FAQ's
Listed below are some of the many questions that we have been asked several times. Please read through these questions and answers and contact us with any questions you might have that are not covered here.

Q. What kind of foam are the kits made of?
A. Most all of the kits are made from Pink foam. Occasionally, we make kits out of blue foam, but pink is a little bit better quality foam than the Blue. There are many different weights and strengths in the Pink and Blue foams, and each plane uses the foam and densities that are necessary to make the best flying plane possible.

Q. What is a Slope airfoil vs a Thermal Airfoil?
A. Slope airfoils are designed to fly on ridges or areas at the top of hills where it's windy. A thermal airfoil is designed for planes that fly around flatter land (with less wind) using updrafts of heated air to stay aloft much like the eagles and vultures. Thermal airfoils are designed to keep a plane in the air longer with less lift.

Q. Why don't you guys make your planes out of EPP? I hear its the best material for a plane to be made of.
A. This question is really a set of questions and answers pertaining to a number of issues. First off, EPP is heavier, squishier and needs lots of reinforcement to be stiff enough to handle high winds. We at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM have used and still use some EPP in our kits when it is absolutely necessary. EPP is harder to work with, produces a terribly caustic fume when cut with a hot wire and is not as easily biodegradable as Pink foam. Many of our test team of veteran fliers are exposed to Pink foam for the first time when they volunteer to try out a new design. Most already have the idea in their heads that they wont like the Pink foam, but figure it might be nice to give it a try. A few days after they get their kits they talk about how nice of a material it is to work with and how much stiffer it is than what they figured. They usually talk about how it would be a more "bouncy" aircraft if made from EPP, but don't really think that its that big of a deal. We usually ask them if they "bounce" their aircraft regularly! Many are actually surprised at how well Pink foam takes a hard landing or a midair collision. We at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM have several aircraft that are over 5 years old made from Pink foam. Beginners regularly learn on our aircraft with very little crash damage on their planes.

Dean Thomas still owns his second and third FLYING VEE planes- the oldest is over 5 years old and bears hash marks (kill tallies) of over 300 mid air strikes (and bad landings). He did have to glue a crack in a wing panel and add a little repair foam to the nose section, but we all laugh when he brings out these two and flies with reckless abandon. If they were made of EPP, we are all sure that they would be so "squishy" that we would have had to either rebuild them or throw them away.

One of the last differences in EPP versus PINK foam that we will talk about here is a very simple one. COST. EPP costs a lot more- it is heavier, so it costs more to ship (both from the factory and to the customer) and the actual purchase price of the foam sheets is up to several times the cost of PINK foams. So, you the customer saves money both in kit prices and in shipping fees.

Many EPP kits on the market require you to reinforce the airframe with expensive carbon fibre, then with a complete layer of expensive strapping tape, then packing tape, then iron on covering. That adds to the cost of building a kit greatly- And that's just to get the foam to be as strong as PINK. EPP ends up making for a heavier plane- heavier planes cause more damage when they crash. Lighter planes get damaged less in a crash.

Pink Flies better, but EPP usually crashes better (the first few times)

EPP is great stuff- like we said, we use it in some instances when it is the best material for the job (like in leading edges of some wings and in noses of some fuses) but we're sure you'll like PINK for these kits.

Q. Why planes made of foam? Wouldn't it be more environmentally friendly if we used wood?
A. Great question. We asked that question directly to Dean Thomas (the owner and developer of STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM) his answer is as follows. "Foam isn't directly more environmentally friendly than wood products. Look at the basic idea here- plastic or "synthetic" materials used in foams can be considered worse for the environment over wood. But what woods are we talking about here? In my personal history with building model aircraft, I have used all sorts of wood for the projects. The majority being made of Balsa, Spruce, Pine and Basswood. Balsa is a tropical rainforest tree. For many years the only source of Balsa was from cutting down the rainforest. They didn't plant more Balsa trees in their place- they "planted" cows. Now most of the Balsa trees are farmed in areas that they weren't "designed" to be grown in, thereby growing smaller, inferior trees. Its hard to find high quality Balsa today. Spruce and Pine are good for spars, but don't make for good wing ribs or solid aileron strips (they are a little heavy).

Foam on the other hand uses surprisingly little materials for the amount of volume it takes up. The materials are not as toxic as one might think (in Pink and Blue foams) some foams are very toxic. Also- one very large benefit to using Foam over wood- You will be flying a foam plane long after your wood one would have been thrown away after even a simple hard landing- Foam planes bounce, are easy to repair and have very long lives compared to their built up balsa cousins.

