fully printable R/C plane for your desktop 3Dprinter
Fully 3D printable RC model of the classic plane, specially designed as a cheap and easy to
build SuperStable RC model for everyday flying. Many scale details such as airframe plating
encourages to create realistic paint jobs. This plane has been designed for printing from
PolyLight 1.0 LW-PLA active foaming filament, that allow even the small printed planes to be
as light as any other RC plane building technique. Get ready for flying with this great performing flying legend!
The first fully printable airplane files prepared for your 3Dprinter, with flight char-
acteristics, comparable or even supperior to classic build model airplane.
This is not a dream, now you can print this HI-TECH at home. Simply download and print the
whole plane or spare parts anytime you need just for a cost of filament only about $10.
Extensive hi-tech 3d structural reinforcement making the model very
rigid while maintaining a lightweight airframe and exact airfoil even it’s just a plastic. This perfect and exact 3d structure is possible only thanks to additive 3dprinting technology. So welcome to the 21st century of model flying and be the first at your airfield.
Easy to assembly, you don’t need any extra tools or hardware, just glue printed parts
together and make pushrods for control surfaces. The rest of the assembly is very easy. Simply add brushless motor, ESC, servos and radio system. Don’t worry, detailed step by step
PDF/VIDEO is included. You’ll get a superb performing airplane with highly ecient powerplant capable of flying 7+ minutes at full throttle and speeds exceeding 80 kph. Low stall
speed is achieved for easy landing on the other hand.
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General specifications:
Wingspan:1068 mm / 42.0 inch
Lenght:675 mm / 26.6 inch
Height:310 mm / 12.2 inch
Wing area:18,15 dm2 / 1.94 square feet
Wing loading:31 g/dm2 / 15.3 oz/square feet
Center of gravity:44 mm / 1.73 inch from leading edge
Airfoil:LHK12 modified by 3DLabPrint
Print weight (LW PLA):224 g / 7.90 oz
Empty weight (w/o battery):380 g / 13.40 oz
Takeo weight (3s 1300 lipo):500 g / 17.63 oz
Max takeo weight:700 g / 24.70 oz
Never exceed speed, VNE:70 km/h / 50 mph
Design maneuvering speed, VA:50 km/h / 31 mph
Stall speed, VS:15 km/h / 9.4 mph
Recommended setup
Motor:Leopard LC2830 980KV (for 3S setup)
ESC:Turnigy 20A / 3S or similar
Propeller:two blade GWS 8 x 4 (ugly orange)
Battery:LiPol 1300mAh / 3s
printed PET motor mount
Performance measurement
Max speed VH (level flight):105 km/h – 56.7kn – 65.2mph with GWS 9x7,5
Rate of climb:20 m/s (5 373 ft/min) with GWS 9x7,5
Flight time (3s 1300mAh/full):7:30 with GWS 8x4
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Piper J-3 Cub
... print your plane | www.3DLabPrint.com
OThe Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by
Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed
handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Piper Aircraft‘s most-produced
model, with nearly 20,000 built in the United States. Its simplicity, aordability and popularity
invokes comparisons to the Ford Model T automobile.
The aircraft is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane with a large-area rectangular wing. It is
most often powered by an air-cooled, flat-4 piston engine driving a fixed-pitch propeller. Its
fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric, seating two people in tandem.
The Cub was designed as a trainer. It had great popularity in this role and as a general aviation
aircraft. Due to its performance, it was well suited for a variety of military uses such as
reconnaissance, liaison and ground control. It was produced in large numbers during World
War II as the L-4 Grasshopper. Many Cubs are still flying today. Cubs are highly prized as bush
aircraft.
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Included:
1. 3MF 3D files (primary)
Used instead of STL files
3mf files can be used instead of standard STL files, but also include information about slicing
in the new version of Prusa Slicer (since version 2.4). Open them directly in the Prusa Slicer
as a project or import to the slicer of your choice. The files contain settings for printing on a
direct drive printer with dimensions 200x200x200 mm, that can be further adapted to suit
your printer. The generic settings are compatible with Prusa MK2/3/3S printers.
