Great Planes Model Manufacturing Co

• Great Planes – Website – Good product info with links to support material & videos when available.
• Great Planes – Technical Data – Airplane Technical data
• Great Planes – Parts Lists & Manuals – The links provide you with manuals and full parts listings of the items which came in your kit or ARF.

From their website…

“Great Planes takes pride in every one of our planes — so you can take pride in yours.”

Don Anderson, President of Great Planes Model Manufacturing, on what it takes to make a great company… 

“When I started Great Planes Model Manufacturing in 1982-with a degree in mechanical engineering and plenty of experience assembling poorly-made R/C kits-I knew what I wanted to see changed: better designs, higher quality parts, more helpful instruction manuals and easier flying characteristics. People ask me how a company as young as Great Planes has managed to achieve all this and more. I tell them you need three key ingredients…”

Great Technology

“Surprisingly, no machines had ever been designed specifically for cutting model airplane parts before. So I worked with a well-known designer to create machines capable of smooth, precise cuts. With the addition of computer-aided drafting, our engineers have fine-tuned interlocking construction to make our planes virtually “goof-proof.”

We also use computers to generate extremely accurate model plans that complement photo-illustrated instruction manuals. They take all the guesswork out of assembly. One of the best examples of this `next generation‘ building ease is our Giles G-202. CAD capabilities enabled the G-202 team to come up with solutions to kit builders‘ most problematic and time-consuming jobs.

Sheeting is simpler. Four full-span shear webs in the wing interlock with ribs, which provide perfect alignment along with less weight and increased strength. That‘s a key reason why the G-202 can be docile with a .46, superb on a .61 and unbelievable with a 4-stroke .91.”

Great Products

“Listening to fliers also helps us meet their needs for new products. In addition to perfecting the art of kit-making, Great Planes has taken Almost Ready-to-Fly engineering to new heights with models like the Ryan STA. It‘s flight-ready in only 15 hours. But with its oval-shaped, sheeted fuselage and MonoKote® covering, the Ryan looks — and performs — like a carefully built scale masterpiece.

We‘ve also turned our attention to the increasingly popular Park Flyer electrics for today‘s smaller flying sites. You‘ll find trademark Great Planes assembly and flight advantages in such compact models as the BLT, Tutor, Fundango and Li‘l Poke. But that‘s not all: Our engineers also created perfectly matched motors, batteries, gear drive systems and electronic speed controls to help you bring out your Park Flyer‘s very best performance.

Listening helps us identify the areas that you care about most. Addressing those areas with new products makes modeling more satisfying for everyone.”

Great People

“A company can be only as good as its people, and we have the best. Our in-house R&D team consists entirely of active R/C modelers, many of whom have more than 20 years of experience in the hobby. They include specialists in most modeling areas, champion builders and fliers who are among the top in their fields.

I feel lucky to have founded, and still be a part of, a company that is so successful and so much fun. At Great Planes, we‘re a team, pulling together to accomplish a common goal. We take pride in our planes, so you can take pride in yours.”

President & Founder,
Great Planes Model Manufacturing