Decal Pack Ready!
We just punched up the all new Decal Pack. This one is ready to download away. Featuring 18 different decal schemes, you will find all kinds of great print ready decals to add to your favorite parkjet, all for $1. Like all our Plan Packs, this download is available to everyone, no membership required. Of course, if you have a membership, this one would be available for no charge.
We just punched up the all new Decal Pack. This one is ready to download away. Featuring 18 different decal schemes, you will find all kinds of great print ready decals to add to your favorite parkjet, all for $1. Like all our Plan Packs, this download is available to everyone, no membership required. Of course, if you have a membership, this one would be available for no charge.
While these are specifically designed for certain parkjet designs, we imagine you can make them work for a whole lot of different designs.
Introducing Plan Packs!
We are excited to announce the introduction of the all new Plan Packs! These single downloads give you THREE great plans for a $1, and there is no membership required. Just select your Plan Pack, add it to the cart and download away!
We are excited to announce the introduction of the all new Plan Packs! These single downloads give you THREE great plans for a $1, and there is no membership required. Just select your Plan Pack, add it to the cart and download away!
We accept Stripe for all our payments and now for these Plan Packs, we can also accept PayPal!
We will be adding new packs all the time, and if you have any suggestions, let us know!
Remember, you can always become a Parkjets Member and have all the access to all the plans for as little as $5!
6mmFlyRC is Gone
As many of you know by now, the decade old Parkjet kit producer 6mmFlyRC closed their doors last month and stopped shipping out kits due to the difficulty of obtaining locally sourced Depron and a general slow down in the kit business in everything not "drone" related.
As many of you know by now, the decade old Parkjet kit producer 6mmFlyRC closed their doors last month and stopped shipping out kits due to the difficulty of obtaining locally sourced Depron and a general slow down in the kit business in everything not "drone" related.
But 6mmFlyRC didn't just have kits, they many cool files and downloadable content like decals and instructions and even some canopies that will be lost forever.
Parkjets and 6mmFlyRC have been working together and Parkjets is working to keep that content and some of the smaller products alive.
In the coming weeks, Parkjets will be adding the awesome decals for download, great pictures and videos, and looking to see if we can add canopies and perhaps some other small items for the scratch builder.
Stay tuned for updates! And say goodbye to 6mmFlyRC, a good run and a good product!
BIG CHANGE - MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
As you all know, Parkjets was founded over 15 years ago as a resource for builders out there, a place where all the best parkjets plans were collected, organized, and made ready for you to download. All so you can get to building. Now, Parkjets is a membership site!
As you all know, Parkjets was founded over 15 years ago as a resource for builders out there, a place where all the best parkjets plans were collected, organized, and made ready for you to download. All so you can get to building. Now, Parkjets is a membership site!
Over the last year, we have been working hard to improve Parkjets. We have added plans and have made the site run all on donations from folks that opened up their wallets to keep the site going. For those that donated, THANK YOU!!
To keep Parkjets online and improving, we just relaunched Parkjets as a membership site. Your membership gets you unlimited access to all the free plans and an ever growing catalog of goodies. For $24.99 a year, that's $2 a month, your membership keeps Parkjets running and lets you download away. We also have a weekly subscription plan for $5 a week, for those of you not wanting to commit to a year.
We know this is a big change, but we are committed to keeping Parkjets online and providing builders like you the opportunity to find and download the best plans out there.
Why Did Parkjets Become A Membership Site?
In January 2017, we launched Parkjets as a membership site. Many of you are wondering why? Well, several factors have led us to change the business model of Parkjets, we hope you understand.
First, Google Ads, which used to support the site, have become untenable. Revenue from Google Ads has fallen over 95% over the last two years. There are many factors for this drop, including ad blockers, mobile platform use, and generally less money in the market for Google Ads. These ads used to cover our expenses, they don't anymore, not even close. For example, of all the ads we have on the site, we typically earn about $0.30 a day. We used to earn about $12 a day.
Second, Parkjets operating costs have increased over the last two years. Parkjets performs over 100,000 file downloads a year, plus hosting, plus newsletter costs, and personnel costs mean we can't continue to operate at a deficit.
While we wanted and tried to keep Parkjets totally free for as long as possible, the fact is that Parkjets was costing us several thousand more dollars a year than what we were bringing in revenue.
What we have done is allow for two tiers of membership, one annually, at $24.99 that gives you unlimited access to all the plans. Or if you just want to download a few plans, we offer a $5 week pass as well that still gives you access to all the plans, but for a limited time.
