Beginners Guide to Flying Rc Airplanesq

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All content copyright Pete Carpenter / www.rc-airplane-world.com 2009

2The Beginner's Guide To Flying RC Airplanes

by Pete Carpenter

An eBook brought to you by www.rc-airplane-world.com, introducing you to the fun of radio control flying!

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: About this eBook & author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3Chapter 2: An introduction to radio control flying . . . . . . . . . Page 6Chapter 3: Understanding RC systems & airplanes . . . . . . . . Page 8Chapter 4: Methods of flight training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 25Chapter 5: Choosing & buying your first RC plane . . . . . . . . . Page 30Chapter 6: Get to know (& assemble) your plane . . . . . . . . . Page 42Chapter 7: Preparing your plane for flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 45Chapter 8: Finding a suitable flying site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 51Chapter 9: Pre-flight checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 55Chapter 10: Getting airborne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 59Chapter 11 Flying and trimming the plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 62Chapter 12: Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 69Chapter 13: Crashing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 75Chapter 14: RC flying do's and don'ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 78Chapter 15: Further progression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 80Chapter 16: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 82 Chapter 17: RC airplane glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 83Chapter 18: Useful resources & references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 92

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3Chapter 1 : About this eBook & author

This Beginner's Guide to Flying RC Airplanes has come about as a result of my passion for and ongoing desire to help folks get started in the exhilarating and addictive hobby of radio control flying!

My name is Pete Carpenter and I've been involved in flying model aircraft of one type or another since the early 1980s. From simple rubber band powered balsa kits flown in the meadow behind my parent's house, to multi-channel RC flown at my local club, my love of aeromodelling has never waned. The photo to the right shows me some when back in those early 1980s launching a free flight rubber powered Super Cub these days a plane this size can be radio controlled, an unthinkable idea back then!

In 2002 I started to explore this thing called the internet, and dabbling around on the computer made me see that I could probably build a website of my own but what about? After short listing a few potential topics, radio control flying quickly appeared at the top of the list and www.rc-airplane-world.com was born in early 2003.RC Airplane World has proved a bigger success than I could have imagined, and the feedback page of the website is a nice reminder that the site really does help get people in to this rewarding pastime.

And so it seemed only right that an eBook should be written to compliment the website, aimed specifically at the many newcomers to the hobby. In this day and age, not many of us have time to stay online wading through websites and forums all day, every day, and so an eBook is an ideal solution; download and print off, and read at your leisure!And if you are reading it on your computer with an internet connection to hand then you'll find a few useful links scattered throughout the text; a bit of extra info on the side. But don't worry if you're not connected, you don't lose out if you are reading it offline.

The information contained within this eBook is slightly different from the website in that this eBook mainly focuses on flying electric airplanes, whereas the website is a guide to all types of RC flying, including helicopters.We will touch on glow plug powered planes further in to the eBook, but electric planes are without doubt the easiest, cheapest and most convenient way of getting started in powered radio control flying and self-teaching with an electric plane is a very realistic option.

The information in this eBook intentionally never gets too technical; as you progress through this fantastic hobby you'll get to learn more and more, but overwhelming you with detailed technicalities at this early stage is just pointless having information overload just as you're starting a new past time is never that beneficial. Learn the basics first, and progress from there!

The pages in this eBook will help you to get started in radio control flying and will break things down for you so that you don't get overwhelmed by all there is to learn in the early stages

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4of your new found hobby. And if things do get a little overwhelming at times, just take a break and pop online to join my forum ( http://forum.rc-airplane-world.com ) and ask for help; like the website, the forum has been created to help the newcomers and is a fun, friendly and welcoming place to talk RC and ask as many questions as you need to!

One final point to note regarding this eBook is that of language; with the exception of the word airplane the predominant language throughout is British-English rather than American-English. I'm very aware that many readers will be from North America but my native tongue is British-English. Obviously there's not a huge difference between the two but if you see, for example, favourite instead of favorite or manoeuvre instead of maneuver then that's why - they're not typos, just a different way of spelling the same word!

So, without further ado, let's get you going in this most excellent of hobbies, and begin with a gentle introduction to what you're getting yourself in to!...

Disclaimer and the small print

Let's just get this stuff out the way before we do get started properly... This Beginner's Guide To Flying RC Airplanes eBook is intended to be a very genuine and original resource for anyone thinking about getting in to the hobby of flying radio control airplanes.

This eBook is in no way a 'bible' for getting in to radio control flying but the material contained within it can and will help you get started, and if followed carefully will see you through from learning about which kind of airplane you should buy to your first flights and beyond.But... I make absolutely no claim to being any kind of certified instructor or the world's most experienced RC pilot! I have been in the hobby for many years, and this book builds on my own experiences collected along the way.

I cannot and do not take responsibility for any unfortunate incidents encountered by anyone following the advice given throughout this eBook. The RC flying hobby, like most other hobbies, does have its dangers and flying a model airplane needs to be done responsibly at all times.

Similarly, I do not take responsibility for products purchased as a result of following links within this eBook, of which there are some. If you do choose to purchase an airplane online through a link in this eBook, it's your decision to do so.The links are genuine and all product links featured throughout this eBook will take you through to Red Rocket Hobbies based in Oregon, USA. I have a very close friendship with Matt Cross, the business owner, and can personally recommend his store for buying RC products from indeed, it gives me great pleasure to be able to help support Red Rocket Hobbies by sending potential customers in Matt's direction.

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5So, in short, all the advice and links in this eBook are followed at your own risk, but everything contained within is completely genuine and it's my very intention to help you get started safely in this wonderful hobby.

And remember...

It's important that you understand that the lessons in this eBook do focus on an electric Ready To Fly ('RTF') RC airplane, your standard 'Park Flyer' type similar to HobbyZone's Super Cub LP or the ParkZone J3 Cub for example. This is because this kind of airplane is very popular with beginners, and is a straightforward plane to talk about and use as an example.If you do want to jump right in with a glow plug powered plane then plenty of this eBook still applies; the fundamental lessons are the same, the main differences are that glow plug planes are bigger, faster and need to be taken that bit more seriously - but more on that later.

Now, let's get started properly with a brief introduction to RC flying....

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6Chapter 2 : An introduction to radio control flying

The hobby that you're entering in to is one full of rewards, one that will take you on a fulfilling journey from the comfort of your hobby room to the great outdoors!

Not many hobbies have the potential to teach you such a diverse range of topics, yet at the same time be as simple and straightforward as you want it to be. In other words, you can throw yourself in to the model building side of the hobby as much as the flying side and learn about model airplane design and construction techniques, aerodynamics, mechanical issues on IC (internal combustion) model engines, electronics.... the list goes on. Or, you can just buy a simple electric Ready To Fly airplane, charge the battery and go!

And nor have many hobbies seen such a dramatic change and explosion in popularity as radio control flying has experienced in the last few years.We all know how our lives have been changed by the seemingly endless electronic revolution that has been happening since the mid 1990s. The same technology that brings us smaller and smarter mobile phones, PDAs, netbooks, iPods, cameras and such like has reached well into the RC hobby too, enabling micro-size Ready To Fly electric aircraft to be mass produced at affordable prices.Even standard size models have benefited greatly from this technology powerful brushless electric motors and high capacity lithium polymer (Li-Po) battery packs now mean that electric RC airplanes are giving glow plug powered ones a good run for their money, in terms of performance. That idea was unthinkable not so long ago.

Radio control systems too have changed; indeed, the introduction of 2.4GHz 'spread spectrum' technology was the biggest shake-up to hit the hobby since, well, probably ever!These new systems use advanced radio transmitting technology that's long been in use by the military, and the spread spectrum technology developed specifically for the radio control hobby means that RC pilots need not worry about the dreaded radio interference any more. RC flying club frequency control and the associated peg boards will be all but assigned to the history books as 2.4GHz systems become commonplace.

