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ARF RC airplanes
('Almost Ready to Fly')

ARF rc airplanes (Almost Ready to Fly) are a great choice if you want to be introduced to model airplane building by doing just a small amount of work on the model to get it ready for flight.

ARF models can be purchased as gas or electric powered, and all of them are very similar in terms of completeness, although obviously there are differences between manufacturers.
They almost always come fully covered with a separate sheet of decals for you to add yourself, and the majority of work needed is related to radio control gear and motor installation, which you need to purchase separately.

Once this installation is complete, there will then be some final assembly work, possibly fixing landing gear, tailplane assembly and fuel tank installation, for example.


An ARF Extra 330

Above, an ARF 'Extra 330' just needs RC & motor installation before final assembly


Installing the radio gear and motor isn't a difficult job, but if it's your first time then you really do need to follow carefully the manufacturers instructions. If you have any doubts about the radio or motor installation, consulting a fellow modeler or hobby shop would be the best thing to do.

Depending on how much the manufacturer has done for you, you may or may not need to carry out control surface and servo linkage work yourself when installing the radio gear. Again, not a difficult job but setting everything up well is crucial to a successful flight!

Search for ARF rc planes at Red Rocket Hobby Shop.


Another option these days is to buy an ARF combo deal - this is the airplane plus motor, leaving you to just get the radio gear and do the installation and finishing work.
This is a good way to purchase an ARF plane because it ensures a perfect airplane-motor match, and usually works out cheaper than buying the plane and motor separately.
Either way, an ARF rc airplane kit is an excellent introduction to building a model plane, without jumping in at the deep end!

[Note - sometimes you might see ARF models referred to as ARTF - they're exactly the same thing, just a different abbreviation. This often occurs between two countries, for example American modelers would say ARF while British flyers often say ARTF.]


Red Rocket Hobby Shop have a large range of ARF planes.


Related pages

RTF rc airplanes

Plug n' Play rc airplanes.



Other site links for ARF RC airplanes...