10. Electric engines

Electric engines are mostly used in RTF's and beginner planes. Just as glow plug engines they vary in size, weight, power and price.

9. Glow plug engines

Like I wrote earlier, glow plug engines are used in RC plane toys. There are basically two kinds of glow plug engines, 2-stroke and 4-stroke. The difference is that the 2-stroke engine fires once per revolution while the 4-stroke fires once every two revolutions. They also vary in displacement and other characteristics. The displacement is expressed in cubic inches (cu in) or cubic centimeter (cc), and can be from 0.4cu in (6.5cc) all the way to 1.4cu in (23 cc). The output power varies from 1 to 4 BHP. The prices go from 50-60 dollars upward.

8. Two engine RC models

This is another group of airplane models. They're basically the same as all the other plane toys, except they have two engines. The engines can also be electric or glow plug. In some cases if you need more power you can install two-cylinder glow plug engine instead of two single cylinder engines. I'll give you an example. If you already have a RC model and you decide you need more power or you just want it to fly faster, it's easier to replace your current engine than to add one more. The problem would be where to put it? You would have to make some modifications to the fuselage, which in consequence can mess up the plane model if you don't have some experience. Installing two-cylinder engine also requires some modifications, due to weight increase in the nose of the plane models. The point is, if you are not experienced hobbyist, don't do it. If you want two engine RC model, buy it as RTF (ready to fly) and enjoy!!

7. RC Helicopters

RC helicopters are aircraft models very different from plane models. They are different in terms of construction, aerodynamics and flying technique. They can be even more fun than RC plane models. The reason for this are superior flying abilities helicopters have compared to airplanes. Some more maneuverable RC models have so called collective pitch, and of course are more difficult to fly, but demonstrate better acrobatic capabilities.

Like RC model airplane, the RC helicopters are also divided into several categories

1. Electric
2. Glow-plug
3. Turbine
4. Radio Mfgs
5. PCM
6. PPM

6 - RC Sailplanes

I assume everybody knows what sailplanes are (or gliders). Just to be sure I'll say something about them. To keep it simple, sailplanes are airplanes without an engine. I have been asked many questions about this fact like "how does it takeoff", or "how does it land", and the truth is pretty simple. Full sized sailplanes would be towed by a tow-plane to a certain altitude, where the sailplane pilot would detach from the tow-plane. This is basically how a sailplane gets airborne. Now you're asking yourselves, how does it stay airborne? Well, sailplanes have very big wingspan which is very important for soaring. Soaring is when a pilot flies into a thermal (a mass of hot air which is rising) and that mass of air is "carrying" the sailplane up. "Carrying" should be seen as a metaphor because sailplanes are fully controllable just like the other airplanes. The pilot wants to circle in the thermal as long as possible to get as much altitude as he/she can. Pilot's experience has a important role in this, many beginners are having trouble soaring and often have no luck and have to land soon after the takeoff.

There are more types of soaring but that is not important now. All of the above is applied to the RC sailplanes. One difference i have to mention is the RC sailplane takeoff. It is usually done by simply throwing it from a high position, or it could be "towed" using a rope. This means that somebody runs with a rope attached to the RC sailplane while the pilot steers it up to gain altitude. The rope is detached when the RC sailplane reaches maximum altitude. The flying technique is the same as with the RC plane models, everything is the same with only one difference. Because sailplane doesn't have an engine, you have to learn how to keep it in the air, which means learn how to soar.

5. How to fly a RC plane model

By now, you've learned something about RC plane kits, design and construction and the controller. Now is the time to learn something about flying technique. First you have to take into account the weather conditions. Preferred weather would be calm, meaning no wind. If you are a beginner i would recommend flying while there's no wind, because the wind can make things really complicated:) If you get involved with this hobby and buy a RC plane, I recommend you closely read the manual. The flying principles are the same for all the planes but some details may vary,and also it gives you instructions (checklist) what to do before takeoff, so you should pay attention to that. I'll give you a basic example. The glow-plug engine plane needs to be started first, usually done buy pulling a small string on the engine (like you start a chainsaw) while an electric engine does not.