2. Factory files for Simplify3D slicer
contains all the necessary settings to slice the models along with suggested bed layout. We‘re
using PRUSA i3 ORIGINAL printers so you may need to adjust the basic printing parameters
to match your printer or use these files as a start point for you.
3. Printing Guide in our Help Section
Apart from this userguide, please see the Printing Guide for PrusaSlicer, Simplify3D or Cura
to find some Tips and Advice for airplane printing (Thin Wall Printing).Remember: We use 0
retraction and 0.4-0.5 flow with LW-PLA.
4. Gcodes
Basic Gcodes prepared for direct use, as universal as possible. Should work on i3 style
printers, Give it a try, but we can‘t guarantee it will work on your printer. Wall thickness
should be 0.55-0.67mm.
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5. Scale markings PDF
You could print and cut the PDF in scale from thin self adhesive advertisement foil and place
it on the model as needed.
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Piper J-3 Cub
... print your plane | www.3DLabPrint.com
44 mm
Center of Gravity
Wing area: 18,15 dm2 / 1.94 square feet
Wingspan: 1068 mm / 42.0 inch
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Lenght: 675 mm / 26.6 inch
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Step By Step PDF/VIDEO userguide
1. Choose airplane at www.3Dlabprint.com, visit our Facebook for latest info.
Basic requirments for A6M2 Zero are 200/200/195 mm
volume, nozzle 0.4mm recommended (0.35 or 0.5mm
alternativelly). Heated bed recommended. Designed to be
printed with Polylight LW-PLA filament by 3DLabPrint.
Contact: [email protected]
2. Create account, download
You will receive download link to all the zipped files to your
email right after the checkout (please check your spam folder
if not). If you are logged in with your account while purchasing
the model, you will find the download link in your account’s
Downloadssectiononourwebsite.Pleasecontact
if your printer is i3 comptatible you can use prepared gcodes directly. Just save them to the
SD card and let the 3d printer do it‘s job. HE temperature is set to 240°C so the layers fuse
together well, you can adjust speed and temperature only through your printer‘s LCD. If these
Gcodes does not work for you, please proceed to the next options.
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option B Factory files Simplify3D:
We prepared all you need in these files (FFF process settings, parts layout on bed, etc...)
You can use these settings as a start point. Adjust according to your need (adapt for your
printer), print single parts and so on... Most 3d printers should work just with these settings,
but please go through the settings and amend if necessary, we are not liable for any damage
resulting from using our settings. If this still does not work for you, please proceed to the
next option.
option C Prusa Slicer 3mf files (recommended)
Please follow the guide in the Help section of our website about Prusa Slicer setup.
Drag and drop the 3mf file to the Prusa Slicer window and open it as a Project. It will create
a Generic 3DLabPrint printer, printing profile and materials. Please use these as a starting
point instead of your printer profiles provided by your printer manufacturer. Strong thinwall printing is a dierent discipline than printing Benchys what are the stock profiles usually optimized for. Once you tweak your profiles (retractions, etc.) you can easily switch the
profile everytime you open the 3mf file. All the slicing tweaks, such as added top/bottom
layers etc. are stored in the models below, so it won’t be overwritten.
Remember: We are using 0.5 multiplier and 0 retraction with LW-PLA.
3MF
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option D CURA or MatterControl
MatterControl and CURA are free and provide satisfactory results. The airframe is still strong
enough, but don‘t expect the best quality. Both slicers lacks some very useful features, and
finer settings, like multiple processes according to Z height, retraction options, layer start,
etc.
Please try to find the best extrusion multiplier and temperature for good weight and best
possible layer bonding. Look at parts weight list for proper multiplier settings.
As a starting point you can use our predefined CURA or MC slicer setting file - see below
(always adapt it for your printer, change build volume, filament diameter, etc...
according to your printer!!!)
Please check our CURA guide on the website for the latest basic profile. Please visualise our
presliced gcodes to see how the result should look like and try to achieve the same in your
slicer. Remember: We are using 0.5 extrusion multiplier and 0 retraction with LW-PLA.
