16 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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Getting Started with RC Model Airplanes.

The flying of model airplanes is a remarkable hobby that offers tremendous challenges and unsurpassed amounts of pure fun.  Here are the most commonly asked questions and answers about starting out in aeromodelling.

How Do I Start?

The best way is to locate RC enthusiasts in your area.  You can check with local hobby stores, look in the yellow pages, or scout around on the Internet.  Using a search engine such as Google.com, type in “RC club” or “model airplane club” followed by the location in which you live.  Or look for the national association for your country.  They will usually have a comprehensive list of clubs in your country.

 Arrange to visit the club, introduce yourself and watch them flying.  You’ll probably be surprised at just how friendly and encouraging these people are - common flyer traits which should make you all the more excited about becoming one.

 How Much Does It Cost?

You control the expense.  You can learn an enormous amount about models and have great fun learning about aerodynamics by building paper and card models for almost no cost – and power them with rubber bands.

RC toy planes, park flyers and indoor flying models can come in around the $40 to $70 range.

For a typical electric, glow or gas powered RC trainer startup package, you can expect to pay anything from $300 and upwards. 

How Far Will My Model Go?

This of course depends on the model and most importantly on the size of the fuel tank or battery, but for most of the current RC planes, you can fly between one and two miles.  Even so, flyers rarely do so--simply because the plane will fly out of sight, making it impossible to control. Think of it this way:  a model airplane with a wingspan of six feet will all but disappear around half a mile away.  Therefore, you’ll find most flyers keep their planes--at a max--somewhere within 200 and 300 yards distant, so they have full control.  

How Fast Will It Fly?

Park flyers and RC toys are unlikely to exceed 25 miles and hour.  That's why they're relatively safe to fly in public parks where permission has been given.  A standard glow powered trainer plane typically hits max speed somewhere around 60 miles per hour. As you advance then bigger, faster, all mean more expensive.  The choice is yours.

Can I Teach Myself, Or Do I Need An Instructor?

Although some people successfully teach themselves to fly model airplanes, we highly recommend you work with a qualified instructor.  An instructor will usually be available free at your local club.  It takes time and patience to learn to fly, something you’ll not master overnight.  An instructor can guide you through the proper steps slowly and correctly - so you’ll be able to enjoy flying and not worry about crashing the airplane.  However, modern electric park flyers built mostly of foam costing only tens of dollars are now available and are virtually indestructible if you just want some fun.

 Can I Use A Simulator?

Yes.  Flight training simulators are now available so you can practice on your computer just like a video game.  But it must be the proper software for RC training purposes – and preferably for the specific model you intend to use.  The common Flight Simulator video games are no use for this purpose.  Some models kits even include the relevant software.

 Do I Have To Build It Myself?

No, lots of park flyers, RTF (Ready to Fly) and ARTF(Almost Ready to Fly) models are available.

What Should I Look For In My First Plane?

Start with a trainer model airplane.  Although this is not necessarily the prettiest plane on the market, it is built specifically for those learning to fly.

Always choose a high-wing plane for your first model and something reasonably large – say 3ft/1metre wingspan - they are much more forgiving of pilot error.  As you build up skill and confidence with the trainer plane, then comes the fun part of going out and buying something more daring.

 Look for a plane pre-finished with a four-channel radio gear that you will be able to re-use with later models. There are cheaper models available with less than 4 channels but these will not be suitable for use when you move on to more advanced models – and you will therefore have to buy the radio equipment all over again.  So you will be trading cost saving now for more expenditure later. But don't forget that if you just want to give it a whirl then any sort of cheap park flyer will give you a taste of the excitement implicit in flying your own airplane.

 What Sort Of Engine Should I Use?

Go electric for your first model.  It is quicker, cleaner and quieter.  You can come back to the greater realism of glow and gas engines when you are more advanced in the sport.  Look for an electric motor package with a rechargeable motor battery-pack, and preferably one with spare props.  Finding an electric RC plane with spare parts included makes it much easier to keep flying.  It keeps you from grinding to a halt when some original part is broken, usually just as things were getting exciting.  If the kit has no spare parts, you’ll want to ensure the parts on the plane are easy to find and affordable.

