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 - 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. 

NEW PLAN - SU-37/27

Last week we uploaded a new plan to our FREE plans page. Jamie Rothwell let us know he has made some modifications and some size adjustments to his very popular SU-37 plans.  

First, he shrunk the plans to 80% of the original size.  Then he cleaned up the plans, improved the canopy, nacels and some other minor tweeks.  Then he changed the plans to allow for a simple modification so that the builder could convert the plans to the SU-27 with a little effort.  

The result is a very (we mean very) well documented plan that gives a builder a great platform to take to the park and waste an afternoon.  

Jamie uses the score and fold method to build up his fuse and if you have seen our "Top 10 List" over the past 6 months, his planes are very popular and for good reason.  His plans utilize a simple construction method, the planes he has chosen provide large wings, low weight and excellent performace, and because of the design, his plans are also semi-scale, so that in the air, they look fantastic. 

Give the new plans a shot, and be sure to donate directly to Mr. Rothwell if you enjoy the plans.  

NEW PLAN - SU-37 FLANKER

October is here and so it's time for some new plans for the FREE PLANS catalog. And right on time Jamie Rothwell, the designer of the Alpha Jet, F-15 and others sent us his version of one the best looking designs in aviation history, the SU-37 Flanker.  So, we got it up and posted.  Time to check out the specifics:

These plans are really like a two for one.  You see, he included in the file a twin engine version as well as a single engine variation.  Want insane power?  Go twin.  Simplier build with a single engine, you can't go wrong.  The entire plane is built out of two sheets of 6mm Depron foam and does require some carbon fiber rods for strength. Be sure to make sure you have plenty of it.  And if you are familar with Jamie Rothwell's park flyer designs, you will be sure to notice the unique score and fold method he uses to achieve scale looks without the hastle of sanding or building up a box frame.  

You will also notice that the specfications vary greatly, that's because of the twin and single engine options.  If you have questions, we recommend getting in touch with the designer on his facebook page.  Easy enough, now go and DOWNLOAD the plans and get to building.