TOP 10 PLANS - SEPTEMBER

Here at Parkjets, we just finished up taking some much needed time off from posting to the site and now we are back.  Over the past few months, we have been cleaning up the site, making preparations for some changes and preparing for a bigger and better winter.  Well,  what better way to kick off October with the Top 10 Plans on Parkjets right now?  Let’s get to it.

10. F-14 by MDC: If you want a simple profile F-14 that has functional swing wings, the F-14 my MDC is the place to start.  You can build this model up in one day and take it to the park the next, all because the design uses all 6mm depron foam to create the swing wing. 

9. Chiggy by Robertus: The Chiggy has to be one of the most unique designs out there for a park jet. Utilizing a tri-wing design, topped with a tractor motor and crazy aggressive bomb styling, the Chiggy will have the guys at the flying field wondering if have gone crazy.

8. Super Bandit by Steve Shumate: The Super Bandit is a design of a plane that actually doesn’t exist, but it sure looks like it should. Featuring simple wing designs, multiple sizes to fit your EDF and pusher needs, the Super Bandit is a Parkjets favorite. 

7. Hot Spot by Domenico Sebastiani: The Hot Spot is a very familiar design.  It features an awesome delta wing, twin tail booms and an aerodynamic fuselage.  The Hot Spot is made to fly.

6. Hydro: The Hydro continues to be a very popular design and for good reason.  It’s got the chops to go on water and then rise up above the waves and surprise everyone. Available for EDF or prop, the Hydro is just cool.

5. F-15 by Jamie Rothwell: This design has been popular from the minute we posted it.  Easy score and fold design plus the look of the iconic F-15 all rolled into one. Available in a few different sizes makes this a winner.

4. Mermaid by Marcel du Plessis: The Mermaid is good to go on land or sea and gives you a rock solid design that can handle nice and easy park flight like a champ. Elevated motor and electronic gear mean the goods stay dry while you land at your local watering hole.

3. YF-23 by Craig Clarkstone: The Grey Ghost is one of the best looking designs of all time and this design captures the lines perfectly. The YF-23 is not a build it quick and go design, but the end result will have your flying friends wondering if you are a magician with foam!

2. SU-37 by Jamie Rothwell: Like the F-15 above, the SU-37 is dead simple to design and gives you a little Russian flavor.  The SU-37 is graceful and frightening at the same time.

1. F-22 by Steve Shumate: Once again, the Raptor comes out on top. With its cousin the YF-23 in your hanger, you can manage the best looking fleet on the block. 

That's a wrap!  Remember, if you know of a great design, shoot us an E-mail and let us know about it so we can get it posted. 

TOP 10 PLANS - MAY

With May closing out, and the heat of June already bearing down, it’s time to get to the most popular downloads on Parkjets for last bit of spring. We have some new comers to the list, some old favorites, and a couple of surprises.  Let’s get to it and kick off June right.

10. F-15 MK2 by Jamie Rothwell: We have a few F-15 models on Parkjets and they are all excellent flyers. The Eagle’s broad delta like wing and large flying surfaces make the design an excellent choice for beginners and experts alike.  The Rothwell version utilizes score and fold techniques to give you that full fuse look with minimal effort. 

9. Hot Spot by Domenico Sebastiani: The Hot Spot keeps on keeping on as a popular plan on Parkjets. The “fun jet” like design is a proven performer, while this version keeps the building simple. Just like we like it.

8. X-Shuttle by Robertus: Simple design usually means an easy to fly plane and the X-Shuttle fits this description. Broad wings, simple control surfaces and a simple design means you have time to install LED lights and light up the dark, just like the designer.

7. Hydro: The Hydro is consistently in the Top 10 for Parkjets and while we keep thinking it will lose its popularity, it never seems to for very long. Part boat, part airplane, the Hydro is the perfect craft to terrorize those ducks at your local pond while providing the on-lookers something they rarely see, a boat that can fly.

6. Mermaid by Marcel du Plessis: Another aircraft capable of working in the water, the Mermaid design uses a high motor mount, traditional design cues for construction and a proven design. The Mermaid is an excellent flyer and will not disappoint you.

5. SU-22 Fitter by Robertus: The SU-22 Fitter isnot an easy plane to build, with swing wings and a complicated design.  But as you know, Parkjets tries to offer something for everyone and the Fitter is a great alternative to more common models.

4. YF-23 by Craig Clarkstone: The Grey Ghost, the YF-23 is the design that lost out to the F-22 Raptor when the U.S. decided which new plane to buy. But the Air Force’s loss is your gain. This is one of the most scale depron models we have in our Free Plans catalog, so the build is not simple. But what you can achieve with a little time and effort is well worth it.