 It is very useful to buy a second motor battery, so while you’re out flying your plane, the backup can be charging and ready to go whenever you need it.  Although electric RC planes have been around for years, only in the past few years have they become truly popular.  The principal reason for this is that with advancing technology, we now see the batteries and other equipment such as motors, gearboxes, receivers and servo becoming smaller and lighter, thus enabling better performance from the plane and longer flight times.  If you have to travel any distance to your flying site then only getting 5 or 6 minutes of flight time from a single battery charge is pretty frustrating – though the knocking knees and sweaty palms resulting from your early flights may well make it seem like an eternity!

 If you decide to you internal combustion then for the standard size of trainer you will usually find that what is referred to as a .40 size glow engine is best suited to the size of the model and the power requirement.  Glow engines burn a mix of fuel and oil and gas engines burning gasoline so you will need to plan for this.

What’s the Best Kind of Radio?

When first getting started, you don’t need the fanciest radio system available.  Lots of park flyers and toys come pre-packaged and ready to go with radios in the 27MHz range and a limited choice of pre-programmed frequencies.  These may only have 2 or 3 channels as the model itself may have only rudder, throttle and elevator controls.  This is fine for that model but not much use if you plan to continue with other models where you may want to re-use the radio equipment.

We recommend you go with a basic, four-channel radio system that is specifically designed for beginner flyers with a trainer RC plane.  This will probably be in the frequency range allocated to model airplanes by the government of your country (72MHz in the US, 35 MHz in the UK etc) and will be set up by the manufacturer to operate in the country where you buy it.  The result will be a good quality system that is dependable and easy to learn.  After working this one for a little while, you’ll soon have the necessary skill and confidence to move up to a more sophisticated model.

Do I Need a License?

No.  But you will be required to abide by some strict regulations that are enforced by your national government and implemented through the national association governing model flying and your local club.  For example in the USA the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is involved with the flying of model airplanes (and their radio devices), just as they are with full-size passenger planes.  Even if you are not flying with a club remember that the national and local government regulations still apply to you.

Will My Plane Crash If the Engine Stops?

Most people think that once a model airplane engine stops, the flyer no longer has any control over the plane.  The reality is that although the plane’s engine is not working, the radio system is still perfectly functional, as it is powered by the on-board battery.  Therefore, when this situation occurs, all you need to do is glide the plane in for a safe landing.  With some models you can even restart the engine.

Can I Fly a Glider?

There's a big following for gliders, often referred to as soaring.  If you live near even a medium sized hill and have constant winds then you will probably find a soaring club up the hill most free times.  Gliders are usually launched by hand, or with an elastic bungee that catapults them into the air.  Flying gliders from flat land is more difficult as you search for some way to gain altitude early in the flight and this is often overcome with catapult or towed launches.

 How Do I Control The Airplane?

The radio-controlled plane, also called RC, is controlled using a radio link.  Your equipment consists of a transmitter you operate, and the airborne unit in the model, which consists of a receiver and one or more servos depending on the number of mechanisms you want to control.  Your transmitter will need a channel for each servo. 

 Flying Tips

Be gentle.  It's not a video game and if/when you lose control then gravity will always win.  So try to keep control by doing things methodically and gently.  When you know what you are doing then you can throw your model around the sky with gay abandon.  But you don't learn to drive at the fairground and airplanes are no different. 

You are unlikely to need full throttle for most early flying.  Keep it around half throttle to begin with.

Stay high.  Height is measured in the amount of height you lose in recovering from a mistake.  Try to keep 2 or 3 mistakes high!

Gentle turns - don't overdo it.  Learn how your model behaves in response to your control inputs.

Land into wind.  Line up your model with a gentle rate of descent and control the rate with throttle.  Don't point the nose down, reduce the power.

 What Else Do I Need?

Not much.  Of course you will need more bits and small tools as you progress and you start knocking pieces off your model that need replacing!

Some small hand tools, a sharp knife, some glue depending on what your model is made of.  Most modellers end up carrying a 'field box' containing all their modelling bits and pieces as well as fuel and oil if they are using a glow or gas engine.

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Thank you for coming along to pickup this free tip sheet and I hope it has been informative for you!

Sincerely,

Bruce Bird

Author of "Model Airplane Secrets: Basic to Advanced Strategies on Model Building"

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