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7Glow plug powered radio control airplanes haven't, unsurprisingly, been effected to quite the same degree as electric ones by this revolution. The biggest improvement in glow powered planes as far as the beginner is concerned is the wider availability of quality Ready To Fly models - some being sold with the 2.4GHz radio system such as the Hanger 9 Alpha Trainer DSM2, [shown right, image Horizon Hobby Inc.], and some even coming with their own RC flight simulation software to run on your personal computer.And on the note of radio control flight simulation, that's an area that has seen a massive improvement in recent years as home computers have become more powerful with faster graphics but flight sims will be talked about in more detail further into the book, so we'll stop right here with that one!

As a direct result of these vast improvements in the hobby, more and more people around the world are being drawn in to flying radio control airplanes. And the planes aren't restricted to being sold in specialist model shops any more; it seems that any toy shop or shop that has even the vaguest connection with hobbies in general are selling radio control aircraft and models of all descriptions.

While this wide availability means that buying an RC plane is easy, which is a good thing, it also means that you're not always going to get the specialist advice that you might need and that's not a good thing. Fortunately for you, this eBook will steer you in the right direction when it comes to buying your first plane, as you'll read in Chapter 5.

The massive explosion in popularity that the hobby has experienced has also resulted in more RC flying clubs being formed. Joining a local club is one of the best ways to get the most out of your new hobby for a relatively low annual membership fee you'll get to mix with a great crowd of like-minded folk from whom you can gain an unlimited amount of knowledge, you'll get to share your enthusiasm and experiences and of course you'll get to fly from a nicely prepared site.And of course there's the issue of instruction joining a club will more than likely put you in direct contact with certified RC flying instructors (yes, there are such people!) for one-to-one flight tuition. If your club doesn't have certified instructors then there'll be experienced members more than willing to show you the ropes.So if you can do it, join a local RC flying club. My website features a comprehensive club directory, the index page of which can be found at http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-airplane-clubs.html

So, the hobby of radio control flying has seen, and continues to see, an unprecedented growth as more and more folks find themselves being drawn to the idea of zooming a model airplane around the sky. And your timing for getting in to this exhilarating pastime couldn't be better it's never been easier and more affordable to start flying radio control airplanes than it is today. Rest assured that you're getting in to one of the most exhilarating, exciting, rewarding and fun hobbies around, and let this eBook and my website guide you on the start of your journey!

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8Chapter 3 : Understanding RC systems & airplanes

The term 'RC' is very often wrongly defined as remote control when the true definition, as far as our hobby is concerned, is radio control. You'll see it commonly written as RC, rc or R/C - all of which are acceptable. Radio controlled is another widely used alternative to radio control but the latter is the most common way of writing it when it's not being abbreviated.

Understanding the fundamentals of how your RC system and airplane do what they do will certainly help you get the most from your flying indeed, understanding it all is essential if you want to go beyond a basic Ready To Fly model and take on an ARF (Almost Ready To Fly) or kit airplane in to which you'll need to install the radio gear, motor etc. and set up the control linkages yourself.So in this chapter we'll take a look at how RC systems work, and how moving a stick on the transmitter makes your model airplane do what you want it to do (most of the time!...).

How your RC system operates

I'm not going to go in to the electronic technicalities of how radio signals are transmitted and received because, firstly, this isn't a course in radio transmission and reception and, secondly, I barely understand that kind of thing myself; like talking to someone on the other side of the world by mobile phone, I just accept that it can be done!

But essentially your transmitter transmits a radio signal each time you move a stick or flick a switch, and that signal is picked up by the receiver located inside the model. The job of the receiver is to pass the signal(s) on to the servos, which it does via thin leads. The appropriate servo then responds to the signal from the receiver with proportional movement of its motor; the motor drives the servo gears that in turn moves the servo horn which is directly connected to the control surface of your airplane. So, the end result of you moving a stick on the transmitter is movement of your airplane's control surface or control of the motor power.By the way, the whole process of the radio signal being sent from the transmitter, received by the receiver and passed on to the servos is known as modulation. This word isn't specific to RC though, but to radio transmission in general.

Another word you'll hear when understanding RC systems is proportional the majority of systems are proportional and all this means is that the control on your airplane responds directly to how much input you make at the transmitter. In other words, move the elevator stick just a small amount and the elevator will move just a small amount move the stick to its limit and the elevator will move to its limit. A proportional RC system gives you precise control of your model, and as a generalisation only the cheapest radio control toys are non-proportional i.e. stop/go and left/right with no degree of accuracy.

So let's now take a quick look at those aforementioned components of a radio control system, and at the same time we'll compare a traditional FM system to a newer 2.4GHz spread spectrum system just to outline the fundamental differences. After we've gone through the different components, we'll then take a look at the controllable functions of the airplane and see which does what.

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9The transmitter

The transmitter is the heart of the RC system and is the box that you hold and use to control your plane. As we already know, each time you move a stick or flick a switch on the transmitter a radio signal is transmitted via the antenna.Incidentally, you'll often see transmitter referred to as just 'Tx' or 'tx'. This is a very common abbreviation and is widely used throughout the radio control hobby; not only will you see it written but at a club field you'll also more than likely hear it being said... eg Can you pass me my Tx?

The functions and features of a radio control Tx can vary greatly between different ones, but the underlying specification that all transmitters are built around is the number of channels that the radio system will have.

We need to take a moment here and talk about channels, because in the radio control hobby there are two different meanings for the word.The first is the number of channels that a model has; a one channel RC airplane will have just one controllable feature, this could be motor on/off or rudder control. A two channel plane will have motor on/off and rudder control, while a three channel plane will have motor, rudder and elevator (or aileron) control.The number of channels that a radio control airplane has is completely dependant on the model, and what you want it to do. More complex planes might have 6 or more channels that could be motor, rudder, elevator, aileron, landing flaps, retractable landing gear and a smoke canister or even a parachute/bomb dropping function!

The second meaning of the word channel is the frequency channel that your RC system operates on. This only applies to traditional FM systems though, and not 2.4GHz ones.Different countries use different frequency bands for radio control model use; for example, in North America the 72MHz band is the principle one used for RC aircraft, while in the UK aircraft are flown on 35Mhz.Within the frequency band is a set number of channels, designated by law and enforced by your country's national body for model flying. In the North American 72MHz band there are 50 channels available for RC use, spread at 20kHz intervals ranging from 72.010MHz to 72.990MHz. These channels are given numbers, the first one is number 11 while the last is number 60.In the UK there are 36 separate channels within the 35MHz frequency band ranging from 34.950MHz (channel number 55) to 35.300 (number 90). UK channels are separated by 10kHz.It's more common for RC pilots to refer to the channel number rather than the actual frequency eg I'm flying on channel 17 today instead of I'm flying on 72.130 today.

Incidentally these frequency channels are set by the crystals, small components (pictured right) that contain programmed electronic circuitry to produce the radio signals when activated. Both transmitter and receiver need an identically matching crystal to operate, and the crystals can be interchangeable with other ones so that you can change the frequency channel on which you fly. For this reason, it's always a good idea to have at least one spare pair of crystals with you at the field; in the event of someone else occupying your channel you can switch to another by simply swapping your crystals over.2.4GHz radio systems don't require crystals to operate because the technology is different to

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traditional MHz systems.While on the subject of frequency channels for radio control flying, frequency control is a

very important matter; no two transmitters on the same channel can be operated at the same time, if they are the receivers don't know which one to listen to and your airplane will more than likely crash because you won't have control of it. Only 2.4GHz systems eliminate the issue of frequency interference, but we'll talk more about frequency control further in the book.

So, now you understand both meanings of the word channel, let's get back to looking at the transmitter. As I previously mentioned before we got sidetracked, the number of channels of a radio control system determines the functionality of the Tx i.e. what it can and can't do.

A traditional two channel RC airplane transmitter will have just two sticks, the left stick moves up and down and the right stick moves sideways. Taking a simple electric RC airplane as an example, the left stick would operate motor power while the right stick would operate rudder control. On an RC glider the left stick would operate the elevators, up and down.

