How to Fly RC Planes

Flying a radio controlled (RC) plane is harder than it looks. The planes are not remote controlled, but actually radio controlled by radio signals that pass through the air from the transmitter to the receiver. There are several things to learn in order to fly RC planes.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• radio controlled plane
• money
• patience

1. 
   Learn your remote control to fly your airplane well.

   Get familiar with your remote control. This is where the power is at so you have to know all the controls. Practice using the control when it is not turned on. This will familiarize your hands with the movements it takes to fly the airplane.
   
   The remote control or transmitter is what you hold. This sends the radio signals to the receiver, which is located inside the radio controlled plane. When the plane receives signals it moves based on your instructions, meaning how you move the control.

2. It's important to decide if you want to delve right into learning to fly radio controlled planes. This can be an expensive hobby depending on the plane you want to fly, but more importantly it takes a lot of time to learn the control. It's not as easy as simply moving a control to be a master flier without crashing. Try out the RC planes built for people new to the hobby. With these RC planes you can basically fly them out of the box because they're catered to rookies.

3. Learn how to fly RC planes on a trainer plane. Using a trainer plane is easier to fly because it's made with more stability having wider wings, such as a high winged plane. The aerodynamics of these ready to fly or RTC planes are made specifically to help someone learn to fly.

4. Try using an online radio controlled simulator. This is bought and hooked up to your computer and can hook up to your own RC control. The online radio controlled simulator is great because it lets a person build reflexes and get the hang of flying without worrying about crashing your RC plane. The radio controlled simulator is a great training tool.

5. Learn from an instructor. If you really want to learn to fly RC planes then find a club and get lessons. Visiting a club is a good idea in general because you might think this is the hobby you want to learn. Going to an RC club you help decide if the financial and time commitment is doable for you.

Tips & Warnings

• Learning to fly RC planes takes practice. It is working against gravity, so be patient with yourself while you are learning to fly!
• Once you are ready to buy your first radio controlled plane make sure that you get an airplane that fits your needs. Go into a hobby shop and talk to people at the RC airplane club to get advice.

Resources

• RealFlight G4.5 RC Flight Simulator

[e-Rambler]

on 4/11/2009 Fun read and informative. I wish I had an RC plane. The thing that holds me back to own one is that 'crash' factor. Not so cool if it happened. 5*s

[Sondrac]

on 11/17/2008 Not a particular hobby of mine, but the writing is great and the information helpful. 5 stars

[veryirie]

on 11/13/2008 This looks like a fun, but maybe an expensive hobby? I'd like to try one of those foamboard put together ones first please. :) Thanks for this info; great!