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... print your plane | www.3DLabPrint.com
4. Print it
Save the Gcodes to the SD card and insert into your printer. Prepare your printer and start
printing, we prefer to use SD card rather than direct USB connection. Scaling the model will
lead to unusable result!
you will need: LW-PLA filament - (Polylight LW-PLA)
3DLac, Strong hair spray, PEI or your favorite adhesive bed surface
Razor blade
AND... please watch our VideoGuides:
Basic Tips and Advice
While stadard PLA filament could be used, this plane has been designed to be printed from
foaming LW-PLA that means about 50% weight reduction on printed parts.
Please Experiment with temperature and extrusion multiplier (0.55-0.67mm Wall thickness).
Hotend temperature is very important (220° up to 260° celsius). The temperature determines,
how much the LW-PLA foams while printing. Cranking up temperature means, you can go
lower on multiplier as the material will gain on volume. Turn OFF cooling fan for better layer
adhesion (HE fan should be ON). We dont need it for thin wall printing. Heated bed is very
recommended, 55-60° Celsius (to prevent warping ends).
Price of the LW-PLA may look a bit steep at first glance, but since we’re using 50% less
material thanks to the foaming feature, the cost dierence is not so high as it looks.
Please see the Printing Guide (Help Section)
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How to print PolyLight LW-PLA?
The basic print setup is almost the same as we use for standard
PLA. The only dierence is in extrusion multiplier set to 0.5 and
turning o the retractions completely.
This results in parts with half the weight and still suitable
mechanical properties, this model is designed mainly in VASE
mode, even that expect some stringing inside and outside in
some inpossible spots. Of course you can try to tweak the
retractions for less stringing inside the parts, but there‘s a high
risk of clogging the nozzle or throat. Increasing the retraction
distance above 1 mm is not recommended at all and leads to
nozzle clogs caused by foaming. Cleaning the hairy, but
functional parts after printing with retractions completely
disabled seems to be more ecient method. The nozzle is
permanently pressurized and you don‘t need to worry about
print failures. This method works fine even for bowden
printers.
Extrusion multiplier 0,5 has been tested for easy print with
massive weight saving around 50%. Feel free to experiment
with extrusion multiplier and temperatures at will for the best
results on your printer. This airplane is designed for 0.55 -
0.67mm Wall thickness.
Cosmetic issues of the prints are easily fixed with snap knife or
sand paper, as the LW is easily sanded and cut.
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3DLabPrint Piper J-3 CUB weights (LW-PLA)
fuselage
F126,2 g0,92 oz
F224,4 g0,86 oz
F313,9 g0,49 oz
F410 g0,35 oz
fuselage cover 11,8 g0,06 oz
fuselage cover 25,3 g0,19 oz
fuselage cover lock0,5 g0,02 oz
engine valves (pair)12,2 g0,43 oz
wings
wing CENTRE12,3 g0,46 oz
wing L118,2 g0,64 oz
wing L218,4 g0,65 oz
wing L312,7 g0,45 oz
wing L44,8 g0,17 oz
wing R118,2 g0,64 oz
wing R218,4 g0,65 oz
wing R312,7 g0,45 oz
wing R44,8 g0,17 oz
aileron L12,9 g0,10 oz
aileron L22,9 g0,10 oz
aileron L33,6 g0,13 oz
aileron R12,9 g0,10 oz
aileron R22,9 g0,10 oz
aileron R33,6 g0,13 oz
tail
horizontal stabiliser L12,5 g0,09 oz
horizontal stabiliser L22,5 g0,09 oz
horizontal stabiliser R12,5 g0,09 oz
horizontal stabiliser R22,5 g0,09 oz
elevator L12,1 g0,07 oz
elevator L21 g0,04 oz
elevator L30,9 g0,03 oz