Having done all that you're ready for your first takeoff. Hopefully you found some area where you have enough space to practice. Now comes the fun part:) Make sure you've checked everything, and also it would probably be a good idea to be alone while practicing to avoid unwanted situations:)

Put your plane down on the ground, take a few steps back and add throttle. Remember, like i said, the controls feel sensitive so keep it gently. RC planes accelerate fast and it can take off really fast. When the RC plane start rolling pull gently on the pitch control to get it airborne. Okay, pause now. Let's stop here for a moment. Now that the RC plane is in the air you can decrease the throttle a bit, but not too much you have to maintain enough speed to keep it airborne. Remember when I said that the rudder control will be combined with the bank control? Well, this is how you make a turn: roll a plane a bit and at the same time add a little rudder to the same side. This means, if you roll the plane to the right, also turn the rudder to right. You have to remember while doing this you have to also control the pitch, you don't want to crash you brand new RC plane:)

Also keep in mind, the RC plane might look fast and hard to control, and you'll probably have some trouble with it at first, but think of it as riding a bike. It takes some time to get the hang of it, but when you do, you'll fly it without even thinking about it. And this is also fun, the challenge of you're first flight, all the doubts or fears you might have had will disappear really fast!!

4. The remote controller

Okay, we're getting really close to your first takeoff:) Let's talk about the remote controller now. It looks complicated, but trust me, it isn't. First look at the two handles (located at the black circles). Those two handles can be moved in all directions. The left one controls the throttle and the rudder. You're thinking how can one handle controls two things? Well like i said it can be moved in all directions, but primary moves are forward-backward and left-right. Those can, of course, be combined during flight. Actually, they will be combined during the whole flight. For example, if you want to maintain a certain speed, you will have to keep the throttle at the same position. When you want to turn your RC plane you will also move the handle left or right, so those two actions are combined.

The throttle controls the power of your RC plane. So, if the throttle handle is more forward, you're getting more power. The all the way forward position is 100% power, and all the way back is idle.

The rudder is a control surface attached to the vertical stabilizer. It rotates the plane around the vertical axis (z-axis). In a real airplane the rudder is controlled via pedals. To make a turn, rudder is combined with the bank control, but we'll talk about that in the "How to fly a RC plane model" section.

The right handle controls the attitude of your RC plane, meaning the pitch and the roll. Like the left handle, this one also moves in all directions, also has primary directions forward-backward, left-right, which can be combined. Moving it forward will pitch the RC plane down, and moving it backward will pitch the plane up. As you can see, the pitch rotates the plane around the x-axis. Moving it left will bankroll the plane left, and moving it right will roll the plane right. It rotates the plane around the y-axis.

The other switchers you can see on the controller can be used for varied functions, which will be explain in your RC plane manual.

Taking all this into account, it can be tricky to fly the RC plane, but the trick is to practice those moves on the controller, followed by some short flights and you will get the hang of it really fast. Also keep in mind that the controls will feel sensitive an the beginning, but you will get used to it.

3. The basics of aerodynamics

Now that we covered different types of RC plane models, we can talk about the flying technique. Before that i should explain some basics of aerodynamics. Don't worry i'm gonna keep it short. First you have to understand why and how an airplane flies. Some of you probably now what airplane wing looks like. For those of you who don't, the picture on the right shows the wings profile. The profile is the shape that you see when you look at the wing from the side. As you can see, the upper surface is longer than the lower, because it is more curved . Now, think of air as tiny particles that move along the wing surfaces. The particle that goes along the upper surface, and the particle that goes along the lower surface HAVE to meet at the end of the wing AT THE SAME TIME, in order to obey fundamental laws of physics. Like I said, the upper surface is longer so logically, the upper particle has to go faster to get at the end of the wing at the same time as the lower particle. As a consequence, lower air pressure is created along the upper surface, while the pressure along the lower surface stays the same or it's slightly increased. And this difference in air pressures is what keeps the wing, along with the entire airplane, safely airborne. RC plane models fly according to these rules and principles also.

