From fragile balsa wood models to full scale military unmanned aircraft, RC airplanes have fascinated craftsmen and indulged man's love of flying for over a century. Building and flying scale model aircraft has grown into one of the world's most popular hobbies to be shared by young and old alike.
Variety of RC Model Aircraft
Those new to the hobby can choose from RC model airplanes, blimps, gliders, helicopters, or jets in scale sizes from micro mini to monster scale; powered by quiet electric batteries, screaming ducted fans, or the authentic sound of jet turbine engines.
Some RC electric models are tiny enough to fly indoors while other jet turbine models can be nearly 10% the size of full scale military aircraft. Whatever the choice, new technology makes it easy to enter a hobby that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. But first it is important to understand how RC models work.
How RC Hobby Aircraft Work
Radio control technology allows the RC pilot to remain on the ground while controlling the movement of the aircraft in flight. It is founded on the principles of robotics where human movements are transmitted to and mimicked by a machine. Signals travel by way of a measured radio frequency from a transmitter in the pilot's hands to a receiver embedded within the model aircraft. Both transmitter and receiver must share the same frequency, traditionally measured in megahertz (MHz) and determined by matching crystals located in each unit.
The advent of a new spread spectrum technology allows faster digital transmissions in gigahertz (GHz) from a transmitter directly to the receiver, bypassing the need for a crystal. This streamlines and protects the transmissions from interference (a common problem with MHz) by blocking all but the unique identifying code (GUIC) shared between the digital transmitter and receiver.
Controlling the RC Model Airplane
All the control surfaces of the aircraft can be manipulated from the ground to determine the functions and movement of the RC model. The power plant or engine issues the speed at which the model aircraft operates. The RC pilot manipulates a series of sticks and switches on the face of the transmitter box, generating signals that correspond to tiny servos within the fuselage (main body) of the RC model and attached by servo rods to the plane's control functions.
The typical transmitter kit comes with receiver, battery pack, charger, and four servos that channel signals from the receiver to the controlling surfaces of the aircraft. The four main control surfaces are:
- Ailerons – articulated surface at rear of each wing, used with the wings' lift mechanism to control the roll of the aircraft along the length of the fuselage
- Elevator – articulated surface at rear of the horizontal part (stab) of the model aircraft's tail, used to control the aircraft's stability while climbing and diving
- Rudder – articulated surface at rear of the vertical part (fin) of the aircraft's tail, used to maintain vertical stability while the model aircraft turns to the left or right
- Throttle – controls the speed at which each of the commands is executed
With the action of the servos, the RC pilot can control the RC model through start-up, take-off,gear-up, flight patterns, gear-down, landing and power-down, as long as the RC aircraft remains within frequency range. In the air, the range is the pilot's line of sight. The duration of the flight depends on the type of engine used to power the plane.
Choosing the Right RC Model Plane
There are several options for choosing the right RC model aircraft. The choice depends on the RC pilot's level of skill, time and money available to invest, and the proximity to a local hobby club with room to fly. First-time pilots should choose from a variety of trainer aircraft. Electric models are quiet and small enough to fly in a backyard. Jet turbine RC sport jets require waivers to fly and need runways of up to 1,000 feet.
The RC pilot can choose to build:
- from scratch using a set of construction plans and materials
- from a kit containing pre-cut pieces to assemble, fasten and finish
- ARF kit (almost ready to fly) requiring light assembly and fastening
- RTF (ready to fly) for quick assembly and go
Whatever the choice, once the basics are understood, entry into the RC model aircraft hobby allows the aviation enthusiast to fly over an entire lifetime.
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