RC Plane Lab
Education & Explainer
About
Welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast, a show for anyone who likes RC airplanes! We’ll share tips and tricks on how to build models and how to be a better pilot. Visit us at RCPlaneLab.com to sign up for our email list and to ask us questions.
Episodes
- EP 210: A Trailer, a Charger, and a Great Day Flying
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 enjoy…
- Ep 209: The Beginner’s Lounge, Trailer Upgrades, and the RACores Yak‑55 Assembly
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 ma…
- Ep 208: 2026 Toledo Wrap up, with Daniel and Reggie
Tune in to hear how the 2026 Toledo RC Swap Meet and Expo went for the guys!
- Ep 207: From Trash to Treasure, New Releases, and Swap‑Meet Fun
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 rel…
- Ep 206: Inside the 2026 Toledo R/C Swap Meet & Expo with Hank Rauhaus
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…
- Ep 205: Farewells, Finds, and a Free BF‑109
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. *…
- Ep 204: What’s in our Hangar?
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 rebui…
- EP 203 - What the Fish??
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 yo…
- Ep 202: The 13th Squadron with Jack and Steve Niezgoda
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/bf109giveawa…
- Ep 201: 2025 End of Year Wrap-Up, with the Wives!
Tune in to hear our annual Wive's Episode! Here's to a wonderful 2026!
- Ep 200: Listener Questions and Other Stuff
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/
- Ep 199: Swap Meets and Stuff
Tune in as Dave's brother, Daniel, joins us as we talk about a couple recent swap meets, and other stuff.
- Ep 198: Winter Plans
Tune in to hear what the guys have planned for the winter, and some other stuff, too!
- Ep 197: REPLAY: Halloween Special; Scary RC Airplane Stories
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!
- Ep 196: AS3X+ with Miguel Alvarez
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 receive…
- Ep 195: Greg Stone, Candidate for AMA President
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 t…
- Ep 194: The Last Fly-In of the Year... Probably. And Other News... :(
Tune in to hear how the last fly-in of the year went for the guys, and Tommy has some news.
- Ep 193: Let's Talk Vintage!
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.
- Ep 192: Tommy fixes his jet, and other stuff
Tune in to hear how Tommy's jet fix went, and hear what else he's been working on.
- Ep 191: It is a crash if it breaks!
Tune in to hear about the recent events we've been to, what we have coming up, and who crashed!
- Ep 190: It's not a crash if it doesn't break!
Tune in as the guys discuss some upcoming fly-ins, and what they've been up to the last couple of weeks.
- Ep 189: New Plane Releases, Drone Shows, and Model Aviation Day
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.
- Ep 188: Rain, Rain, Go Away... Little Tommy wants to Fly!
Tune in to hear some exciting news from Tommy. Plus, a shout out to a listener that sent us something pretty cool.
- Ep 187: Man Down! lol
Tommy's gone this week, but tune in to find out what Ron and Dave have been up to over the last couple of weeks!
- Ep 186: Rambling on
Tune in as the guys talk about the last couple of weeks and some new plane releases. **************** Join our Discord server: https://rcplanelab.com/discord Take a moment to fill out our listener survey: https://rcplanelab.com/listener-su…
- Ep 185: 2025 Joe Nall Wrap Up
Tune in as the guys talk all about their trip to Joe Nall this year!
- Ep 184: The Good, the Bad, and the Muddy; From Joe Nall with Lee and Fitz!
2/3rds of the RC Plane Lab crew were able to meet up with 2/3rds of the RC Roundtable crew and record together on the final day of Joe Nall 2025! Tune in for the fun! **************** Join our Discord server: https://rcplanelab.com/discord…
- Ep 183: FrSky Steve
Tune in as the guys sit down and chat with Steve Schlesinger from FrSky as we learn about the history of FrSky, how to pronounce it, and some of the cool things Dave's new radio can do. Link to the Ethos 1.6.2 Simulator for the X20RSS: htt…
- Ep 182: New Planes, New Radio, New Trailer!
Tune in as the guys talk about them setting a new record for number of maidens in one day, Dave talks about his new FrSky radio, and Ron talks about what he's done with his new trailer so far... **************** Join our Discord server: ht…
- Ep 181: 2025 Toledo Wrap Up!
What sold? What's new? How was racing? Tune in to hear how the 2025 Toledo RC Swap Meet and Expo went for the RC Plane Lab guys!
- Ep 180: RC Planes for Beginners, Revisited
Tune in as the guys revisit one of their beginning episodes covering RC Planes for Beginners. A bit of a warning: This episode goes back to basics, covering terms and topics that are familiar to those of us that are not starting out in the…
- Ep 179: Spring's here. Now what?
