Plastic Model Aircraft - How to Choose a Suitable One

Model aircraft are used for many purposes. They are used as a marketing tool for airlines. You can notice huge models of world's popular airlines at many travel agencies. Aircraft models are also used for aerodynamic research and modeling. Collecting and building models is also a popular hobby among the people of all age groups. Aircraft models can be made from different materials like metal, wood, paper and plastic. Plastic model aircraft are generally more popular because they are affordable and are available in both static and flying models.

There are a number of plastic kits that are offered in the market. It is important that you choose a kit that is suitable for your purpose. You should also consider the level of your model building expertise before choosing a particular kit.

Static Plastic Model Aircraft:

Static models are also known as scale models. As its name suggests, static model aircraft are not capable of flying. You can either purchase an already built one or choose to build one by yourself. It is far more satisfying to build your own then purchasing one. You can find many Snap Fit Kits that are comparatively inexpensive and are very easy to use. These kits enable a person to assemble and build it in a very short period of time.

Other advanced kits come with hundreds of parts that require detailed assembly, construction, coloring and gluing. These kinds of kits are more popular among individuals who are expert at building and constructing customized model aircraft.

Static aircraft model kits come in various sizes or scales for an aircraft. Some of the most notable scales for an airplane include 1:72 and 1:48. You can also find more detailed models that are available in higher scales of 1:32 and 1:24. The scale refers to the relationship between the size of the scaled down version and the size of the actual aircraft. For example, the scale of 1:72 implies that 1 inch of the model aircraft represents 48 inches of the actual aircraft.

Flying Plastic Model Aircraft:

Flying aircraft can be divided in three groups, namely, free flight, control line and radio controlled. All of the three types of flying aircraft models are available in varying sizes and scales and are generally made of plastic material. They have battery or gas powered engine. You can find many handy kits to build these kinds of models.

Free flight Plastic model aircraft are easy to build and are considered as a good option for beginners. This kind of model is not capable of flying at a very good speed but is designed to be stable in a flight. They are not controlled by any external device either. They are durable and can last for a long time.

Control Line aircraft are also known as U-control model aircraft. This kind of model flies by means of thin wires that are connected to a control handle. The wires are 20 to 30 feet long. The control line aircraft flies like a kite but in a circular path. Control line models generally have high power to weight ratios as compared to the RC models.

The Radio control model is a very popular type of flying aircraft. The movement of these model planes is controlled with the help of joysticks on the transmitter. They are not only popular among enthusiast hobbyists but are also used by military and scientific organizations for experiments, modeling and testing.