Transmitters with four or more channels have the same two sticks but each one moves up and down and left and right. These are the basic four channels (two on each stick) and any additional channels will be operated by toggle switches or rotating dials on the top and face of the Tx body, so as to be within easy fingertip reach. These are the channels that would be used for landing flaps, retractable landing gear, smoke etc. The photo to the right shows these extra channel switches (Spektrum DX6i Tx) while the picture below shows the difference in stick movements between a 2 channel Tx (left) and a four channel Tx (right):

An exception to the two stick rule is that the transmitters supplied with electric RTF airplanes from the ParkZone and HobbyZone ranges have a motor power slide control in place of

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a stick. The slide is on the left side of the Tx with the single stick being on the right, controlling direction and pitch attitude in the same way that a four channel Tx stick does. The motor slide is operated by your left thumb and is very easy to get used to although personally I'm happier with two sticks.

Something you'll find on nearly all transmitters, regardless of complexity, are the trims. These are small tabs located close to the main sticks and each trim corresponds to its parent stick movement. The trims are used to 'fine tune' the control movement but this trimming action is described further in to this eBook, so we won't go in to trimming details here.

Transmitters vary in complexity with regard to other features too. For example, a very basic Tx will probably just have LEDs (small lights) to indicate transmitter battery strength or maybe a small meter to indicate the voltage of the batteries, and not much else, while a more expensive computer-based Tx will have an LCD display screen and a host of features such as programmable mixing, model memory, dual rates, sub-trim, timer.... the list can go on and on.Here's a list and definitions of some features likely found on the better quality computer-based transmitters...

Dual rates : the control surface deflection (i.e. how much it moves) can be set to various limits to reduce the airplane's sensitivity in the air, while still maintaining full Tx stick movement. For example, you could set aileron and elevator deflection to 50% and fly on this reduced setting while you're learning. Once you've gained some experience and confidence, turn off the dual rate setting on the Tx and have full control surface deflection for better manoeuvrability.

Servo reverse : the direction of servo motor movement can be reversed via switches on the Tx, this is used when a servo has been installed in a way not conducive to the desired movement of that control function.

Control surface mixing : when two control surface operations are performed by just one, or one pair of, control surfaces. A common example of this is often found on 'flying wings' whereby ailerons are combined with elevators to produce 'elevons'. The elevons move both up and down independently as ailerons do and together as elevators do, depending on the input made by you at the Tx. Other examples are 'flaperons' whereby aileron deflection is mixed with flap deflection, and 'spoilerons' whereby aileron deflection is mixed with spoiler deflection (upward movement, opposite to flaps).

Channel mixing : when two channels are made to operate together by one stick on the Tx. For example, you could mix rudder with aileron so that when you bank the plane with the ailerons a small amount of rudder is automatically applied without you moving the rudder stick.

Travel throw : when you program in the percentage deflection of the control surfaces. This is used when setting dual rates and deflection limits, and how much deflection you program in will directly effect the airplane's flight characteristics and sensitivity in the air.

Exponential : commonly just called 'expo', the control surface sensitivity can be reduced or increased when the Tx sticks are moved around their central positions. As you move the sticks towards their limits, so the control surface deflection increases (or decreases) exponentially. Particularly useful on aerobatic planes, for example, with large control surfaces; setting exponential deflection means that the plane won't be too sensitive for normal circuit flying and landing, yet will be fully responsive with larger stick movements.

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Timer : a timer on the transmitter is useful but not always essential. It's used to time your flights so that you can land before running out of fuel or over-discharging the motor battery pack. Timers can be used to count upwards or downwards from a pre-set time, and will start an audible alarm when your flight time is up and it's time to land.

These are just some of the most common features found on good quality computer-based transmitters, although dual rates are often found on simpler transmitters supplied with Ready To Fly RC airplanes. Some manufacturers label the dual rate feature as flight modes 'Beginner Mode' will be with reduced control surface deflection while 'Advanced Mode' will be full deflection i.e. dual rates off.Like the word channel , 'mode' has a second meaning to the one just mentioned. In fact, when referring to transmitters you'll almost always see the term Mode 1 or Mode 2 written in the description of the Tx, and it's important to understand what this term refers to.

The mode of a radio control transmitter determines which sticks control which channels on the plane and although there are four mode options, only Modes 1 and 2 are commonly used, with Mode 2 beating Mode 1 in terms of popularity. The majority of Ready To Fly airplanes are supplied with Mode 2 transmitters and this is more than likely just a reflection on the global market; this is the mode used in North America and much of the world. Mode 1 gets greater use in the UK and Australia, for example, but there are no hard and fast rules regarding which mode gets used where.

Which mode you fly on will probably be decided for you. Buying an RTF plane as your first plane will set the mode, or if you join a club and have one-to-one flight tuition then it's more than likely that you'll adopt the mode of your instructor's transmitter. No mode is better or worse than the other, and once you've learned to fly on a particular mode you'll more than likely stay on that mode for all your flying days swapping modes is like learning from scratch all over again!

So, what are the differences between transmitter modes? They are....

Mode 1 : the left stick operates elevator and rudder movement of the airplane, and the right stick operates engine power (throttle) and ailerons. With this set-up the two primary flight controls (elevators and ailerons) are on separate sticks and so you're less likely to inadvertently move one while intentionally moving the other.

Mode 2 : the left stick operates throttle and rudder while the right stick operates elevator and ailerons. This set-up corresponds to a real airplane's control stick, or yoke, because the two primary flight controls are on the same stick.

The following pictures (next page) show these two modes respectively....

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Above - a Mode 1 Tx compared to a Mode 2, below....

Mode 3 is a reversal of Mode 2 and Mode 4 is a reversal of Mode 1 nice options for left-handed pilots, perhaps?!

It is very possible to change the mode of a transmitter yourself i.e. swap the Tx from Mode 1 to Mode 2 or vice versa. The procedure varies from Tx to Tx but it involves opening the transmitter body and swapping the elevator stick spring across to the other stick, and also swapping the throttle stick ratchet back across the other way.It's usually a straightforward job but doing this to a brand new Tx could very well invalidate the manufacturer warranty buying the correct mode in the first place is by far the better option.

Traditional MHz Tx vs. 2.4GHz Tx

The technology behind the newer 2.4GHz radio control systems is far more advanced than

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that used in traditional MHz systems, but the end result is the same a signal gets sent from the transmitter to the receiver. This signal is much stronger and more positive and can be transmitted through significantly shorter antennas. These shorter antennas of 2.4GHz systems are also a result of the much shorter wavelength that the signals are transmitted over; a shorter wavelength requires a shorter antenna, and vice versa.It's the antenna length that's the big give away when you look at a 2.4GHz transmitter typically the antenna mast is around 6 inches long, compared to a three or four foot antenna of a traditional MHz Tx.

Above: the difference in Tx antenna length between 2.4GHz (top) & MHz (bottom)

This reduction in antenna length on 2.4GHz transmitters also offers a couple of great safety advantages; firstly you don't have 3 or 4 feet of metal poking out in front of you when you're flying, and secondly there's no chance that you can forget to extend a 2.4GHz Tx antenna before you take off! Don't laugh, I've seen it happen!... a hurried RC pilot makes the fateful mistake of forgetting to extend the antenna, takes off and before he realises what he's done, or rather what he hasn't done, the plane has flown out of radio range and he's lost control crash!

My recommendation: if you're in the market for buying a radio control system (i.e. you're not buying an RTF airplane) buy a 2.4GHz one instead of a traditional MHz system. The benefits are vast, not least of which is the peace of mind that spread spectrum radio systems give you because they don't suffer from unwanted, and potentially dangerous, radio interference.Prices of 2.4GHz systems are coming down all the time and a transmitter like the Spektrum DX6i is excellent value and more than adequate for your flying needs while you're learning.

Batteries for RC transmitters

It's important to give the Tx batteries a mention because the quality of them is going to determine how long your beloved RC airplane survives!

All radio control transmitters require good battery strength to be able to provide a strong signal to the receiver. Many transmitters generally operate on 8 AA cells; cheapie RTF toy airplane transmitters will more than likely use disposable (non-rechargeable) cells while the more serious users will have good quality rechargeable cells. There's nothing wrong with using disposables so long as they are from a top brand (eg Duracell, Energizer, Panasonic etc.) but using such cells in your transmitter will work out costly in the long run, and not many flyers take this option.

