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How to Buy a Radio-Controlled System for Model Aircraft

You're the pilot when you're flying scale model airplanes - but you're on the ground. That means you'll want to invest in a reliable radio-control system before you take to the air.

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    Difficulty:
    Moderately Easy

    Instructions

    Things You'll Need

    • Battery Chargers
    • R/C Model Engines
    • model engine supplies and accessories - Airtronics, Hitec, Futaba, JR Radio Systems
    • R/C Modeling Construction & Operating Publications
    • Model Aviation Subscription
    • R/C Model Airplanes
      • 1

        Read the appropriate material from the Federal Communications Commission. You'll be using a low-power radio transmitter, and you'll want to conform to the standards specified by the FCC.

      • 2

        Subscribe to hobby publications.

      • 3

        Gather material through Internet research.

      • 4

        Join a radio-control (R/C) hobby club. Learn from members with extensive experience in the hobby.

      • 5

        Visit hobby stores in your area. Pick up literature from manufacturers and discuss possible purchases with the store staff.

      • 6

        Ask club members and people in the hobby business to recommend units with a reputation for quality and reliability.

      • 7

        Make a budget. It's easy to overspend when you're consumed with a novice's enthusiasm.

      • 8

        Consider purchasing a quality used system.

      • 9

        Learn about channels, the term used by R/C enthusiasts to identify the number of control circuits. R/C sailplanes can be manipulated with as few as two channels. Motor-driven R/C aircraft may require four or more channels.

      • 10

        Remember, a four-channel unit can be used to operate a sailplane trainer even though only two channels may be required. The four-channel unit can then be retained when you move up to a more sophisticated scale model.

    Tips & Warnings

    • Radio control is accomplished by signals from a transmitter in the hand of the pilot being received by a receiver on the scale model aircraft. The signals are then converted to drive-server motors that manipulate the control surfaces and other devices aboard the model.

    • Radio systems will operate rudder, elevator, ailerons and throttle. Additional channels can be used for spoilers, retractable landing gear, operating flaps, bomb drop, camera actuation and glider release.

    • Integrated circuitry makes sophisticated combinations of control inputs possible and complicated maneuvers easier to accomplish.

    • Prices range from about $60 for a two-channel radio system to over $400 for a six-channel system.

    • R/C units for model aircraft are battery powered. Most hobbyists use NiCad rechargeable batteries. It's useful to keep one set on charge while another set is in use.

    • Ask for instruction when you begin your scale-model flying career. R/C flying is a skill. Without competent instruction, you may find the cost of learning that skill costly in terms of broken scale-model airplanes.

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