elevator R1A0,5 g0,02 oz
elevator R1B1,8 g0,06 oz
elevator R21 g0,04 oz
elevator R30,9 g0,03 oz
rudder 10,5 g0,02 oz
rudder 20,5 g0,02 oz
rudder 31 g0,04 oz
rudder 41,2 g0,04 oz
elevator junction1,4 g0,05 oz
gear
gear main legs23 g0,81 oz
gear disc (pair)7,6 g0,27 oz
gear tyre (pair) FLEX11,6 g0,41 oz
tail wheel disc0,4 g0,01 oz
tail wheel tyre FLEX0,4 g0,01 oz
accessories
motor mount5,1 g0,18 oz
battery holder2,2 g0,08 oz
cooler & exhausts3 g0,11 oz
rubber band holders3 g0,11 oz
printed weight308 g10,87 oz
oats
float L123 g0,81 oz
float L27,6 g0,27 oz
float L311,6 g0,41 oz
float L45,4 g0,19 oz
float R123 g0,81 oz
float R27,6 g0,27 oz
float R311,6 g0,41 oz
float R45,4 g0,19 oz
tail rudder fin1,7 g0,06 oz
front float holder13,1 g0,46 oz
back float holder13,1 g0,46 oz
printed weight
with floats
421 g14,86 oz
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5. Assembly of printed parts
5.1 Wing assembly Piper J-3 Cub
Glue wing parts wing CENTRE and L1-L4 together. The new 3DLabPrint lock system will help
you. Repeat for the right side. Glue both halves of the wing together. Use the CA glue,
(position locks and wing pins will help you to align the parts), and use activator to speed up
the glue curing. Press in and glue a piece of PolyAir, PLA, PETG or 1.5 mm carbon rod into the
top and bottom openning to create a wing spar and improve the rigidity of the wing.
On a flat surface glue the ailerons L1-L3 and repeat for the right side. Use a filament or
suitable 0,8mm - 1,5mm carbon rod as a hinge for the ailerons. Just slide it in, there‘s no need
to glue the hinge for easy aileron or servo replacement. Wall thickness should be 0.55-0.67
You can use snap knife for cleaning the surface of printed parts, but mostly it is not necessary.
Glue fuselage parts F1-F4 with CA glue together. The new 3DLabPrint lock system will help
you. Check the alignment of F4 part compared to the wing before glueing. Do not glue
rudder part before tail and elevator assembly. Use any hot tool to remove the unnecessary
material from F4 tail part for the elevator arm.
Insert printed rods making a rubber band wing holders. No need to glue it for easy
replacement. Wall thickness should be 0.55-0.67.
For fuselage cover arm use a ball pen spring. Put it to the part 2 and glue with part 1 together.
See video guide Piper J-3 Cub fusselage assembly
you will need:CA Glue - medium + Activator for CA Glue
Snap knife, SandPaper Some cloth for wiping CA glue...
BallPen Spring
F4
10g/0.45oz LW
F3
13,9g/0.49oz LW
rubber band holders
3,0g/0.11oz PET
F2
24,4g/0.86oz LW
cover 2
5,3g/0.19oz LW
F1
26,2g/0.92oz LW
cover lock
0,5g/0.02oz LW
cover 1
1,8g/0.06oz LW
engine valves
12,2g/0.43oz PLA
motor mount
5,1g/0.18oz PET
cooler & exhausts
3,0g/0.11oz PLA
ball pen spring
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5.2.2 Tail assembly Piper J-3 Cub
Glue L1 and L2 parts of the stabilizer and elevator. The profile is symmetric, so the left and
right sides are identical. Glue the stabilizers perfectly perpendicular to the fuselage. Assemble
both sides of the elevator with the elevator arm on a flat surface. Make a Z bend on the
elevator and rudder 0,5 mm pushrod wire. Mount the elevator assembly to the stabilizer
using the piece of PET filament. Elevator should move freely controlled by the pushrod and
servo. Glue rudder part together and mount to the fuselage by piece of PET filament. Check
the functionality of the elevator and rudder assembly carefully.
See video guide Piper J-3 Cub tail assembly
you will need:CA Glue - medium + Activator for CA Glue
Snap knife, SandPaper Some cloth for wiping CA glue...