It's far better to invest in some good quality rechargeable cells and the most common type

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used are the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) ones. These offer better performance than the traditional Nickel Cadmium (NiCD) cells, but in today's fast-changing hobby of radio control even the NiMH cells are being pushed aside in favour of the newer, even more powerful lithium ion polymer cells.

The design of your transmitter is going to determine how you can insert the cells; either individually or in a pack. Disposable cells will need to be inserted in a removable holder if the Tx takes one, or individually otherwise, but if you choose to use rechargeable cells then you can buy them as a sealed pack whereby each cell is soldered to its neighbouring one. This is the much better option if your transmitter accepts such a pack, and I highly recommend choosing this option if you can.The 'dry pack' holder option is also fine for individual (non-soldered) rechargeable cells, just make sure that all terminals are in good condition and that the cells are a tight fit in the holder and all points make good contact.

Your transmitter may or may not have a charging jack; if it has then you can charge the cells via that without removing them from the battery compartment of the Tx. If there is no jack then you will need to remove the cells and charge them outside of the Tx.

Above from left to right - an 8-cell holder, individually inserted cellsand a soldered & sealed Tx pack

Always be very aware of the state of your transmitter batteries. Even just one low cell will drastically reduce the strength and hence range of the radio signal and this will certainly result in you losing control of your airplane, and that's never good.If you do use rechargeable cells, it's common practice to put them on charge before each flying session so that they're always topped up before you fly. If you're using disposable cells check the voltage of them regularly if your Tx doesn't have some kind of battery level indicator that you can trust then buy a hand-held volt meter and check each cell individually.Never forget... the condition of your Tx batteries does determine the lifespan of your plane!

Well, that just about covers the basics of the transmitter. Let's move on to the other primary

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components of a radio control system; the receiver and servos...

The receiver

Just as the transmitter is abbreviated to Tx, so the receiver is commonly abbreviated to 'Rx' or 'rx'. Located inside the airplane, the receiver's job is to receive the radio signals from the transmitter and pass them on to the servos.

Standard receivers are not very big, rarely more than a couple of inches long by an inch or so wide although this obviously varies from Rx to Rx. As a general rule of thumb the number of channels will determine the size because one separate slot is required for each channel - by 'slot' we mean the connections where each separate component (servo, ESC etc.) plugs in to the receiver.

A receiver typically operates in the 4.8 to 6 volt range and, depending on the model, will get its power from either a separate battery pack or directly from the motor battery pack; this latter setup is almost universal in today's electric RTF planes. Most ESCs feature a Battery Eliminating Circuit, or BEC, that supplies a regulated flow of 5v to the receiver and servos, regardless of the voltage going from the pack to the motor. Larger models with more servos, or higher power ones, might need a separate BEC to cope with the higher current draw of the components.Where a separate Rx battery pack is used (on glow plug planes, for example), it's often connected to the receiver via a switch harness; a simple on/off sliding switch is mounted (usually) outside the airplane so the pilot can power up/down the Rx without having to remove a wing or canopy/hatch to reach inside the model. Many switch harnesses also feature a charging socket so that the pack can be recharged without having to be removed from the plane.The photo below shows a standard seven channel 72MHz receiver, 4.8V Rx battery pack and switch harness:

Receiver slots are fairly universal these days and are designed to accept the 'standard' servo connector which is a flat blade-like connector with three terminals and fine gauge wires (as seen on

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the switch harness above). These connectors were standardised in the early 1990s and are used on the top radio control system brands such as Futaba, Hitech, JR and Spektrum. Each connector pushes firmly into its respective slot in the Rx (usually labelled) with each terminal locating on to a metal pin there are three to each connector; one is positive, one is negative and one is for the signal to pass from Rx to servo. Having said that receiver slots and connectors are fairly standard, there are of course exceptions and these typically occur on micro receivers. The connectors need to be much smaller on these tiny receivers; such connections vary between manufacturers but an appropriate adaptor lead, if needed, is almost always available.Whichever type of connector is used on your servo leads, it needs to be a very secure fit in to its Rx slot loose connections potentially have the same effect on your airplane as low transmitter batteries!And if you ever need to remove a connector from its slot, pull gently on the black tab and not on the wires it's very possible to wrench the wires out of the tab, possibly damaging the connector in the process.

The antenna of a traditional MHz radio control receiver is a single length of thin electrical wire in plastic insulation, typically three or four feet long. This exits the receiver and should exit the airplane fuselage as soon as possible so that the majority of it is outside the model to ensure best reception of the radio signal from the transmitter.The Rx antenna should never be cut or looped up to reduce its length; by doing so you will drastically reduce the radio range of the model which, as you now probably know, will result in you losing control of your plane. Always always have the Rx antenna fully extended and run it along the side of the fuselage, towards the tail, as neatly as you can and well secured.

The antennas of 2.4GHz receivers, like their Tx counterparts, are very short typically just 31mm (1.2) long although this length can vary of course. The majority of 2.4GHz receivers feature two antennas, one exiting from each side of the Rx casing, and some 2.4GHz receivers are dual receivers i.e. there is the main Rx and connected to it is a smaller remote Rx, also with its own antennas. The purpose of this is to maximise signal reception by positioning each Rx as far from each other as the connecting lead will allow, and have both sets of antennas perpendicular to one another.The photo below shows the Spektrum AR6200 receiver in one of my planes, the twisted orange, black and grey lead connects the two receivers and the four 31mm antennas are arrowed in yellow:

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The servos

The servos are the 'hands' of the radio control system, if you like, and it's the servos that convert the electronic signal from the receiver to actual physical movement.

RC servos have been roughly standardised in to three size groups; micro/mini, standard and large, the latter being designed for giant scale aircraft. The following picture below shows how the sizes roughly compare to one another (from left to right: giant, standard & micro)...

All servos, regardless of their size, use the same components to operate; electronic circuitry, an electric motor, a feedback potentiometer and a set of reduction gears with a splined shaft. When you move a transmitter stick the signal passes through the receiver and on to the servo via the single signal lead (one of the three leads that connects the servo to the Rx). The signal is then 'read' by the electronics inside the servo and the feedback pot commands the motor to move the desired amount, and in the desired direction. This in turn rotates the gears and shaft, hence turning the servo horn that's attached to the shaft.

The feedback pot works on the principle of correcting an error it knows the current position of the servo shaft (the two are connected) and when a new signal comes in it calculates the amount, speed and direction of movement needed to match the newly desired position, and sends that information to the motor via the circuit board.

The servo horn is connected to the splined shaft and secured with a single screw. Either a rigid (eg thin gauge metal wire) or flexible (plastic) rod is used to connect the servo horn directly to the control surface of the airplane. The control horn is the small piece attached to the control surface that the rod connects to.Multiple holes are featured in servo (and control) horns to give the option of varying the amount of movement of the control surface of the airplane. The deflection will increase or decrease depending on how far from the pivot point the rod is connected; an outer hole travels much further than a hole close to the shaft, as the servo horn rotates, and it's this difference in travel that can be used to change the amount of control surface deflection. Of course, on modern computer-based radios this adjustment can be made by programming the desired amount of travel in to the transmitter!

So, as the servo horn rotates one way or another, it pushes or pulls the connecting rod

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which in turn pushes or pulls on the control horn, hence moving the associated control surface up or down or left or right in the case of a rudder.

Understanding the primary RC airplane controls

So now you have a basic understanding of how your radio control system works, let's take a look at the controls of an RC airplane and see how you moving a stick or flicking a switch on the Tx directly influences what happens to the plane.

The primary flight controls found on an airplane are throttle (motor), elevator, rudder and ailerons. Landing flaps and spoilers are additional controls, the latter normally only found on larger RC gliders.

The following picture shows where on an RC airplane these controls are found:

Now let's take a look at each control separately and see how it effects the airplane in flight...

