Uploaded June 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What happens when you leave a foamboard RC airplane out in the sun when it's 119 degrees outside? I put the Arizona FuglyJet to the test by leaving it out on this brutally hot Arizona day for 30 minutes.
The surface of the plane reached 138 degrees. The hot glue became a bit soft but did not fall apart. The duct tape wrinkled but held on. The packing tape held perfectly strong. The control surface hinges and wing joint (trailing edge) remained intact. The 3M heavy-duty mounting tape softened a little but held the servos in place.
Overall there was no permanent damage to the plane and the soft glue and tape firmed up when I returned it to normal temperature, ready for the next flight. Still I would not recommend flying this plane in the state of being overheated as it was. Had the wing and vertical stabilizer been held on other than by hot glue, then maybe...
What happens when you leave a foamboard RC airplane out in the sun when it's 119 degrees outside? I put the Arizona FuglyJet to the test by leaving it out on this brutally hot Arizona day for 30 minutes.
The surface of the plane reached 138 degrees. The hot glue became a bit soft but did not fall apart. The duct tape wrinkled but held on. The packing tape held perfectly strong. The control surface hinges and wing joint (trailing edge) remained intact. The 3M heavy-duty mounting tape softened a little but held the servos in place.
Overall there was no permanent damage to the plane and the soft glue and tape firmed up when I returned it to normal temperature, ready for the next flight. Still I would not recommend flying this plane in the state of being overheated as it was. Had the wing and vertical stabilizer been held on other than by hot glue, then maybe...
