and do it fairly quickly.

I’m not into fancy scale details, so I don’t have much to say about making scale panel lines, tiny rivets and other such details. What I like best is plain old RC airplanes. What I plan to do with this website is turn the building projects that I’m already doing into a series of articles telling how to put planes together easily and accurately. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to talk about, just send me an email. I welcome comments and questions.