Throttle

In an IC (glow plug, petrol or diesel) powered plane the throttle stick of the transmitter will control a single servo which will move a rotating barrel in the carburettor of the engine. As the servo rod moves back and forth in response to your stick movements, the venturi of the carb will open and close as the barrel rotates thus effecting the fuel/air mixture entering the engine, and hence engine power.

In an electric RC airplane the Tx throttle stick (or slide) will operate the electronic speed controller (ESC) which will regulate how much voltage (and hence current) passes from the motor

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battery pack to the motor. The ESC is plugged in to the receiver directly and so a motor servo is not used on electric RC airplanes unless the plane is equipped with an older style mechanical speed controller which relies on physical movement of an arm across a metal contact plate to regulate the voltage. ESCs are far more commonplace these days.Incidentally, throttle is more commonly referred to as motor power in electric RC planes.

The throttle control not only effects the speed of the airplane both on the ground and in the air, but also has a direct effect on the altitude control i.e. the rates of climb and descent. A faster moving airplane will generate more lift around the wings and hence climb, and conversely a slower moving plane (reduced throttle setting) will descend as less lift is produced at the lower airspeed. For this reason, throttle is the control that should be used when landing, to adjust and maintain the airplane's rate of descent.

Of course, an airplane engine/motor's job is to turn the propeller which pulls the plane through the air. A propeller is effectively a rotating, vertically mounted wing which generates varying amounts of lift depending on it's rotational speed, as well as a few other factors that we don't need to go in to at this stage!

Elevators

The elevators are the hinged (moveable) section of the tailplane, or horizontal stabiliser, and control the pitch attitude of the airplane i.e. whether the nose is pointing upwards or downwards. This attitude obviously determines whether the plane climbs or dives (although it's very possible to fly level but still have a nose-up attitude), and this has a direct effect on the plane's airspeed; applying up elevator to initiate a climb will slow the airplane if extra motor power isn't applied at the same time, while applying down elevator to initiate a dive will increase the airplane's airspeed, even if motor power is reduced. It's the same as when you ride your bicycle up or down a hill gravity effects your speed, and an airplane is effected in just the same way!

As for Tx stick movement, pulling the stick towards you will raise the elevator and pitch the nose up, while pushing the stick away from you will cause the plane to dive.The illustration on the following page shows the effect of elevators on the plane's pitch attitude...

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A raised elevator reduces the amount of lift that the tail plane is experiencing, by disrupting the airflow over the surface. As the lift decreases so the tail plane, and hence the rear end of the airplane, drops, pointing the nose upwards in the process. Conversely, a lowered elevator increases the lift and so the tail plane, and rear end of the airplane, raises, thus dropping the nose. In addition, Newton's Third Law of Motion of action/reaction also comes in to play; the airflow from the wash of the propeller ('prop wash') pushing on the deflected elevator forces a natural reaction which is to tip the plane upwards or downwards depending on whether the elevator is up or down.

Rudder

The rudder is the hinged (moveable) section of the fin, or vertical stabiliser, and is the primary method of directional control by effecting the yaw of the airplane i.e. whether the nose points to the left or to the right. In the same way as Newton's Third Law of Motion forces a reaction to the airflow pushing on a deflected elevator, so the same is true for the rudder in that air pushing on the deflected surface forces the plane around.

On a three channel electric RC airplane it's more than likely that the plane will have a rudder to control steering whereas the alternative is for the plane not to have a rudder but rely on the combination of ailerons and elevator to turn.

Depending on the complexity and configuration of the model the plane's nose or tail wheel may be directly linked to the rudder servo or rudder, respectively, to make ground handling easier.

Some cheap toy RC electric airplanes don't have a rudder or ailerons but have twin motors, one on each wing. Directional control is made by varying the speed of one motor in relation to the other, thus pulling the airplane round in the required direction. But for serious RC flying, a rudder is very desirable!

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Ailerons

Located on the trailing (rear) edge of each wing the ailerons control the roll of the airplane about its longitudinal axis (an imaginary line running the length of the fuselage, central from nose to tail).

Ailerons always come in pairs, left and right, and work in the opposite sense to one another. That's to say that as one aileron rises, so the other drops and vice versa. The direct effect of moving the ailerons is that the flow of air over each wing is effected and this changes the amount of lift that each wing experiences.As one aileron rises so the lift is reduced on that wing, while on the other side the dropping aileron increases the lift slightly. The end result is that the wing will tip with the raised aileron side dropping and the lowered aileron side raising, thus rolling the airplane to one side or the other.

It's important to understand that ailerons do only roll the airplane one way or another; it's only when they're used in conjunction with the elevators that the airplane will turn. This is because the airflow pushing on a deflected elevator will naturally pitch the nose up or down, and if the plane is already banked over to one side because of deflected ailerons then the nose will pitch in that direction, and hence the airplane turns in that direction.

For the smoothest turning possible rudder, ailerons and elevator are all used simultaneously by the pilot ('co-ordinated control') but of course this isn't possible on a three channel RC plane that is missing either aileron or rudder control!

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Landing flaps

It's highly unlikely that your first RC airplane is going to feature landing flaps, these secondary controls are usually found on more complex model planes.

Like ailerons, flaps always come in pairs and are located between the aileron and fuselage, on the trailing edge of the wing. Unlike ailerons though, flaps work together by both lowering equal amounts at the same time.The purpose of flaps is to generate more lift at reduced airspeed the lowered flaps, like the lowered aileron, disrupt the air flow over the wing but in a positive sense and so the lift actually increases slightly only up to a point though, when the drag created by the lowered flaps exceeds the extra lift. As a very general rule of thumb, around 10-20 degrees of flap deflection maximises the lift without causing excessive drag.

Flaps are used not only to increase lift at this amount of deflection, but to slow the airplane down for landing by increasing the deflection further. At higher levels of deflection both flaps are acting like brakes by creating excessive drag, which naturally reduces the plane's flying speed.

Setting the flaps at the lower level of deflection reduces the airplane's stalling speed, because of the extra lift being generated, and so the plane can fly at a slower speed than normal.Not having landing flaps on your RC airplane isn't the end of the world by any means. But as you get more in to the hobby of radio control flying it's likely that sooner or later you'll want a model with working flaps, especially if you go on to scale or larger airplanes.

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So that covers the primary controls of an RC airplane throttle, elevators, rudder and ailerons and landing flaps. Each of these will take up one channel of your radio control system, so to have all of the aforementioned controls you would need a five channel system.

It is possible, as explained in the section on transmitters, to mix aileron and flap control if you have a computer-based transmitter but this is only done when there are actually no separate flaps on the plane, and when each aileron has its own servo; it's the ailerons that both drop together to produce the flap control, while still maintaining their independent aileron control albeit to a lesser level of control authority. These so-called 'flaperons' are good in their own way but are not as effective as having separate flaps and ailerons.

Well that wraps up your basic understanding of a typical multi-channel RC system and how it controls your airplane. Needless to say the technicalities have been simplified in this eBook the hobby can be as complex as you like it to be but this eBook is a beginner's guide to flying radio control airplanes, and it would be a pointless exercise to overwhelm you with extra unnecessary information at this stage.As you progress through the hobby it's inevitable that you experience more complex radio systems and aircraft, but for now just concentrate on learning the basics or you'll put yourself off RC for life!

Next up, the ways in which you can learn to fly a radio control airplane....

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Chapter 4 : Methods of RC flight training

This Beginner's Guide To Flying RC Airplanes is going to take you step-by-step through your first flights, regardless of whether you have any outside help or not, but it's important to introduce you to the options that you have when it comes to learning to fly a radio control plane, and these are:

One to one tuition either with a certified instructor, club instructor or experienced RC pilot.

RC flight simulator on your personal computer.

Self teach with no personal tuition or simulation time. Yikes!

One to One tuition

As with learning to do any kind of hobby or sport in life, getting someone with some degree of experience to show you the ropes is without doubt the best way to find your feet and get going.