It was a tough decision for us, we agonized over it for months, but we either had to shut the site down, or try something new. We hope we can earn your membership, and we hope you understand.
The Parkjets Team
Bye Bye Depron?
You might have heard through the grapevine that Depron is going away in the very near future. Well, it looks like it will be getting a lot harder to get, at least in the U.S., as the domestic supplier is closing down its supply of flat 6mm depron....
You might have heard through the grapevine that Depron is going away in the very near future. Well, it looks like it will be getting a lot harder to get, at least in the U.S., as the domestic supplier is closing down its supply of flat 6mm depron.
Depron has been a great material and certainly sparked the parkjet revolution. The ease of use along with the smooth finish meant people could achieve crazy results that looked very scale while maintaining an easy building experience.
If you still want to get your hands on some depron, especially in the form of a kit, now is a great time to head over to our sponsor's website, www.6mmflyrc.com and pick up a parkjet kit. I know they will be making some adjustments soon to their product, but depron is on the shelves now, so get them while they last.
So what now? Well, there are other alternatives on the market and there will sure to be some other similar materials to fill the gap. We like to use all kinds of different foams and each one has its strengths and weaknesses.
Drop us a line at parkjets@gmail.com if you have some suggestions and some tips on handling the new foam that will surely come to the front of the builders worktable.
RC ULTIMATE PACKAGE
We just were able to get up a strong endorsement of RC Powers RC Ultimate Package E-Book series. You can read all about it up in the "Rookie Pilots" tab up top. If you are looking for a comprehensive manual on RC flying, especially focused on parkjets, this is the E-book to get
We just were able to get up a strong endorsement of RC Powers RC Ultimate Package E-Book series. You can read all about it up in the "Rookie Pilots" tab up top. If you are looking for a comprehensive manual on RC flying, especially focused on parkjets, this is the E-book to get.
There is no other product that is even close. So go and check it out. You won't be disappointed.
New Parkjets
It's taken a while to get all done, but Parkjets has put on a new coat of paint and now it's better than ever. We have a new logo, new site, new everything. Let's keep it brief, but here are the main highlights....
It's taken a while to get all done, but Parkjets has put on a new coat of paint and now it's better than ever. We have a new logo, new site, new everything. Let's keep it brief, but here are the main highlights....
First, the site is now geared toward actually working on your mobile device, whether that be a phone or tablet, Parkjets will now look great everywhere you tap into technology.
Second, all the media, pictures, videos, and information you need is all in one place, without the need to click through a bunch of stuff.
Third, now when you download a file, we send you an E-mail, again, so you can browse with your phone, download, and get the file to your desktop wherever you might be looking at plans.
Finally, less ads! We are moving away from ads that clutter up your experience, making everything look better.
Over the next few weeks we will be tweaking the site even more, to make it fit just right, but for now, welcome back to Parkjets, still the #1 site to download free RC plans in the world.
LAST MINUTE GIFTS
Guys, we know ourselves. Many of you haven't even put together a Christmas list for your loved ones so they are likely strolling the local malls and big box stores looking for something that might catch their eye. That's why we men end up with cartoon character ties, wool socks, and some tool that we likely will never use. And that's on a good Christmas. A bad year we are looking a tin of popcorn and underwear. Don't let this be a bad year.
So we are here to help you out. Just forward this E-mail to whoever to clue them in on a couple of ideas.
Guys, we know ourselves. Many of you haven't even put together a Christmas list for your loved ones so they are likely strolling the local malls and big box stores looking for something that might catch their eye. That's why we men end up with cartoon character ties, wool socks, and some tool that we likely will never use. And that's on a good Christmas. A bad year we are looking a tin of popcorn and underwear. Don't let this be a bad year.
So we are here to help you out. Just forward this E-mail to whoever to clue them in on a couple of ideas.
1. Get a kit from 6mmFlyRC.com. They have a lot of the best designs all laser cut for you, they come with goodies like clear canopies and hardware to get you a jump start on your build. Want a scale model, they got you covered with the F-22 Raptor by Steve Shumate (the number 1 design on Parkjets). Want a simple profile build, they have that too. Check them out. But hurry, so they can get it in the mail in time for the big morning.
2. Really short on time? Maybe you are new to building, maybe you want some premium support for your build, then might we suggest the RCPowers V4 Pro Pack. It will give you the plans, unparralled support, awesome beginners tips and tutorials and lots of goodies you might find useful. Check out our full review. Right now, it's $50 for everything and since it's an electronic gift, boom, it's done as soon as you click the mouse.
Now, those are two gifts that you can enjoy for a long time. So let your loved ones know what you want, it makes things so much better. And you don't have to fake liking that crappy gift that is headed your way right now, unless you do something about it.
