An old phone RC plane controller built from a $23 used phone board now stands in for a conventional radio system in a hobby aircraft. The plane has taxied. It has not flown yet.
PetaTech24 Technology Desk | October 29, 2026
An old phone RC plane controller built from a used Xiaomi Mi 8 motherboard now handles control and first person view video for a model airplane over LTE, according to Hackaday. Creator Mountain DS Lab bought the eight year old phone used for $23 and used only its motherboard.
A phone already contains a processor, a cellular modem and cameras. The challenge is to make those parts work after the display is gone, inside an airframe never designed to carry a phone board.
Only taxiing has been tried, because flying drones is not permitted near the creator’s home, and an old phone RC plane controller of this design has not yet faced a real flight. The maiden flight is planned for a local airstrip.
The Short Version
- Donor phone: an eight year old Xiaomi Mi 8, bought used for $23. Only the motherboard is used.
- Software: LineageOS, with a modified boot image that disables the display check.
- Link: LTE carries control and live video, replacing a conventional 2.4 GHz link.
- Camera: the extended front camera serves as the first person view camera.
- Bridge hardware: a custom USB to UART board with a CH340 chip links the board to the avionics.
- Flight status: taxiing only. A maiden flight at a local airstrip is planned, not yet flown.
Why This Build Stands Out
Most reuse projects keep the phone whole. A cracked handset becomes a camera or a media player, and the screen stays attached because the software expects it. This project treats the phone as a parts donor instead.
The motherboard becomes the flight computer, radio link and video encoder in one board, and an old phone RC plane controller is interesting because one used board combines functions usually bought separately. The $23 figure is the phone price only, not a total project cost.
How the Old Phone RC Plane Controller Works
An old phone RC plane controller of this kind works as a chain. Commands arrive over LTE, a custom Android application passes them through a USB to UART adapter to the avionics, and front camera video travels back over the same connection.
The creator designed a custom 3D printed bracket to hold the motherboard inside the airplane. A board that shifts in flight can press against wiring and control linkages, so the bracket fixes it in place.
The adapter board is a custom USB to UART printed circuit board built around a CH340 integrated circuit, and it lets the phone board communicate with the avionics. The report names no flight controller model or airframe.
The Software Fix That Lets a Screenless Board Boot
Removing the display creates a software problem first. The operating system checks for a display on boot and can time out when none is found. The creator modified the boot image to disable that check in the device tree.
LineageOS provides the operating system. The creator video description lists Android 10 under LineageOS 17, and an XDA report on LineageOS 17.1 and the Mi 8 confirms the Mi 8 was listed for LineageOS 17.1 based on Android 10.
The build extends the phone front camera and uses it as the video source, keeping video encoding on the phone board. No camera resolution or video quality is stated. PetaTech24 did not test or build this system.
Why an Old Phone RC Plane Controller Uses LTE Instead of 2.4 GHz
An old phone RC plane controller that uses LTE trades a direct radio habit for a cellular network habit. A 2.4 GHz link depends on a direct radio path, while LTE routes control and video through cellular infrastructure.
LTE adds a few milliseconds of latency, and an old phone RC plane controller must be judged on that delay in flight, not on the ground. No measured latency figure or test method was given.
Cellular coverage is the other condition. An LTE link is only as good as the network where the plane flies. The report names no carrier, signal reading or fallback behaviour if the connection drops.
What the Old Phone RC Plane Controller Has Not Done Yet
What the old phone RC plane controller has not done yet matters most for anyone who might copy it. It has not flown, and it has not shown how it behaves in wind, with a weak signal, or if the link drops.
Flying drones is not permitted near the creator home, which is why only taxiing was tried there. That is a local restriction, not a general statement about drone law. No failsafe behaviour for a dropped link is stated, so builders should test that on the ground first.
Confirmed, Reported and Still Unknown
Confirmed for this old phone RC plane controller: an eight year old Xiaomi Mi 8 bought used for $23, motherboard only, LineageOS installed, boot image modified, printed bracket, CH340 adapter board, extended front camera, custom Android application, LTE replacing 2.4 GHz, and taxiing only.
Reported: the system streamed video and received commands over cellular during ground testing. Still unknown: the flight controller, airframe, measured latency, range, video quality, battery figures, carrier, failsafe behaviour and total cost.
Hackaday notes a wider context for long distance remote control, and this article treats the build only as a hobby project, without presenting it as a military system.
What to Watch Next
The next evidence should come from the promised maiden flight video at a local airstrip. Look for the full flight, the pilot view, the signal behaviour and the landing, not just a takeoff clip.
Builders should also watch for the files and code behind the build, and an old phone RC plane controller will only become repeatable if the application code, adapter design and bracket design are shared. Sharing is not stated in the report.
Quick Answers
Can an old phone RC plane controller really fly a plane?
Not yet on the evidence supplied. An old phone RC plane controller built this way has only taxied, and flight remains unproven until the airstrip video appears.
How much did the phone cost?
The used Xiaomi Mi 8 cost $23, as reported. That is the phone price only, not the total project cost.
Why was the display removed, and why did the software need a fix?
Only the motherboard was placed in the plane, so no display was attached. The system checks for a display on boot, so the boot image was modified to disable that check.
Does LTE make control slower?
The report says LTE adds a few milliseconds of latency. No measured figure or test method was given, so the effect in flight is unknown.
Should I copy this build?
Only with care, local rule checks, ground testing and a clear failsafe plan. This is an early ground tested project, not a proven flight system.
The Takeaway
An old phone RC plane controller built from a $23 used motherboard, a modified boot image, a printed bracket, a CH340 adapter and a custom app has taxied a model plane on the ground.
Until the planned airstrip flight happens, and until latency, range, failsafe behaviour and endurance are shown, this remains a promising ground test. Judge it on the full flight and the landing.
Sources / Attribution
- Hackaday, report on Mountain DS Lab phone motherboard RC plane build, October 28, 2026. Author and article URL not stated in the material supplied for this article, and no URL is invented here.
- Mountain DS Lab, “I Turned an Old Phone Motherboard into an RC Plane Controller,” creator video description: creator video. Description lists Xiaomi Mi 8 running Android 10 and LineageOS 17, custom USB to UART PCB, flight controller, cellular connection and web based control interface, and states only ground tests have been completed so far.
- XDA Developers, “LineageOS 17.1 based on Android 10 is now officially available,” 2020: XDA report on LineageOS 17.1 and the Mi 8. Used only to corroborate that the Mi 8 (dipper) was listed for LineageOS 17.1 based on Android 10.
- All build facts, prices, latency wording and flight status in this article are attributed to the Hackaday report and creator video description above. PetaTech24 did not test or build this system.