Radio control flying is no different and having side by side instruction on how to fly your plane is highly recommended and is inarguably the better option, especially if you opt to start out with a glow plug powered plane rather than an electric one.But it does have to be said that not having access to such instruction isn't going to prevent you from successfully learning to fly an RC plane; indeed, this eBook has been written with self-teaching in mind!

Joining a local RC flying club is your best bet for finding good one-to-one tuition; many clubs have official RC flight instructors who are certified by the national body of model flying for that country i.e. the pilots have passed strict flying tests to earn them recognition as qualified radio control flight instructors.If your club doesn't have such certified instructors then there should at least be a few experienced club pilots who will be more than willing to teach you, and many clubs have 'nominated' instructors who aren't officially qualified to give flight tuition but have been voted by other club members as experienced enough and worthy of the job.

If you can't or don't want to join a club but know someone who is experienced in flying radio control airplanes, then getting them to teach you is the next best thing. If it's a personal friend then great, but another option is to pay your local hobby shop a visit and ask the staff if flight tuition is available I know of more than one shop that offers weekend RC flight training courses, either for free or very moderately priced.

If you do opt for one to one flight tuition there are a couple of methods that you're most likely to encounter. The most likely is the Buddy Box system whereby your transmitter is joined by cable to your instructor's Tx. Most modern transmitters have this training capability so if you've purchased your own radio system you may well be able to use your own Tx.

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Alternatively the transmitter that you will hold will be a slave Tx designed specifically for training it won't have its own antenna but will pass its signal along the cable to your instructor's transmitter, that in turn transmits the signals to the plane.

Whether you're training with your own Tx or a dedicated Buddy Box one, you'll have complete control of the airplane so long as your instructor is activating the training switch on his transmitter. As soon as he releases the switch full control is returned to his transmitter and yours is deactivated.Swapping control of the plane from his Tx to yours, and vice versa, is instantaneous and this is ideal for those heart-stopping moments when you get in to difficulties (which you will!) and the instructor needs to quickly regain control of the airplane.The photo below shows a student and instructor using a Buddy Box system, the connecting cable is arrowed in yellow [photo copyright Wicken Model Aero Club, reproduced with permission]...

The more traditional and somewhat clumsier method of side by side instruction is the 'pass the box' method. You stand beside your instructor but share the same transmitter; he will fly the airplane while explaining what's he's doing, and you'll be expected to watch how his fingers move the sticks as well as watching the plane to see its reactions.When you're comfortable and have taken a few deeps breaths, he'll hand you the Tx and you'll be in complete control of the airplane. Yikes! When you get in to difficulties, your instructor will either 'politely request' that you hand him back the transmitter, or he'll snatch it out of your hands before you've even realised what's happened!When he's regained control of the plane, and you've stopped panicking, he'll hand you back the Tx and off you go again...

You can see, then, that the Buddy Box system is preferable to 'pass the box' tuition, although there's absolutely nothing wrong with the latter and plenty of folks are still learning to fly radio control using this method. But having two transmitters with immediate control switching is the better option to physically handing over a single Tx between two pairs of hands, one pair of which is probably shaking uncontrollably!

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RC flight simulators

In these modern times of warp-speed home computer processors and graphics cards, an RC flight simulator ('sim') is a very realistic and desirable training aid. Learning to fly radio control airplanes (and especially helicopters) on an RC sim is as realistic as it gets without actually taking a trip to the flying field.

There are several top quality simulators currently available to buy, as well as a couple of freebie download ones that will let you learn the basics but do leave a bit to be desired when it comes to sheer realism.The RealFlight G# (pictured above) and the Phoenix sims both lead the field for quality and popularity; I have both and can personally recommend either one of those although Phoenix is the more realistic. A fundamental difference between the two is that the RealFlight sim uses a transmitter-based controller whereas the Phoenix sim uses your actual transmitter. RealFlight does accept your own Tx but needs to be connected through the controller which effectively becomes a dongle.Using your own Tx with a flight sim is more preferable to a transmitter-based controller because it will mean that you'll be completely comfortable and familiar with the feel and stick movements of the Tx when you're flying with it at the field. Having said that though, using the RealFlight controller as shown in the photo above is no bad thing and perfectly acceptable; this particular one is manufactured by Futaba and is modelled on one of their actual 6 channel transmitters so is perfectly realistic.

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For overall realism, the Phoenix sim beats RealFlight and it also uses less resources so it does tend to run smoother on the computer. But that's not to say that the RealFlight struggles, because it doesn't and with any of the photo-realistic flying sites selected the realism of RealFlight is more than adequate!Clearview RC Flight Simulator is a cheaper option if you're not too bothered about the reality issue, while FMS (Flying Model Simulator) is a freebie download version that's a nice introduction to virtual RC flying until you want to actually purchase a better sim.

If you do choose to use an RC flight simulator, your decision is a good one. Using a sim can really accelerate your flight training, especially when combined with proper one-to-one tuition as outlined in the previous section.Having said that, there is an issue which needs to be avoided when flying on a sim and that's the issue of getting in to bad habits. Indeed, the downside of the RC flight simulator is that it's just too easy to crash and then just hit the 'Reset' button in the program and start flying again with a brand new plane. That doesn't happen in the real world! When you crash your real RC airplane in the real world it hurts and it costs you your hard earned money. So, the secret with learning to fly on a sim is to treat the virtual plane on the screen in front of you as your actual model i.e. keep the simulator flying as realistic as you possibly can and pretend that if you crash on the sim then it's just cost you dearly for a new plane.What you shouldn't do is not care that you crash on the sim. If you get in to that mindset then that mentality gets transferred to the flying field and you won't be as cautious as you need to be when flying your actual RC plane. Do care that you crash on the sim, and then you'll care that you crash in real life.In short, don't get in to bad habits on the sim because they will follow you to the field, I guarantee it!

RC flight simulators can, when used properly, teach you all you need to know in terms of co-ordination and reflexes when flying a multi-channel airplane.A big advantage of learning to fly on a sim is for when the plane is coming towards you and so the turns are reversed; left becomes right and right becomes left. This 'reverse control' or 'reverse co-ordination' as it's known will catch you out in your early days of learning to fly radio control, and it's a known killer of RC planes. But getting used to it on a simulator is an excellent way of training your mind to cope with the situation, and with time and practice your correct thumb movements on the sticks will become second nature in response to your airplane flying towards you.

The bottom line is that if you're serious about getting in to radio control flying and you can stretch to buying a good quality RC flight simulator without breaking the bank, then do it. Even using a sim such as the free FMS one will be beneficial and will teach you the basics but if you do use a sim, do remember what I said earlier about keeping it real; you'll soon appreciate the rewards of not using the simulator as just a glorified game console!

Self teach

You'd be forgiven for thinking that 'just getting out there' with your brand new RC plane with no instructor beside you and no sim-time under you belt would be a horrendous thing to do!But the fact of the matter is that plenty of folks do do exactly that they take a deep breath and get their plane pointing skywards without anyone to hold their hand in the process.

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Teaching yourself to fly a radio control plane is an acceptable thing to do, especially in this day and age of Ready To Fly electric beginner planes. Indeed, this eBook is here to help you do exactly that and, again, that's why this Beginner's Guide To Flying RC Airplanes focuses on an electric park flyer type plane because you can realistically just get out there with such a craft and take to the skies without too many complications.

Your biggest enemy when self-teaching will probably be your nerves. Sure, you can browse every RC flying site on the web and get to understand exactly what to do in theory. But getting your plane airborne for the very first time is a nerve-racking experience and hands will tremble and heart rates will rise!The trick is to not let your nerves get the better of you. Easier said than done, but if you keep a cool head and keep things sensible and responsible at all times then you stand a much better chance of having a successful, crash-free first flight.

The 'flight school' pages in this eBook, which you'll come to soon enough, walk you through the various stages of flying a radio control airplane and assume that you haven't been using an RC flight simulator. If you read and follow the lessons carefully, understanding everything before you head out to the field, then you've got as good a chance as anyone of having a good, relaxing first flight.