TWITTER 3,000!
Just a real short post folks, but today marks another milestone for Parkjets, we just reached the 3,000 Twitter followers. Now for those of you that might remember, we started last year really building up our social media effort and ended 2013 with about 2,000 followers. Well, now 7 months later we have now crossed the 3,000 mark and are not looking back.
If you are not following us on Twitter, what are you waiting for? We only send out cool pictures, announcement and other cool things you might want to see a few times a day. So come on follow @parkjetusa on Twitter and get with the program!
JUMP START
Getting a jump start in RC Airplanes is not easy. There are so many planes, so many designs, so many different opinions on the best way to get started and of course one big question we always get is, “How can I learn this stuff quickly?”
Nowadays, with busy schedules and fast paced lives, it can be hard to really get into a hobby and feel confident in what you are doing. That’s why we have the “New Pilots” section where we review and preview products that can help you get going in the hobby. Yes, if you purchase, we get a small commission, but that’s not why we endorse another company’s product, we do it because it works.
And now, we just finished updating the page with an all new V4 Pro Pack that includes new plans and some great beginner’s guides. So if you are wanting to get a jump start on RC flying along with some excellent plans, check it out.
6MMFLYRC DISCOUNT FOR YOU
For those of you that have been with Parkjets for a while now, you know that our main sponsor, 6mmFlyRC.com offers some really cool kits for many of the designs right here on Parkjets. As a way to celebrate small business, and 6mmFlyRC is a small business, they are offering our followers/subscribers $5 off any of their kits, both full fuse (Original Series) and the profile style (Quick Build) parkjet kits.
Now, I'm told that in the nearly 10 years that 6mmFlyRC has been offering kits, they have never done a discount for anyone, but starting now, through the last minute of May, you can get a sweet $5 off.
For those of you that have been with Parkjets for a while now, you know that our main sponsor, 6mmFlyRC.com offers some really cool kits for many of the designs right here on Parkjets. As a way to celebrate small business, and 6mmFlyRC is a small business, they are offering our followers/subscribers $5 off any of their kits, both full fuse (Original Series) and the profile style (Quick Build) parkjet kits.
Now, I'm told that in the nearly 10 years that 6mmFlyRC has been offering kits, they have never done a discount for anyone, but starting now, through the last minute of May, you can get a sweet $5 off.
For example, you want the Steve Shumate F-22 but don't want to cut all that foam? Well, you can pick up a laser cut version from 6mmFlyRC that will get you all the stuff you need to get started.
All you have to do is enter the discount code: PARKJETS at checkout and you will be all set.
PRODUCT REVIEW - V3 COMPLETE PACKAGE
We thought it would be useful to do a comprehensive overview/review of what we feel is the best e-product, one that we have recently used and checked out in an effort to bring more information to our readers. Let's get started.
Recently, RCPowers made some significant changes to their e-product (The V3 Complete Package), designed to get new and experienced builders up in the air with a quality build, all while passing on years of knowledge, gained through experience, and some really great advanced RC techniques as well. If you have visited RCPowers recently, you already know the offereing, but without actually buying it, you might be wondering exactly what you are getting. Well, let us tell you!
The V3 Package includes the following:
- Scratch Building, a comprehensive video tutorial on building the F-35
- An "Advanced Techniques" audio series
- FIVE Parkjets Plans, each with detailed instructions in tiled and full size plans
- A browswer based RC Simulator
Now, we know, if you are looking at the RCPowers website, it just looks like you are getting the plans and the simulator, but it's much more. And worth every penny. Cutting to the chase, Parkjets fully endorses this product. We used it, we continue to go back to the information and simulator, and believe it will save you time and money.
2013 IN THE REARVIEW
2013 has come to a close and here at Parkjets, we like the idea of looking back and seeing what we accomplished and what we want to do in the near future, also known as 2014. It was a busy first half of the year and we rounded out the year with some more plans and some new resources. Let’s take a dive into what was 2013 and see what we can remember.
2013 has come to a close and here at Parkjets, we like the idea of looking back and seeing what we accomplished and what we want to do in the near future, also known as 2014. It was a busy first half of the year and we rounded out the year with some more plans and some new resources. Let’s take a dive into what was 2013 and see what we can remember.