3. SU-37 by Jamie Rothwell: Just like his F-15 design (#10 above) the SU-37 uses score and fold building techniques that allow you to build quickly, achieve some scale looks, while keeping the design very simple. The SU-37 plans contained here also have a variant option, sans canard, that give you a great way to keep things fresh.

2. F-302 Tau’ri by Robertus: The Tau’ri is one of the most unusual designs on Parkjets. Straight from the TV series Stargate, the F-302 has some unique features that make it look unflyable.  Dihedral, forward swept wings, and more make this one a great alternative if you are looking for something strange.

1. F-22 by Steve Shumate: The F-22 comes out on top again. The thrust vectoring, the scale looks, the available kit options, the decals, the detailed instruction guide.  Is there any wonder it’s been number 1 for so long and so consistently?  This is not an beginner build, but the results are worth the hard work.

TOP 10 PLANS - DECEMBER

After recovering from a rather rowdy New Year's celebration, it's time to get posted the Top 10 plans for the last month in 2013. December proved to be a month were some oldies but goodies made a return to the Top 10 and some new entries posted some strong showings as well.  Let's get started, here we go, the last Top 10 of 2013!

10. F-14 by Steve Shumate: In prior years, the F-14 was by the most popular Parkjet ever posted to our site. The swing wings are just too awesome. And the plans showed a bit of a comeback in December. With accessories like a clear canopy and pilots available (and kits too) from 6mmFlyRC, the F-14 has tons of support out there. 

9. Cargo Twin by Jamie Rothwell: The Cargo Twin is quickly becoming a regular in the Top 10. And it's not even a jet! Simple designs, a broad wings and twin motors make it a great alternative for folks looking to pull a cargo plane at the park.

8. Hydro: This design continues to hover and float as one of the most popular plans on Parkjets. Part boat, part slow flyer, the Hydro fits a unique place in Parkjet design. 

7. SU-37 by Steve Shumate: The Terminator or Super Flanker is one of the best looking designs of all time and Steve Shumate's design captures its beautiful curves and striking profile with precision. Twin thrust vectoring, clear canopies available, and awesome performance make it an obvious choice for a winter project. 

6. Mermaid by Marcel du Plessis: The Mermaid is built to live in the water, but it can take off from land as well. With the motor mounted high, and broad wings, the Mermaid is stable and easy to fly off the ground or water. 

5. F-35 by RCCal: The F-35 is a great first plane. Some even use it as a trainer. The Large wings and large control surfaces make it a perfect parkflyer. The simple profile design makes it easy to build in just a few hours. 

4. SU-37 V2 by Jamie Rothwell: The Rothwell designed SU-37 is a great compromise between true scale and fast assembly. The score and fold method lets the builder get a great looking plane without some of the complications of a traditional box and former techniques.  

3. F-15 V2 by Jamie Rothwell: Like it's Russian counter-part, the F-15 utilizes score and fold techniques that get you up in the air quickly.  The Eagle has has been a stable performer at the park for years and this design is a welcome edition.

2. SAF-14 by Eduardo Flores: The SAF-14 is a fictional plane to be sure, but it looks like it could roll off the assembly line at any point. Borrowing design cues from the F-35, SU-37 and F-22, the SAF-14 is an EDF performer. 

1. F-22 by Steve Shumate: The F-22, except for a brief moment this year, has remained on top of the heap. As far as scale designs go, it is pretty impressive, considering it's made out of foam. Oh sure, the fiberglass models out there are more scale, but we are talking about depron. The gentle curves, the thrust vectoring, the plain nastiness of the Raptor make it a winner month after month.

That wraps up another fantastic year of great designs and free downloads.  As we move onto 2014, we will post more plans and let's see what ends up in the Top 10 month after month.  Happy New Year everyone!

TOP 10 PLANS - JULY 2013

The heat of the summer is here. This is usually the time of year we see a bit of a drop in traffic and activity, as many builders are out flying and crashing their winter projects. But, we still have a Top 10 List for July and we have some new members of the Top 10 club, a new #1 and more. Let's go!

10. SU-37 MK1 by Jamie Rothwell: This is the first design of the SU-37 and it remains popular. Featuring score and fold design, semi-scale looks and good performance, the SU-37 MK1 is a great parkjet for the fleet.

9. Hydro: The Hydro keeps its place as a long-standing member of the Top 10 list. It's part boat, part flyer. Capable of EDF or prop, the Hydro will raise eyebrows at the local pond or park.