Don't hear me wrong- Built up balsa planes are still the most beautiful and lightweight planes we have- I just don't recommend flying balsa planes on our Pacific coast slopes."

Q. Are their any guarantees that if I build one of these kits that it will fly?
A. Nope. Sorry- that's the truth. There are so many variables to kit building that we can't possible guarantee that you will build your plane so it will be a perfect rendition of our plans and design. The good news is, Every one of our aircraft at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM have undergone a rigorous prototyping, beta and testing period so we are fully confident that we are sending out airplane kits that will fly excellently if you build them the way we outline in the plans. Some people choose to build the planes their own way, to their own specifications (KIT BASHING) which is fine, but please only try to experiment after you have been building and flying for some time. You do have to have some building skills to put the planes together in a flyable condition, but we have seen even the most poorly built aircraft fly at the schoolyards and slopes.

NO ONE HAS EVER BUILT A STEELHEAD PLANE THAT DIDNT FLY!

Q. What happens if I don't build my plane exactly like the plans say I should? Will it still fly?
A. Odds are that the plane will still fly, so long as you didn't stray too far- We recommend that you not stray too far from the plans. .....BUT... one of the most fun parts of being an aeromodeler is trying out new ideas and designs and airframe configuration- basically, taking a kit and making it your own- (KIT BASHING) Only do this if you are willing to live with your experiment- as you can see from our photo gallery, people have made some amazing changes to the basic kits- and we fully support their endeavors- we even promote it! But please only attempt a kit-bash when your building and flying skills warrant it.

Q. What kinds of glues can I use?
A. Any foam safe glues will work for various parts of the project. The first ones that come to mind are the epoxies- such as 5 minute epoxy. This stuff is tough, fast to cure and seems to make some parts of the plane stronger, but remember- its also very heavy (and a little toxic make sure you wear gloves when using any glues) after epoxies, we also think of the expanding Polyurethane glues. These work great, are safer than epoxy and seem to be hundreds of times lighter, but with one drawback- they foam up and occasionally expand too much pushing parts apart that should be flush together. The trick is to weight or clamp the pieces together. These Poly glues (such as GORILLA GLUE r. and TITEBOND POLYURETHANE r.) cure by the catalyst of water- which means you can make them foam even more (for gap filling purposes) by adding a little water and mixing before applying. But we wouldn't recommend these types of glues unless you were already familiar with them on your first or second foam kit.

White glues like ELMERS also work good- especially for repairs of cracks and filling small dents. Rather safe on all surfaces- it just takes overnight in a dry place to set and dry. Hot glues work great, so long as they are medium temperature glues- and true silicon works good too, but........Make sure that before using any glues you first test on a scrap piece to make sure the foam doesn't get eaten.

Q. Tape covering jobs never look perfect to me, can I cover mine with an "iron on" covering such as MONOKOTE?
A. Sure- but don't use MONOKOTE- it takes too high of an iron setting- use EKONOKOTE or TOWERKOTE if you want to use iron on coverings. Too hot of an iron will melt the foam. NOT FUN! For ease of use, We still like using clear and colored packing tapes for our coverings. Many of the planes you see on this web page are covered with tape- simple....effective...hmm maybe there's something to that!

Q. All of your airplanes come in "partial kits" why don't you sell any "full kits"?
A. This question is a hard one for us as well- Most of the planes we sell can be constructed using a lot of "scrap" materials already found on a hobby workbench. The rest are easily found at your local hobby store (we recommend supporting your local hobby store- only they will be open on a saturday afternoon when your last rubber band breaks and you need a replacement)

Occasionally, and this might change in the near future to more often- we sell kits as semi-kits containing at least the tail feathers and aileron materials. This is simply to help you have exactly what you need when you get the kit, but everyone has their personal preferences as to what control rods and linkages that they like- if we included them- they would make the kit cost more money and probably not be your "favorite" brand. There is a list of the required materials available on this web page so you can get your materials purchased before your kit arrives in the mail.

NOTE- We will soon have full kits available, in the meantime, Let us know if you don't have a Local Hobby Shop nearby or can't find a specific part you need to complete the kit. We will help you out.

Q. I'm a beginner. Are there any planes that you sell that I can learn on?
A. Yes. Many modelers have learned to fly on our planes- although not recommended as a first kit, the FLOYD, PANTHER and EUREKA have been flown by people with only simple understandings of how airplanes fly- they read as much as they can and hopefully find a local club or modeler who can help them keep their plane in one piece through the learning curves. These planes have taught hundreds of pilots to fly succesfully.