New Plans – We set the rather lofty goal of adding 3 plans a month last year and fell well short. We only found nine plans we felt met our criteria. You see, there are plans out there to add, but unless we are confident they will fly and the documentation is good enough to help the builders out there, we won’t post them. Case in point, one plan we posted managed to unseat the most popular plan on Parkjets, the Steve Shumate F-22. Again, we are going for quality, not always quantity. What plans did we add? Here you go:
For those of you wanting more plans, we have a few cued up already this year, so we are hopeful to get back into the 20-new-plan-range again in 2014. Right now, Parkjets features 128 totally free downloads, by far the most parkjets available anywhere in one easy place. It would be awesome to get to 150 plans by the end of the year!
Interviews – We continued to build on our interview series with interviews by two of the best designers out there, Tomas Hellberg and Chris Carpenter. These two guys have cranked out some very popular designs including the F-22, F-18, Morningstar, and SU-31! We love hearing from these folks out there, it lets everyone get a little insight into the design process, the desire to make something from scratch, and any tips and tricks learned by designing.
Sponsorship – Nothing new to report here. 6mmFlyRC continues to keep the computer running, the lights on, and the bandwidth covered. It does take some resources to run Parkjets and we are grateful for the support and money 6mmFlyRC provides. Do yourself a favor, visit their site, check out their offerings and save yourself some hours this winter by picking up a kit rather than cutting your own.
Traffic – Good news here, Parkjets continues to grow its audience. In 2013, Parkjets pushed out 2.6 million pages (2.5 million in 2012) and had over 400,000 unique visitors (305,000 in 2012) to 155 different countries! That’s pretty awesome. Even more exciting is the fact Parkjets gained 50% more subscribers to our free monthly newsletter. More and more people are coming to Parkjets, and that means more and more people will submit plans and that means more to give away to you.
Endorsements – Last year we reviewed and endorsed a couple of products, which is fantastic. And we just finished up our review and endosement of a slightly different but better offering, designed to get you building and flying faster than ever before.
Twitter – When we started 2012, we had a very small Twitter following, so we set the goal and worked at increasing out Twitter footprint. In fact, when we started 2013, we had an incredible 165 followers. Today, we have 2,274 followers. Now math isn’t necessarily a strong suit over here at Parkjets, but that’s an increase of 1378%!! Now we set our sights on 5,000 new followers in 2013 and fell short, but we feel good about the awesome momentum. If you are on Twitter and are not following us (@parkjetsusa) what are you waiting for? Come on, help us spread the word!
Well, that puts a stake in 2013 for Parkjets. We are looking forward to a new year and we are going to continue to work on making our site better and packed full of more resources. Look for an all new Parkjets.com in 2014 that will allow for faster navigation, more search options, and more product recommendations. Happy New Year everyone and thank you for your continued support!
AMAZING JAS-39 GRIPEN
A customer of 6mmFlyRC sent over some pictures and we thought we would post them to show off some of the best craftsmanship on a foam model you will ever see.
Rafal is from Poland, which only highlights how global the hobby of RC flight is, but he clearly takes his models to the next level. By incorporating killer decals, etching in panel lines, going through the extreme detail in the exhaust and every other part of the plane, he takes a standard kit from 6mmFlyRC (free plans here of course) and takes it up several notches. By making drop tanks, different under wing ornaments, this is the best example of taking the hobby to a new heights.
Remember, if you have any photos or video of your model in action, send them on over and we will share them with the world!
Check out the photos and begin to drool!
A customer of 6mmFlyRC sent over some pictures and we thought we would post them to show off some of the best craftsmanship on a foam model you will ever see.
Rafal is from Poland, which only highlights how global the hobby of RC flight is, but he clearly takes his models to the next level. By incorporating killer decals, etching in panel lines, going through the extreme detail in the exhaust and every other part of the plane, he takes a standard kit from 6mmFlyRC (free plans here of course) and takes it up several notches. By making drop tanks, different under wing ornaments, this is the best example of taking the hobby to a new heights.
Remember, if you have any photos or video of your model in action, send them on over and we will share them with the world!
Check out the photos and begin to drool!
NEW RESOURCE
We just added in a new resource for new flyers from the good people of Make Magazine. We have always loved the publication and have done a few of the projects on the weekend. So we were thrilled when we say they put together a 12-part series on RC Flight. The entire thing is quality video, with great explainations and plenty of tips. And the best part about it, its totally free.
From servos, receivers, covering foam, to free plans for a good trainer, Maker Hangar provides a good foundation for new flyers.
Go ahead, check it out, watch a few videos and soak it all in.
T-38 SUNDOWNERS AWESOME
A Parkjet fan sent us over his pictures of his Steve Shumate T-38 build. And we have to say, it turned out awesome. He dressed it up in the popular "sundowners" scheme complete with the details that make it look right in the air.