It may not really feel like it for those of us in the mid-west, but Spring is finally here! Tune in to hear what the guys have been up to and what we have coming up. **************** Join our Discord server: https://rcplanelab.com/discord…
- Ep 178: Dan Landis from Boomerang RC Jets
In this episode, we sit down with Dan Landis from Boomerang RC Jets to learn about Dan and to talk about this history of Boomerang and what's in store for their future. For more information, head over to their website: https://www.boomeran…
- Ep 177: Planes, Boats, and Automobiles
There are lots of new airplanes to talk about this week, along with a boat Ron recently received, planes Dave has refurbished, and a new purchase Ron is excited about! Head over to https://rcplanelab.com/ep177 to see pictures of the flying…
- Ep 176: Henry Rauhaus from the Toledo R/C Swap Meet & Expo
Mark your calendars for April 4 & 5, 2025 and head over to Toledo, OH for one of the biggest swap meets in the country! In today's episode, we sit down and talk with Henry Rauhaus, the face of the Toledo R/C Swap Meet & Expo. Tune in to he…
- Ep 175: Snow Way!
We got some snow here in Central Illinois, and decided to make the best of it by doing some snow flying. We also made it to the Rock River Aero Modelers Society swap meet in Janesville, WI. Tune in to hear how it all went! ****************…
- Ep 174: 2025, Here we Come!
2025 starts off with some new plane releases, a few flights, and a few crashes. Tune in to hear how the last couple weeks have gone! Airplane releases: https://tinyurl.com/64mmf18 https://tinyurl.com/80mmf22 https://tinyurl.com/UMXCirrusSR…
- Ep 173: 2024 Year End Wrap Up, with the Wives!
Happy Holidays from the RC Plane Lab gang! Tune in as the guys reminisce with their wives as 2024 comes to an end.
- Ep 172: Catching Up
Tune in as the guys catch up with each other on what's been going on the last couple of weeks. After one of the last episodes, Fred, one of our listeners reached out to us about a 1s battery discharging cable that he had made. To see a pic…
- Ep 171: A Stik-y Episode!
Tune in as the guys talk about a recent swap meet and some new airplanes... Hint: There may be some Stiks involved. :)
- Ep 170: You Sunk My Sailboat, with Terry Dunn
Tune in as the guys have a chat with Terry Dunn (from the RC Roundtable podcast) about Ron's recent trip to Wisconsin for an indoor fly-in and an impromptu RC flotilla of fun, where Ron may or may not have sank one of Terry's Sailboats. He…
- Ep 169: Soft Tires, Soft Landings
Dave and Tommy have given the new air filled tires from E-flite a try. Tune in to hear what they think about them, and lots more! Tool of the week: The Spektrum Soldering Jig https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/spektrum-soldering-jig/SPMX…
- Ep 168: REPLAY: Halloween Special; Scary RC Airplane Stories
We hope you enjoy our replay of our first Halloween episode! This one was fun to make, so we hope you have as much fun listening as we did recording it!
- Ep 167: Oops, Dave did it again!
Crashes. Nobody likes them. Tune in to hear about Dave's most recent outing... and other stuff. ******************* Join our Discord server: https://rcplanelab.com/discord Take a moment to fill out our listener survey: https://rcplanelab.c…
- Ep 166: When are airplane markings offensive?
Tune in as the guys talk about a failed fly in, some windy flying, and give their answers to the question "When are airplane markings offensive?" Links: E-Flite 64mm Viper https://www.e-fliterc.com/product/viper-64mm-edf-jet-bnf-basic-with…
- Ep 165: Ron Crashes, more maidens, and other things...
Tune in to hear what the guys have been up to the last couple of weeks, including more maidens and a crash.
- Ep 164: Illini Jets, AS3X+ installs, maidens, and more!
Tune in as the guys talk about their recent trip to the 2024 Illini Jet Meet at Eli Field, some new airplanes, and a bunch of other stuff. For links and photos of some of what we talk about in this episode, head over to https://rcplanelab.…
- Ep 163: Tommy visits another hobby shop, and more!
Tommy finds another hobby shop to visit, this time in Iowa. The guys also talk about their recent activities.
- Ep 162: Dave's Remote ID Module, and other stuff
Tune in to hear about the new remote id module Dave found on Amazon (the Ruko), and other stuff.
- Ep 161: Many Maidens and the big Spektrum Update
Tune in to hear about the numerous recent maidens the guys have had, along with some talk about the newly released Spektrum update