YOU WILL CRASH WHILE YOU LEARN. WE AT STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE FLY PERFECT RIGHT FROM THE GET GO! This is why we designed our planes from durable foam. Repairs are often simple enough to be done in the field with packing tape.

It helps to have learned on a flight simulator- there are many available- including a free one called FMS- make sure you check it out on the links page on this site- it really is a great learning tool. Nothing, however, replaces someone whose flown planes for a while- especially getting your plane set for that first flight- there is a lot of trimming and know how that goes into that first toss!

NOTE- We are currently developing a dedicated SLOPE TRAINER plane. This plane will be designed completely with a beginner builder and pilot in mind. Available Spring 2008

Q. How much is a radio, receiver and servos going to cost me?
A. We have a few radios that we recommend to our customers regularly- Some that have worked well are the single stick series by HITEC and the ones made by FUTABA. They are inexpensive and come with most all of what you need for the radio, receiver and servos, but if you know that you are going to like radio control flying, we recommend purchasing at least a 4 channel radio- they will grow with you. (by the way-) many of us here at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM use our $60.00 HITEC radios every day- they make great radios for your slope planes and for your electric kits that you keep in your trunk- make sure you don't get rid of your "simple" radios-

Basically, you will be spending at least $60.00. We dont recommend buying anything more than $200.00. That's our recommendation- $60 to $200 for the radio, receiver, servos and battery. (Servos usually all come in the box together) If you have any questions about which radios to buy, please email us.

Q. After all is said and done, how much will it cost me to get started in this hobby with one of your kits?
A. To get into Radio Control Sailplanes, expect to spend at least $150. That is for the simplest controller (which work just fine) and using tape as a covering material. Many people spend at least $200, especially if they opt for a nicer radio system.

For ELECTRIC PLANES, The costs go much higher to start, you need a radio and covering material, just like the sailplanes, but you also need a motor, batteries and a battery charger- so expect to spend around $200 to $400 to get yourself set up.

The cost of the actual kit itself is usually the lowest costing component in the equation. Radio Control is a terrific hobby, don't be surprised if you sell your video games or start turning off the television on sunny days- it is quite addicting!

Let us know if you need help deciding on what gear to purchase.

Q. I will be headed out of town next weekend. Can I take my kit on the trip and build it in the hotel room during the weekend so I can fly it during the trip? Has anyone else built their planes this way?
A. Here's where it gets almost too cool- YES. Many customers (especially repeat customers) find that they love having a "spare" kit in their hobby room, just waiting for the need to build a simple plane just for a specific weekend. One customer bought his planes specifically to build one night with his buddy while on vacation to KITTY HAWK, Carolina.

Another fellow built his while his motor home was stuck for 3 hours in heavy snow that stopped all traffic.

The original FLOYD GLIDERS (check out the HISTORY link for more info) were all built in the 2 hours before a contest at the contest site that morning! Everyone of the the 20 or so participants had their plane built and in the air before the 2 hour mark. Yes, they were simply built and probably needed a little more time to fine tune, but after passing the flight test and having a look over for safety, all of the "ONE DESIGN RACE" partipants then raced their planes in the stiff Pacific winds of Northern California. Not bad for less than 2 hours- a few were flying just a little after the 1 hour mark- All of our kits hold the same abilities- you can build them as simply or as complicated as you want, but all can be flying in as little as 2 to 4 hours. Think of what you can do with a whole weekend-

Check out our GALLERY link for pics of some really nicely built and some "functionally built" aircraft. All fly great. Just remember to pack all the tools you need before setting off on your trip! Make sure to pack a roll of tape!

Q. Why should I buy one of your planes instead of one of the many planes out on the web and in the hobby stores?
A. We asked that question directly to Dean Thomas (the owner and developer of STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM) his answer is as follows. "We here at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM know what the consumer (you) wants. We ourselves are all Radio Control enthusiasts who fly our products constantly. We design planes that we want to fly as well as can afford to fly regularly. I happen to own several aircraft that we did not manufacture, some are all fiberglass ships, others are EPP warbirds yet even others are made by other large and small manufacturers. I have found that you get more plane for your money by sticking with the smaller manufacturers. We keep in closer contact with our consumers, sometimes almost daily contact.