The thing not to do when teaching yourself to fly a radio control plane is to rush through the preparation and think that you can just switch the thing on and throw it in to the air without studying and understanding a few things first. Impatience really doesn't pay when it comes to RC flying, and the reality is that an impatient RC pilot is going to be the one bringing his plane home in pieces!

So, having now learned about the main methods of learning to fly an RC airplane, let's take a look at what you need to know when choosing and buying your first plane....

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Chapter 5 : Choosing & buying your first RC plane

The correct choice of RC airplane as your first one is going to have a dramatic impact on your enjoyment of and success with getting started in radio control flying.

Quite simply, if you buy the wrong kind of plane your first flight will end in disaster, probably seconds after take off, and you'll be put off the hobby for life. I can't stress enough the importance of taking a bit of time and care when choosing your first plane, and this is actually a downside (about the only one...) to the wide availability and choice of radio control airplanes on the market these days you can become very easily overwhelmed by the variety of planes out there, and if you don't know what you're looking for then it's all too easy to get impatient and make a bad purchase.

Also, the volume of cheap n' nasty planes being churned out of China these days is a danger. It's true that many known brands have their aircraft manufactured in Chinese factories but such brands have a thing called Quality Control and as a result their products are (usually) very good. But there are also lots of who?' manufacturers out there that seem to have forgotten about having a QC department, and the products can be very questionable indeed both in design and performance.

So then, let's take a look at what you need to bear in mind when buying your first plane...

Design of airplane

This is the fundamental issue and the one you should look at initially, regardless of whether you're going down the electric or IC (internal combustion) route.In the RC flying hobby there are airplanes called trainers, and they're called this for a very good reason they're used to train on!The obvious characteristic of trainer airplanes is the high wing configuration i.e. the wing sits on top of the fuselage, usually above the cabin area. Trainers will be your 'stereotypical basic airplane' shape with single motor at the front, parallel wings (not swept), box-section fuselage and single fin and tail plane. The landing gear might differ between tail dragger and tricycle, but more on that later.In contrast, a radio control F-117 Stealth Fighter might look a bit sexier but it's flying characteristics aren't going to be too friendly, and this is the kind of plane that you'll have a nasty experience with.The flight characteristics of a traditional trainer will be much more friendly and forgiving, and that's exactly what you need when learning to fly radio control airplanes.

Above - choose your first RC plane wisely or suffer the consequences!

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Another style of (electric) RC airplane that is popular with beginners and perfectly suitable for learning on is the 'pod and boom' design, typical examples of which can be seen in the HobbyZone Firebird range, including the three channel Firebird Phantom pictured right. The Art-Tech Wing Dragon is another popular example.As you can see from the picture, pod and boom airplanes are distinctively different from a traditional trainer such as the Super Cub LP shown on the previous page. Incidentally, you might think I'm pushing HobbyZone RC airplanes here and in a way I am but you'll find out why a bit later on.

A two or three channel electric powered glider, such as the ParkZone Radian shown below, [image Horizon Hobby Inc.] also makes an acceptable trainer. Powered gliders are inherently very stable and forgiving (the same friendly flight characteristics as a conventional trainer) and give you plenty of time to react. The Radian is just one example from many powered gliders available, but all are very similar in design:

A type of RC airplane that you'll almost certainly be drawn towards is the warbird; P-51 Mustang, F4U Corsair, Supermarine Spitfire etc. I can understand that the urge to rush out and purchase such a sexy beast is strong, but warbirds don't really make suitable first RC airplanes because they're generally faster and don't exhibit the ultra-stable flying characteristics of a traditional trainer or powered glider. These two factors are going to combine and work against you when you're first learning how to fly, trust me. But for a second or third plane, when you've got some experience under your belt, an RC warbird is almost a must-have model!

Above - RC warbirds are hard to resist, but not good for a first plane

As you can see from the three pictured above [images Horizon Hobby Inc.], warbirds are a completely different configuration to trainer airplanes in that the wing is at the bottom of the fuselage. The stability is inherently less than a high winger simply because the weight of the

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fuselage above the wing acts to try and topple the plane to one side or the other; basic laws of physics make sure that top heavy things always try and fall over!Conversely, a high wing plane with the weight of the fuselage below the wing will always be stable because there is no such tendency to topple and the plane will always want to try and right itself after a turn.In between high wing and low wing planes are the mid wing planes, where the wing is roughly central between top and bottom of fuselage. These are typically aerobatic airplanes where inverted performance is as commonplace as flying the right way up and so an equal balance of stability, regardless of which way up the plane is, is required. Like low wingers though, mid wing planes don't make good trainers and should be left alone until you've mastered the basics and are ready to move on to the next level of flying.

Size of airplane

The size is an easily overlooked factor but buying an unsuitably sized RC plane is going to have an adverse effect on your learning days. Too small and the plane will become unrecognisable when it's not even that far away from you, too big and it will be just too much of a handful.

The problem with a small plane becoming quickly unrecognisable in the air isn't one of you getting upset because the thing that you're flying just looks like a dot and not the lovely RC plane that you just spent your hard-earned money on! Instead, the problem is a more serious one of orientation or, more to the point, disorientation.When any radio control airplane gets a certain distance away from the pilot it can become harder for the pilot to see exactly what the plane is doing i.e. whether it's the right way up, upside down, going away from you in a left turn or coming towards you in a right turn etc. And it stands to reason that the smaller the plane is, the less distance it needs to be from you for this deadly confusion to set in. I say deadly because disorientation is a known and proven killer of RC airplanes, and many many pilots have fallen victim to inputting a wrong Tx stick movement just at a crucial moment, simply because the plane wasn't doing what he/she thought it was because it was too far away to see properly.And when you're learning to fly a radio control airplane you're not going to be flying that close to you in your early days, so you don't want a plane that gets too small to see properly when it's only fifty feet away!

But... an exception to this line of thinking is an ultra-lightweight and slow flying indoor airplane such as the ParkZone Vapor, shown right [image Horizon Hobby Inc.].

Although I would never generally recommend micro-size RC planes to train on because of the reasons outlined above, many folks have taken advantage of the Vapor's slow flying speed and resistance to crash damage (less weight means less inertia, which translates to little or no damage in a crash) and have learned basic RC airplane control around a suitably sized room or basement or outside on a completely calm day.

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A plane like this isn't going to fulfil your park-flying urges but if it helps you get the feel of controlling a model plane, then that's no bad thing!

At the other end of the scale, a large plane takes finer flying skills, usually, and although can be forgiving in the air can also be a bit of a monster in beginner-pilot hands.Also, a larger plane generally means a larger wing area and this means that there's more acreage for the wind to catch and knock about if the plane is of a lightweight (ie foam) construction as opposed to traditional balsa wood and ply.Of course, how a plane reacts in the air does depend on the design and weight of the model but generally speaking if you go too big while you're learning to fly RC then you'll probably be dealing with some issues that are more likely to hinder you rather than help you.

So what is a good size plane? Well, the primary measurement of all radio control planes is the wingspan the length from wing tip to wing tip and a wingspan of between 40 and 50 inches ( 1016 1270mm) for electric and 60 inches (1750mm) for IC, give or take a little, is the optimum size to learn on.These sizes aren't set in stone by any means, and some will argue that bigger is better, but you'll find that the majority of beginner RC airplanes do roughly fall in to this size category, and there's a good reason why they do!

Where size of plane is concerned, it's also important to note that your flying site is going to have an effect on which size plane you buy. It could be that you've already selected a local park or area to fly in that might be smaller than ideal, in which case you'll need to buy a smaller plane. It stands to reason that smaller planes require smaller airspace, and vice versa.

Dihedral

The word dihedral refers to the upward 'v' angle of the wings when viewed from the front of the plane, as the picture below illustrates....

Dihedral is designed into airplanes for one reason stability. Without going in to the physical laws and influences that effect a plane in flight, the dihedral effect is one force that occurs in a banking plane and dihedral helps stabilise the plane when rolling out of the banked turn.In layman's terms, an RC airplane with noticeable dihedral will be more inclined to level itself after a turn, compared to one without. And as you can probably appreciate, this is very good news for anyone learning to fly an RC airplane!So when choosing your first plane look for a noticeable amount of dihedral in the wings, and it's normal for all trainers to have it.