A Parkjet fan sent us over his pictures of his Steve Shumate T-38 build. And we have to say, it turned out awesome. He dressed it up in the popular "sundowners" scheme complete with the details that make it look right in the air.
Shameless plug: Our sponsor, 6mmFlyRC has a bunch of awesome decals for FREE download right on their site, including the sundowner scheme. If nothing else, you can get some inspiration, at best, you can just adapt and use them for your own bird.
But enough talking, check out these awesome shots, oh and we uploaded these right to the free plans page as well. The Shumate T-38 is a great build for a first time builder as well as the advanced modeler. The sexy coke bottle shape and small wings make the T-38 fast and it rolls like a drill bit. A personal favorite.
Thanks Craig for the pics! Keep up the good work!
DASSAULT RAFALE PICS SUBMITTED
We had a member of the RC Community out there submit some pictures and video of his version of the Mike Jackson Dassault Rafale profile style parkjet.
So we thought we would get them posted.
This is an excellent plan, inspired by the designs of Tomas Hellberg, that provides a great platform for a parkjet. The large delta wings, large control surfaces and simple set up, coupled with a mid-motor mount design make for an easy to fly and build jet.
We had a member of the RC Community out there submit some pictures and video of his version of the Mike Jackson Dassault Rafale profile style parkjet.
So we thought we would get them posted.
This is an excellent plan, inspired by the designs of Tomas Hellberg, that provides a great platform for a parkjet. The large delta wings, large control surfaces and simple set up, coupled with a mid-motor mount design make for an easy to fly and build jet.
Enjoy the pics and thanks for passing them on Scott!
Oh, and one last thing, in his E-mail, he mentions he donated to the designer directly using our paypal links. That's awesome, we hope everyone does and you should know that we don't get a cut or even know when a donation has been made. But we do know that more donations mean designers are inspired to keep designing, meaning you can keep building and we can keep posting.
TWITTER - 1000+ FOLLOWERS!
Back at the start of the new year, we put out the call to have folks follow us on Twitter. Back then, we had just a few hundred followers but we decided to focus a little more on getting our social media credentials up to par. This week, Parkjets reached a small milestone, we crossed over the 1,000 followers threshhold and could not be more excited.
Back at the start of the new year, we put out the call to have folks follow us on Twitter. Back then, we had just a few hundred followers but we decided to focus a little more on getting our social media credentials up to par. This week, Parkjets reached a small milestone, we crossed over the 1,000 followers threshhold and could not be more excited.
One of the benefits of Twitter is that it allows us to keep in touch with folks without sending out a long E-mail that sometimes gets stuck in people's inboxes. Twitter is allowing us to reach people we never would have reached before.
So what kind of things do we tweet about? Well, we only send about one tweet a day for starters, so its not like we will dominate your twitter feed. We make announcements of course, when we post a new plan we shoot that over on Twitter and then we find plans that get a little overlooked by folks and make sure they are send out over the feed too.
We want to thank everyone who has decided to follow us and encourage you to do the same. It's just so easy to follow Parkjets (@parkjetsusa) and you will keep up with all the latest and greatest in real time with Parkjets.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
This is a really simple post here, but we are asking you, our visitors, our newsletter subscribers to do something that costs nothing...follow us on Twitter. Parkjets tries not to ask much of our loyal visitors, but we have set some goals in 2013 and without you, they won't happen.
We have the crazy goal of getting 5,000 twitter followers in 2013. When January 2013 rolled around, we were at a lowly 165. As in less than 200 followers. Now at the beginning of Feburary, we are at 257, a great jump, but you don't have to be a math whiz to see we need some acceleration in our followers. We only post once or twice a day, we don't overload you with garbage, just a few things we find, buried articles on Parkjets and other tips from around the world. So go ahead, follow us.
2013 - WHAT DO YOU WANT?
It's a simple question really, what do you want to see with Parkjets in 2013? We have been kicking around some ideas but need your feedback. For example:
- Do you want to see more "warbirds" and traditional tractor style park flyers?
- Would you particiapte in a Parkjets forum?
- What about a video series or PDF on how to expertly finish depron?
- We experimented with having a few motors for sale on Parkjets, do you want to see Parkjets have a store with RC gear for sale?
- Do you want more videos? For example, some how-to's on getting your plans to planes?
- What do you want to see in our monthly newsletter?
- Can we improve the way the site works? For example, is the navigation easy for you to find what you are looking for?
These are just some things to consider, but we welcome all input. We will continue to work to make the site more user friendly and more helpful, but we want Parkjets to reflect what you want! Comment away!