Flying planes is about spending your free time doing what you enjoy, not just what you can afford- more expensive and larger kits don't mean more fun. Larger runs means it takes the larger companies longer periods of time- months, years- just to correct a simple flaw in their kits. I don't know how many times I've purchased kits over the years that had an addendum to the instructions or a replacement part in the kit that didn't quite fit- We here at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM make smaller batches of the planes, and when new products and technologies come out, we immediately set up our facility to make use of this- for our customers- we don't wait until our warehouse shelves get emptied before we retool- its a constant.

WE ARE ALWAYS REDESIGNING AND RETHINKING HOW TO MAKE A BETTER KIT. We also reuse as much packaging and packing materials as possible. Most of our manufacturing waste is used as filler for our shipments, instead of going to landfill. We use unbleached reusable/recyclable cardboard boxes to ship in. Not many other manufacturers do that.

If we think that a different manufacturer's aircraft will work better for your application, we will let you know. We at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM want you to have the best experience you can.

So to answer this question directly- We at STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM make the best aircraft kits for the money and for your time. We want to be a part of your free time- we want you to fly more, build as much as you want to and have the best time you can have. We stay in touch with our customers and we have a very large repeat customer list. In our eyes, every order is a "CUSTOM ORDER" we make sure that exactly what the customer wants in their order is in their order right down to making sure that there isn't anything else we can do to make their order more than they expected for their money.

Q. Why would anyone want to fly a glider when they can fly an electric airplane?
A. The answer to this question is deep. We are talking ZEN here people. DEEP MEDITATION. No, not really- but it can be that if you want it to- Sailplanes are all about flying like the birds- floating lazily on updrafts of warm air over the cornfields, screaming by at 80 MPH in the coastal and mountain winds during winter storms. Electric and gas planes are fun and exciting in their own right, but gliders are the closest thing to being a bird that we have. If your a propeller person, give sailplanes a chance, and if your a glider guider, give powered flight a chance too- there are great things about both, but there is something about flying on an invisible magic, playing follow the leader with your buddy hanging out at some of the most beautiful places on Earth, with nothing but the sound of wind in your ears.

Want a fun fact? Right now, two people are tied with their sailplanes going over 232 mph. Many people are over the 150 mph mark, with many more everyday. Electric (or even fuel) powered planes would ahve a hard time getting that. Unpowered planes, flying at over 200 mph, a few feet from you as you hear the whine of the airfoil cutting the wind. Sailplanes have more to offer, but only if you are willing to go to the limits!

Q. Don't you need a lot of wind to fly (a glider)? I don't live near any hills, can I still fly a sailplane?
A. There are many different aspects to glider flight- some gliders are designed for being thrown by hand into tiny pockets of "lift" or rising thermals over open fields - for that its best to not have any wind- then you can fly like the hawks and vultures all day- another aspect uses larger sailplanes that are launched by huge winches or 100 foot rubber bands to get into the larger thermals 100's of feet up, chasing clouds as they drift across the wheat fields.

Some people use electric motors on their sailplanes to fly on light lift days. These can be fun to fly, even if there is no lift.

Then there is Slope Sailing. For that you need wind- often around 10 mph of it. These are the planes that fly the fastest- in fact, a new facet of the hobby, called Dynamic Soaring (or DS'ing) actually accelerates the airframe past its terminal velocity (often above 100 mph) using surprisingly low wind speeds.- There is a part of the Sailplane sport for you no matter where you live.

Q. How does a sailplane fly?
A. We started to ask this question to Dean Thomas (the owner and developer of STEELHEADPRODUCTS.COM), but after the first 30 seconds, we realized his answer wasn't really the best for someone who actually asked the question to hear as a reply, so here is our best explanation:

A sailboat uses pressures against the sail to help move it in a forward motion, much like the wind pushes up against a sailplane's wing as it is flying, updrafts push up on the plane and help to make it go forward just like the sailboat- but here's the big one, (also the same mechanics involved in powered aircraft)- as the wing moves forward through the air, it passes over the top and bottom of the wing, since the top of the wing is curved, the result is a small pocket of low pressure, almost sucking the plane skyward.

Dean started trying to describe how that exact same principal works on a sailboat's sail but that seemed a bit much- he swears its true (so we'll at least consider that possibility) hmm... so a sailboat is "sucked" around the lake? :)

Q. Are there any web sites that you can recommend that I read their info before I fly? Beginner sites, new to slope soaring, new to electrics etc?
A. Yes there are, please check out our link pages on this web site. There are some descriptions next to a few pages that say recommended for a beginner to read.