2x 0,5 mm steel wire for pushrods
rudder 4
1,2g/0.04oz LW
rudder 3
elevator arm
normal PLA!
1,4g/0.05oz
elevator R
1A, 1B, 2, 3
1,0g/0.04oz LW
rudder2
0,5g/0.02oz LW
rudder 1
0,5g/0.02oz LW
elevator L2
1,0g/0.04oz LW
stabiliser R
complete
stabiliser L1
2,5g/0.09oz LW
elevator arm – normal PLA!
Tip: After gluing, the elevator coupling is smoothed into a perfect shape using a drill and sandpaper.
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elevator L1
2,1g/0.07oz LW
elevator L3
0,9g/0.03oz LW
stabiliser L2
2,5g/0.09oz LW
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... print your plane | www.3DLabPrint.com
5.2.3 Landing gear assembly Piper J-3 Cub
Put gear tyres on the rims. Insert one nut into the printed chassis and use the other nut on
the wheel axle as a counter-nut. Adjust the tightening of the bolt and the counternut so that
the wheel turns freely. Tie the centre of the chassis legs together with an oce rubber band.
Tie the center of the chassis legs together with an oce rubber band. Use the remaining
1mm wire to shape the rear chassis to your taste. Secure the rear wheel against sliding out
with a small washer and cover with glue or crimp the small brass servo bushing with pliers.
Weave the entire rear wire into the rudder and bend towards the rear. Check the functionality
of the landing gear assembly carefully.
See video guide Piper J-3 Cub landing gear assembly
you will need:2x M3 x 28-30mm screws for main wheel axle
4x M3 nuts + washers
Small piece of 1.5 mm steel wire for tail drag wheel axle
4x Self-tapping screw 3x10mm
oce rubber band
Glue the float parts 1 - 4 together for both sides. Paint the float well for perfect
watertightness. The float attachment is marked with an arrow in the direction of flight to
avoid confusion. Secure the entire main float to the hull with four screws.
The rudder tail fin is used to guide the direction of the aircraft on the water. Glue it to a 1.5 -
1.75 mm thick carbon rod. Glue the whole assembly into the rudder. The rear rudder
extension has been experimentally determined to be xx mm and will be fine-tuned according
to experience with flying on the water.
you will need:200mm of carbon rod 1,5 - 1,75 mm
4x Self-tapping screw
float R4
5,4g/0.19oz
11,6g/0.41oz
back float holder
13,1g/0.46oz PET
float R3
float R2
7,6g/0.27oz
front float holder
13,1g/0.46oz PET
tail rudder fin
1,7g/0.06oz LW
left float
completed
80 mm
float R1
23g/0.81oz
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6. Servo installation
Cut the servo holder ears on aileron servos. Install the prepared servos to wing servo bays.
Use a 1mm steel wire with Z bends as a linkage between the servos and aileron control horns.
Elevator servo will be fixed by servo holder or directly glued in the fuselage.
See video guide Piper J-3 Cub servo assembly
you will need:4x HXT900 or any similar sized servos
23x12x26 mm / 0.74x0.42x0.78 inches
Servo cable extension
Snap knife, Z pliers
7. Motor & ESC & battery holder
Fix the battery by velcro tape and mount it in the front of the fuselage, find the perfect
balance and CG position by moving it. Mount the motor using 4x M3 screws and nuts to the
printed universal motor holder 16 x 19mm. For long motors you can flip the holder to the
front (as at picture). Glue universal motor mount with motor into the fuselage in right
position.
See video guide motor setup
you will need:
4x M3x3mm screws
LW planes setup (230W)
Motor:any 2830 1000KV, opt1, opt2 or similar
ESC:any 20A/3s, opt1, opt2, opt3 or similar
Propeller:two blade GWS 8 x 4 (ugly orange) or opt1 or any 8/4 CCW
Battery:1300mAh/3s, opt1, opt2, opt3 or similar
Batt. connector: XT60 or Gold Conn
printed PET mount 16 x 19 mm
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8. Painting/marking and Final assembly/setting
See video guide Decals
Another advantage of Polylight LW-PLA is that it can be dyed with almost anything. The
surface for self-adhesive decals is ideally treated with a clear acrylic spray varnish. Use your
imagination and send us photos of your aircraft on social networks.