RC planes - Introduction

When somebody says "toy planes", a number of toys come into account. So this blog is about specific toy planes called RC planes. RC stands for radio-controlled which means that you control a small plane using a remote controller. Sound really cool, and it is because it allows you to go "flying" without long and expensive pilot training. That's right, you don't really need any training, RC planes are easy and fun to fly and just with a little practice you will be an expert!

Let's talk now about specifics. RC planes can be divided into several categories. First category is the engine type RC plane uses. Sailplanes ( or gliders) don't have an engine. They are really simple in design and also easy to fly. And of course they are among cheapest RC planes. That does not mean they're worse than other planes, in fact in many ways Sailplanes are even better!! But we'll talk about that a bit later.

Second group are electrically powered RC planes. These planes would be the best for people new to this hobby. Many of the electrically powered RC planes are "Park Flyers" which means they were designed for an average person in mind. They are small and you can fly them in a park because they don't require any bigger areas.

The next group are glow plug engine RC planes. They are usually larger and more expensive. You can think of them as scaled down real planes. And thats exactly what they are! These RC planes have almost everything a real plane has: Piston engine, servo system(in a real plane that would be a hydraulic system) for control surfaces, some RC planes even have a retractable gear!! How cool is that! Beginner hobbyists don't usually buy these planes because they require some experience, and as i said they are a bit more expensive. Also, maintenance is a bit more complicated unlike with the electrically powered RC planes.

The last group here, and most expensive are jett engine RC planes. Those are really something! Not so little, their wingspan can reach up to 3m (almost 10 ft.) and they fly really fast and loud:) Basically, the engine they use is the same as in real planes, only they are smaller.

2. Types of kits

RC planes are also divided into different types of kits and construction. Some kits are mostly foam or plastic, or can be balsa wood. More robust designs may use solid sheets of wood for construction and because of the weight only powered RC planes would have this kind of construction (not gliders). Like I said, RC planes are designed according to the same principles as full-sized aircraft, although RC planes rarely use metal structures.

Ready to fly kits (RTF) come as pre-assembled, usually requires only wing attachment or some other simple assembly. You can buy this kit and have it flying in a few minutes. This would be a good starting point for beginner hobbyists. Ready to fly planes are a point of controversy among more experienced hobbyists because they consider that RC plane assembly is a integral part of the hobby.

Almost ready to fly kits (ARTF) are similar to RTF kits, but it usually requires more assembly and some basic construction. Still, these kits can be built in 4 or 5 hours, unlike traditional kits which require 50+ hours to complete! So, most often ARFT kits contain fuselage and appendages, but they require separate purchase and installation of servos, motor(gas or electric), speed controller and sometimes control rods. And this is the advantage of ARTF kits, they allow you to build them any way you want it. And also, if you already have these components, ARTF kit is the best choice if you want only an airframe.

Balsa kits are designed for hobbyists with more experience. They contain raw assembly material and some spare parts. These kits require many work hours to be completed and needless to say that only one error made during assembly could compromise the model's flying characteristics, or even worse, render it impossible to fly at all. It would be really unfortunate if that happened after many hours of assembly. That's why beginner hobbyists prefer RTF's or ARTF's. Balsa kits are appreciated among more experienced hobbyists because balsa kits combine interesting model assembly with enjoyable and fun flying that comes afterwards.

Last, but not the least are RC planes built from scratch. This is a really long and complicated method. Of course, it allows the hobbyists complete freedom in terms of customization, but it also requires some knowledge of aerodynamics. Many times drawings of full sized airplanes are scaled down, or even designed completely from scratch.