8. F-35 by RCCal: The F-35 is a profile style flyer with excellent lines and simple tabbed construction for a quick build. Available by kit from 6mmFlyRC.com or for the more hands on builders, straight from the files. Large delta wings and large control surfaces make it a great choice for a beginner.

7. SU-31 by Tomas Hellberg: The SU-31 is a nice change of pace for many builders on Parkjets. The SU-31 has simple clean lines, simple build principles, and the prop is in the front! An old war bird that should be on your short list to build. 

6. Mirage F1 by Marcel du Plessis: The Mirage has the look of a lawn dart and can really move across the park at impressive speeds. Mr. Marcel knows how to design great flying machines, his Mirage F1 design is no exception. Looking for speed? The Mirage F1 should be in your hanger.

5. Eurofighter by Jamie Rothwell: Mr. Rothwell's second design on the Top 10, the Eurofighter has a lot to like with its simple build proceedures, good documentation, wide range of power options and great performance. 

4. F-242 Spiker by Sean Correia: The Spiker might be fictional but the performance is real. Mr. Correia's designs are all unique, with graceful curves and extreme angles. We love the looks and only three other designs best its downloads this month. 

3. Mermaid by Marcel du Plessis: The Mermaid is actually modeled after a real airplane and Mr. Marcel does a great job capturing the lines of the original. A full fuse design that is at home taking off on long grass or water or hand tossed, the Mermaid just looks nice, and glides through the air so so easy. 

2. SU-37 MK2 by Jamie Rothwell: The number of downloads was just EIGHT less than the #1 download last month, making this a virtual tie, but our past champion lost a little ground in July. The SU-37 MK2 design is much improved and offers the SU-35 variant in the same file. A great parkjet with excellent documentation.

1. F-22 by Steve Shumate: Back in the top spot in July is the F-22 Raptor. The F-22 is a complex build with results that will have everyone wondering how foam can be so scale. Full fuse, thrust vectoring, EDF capable, and available by kit (6mmFlyRC), the F-22 is the definition of a parkjet.

We want to take a few lines to thank all the great designers out there and remind everyone to donate to the designer directly right on the plans page. That helps keep the plans coming. Keep flying and keep the nose out of the dirt!

TOP 10 PLANS - MAY 2013

Folks, for the first time in a year, we have a new #1 plan downloaded on parkjets since we started keeping track just about a year ago. Honestly, we never thought it would happen. But it has. 

For those of you new to the site, you might not know that every month, we break down the most popular plans and let you check them out, so you can get a jump start on some popular plans. After all, the popular plans are popular for a reason. They have good documentation, excellent flying capabilities, and look good too. 

Well, let's check out the most popular downloads for May 2013 and see who is king of the mountain!

10. SU-37 by Steve Shumate: The SU-37 by Steve Shumate is a monster of a parkjet. Not in size or anything, but it's just one of the most impressive parkjets you can build. It features dual thrust vectoring, smooth lines and great flying abilities. Not an easy build, but for the patient, it will be the crown jewel of your fleet. Oh, and you can short-cut the whole building time by getting a kit straight from 6mmFlyRC.

9. F-22 by Tomas Hellberg: Did you see our interview with Mr. Hellberg? If you did, you would know that his F-22 is one of the best, simplist, easy to build parkjets out there. His design features tabbed construction and a simple thrust vectoring that can flip the airframe on a dime. A mid motored raptor that will put a grin on your face.

8. Mirage F1 by Marcel du Plessis: This is a new design to the free plans catalog, but we have to say, its one of the best looking. The Mirage has great lines and even captures the rounded intakes of the real thing. 

7. SU-31 by Tomas Hellberg: The SU-31 is a throw back aircraft with the motor on the front. We know, its weird. But this is a nice alternative to all those typical warbirds you see out there. Tomas Hellberg has taken his simple tabbed construction and put it to good use here. 

6. F-35 by RC Cal: The F-35 takes a lot of cues from the F-22 above and puts the lines of the U.S. Air Force's newest plane into foam. It has a mid motor mount, large wings, simple tabbed thrust vectoring, and a size that fits into any car. 

5. Hydro: This design has remained popular for over a year. The Hydro is a hybrid plane/boat that can wow the crowd at just about any small park. 

4. Eurofighter by Jamie Rothwell: This design is super popular and keeps moving up the charts. Is it the EDF capability? It is the simple score and fold design that gives the Eurofighter a full fuse with little fuss? This design is a winner.

3. Mermaid by Marcel du Plessis: A water plane that keeps the prop up and the plane flying off the water or grass. A simple design by one of the best designers out there. The Mermaid with a little work can be one of the most unique planes at the park. 

