SketchUp for RC Aircraft Design Tutorial #1

by JasonEricAnderson | October 4, 2013 | (49) Posted in How To

The first in what will be a series on how to use SketchUp to design and produce printable plans for foam RC airframes.

This video is a baic introduction to SketchUp and we cover:  

  • Basic concepts
  • Red, Green, Blue, axis
  • Moving your view
  • Perspective and parallel view
  • Selecting faces and edges


I use SketchUp version 8 in these tutorials, you can download it for free from the link below. 

Download SketchUp (Free MAC/PC)

- Find this article & others like it at www.FliteTest.com -

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COMMENTS

Nathan_116 on October 5, 2013
I found that if you press down on the scroll wheel It automatically lets you orbit and if you press the scroll wheel and right click at the same time t let's you pan
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zev on October 4, 2013
thank youthank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

thank you
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JustinTime on October 5, 2013
I have a PhlatPrinter. I use Sketchup to draw all the things I cut with the printer. If anyone has questions about using SketchUp go to www.phlatforum.com. The people there use, like me, Sketchup for a long time to design airplanes.
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stephen on October 4, 2013
Hi Jason
Now this is a really good subject. Thanks.
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Jaxx on October 4, 2013
You did an excellent job with this tutorial. Thanks!
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ARCrash on October 5, 2013
I add an application called magic perfs in order to use my magic mouse on a MAC. It does work pretty good. Thank you for the demo. Very well done!

ARCrash
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LordVader on October 4, 2013
This is what I have been waiting for. Glad someone is showing those of us that are abit slow at figuring out how to use this program, a good tutorial. Thank You!
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ghostrider03z on October 4, 2013
Please keep going on with this and tag the heck out of the videos so people can find this...There are no other videos on how to use sketchup like you are showing, keep on doing this series!
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earthsciteach on October 5, 2013
You had me at Isometric, Jason. Nicely done, sir. You are a fantastic resource on this site!
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adergotardo on October 8, 2013
Well, this is a thing! Thanks A LOT!
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Krivak957 on October 7, 2013
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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Jlopez162 on October 8, 2013
con you drag in a image to sketchup (jpg,gif...) to view how it looks later? thank you for the tutorial.

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JasonEricAnderson on October 9, 2013
I cover that in Tutorial #4. :-)
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Jlopez162 on October 8, 2013
could you share us some of your dessings(OV-10/2 engine Nutball...)?

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JasonEricAnderson on October 8, 2013
Here is a link to my design/build log for the OV-10, on going.
http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?4695-Scratch-Build-Design-Swappable-Rockwell-Bronco-OV-10

The crazy mode nutball design has been shelved but I'll see if I can get it up somewhere for viewing.
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Jlopez162 on October 8, 2013
thank you lots im starting its buid tonight, send you pics of it finished.
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JasonEricAnderson on October 9, 2013
Remember, the Bronco is still in Beta, once I finish refining the plans I'll post the final version as an article, right now it is still a prototype. You may want to wait to build when I get all the kinks refined.
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SP0NZ on October 8, 2013
Jason, will you be showing us how to create flat patterns from the 3D models as well?
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JasonEricAnderson on October 8, 2013
I sure will. I'll be showing how to unwrap the model to a flat plan, add folds and notches, and export to a vector file that can be turned into a PDF.
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Michael9865 on October 10, 2013
Awesome, which template do you go into when you start the program?
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JasonEricAnderson on November 15, 2013
I just go into the default and delete the default person.
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hursto75 on March 18, 2014
Thank you so much. I am going though all your videos right now and this is really great stuff. You should really teach a class.
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JasonEricAnderson on May 1, 2014
:-) I really appreciate it! Thanks!
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lupine on March 9, 2014
I have to say the tutorial is incredible. I was struggling with Sketchup: just learning as I go, but after watching the videos......So much easier. You took all the frustration out by explaining and showing everything I need to use to design and unfold plans. Many THANKS.
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Mukhdi on September 11, 2014
Im from Indonesia ... Im just common people .. Become educated with this site .. Thanks to you also jason
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81zapper on January 28, 2015
Great article but why is reversing the faces so important ?
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JasonEricAnderson on February 1, 2015
When you create a polygon in sketchup one side white and the 'back' side is a purple-ish color. When you use the flattery plugin to unfold your shapes it will treat whatever side is white as the 'outside'. So it's to avoid confusion later in the process.

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AaronYan on December 27, 2019
The ultimate most suitable to simplify the complicated process of construction, https://crackdaily.com/sketchup-pro-download/ thanks for the tips
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SketchUp for RC Aircraft Design Tutorial #1