US YouTuber building the world's biggest RC Airbus A380-800 says it now weighs an astonishing amount

The biggest RC Airbus A380 aircraft has reached a stage where weight is now a serious concern.

The US-based builder has resumed work after a short pause and focused on installing propulsion, landing gear, and flight control systems.

These components are now permanently mounted within the airframe and wings.

But the guys are now facing one pretty major challenge preventing the plane from taking to the skies.

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The biggest RC Airbus faces some challenges

Unsurprisingly, the biggest RC Airbus weighs a lot.

So much so, that it’s causing major problems.

The RC Airbus jumped in weight once all four electric ducted fan motors went in.

Each motor measures 250 mm and sits under the wings on reinforced pylons.

As soon as everything was mounted, parts of the structure started to flex under the load.

The fix was more carbon reinforcement, which solved the problem but added even more weight to the RC aircraft.

The engine covers on the Airbus A380 model are now fully molded from carbon fibre.

Separate molds were made for each side to keep everything consistent.

The builder kept the number of carbon layers low and only added extra material where it was needed.

Even so, each finished engine cover adds a solid amount of mass to the RC Airbus.

Two of the inner engines also received working dummy thrust reversers.

These are made from 3D-printed parts and small servos that copy the movement seen on the full-scale Airbus A380.

The system does not affect braking or performance, but it does introduce additional mechanisms and weight inside the engine covers.

The landing gear pushed its weight up even more.

In order to handle all this weight, the RC aircraft uses custom wheels designed to carry the heavy Airbus A380 model.

Each wheel runs two inner tubes to cope with the load.

The landing gear doors are made from carbon fibre with a honeycomb core to keep things lighter, but the door mechanisms and servos still take up plenty of room.

And then come the flight controls.

Flight controls are some of the heaviest parts of the entire build.

The biggest RC Airbus now relies on several high-torque servos to move the flaps, spoilers, ailerons, elevators, and the split rudder.

These servos are built to handle force, not speed.

With everything installed, even moving the RC aircraft around the workshop takes care.

The RC Airbus A380-800 will be packed with advanced electronics

The biggest RC Airbus follows a systems-first approach through features such as split control surfaces and adjustable response at different speeds.

These choices follow Airbus A380 design logic and place greater demands on structure and weight management.

Up next is the electronics phase.

Wiring, lighting, telemetry, receivers, and power systems still need to go in.

Each new system adds a little more weight, but also makes the RC aircraft easier to monitor and control.

Programming will decide how the plane behaves during takeoff, in the air, and on landing.

Carbon fibre, machined milled parts, and 3D printing make the biggest RC Airbus possible at this scale.

At the same time, the growing weight leaves less room for mistakes.

With the Airbus A380 airframe assembled and the major RC components in place, the focus now shifts to setup and testing to see whether this enormous model is ready to leave the ground.

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