2. F-22 by Steve Shumate: The F-22 has been the king of Parkjets for the better part of since forever. The scale design, thrust vectoring, and great performance has kept it at the top of the list. And you can get clear canopies or a whole laser cut kit from our sponsor if you don't feel like cutting out the 70+ pieces yourself.

1. The SU-37 by Jamie Rothwell: This new modified design by Jamie Rothwell has the score and fold method he has perfected along with better performance than his first design. At 80% of the first design, plus some improvements, coupled with the ability to turn it into an SU-35, this design rocketed to the top of the list. Let's see if it stays that way!

Remember you can pick up a lot of these designs from 6mmFlyRC.com. The kits they provide are laser cut and some of them include things like clear canopies and other hardware to give you a more polished kit. 

INTERVIEW - TOMAS HELLBERG

For those of you that have been following Parkjets for a while, you will be familiar with our interviews with popular RC airplane designers that have allowed us to host their awesome designs right on our site.  It has been a while since we posted an interview and so we thought its time for a fresh one.  

We reached out to Tomas Hellberg and he gratiously agreed. Tomas has designed some of the most popular and rock stable designs on Parkjets, including the F-22, F-18, SU-31, SU-37 and more. His designs feature simple build techniques with tabbed construction and profile looks. His unique thrust vectoring tabs allow for excellent acrobatics without a lot of fuss. And we should mention that our prime sponsor, 6mmFlyRC, features many of Tomas' designs as kits, so you can get your hands on a laser cut version.  Okay, that's enough of an introduction, let's kick this off....

Tomas, can you provide us with a little background with yourself? It's always so interesting to see the designers background and what they do for a living, not to mention the global nature of the hobby!

I am 41 years old and I live in a small village on the country side in Sweden with my wife and three kids. I work as a software engineer for a company that develops safety systems for cars that help to prevent traffic accidents.

I’m somewhat of a gadget geek but my true passion besides RC flight is photography. I also enjoy outdoor life and trekking/hiking.

So you have an engineering background! That makes sense. As you know, you have 6 models on Parkjets right now, but I believe your F-22 is by far the most popular download. Your design of the simple thrust vectoring tabs really changed the way a lot of RC planes were designed, you sacrificed some scale for some really unique performance. Can you take us through your design process and some of the inspiration for your models?

It all started when I saw a video of someone flying the Ikarus Su-27 on YouTube. The Ikarus model is a simple profile pusher jet that uses tabs and slots to help the builder align the parts. I thought to myself “I can build something like that”. So I began working on the F-22.

I chose Google Sketchup for designing my model as it was free and I already had some experience with it. I found some three-view diagrams on the Internet and started outlining the wing and the fuselage. When I finished the outline I put the parts together in space to form the actual aircraft. Then followed the process of creating slots and tabs to help with alignment during assembling. And that is basically the design process I’ve used with all my designs.

We have seen lots of designers are using Google Sketch Up. It's a great tool. And we like the "maker" attitude you brought to the table. Many hobbyists have the same experience, we see something and believe we can make it. Okay, out of all your designs, which model do you prefer to fly or which model are you most proud of, you get the idea? 

I’d say the F-22. It looks great and has a great flight envelope handling both high and slow speeds really well.

The F-22 is one of the favorites in our hanger too. That and your F-18E.

One design we recently added is your SU-31. I have to say it’s a great, simple design that has a lot of versatility. Do you have any advice for those pilots looking to build and fly your SU-31 for the first time?

Make sure your servos are glued properly. :-) I crashed mine on one of the first flights when one of the servos came off during a dive. Other than that I don’t have any particular advice for the Su-31.

I designed the Su-31 mainly because I wanted a less noisy plane to fly. Most of my other designs are of the “prop-in-the-slot” type, which are really loud.

Servo failure. What can we say, it happens. Great tip though. And the SU-31 remains a popular download each month. Not including the SU-31, all of your jet designs feature a mid-fuse engine design. What was your primary reason for going with a mid-engine design?

It’s mainly about center of gravity. With the engine mid-fuse I can have the electronics farther back. For the F-22 and Mig-29, this means having the electronics inside the main fuselage compartment.

The mid-fuse placement of the engine also means that there will be a direct airstream from the propeller over the rear control surfaces which increases the plane’s agility. This is in a way like the thrust vectoring nozzles of the real F-22. The tabs on the elevator increases this effect, at least in theory.

Based on performance, we would guess you can put that theory in the "confirmed" catagory.  We can tell you that your designs are downloaded from all across the globe and that has to be rewarding to know that your designs are flying in just about every place around the world. What would you say makes your designs appealing to such a large audience?