See video guide Final setting
Refer to your R/C system userguide for setup information.
you will need: Your own Rx/Tx system
Velcro strip & Rubber Bands (for wing)
Install your reciever, connect battery, setup servos and etc. with your trasmitter, check servo
position, then install propeller.
Make sure the battery is positioned properly and secured with velcro or battery holder, if
battery moves during flight it can shift the center of gravity backwards and aircraft will
become uncontrollable! Never set ESC with propeller installed, this could be very dangerous!
aileronelevatorrudder
+15mm+15mm
-12mm-15mmR 20mm
L 20mm
9. Go flying
Pre-flight check center of gravity is very important (move it 5mm forward for the first flights),
battery properly charged, ailerons and elevator deflection check, your own flying skills or RC
simulator training ...
Flight video of Piper J-3 Cub
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10. Pilots Please Attention!
For the first flights we recommend setting
the center of gravity to around 5 mm
forward of the CG tag - nose heavy, this
increases the stability (you can use heavier
battery). Increasing expo settings on your
transmitter for elevator and ailerons to 80
% calms response from your stick inputs.
Also you can decrease elevator, rudder and
ailerons deflection to calmdown the
plane.
Make sure the battery is well fixed in proper
possition. If it moves during flight it will
cause shifting of CoG aft and will result in
uncontrolable flight behavior.
After gaining some confidence you can
balance the plane to the Center of Gravity
marks and set Expos to 60 % as shown in
the video/instructions... this gains back
extra maneuverability.
Enjoy the fun together!
Piper J-3 Cub is the next of new LW Planes
series designed for easy and cheap flying.
The build is simple even for a beginner. It’s
verylowweight,easyassemblyand
fantastic flight characteristics makes this
model an ideal plane for beginner RC pilots.
Very suitable for dads and kids. Children
will learn some modern building skills and
technology and most of all have fun. This is
the reason, why every dad should have a 3D
printer at home.
This model has been completely designed
with the new PolyLight LW-PLA material in
mind.
Parts printed from this LW-PLA are light,
easily sanded and glued together. This
model requires only about 300g of this
material, that means it’s a very cheap build.
In case of accident, parts can be easily
reprinted with just a filament cost.
Never fly aft positioned Center of gravity.
Please, use these files only
for your own purpose, do
not redistribute or publish.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy your flight.
We’ve been testing this material for a years
beforethisplanewasreleased...The
materialisusinganactivefoaming
technology to achieve lightweight, low
density PLA parts. At around 230°C this
material will start foaming, increasing its
volume by nearly 3 times.
Almost all parts of this plane should be
printed from LW-PLA (some specific parts
needs PLA or PETg).
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Shopping list
Printing material:Polylight LW-PLA
a few of PLA or PETg (elevator arm, motor mount, landing gear, ...)
RC:R/C system, 5 or more chanels
Motor:2830/1000KV, opt1, opt2 or similar
Propeller:two blade GWS 8 x 4 (ugly orange) or opt1 or any 8/4 CCW
ESC:any 20A/3s, opt1, opt2, opt3 or similar
Battery:1300mAh/3s, opt1, opt2, opt3 or similar
+connectors XT60 or Gold Conn
Servos:4x HXT900 or any similar sized servos
23x12x26 mm / 0.82x0.47x0.86 inches
Servo cable extension
Snap knife, Z pliers
Glue:CA Glue - medium + Activator for CA Glue
Other:2x 1m or 0.8 mm pushrod wire
4x M3x3mm screws
2x M3 x 28-30mm screws for main wheel axle
4x M3 nuts + washers
Small piece of 1.5 mm steel wire for tail drag wheel axle
4x Self-tapping screw 3x10mm
oce rubber band
0,3m of 1.5 – 1.75 mm carbon or fiberglass rod (for floats}
Rubber Bands (for wing)
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