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Number of channels

You already know that each controllable function of an RC airplane requires its own channel, and how many channels your first plane has is not only going to determine how quickly you learn to fly, but also how much fun you have with it once you've mastered the basics.

To get a true taste of radio control flying you really need a three or four channel airplane. Whilst there are plenty of two channel planes to choose from, with just motor power and rudder control, flying one of these is going to seriously limit the amount of fun you can have and you might get bored a bit quick. Sure, you'll learn to fly a two channel plane quicker and easier than a three or four channel one but having only motor power and rudder control isn't going to give you a lot of options when it comes to trying those aerobatic manoeuvres!

A three channel RC airplane is a good choice and a very acceptable compromise between the aforementioned basic two channel one and a more advanced four channel plane.As was talked about earlier in the book, three channel airplanes will have motor control and elevator control but the directional control will come from either rudder or ailerons. As a general rule, your traditional high wing three channel trainer will have rudder, whereas a faster flying mid or low wing plane (such as a warbird) is more likely to have ailerons instead. Ailerons do give smoother directional control and are required for the majority of aerobatic manoeuvres, but let's not forget that this eBook is catering for the complete beginner to the hobby and as such a trainer with rudder control is more likely to feature as your first plane.

The next choice up from a three channel trainer is of course a four channel one. Now you're getting in to serious radio control airplane territory having to learn to co-ordinate motor power, elevator, rudder and ailerons. Ultimately though, a four channel plane will give you the most reward and biggest amount of fun, and if you see yourself being a serious RC flyer rather than just wanting to 'give it a go' then starting out with a four channel plane is a sound choice.The following picture [images Horizon Hobby Inc.] shows three electric planes of varying channels....

Above from left to right - the 2 channel Firebird Commander , 3 channel Super Cub LP and 4 channel Apprentice electric RC planes; varying in complexity but all aimed at the newcomer.

It's important to note that if you opt to learn to fly with a glow plug powered plane instead of electric, it's more than likely that you'll be starting with four channels especially if you buy an RTF trainer. While there are three channel IC planes available (vintage designs, for example, typically don't have aileron control) your average beginner IC high wing trainer will have four channels.

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Scratch build, kit, ARF or RTF ?

The degree of 'completeness' of your first RC airplane is another important point to think about and, again, will also have a profound effect on your initial enjoyment of the hobby.

Scratch building an airplane from a plan and any suitable material you can lay your hands on is ultimately the most rewarding aspect of aeromodelling; there's a huge amount of self-satisfaction in seeing tens or hundreds of hours of your hard work take to the skies! Similarly, building from a manufactured balsa kit is equally as rewarding and there are plenty of us RC pilots, myself included, who see the building side of the hobby as much fun and as thrilling as the flying.

But it's a recognised fact that there are also countless folks who can't be faffed with the building side of things, and just want to fly. And building a radio control airplane either from scratch or from a manufactured kit is a very involved and time-consuming process and you need a good knowledge of model airplane construction techniques to succeed. If you're reading this eBook, the chances are you're a complete newcomer to the hobby and don't have those skills yet; you may well want to learn them over time, but right now you just want to get out there and fly!

For those of you who are undecided and think you might want to dabble in the building side of things just to test the water, so to speak, then buying an Almost Ready To Fly (ARF or ARTF) RC airplane is a fine option. ARFs come out the factory about 90% finished and it's your job to do the final assembly work and buy and install all components (the motor & ESC / engine & fuel tank and radio gear) yourself. Exactly how much final assembly work needs doing will vary between manufacturers, but it's never going to be a lot and a few evenings should see the job done.ARFs are a very good introduction to the non-flying side of the hobby, and will teach you plenty about motor and radio gear installation and servo linkage set-ups etc. without overwhelming you with complicated construction issues.The range of electric and IC ARF RC airplanes is good and increasing all the time, with a large selection of scale and non-scale models to choose from. Do bear in mind the cost though; buying an ARF plane, radio system, motor/engine, ESC/fuel tank and battery packs is almost certainly going to cost you noticeably more than buying everything together i.e. an RTF.

RTF (Ready To Fly) RC airplanes are the main reason why the radio control flying hobby has, pardon the pun, taken off so much in recent years. Manufacturers have recognised the fact that not every budding aeromodeller wants to build his or her own plane, and giving us the option of being able to buy a plane that's, er, 'ready to fly' from the box has sky-rocketed the hobby's popularity.RTFs come completely finished, with everything installed and set up. In other words, there's nothing for you to do other than attach the wing and maybe the tail plane, insert the landing gear if the plane has it, charge the motor battery pack and learn how to fly the thing. It's these Ready To Fly airplanes that new RC pilots are buying in their droves to get airborne with the least amount of fuss and in the shortest possible time and, as has already been said, it's an electric RTF that this eBook focuses on for convenience.

ARF and RTF aside, two other abbreviations that you'll more than likely see when shopping for an RC airplane are BNF and PNP. These are two brand-specific names and stand for Bind-N-Fly and Plug-N-Play respectively. These names apply to certain Horizon Hobby distributed electric models and relate to the completeness of the plane (or helicopter). BNF models are essentially RTF ones but without the transmitter. They do have a receiver installed though, which is a 2.4GHz DSM2-technology based one, so if you have a DSM2 transmitter such as

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the Spektrum DX6i, for example, then you're good to go.PNP models are also pre-finished but are lacking the transmitter, receiver and motor battery pack. Everything else is installed (motor, ESC and servos) so it's up to you to install the Rx and use your existing Tx.BNF and PNP models are great options if you do have your own suitable radio gear, and are well worth considering if this is the case. But realistically speaking you might not want to invest in a separate radio system just yet, in which case you're tied to an RTF until you do.

Quality

As with everything in life, the quality of such airplanes varies greatly and this brings me back to what I said earlier about questionable Far Eastern manufacturers churning out even more questionable RC airplanes. And that itself ties in nicely with my other earlier comment about recommending HobbyZone electric RC airplanes for the beginner.

HobbyZone is a brand marketed by North American RC distributing giants Horizon Hobby, based in Illinois. Other brands marketed by them include ParkZone, E-flite, Hanger 9 and Align, as well as ground-based RC names such as Losi, Traxxas and Carisma.Now I don't work for Horizon Hobby and I don't have a secret agenda to push their products, but their brands do represent great value for money and good quality, and the HobbyZone and ParkZone electric RTF airplanes are some of the most popular choices and biggest sellers out there.HobbyZone planes are particularly suited to, and indeed aimed at, beginner RC pilots and the trustee Super Cub that keeps getting a mention throughout this eBook is one of (if not the) biggest HobbyZone sellers to date. Furthermore, HZ and PZ electric RTF airplanes include everything in the box, including the transmitter batteries and more often than not a comprehensive instructional DVD or CD Rom.

So from a beginner's perspective, an electric RTF airplane from the HobbyZone range is a very safe bet. The reason I'm putting HobbyZone first is because ParkZone planes tend to be aimed more at the intermediate and experienced RC pilot, with a range of more advanced airplanes; there are always exceptions though, and the ParkZone J-3 Cub is indeed a classic three channel trainer perfect for a beginner.

Having said all that, I'm not the one to dictate your choice of model airplane! But I can personally recommend (by experience of owning a few...) the brands distributed by Horizon Hobby and you won't go far wrong if you make one of those brands your choice of first electric RTF RC airplane.

In contrast, try and steer clear of those unnamed or unknown brands kicking about on eBay. It's very fair to say that eBay is a mighty fine place to buy an RC airplane of any kind, and I've done it myself plenty, but opting for an RTF plane shipped from Hong Kong from a seller with dubious feedback, just because the price is good, is more than likely going to cost you in the long run. My advice: keep it safe and sensible, use common sense and go for a known brand, regardless of whether you choose a kit, ARF or RTF.

Landing gear (undercarriage) configuration

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This isn't a major point to worry about when choosing your first RC plane because the type of landing gear won't effect how the plane f

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