First of all, my plans are free, so that is important. Other than that it’s probably the fact that the depron airframe is cheap to build and often quite easy to repair. And perhaps that my designs can be assembled rather quickly.

Also perhaps the fact that at the time when I first published the F-22 and the Mig-29 there weren’t that many good free plans available for pusher profile jets.

With a family and work, do you find the time to get out and fly anymore or design anymore?

I don’t find the time to design at the moment. I do try to make time to get out and fly now and again. My latest passion is flying DLGs, or discus launched gliders. There’s something special with flying a glider with no motor. Here I am flying the ELF DLG from Vladimir’s Model.

Gliding is considered the purest form of flight by many and we know lots of people have modified your F-22 by increasing the wings to turn them into gliders!  

Do you think you will design anymore RC airplanes in the future? I know a lot of people have been inspired by your designs but having you crank out another would certainly be well received in the RC Community.

At the moment there are so many other things in my life that I just don’t have the time required for doing new designs. But I’m pretty sure that I’ll get back into designing at some point. I just don’t know when.

Well, when you get around to it, Parkjets would love to host it! I'm sure it would be an instant hit.

One of the cool modifications we have seen to your designs is that people are using Electric Ducted Fans instead of the propeller and simply mounting it in the same place. Some of these EDF’s are getting pretty good performance because your design is very light weight. Do you have any experience or advice for builders wanting to modify your design for EDF?

I’ve been wanting to get into EDFs, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. So, no, not really. But I’m following the development with interest.

EDF's are finally getting good, but we have to admit, we like a good pusher as much as anything.  We don't want to take up too much time, is there anything else you want to add? Tips? Advise for new builders? Etc?

I’ll leave you with this tip: More or less any design with enough wing surface will fly as long as you get the center of gravity right. It might not have superb handling, but it will fly. So don’t be afraid to experiment.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions Tomas! It was a real pleaure and gives our readers some insight into your designs and your life. We can't thank you enough!

That's all folks, if you want to check out Tomas Hellberg's designs right here on Parkjets, you can sort by designer and of course you can visit his website for great pictures, manuals, and of course, you have the opportunity to donate directly to him from Parkjets too.  And if you are not wanting to cut out your airframe, visit 6mmFlyRC and get a laser cut kit shipped to your door.  

TOP 10 PLANS - MARCH

Every month, for nearly a year, we have been logging the most popular plans on Parkjets on a monthly basis. Its time to look at last month, and see what the list has in order. Here we go!

10. Cutlass by SDParkflyers - The Cutlass has come to Parkjets and its found a great little spot. The Cutlass is a great beginner plane, featuring broad delta wings and moderate speed. A great Parkjet!

9. SU-31 by Tomas Hellberg - The SU-31 is a traditional "warbird" profile style tractor motor flyer.  Not many builders will go with an old school SU-31, so when you build yours, you can be sure it won't be sitting among others at the flying field. 

8. F-15 by Jamie Rothwell - The F-15 by Jamie Rothwell remains popular for a lot of reasons. Ease of construction, semi-scale looks, great performance and good documentation are just a few. If you want a stable flyer, give the F-15 a try.

7. SU-37 by Jamie Rothwell - You might want a little different airframe.  But you want to get it up in the air quickly. This plan might just fit the bill. 

6. F-35 by RC Cal - The F-35 continues to be a popular download.  A simple profile construction method coupled with the fact that it's the newest plane for the U.S. and you have a good start.  

5. Eurofighter by Jamie Rothwell - Mr. Rothwell comes in with his 3rd design in the top 10 for March and you can pretty much guess the reasons why its popular. The Eurofighter is a great platform for parkjets, large delta wings and big control surfaces.

4. Hydro - This design couples a boat and an airplane. Take it on the water or the air.  Your choice.

3. Mirage by Marcel du Plessis - The Mirage is quickly becoming very popular. A simple profile design with a few twists, like curved intakes that give the Mirage enough scale for nearly every pilot.  

2. Mermaid by Marcel du Plessis - The Mermaid is based on the real thing, although not many have heard of it. A plane that flies off grass or water and looks good in the process. This plan has been so popular it nearly knocked off the King of Parkjets....

1. F-22 by Steve Shumate - It's been over a year and the F-22 can't get knocked off its perch as King of Parkjets. Unbelievable scale, thrust vectoring and custom canopies from 6mmFlyRC make it a winner.  

Stay tuned for next month, and be sure to visit our sponsors (6mmflyrc.com).