RC Plane Lab

Ron, Tom, and Dave cover extreme summer weather, camping with RC rock crawlers, a new UMX‑sized OV‑10 release, their local club fly‑in recap, and a deep dive into how each of them sets up their vehicles for hauling airplanes. 

The guys are back together — sort of — and this week they dive into one of the most common listener questions: How should you assign switches on your radio? After some classic RC Plane Lab banter (Tommy’s “witchy” mic, canceled night flying, and Ron rediscovering his forgotten UMX Viper), the crew breaks down how they each map flaps, gear, lights, rates, gains, and AS3X functions across their tran...

Tom makes a surprise remote return to the show from his extended deployment in the U.S. Southwest desert. The guys catch up on flying, mishaps, new airplanes, swap meets, repairs, and the ongoing saga of Reggie’s questionable preflight habits. Ron shares the dramatic loss of his X‑Fly Hornet, Dave talks about resurrecting and repainting an F‑16, and Tom confesses to “Tomming” his Turbo Timber into...

A couple of new releases hit the RC scene, and a day at the field turns into a mix of flying, tinkering, and trailer‑powered success. With a few maiden flights, some quick repairs, and plenty of hangout time, Episode 210 is all about enjoying the hobby and the moments that come with it.

In this episode we talk about the sudden closure of WACO Aircraft Company and what it means for full‑scale aviation fans. Ron goes over the latest trailer upgrades, including the rooftop AC and the new Spektrum S450 charging setup. Dave makes progress assembling Ron’s RACores Yak‑55, and we wrap up with an update on the new Beginner’s Lounge on RCPlaneLab.com . Head over to https://beginnerslounge...

Tune in to hear how the 2026 Toledo RC Swap Meet and Expo went for the guys!

In this episode, Dave kicks things off with the story behind his April Model Aviation article, “From Trash to Treasure,” and finally shares the full tale behind the project that inspired it. From there, the guys dive into a wave of new releases hitting the RC world: Dynam’s E‑2C Hawkeye with its rotating radar dome E‑flite’s latest lineup — Beechcraft D18/RC‑45J 1.5m, V1200 1.2m, 2m Conscendo, and...

In this episode, we sit down once again with Hank Rauhaus, the man behind the Toledo R/C Swap Meet & Expo, to get an inside look at what’s new for 2026. Hank shares how the event has evolved since last year, the behind‑the‑scenes work that keeps a 700‑plus‑table swap meet running smoothly, and the trends he’s seeing across the hobby. We talk vendors, volunteers, rare finds, and the static cont...

A bittersweet week in the RC world as we announce the BF‑109 kit winner, talk through the closing of Grayson Hobby after two decades, and recap the Fox Valley Aero swap meet—including a couple of irresistible new additions to the hangar.   **************** Get your Electrostreak Short Kit from RC Plane Lab! Join our Discord server: https://rcplanelab.com/discord Take a moment to fill out our liste...

This week we remind listeners that Electro‑Streak short kits are back on the bench and available now. We take a quick look at Banana Hobby’s X‑Fly new 4‑channel business jet, the new little E‑Flite UMX GeeBee, and talk through Dave’s rebuild of Ron’s old E‑Flite Cub. Then we wrap with a fresh “What’s in Our Hangar?” rundown. Dave's Cub Pic X-Fly J-65 Twin Jet UMX Gee Bee R-2   **************** Get...

Happy New Year! Tune in as we talk ElectroStreak kits, the BF109 giveaway, FCC rule changes, new plane releases, RRAMS (Beloit, WI) swap meet finds (a flying fish!?!?), Brazilian flying friends, and a handy Spektrum battery checker!   Get your Electrostreak Short Kit from RC Plane Lab!   13th Squadron BF109 Giveaway   XBC200 Battery Checker   E-Flite UMX Viper   Skynetic “Havok” Racer   FMS 800mm...

Ron & Dave chat with Jack and Steve Niezgoda from the 13th Squadron about squadron life, RC aviation, and building passion that lasts. 🎁 Plus—we’re giving away a 13th Squadron BF109 kit! Enter now at 👉 https://rcplanelab.com/bf109giveaway Tune in, join the fun, and don’t miss your chance to win! Visit them at https://13thsquadron.com/

Tune in to hear our annual Wive's Episode!  Here's to a wonderful 2026! 

Tune in as Ron and Dave answer listener questions and talk about some things that are coming up.   E-Flite Gee Bee 1.0m: https://www.horizonhobby.com/e-flite-gee-bee-r-2-1.0m-rc-airplane/

Tune in as Dave's brother, Daniel, joins us as we talk about a couple recent swap meets, and other stuff.

Tune in to hear what the guys have planned for the winter, and some other stuff, too!

It's hard to believe it's already Halloween again! We hope you enjoy this replay of our first Halloween episode from 5 years ago! This one was fun to make, so we hope you have as much fun listening as we did recording it. Happy Halloween! 

Tune in as we sit down and talk with Miguel Alvarez about all things AS3X, AS3X+, Safe, and Safe Select. Miguel is an Electrical/Firmware Engineer for Spektrum and Horizon Hobby, so as the guy who writes the code for the stabilized receivers Horizon Hobby offers, he knows all about the ins and outs of this subject!   **************** Join our Discord server: https://rcplanelab.com/discord   Take a...

We reached out to the 3 candidates running for President of the AMA and invited them to each come on our show separately to tell us a little bit about themselves and to state their case as to why they would make a good President.  Tune in to this episode to hear our conversation with Greg Stone.  

Tune in to hear how the last fly-in of the year went for the guys, and Tommy has some news. 

Tune in to hear about the recent Vintage RC Fly In Ron and Tom went to, and also hear a trip down memory lane about what vintage equipment the guys started out in the hobby using. 

Tune in to hear how Tommy's jet fix went, and hear what else he's been working on.

Tune in to hear about the recent events we've been to, what we have coming up, and who crashed! 

Tune in as the guys discuss some upcoming fly-ins, and what they've been up to the last couple of weeks. 

Tune in as we talk about some new plane releases, a drone show Ron saw, and what we plan to do on Model Aviation Day.