Balsa airplane kits are available in varied sizes and skill levels. Balsa wood may be cut either using a laser or a die-cut. In comparison to die-cut Balsa airplane kits, laser cut kits have much tighter tolerance and much more accuracy in their construction. However, laser cut Balsa kits are relatively more expensive that the die-cut kits. Besides, with a little cutting, sanding and usage of fundamental woodworking principles, die-cut Balsa kits can appear as good and efficient as laser cut kits.

The Balsa airplane kits typically contain a majority of the raw materials required for the construction of an unassembled plane. They contain a few spare parts and a set of assembly instructions. The task of assembling a radio-controlled model from plans or a kit can indeed be very labor-intensive. It involves assembling and covering the frame and refining/polishing the control surfaces to ensure correct alignment. The assembly can take many hours for its completion.

Balsa airplane kits don’t usually include the necessary tools, which can be purchased separately. One has to very careful while assembling the airplane, as a single minor error can have an adverse affect on the model’s airworthiness, which can later lead to a crash.

Smaller Balsa airplane kits often contain all the necessary parts required for the primary purpose of rubber band flight or non-flying modeling. Such kits are usually equipped with conversion instructions required to fly the airplane as an electric or gas-powered model.

Many Balsa airplane kits also contain a tissue paper. It has become a common practice today to cover the airplanes with heat-shrinking plastic films that are supported with a heat-sensitive adhesive. Such films are referred to as ‘iron-on covering,’ as a hand-held iron enables the film to get itself attached to the frame. Thereafter, a higher temperature tightens the film. This plastic covering is not only more durable but also fastens the repair process.

Many other varieties of coverings are also available; one of them being shrinkable coverings.  These coverings are either actual woven heat shrinkable fabrics or have fibrous reinforcements inside the plastic film.

To save on drag, weight and construction costs, landing gears are usually left off smaller planes.