Monday, November 2, 2020

RC Model Plane Flying Safety Tips

Radio controlled model airplanes provide a taste of flying that you will cherish forever. But to keep it fun, it's worthwhile to keep a few safety tips in mind.

First - always make sure *before* you turn on your radio that no one else is using your frequency, on the ground or otherwise. If you power up your radio and it is on the same channel as another RC flyer, you're likely to knock their plane out of the sky - destroying the airplane, and putting people and property in harm's way.

Second - make sure you're properly fueled up. If you're gas, make sure the tank is full. If you're electric, make sure the batteries are charged. If your plane falls out of the sky for lack of fuel, it can become a dangerous air to ground missile.

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Third - Preflight your airplane. Check control surfaces and internal mechanics. I've made this mistake before, after a particularly rough landing, one of my rods shook loose, rendering my right aileron inoperable. I had no problem getting airborne, but getting that airplane back on the ground was an exercise I never want to experience again.

And the fourth tip for RC plane safety - If you're at a club field, read the posted rules. Know the rules, especially around emergency procedures. If you're not at a club field, make sure it's legal to fly, and that you have plenty of room.

Finally, if you're brand new to the sport of RC flying, I highly recommend practicing with one of the many available computer simulators. You'll crash and burn your virtual aircraft with no harm to person or property.


Monday, February 10, 2020

Get Into Airplane Modeling

As someone interested in Ultralight Aviation I have always been amazed to learn how many different kinds of aircraft people's imagination can create. While the real airplanes and even the ultralights are quite expensive or require years of human work if you want to create one yourself, this is not the case with the airplane modeling.

by Josh Monza

If you want to experience, own or construct many kinds of aircraft, modeling is exactly for you. There are different ways to get involved into this exciting hobby. Consider some of these ideas:

Buying Model Airplane

The easiest way to jump into any hobby is first to buy a few of the ready airplanes and see how you enjoy them. There are thousands of stores online and offline where you can find an endless variety. The most reliable place is probably Amazon.

Buying airplane models is not expensive - typically the basic RC models start from $10 or $30 and simple free flight airplanes are much cheaper - $1 - $2. If you check at your local stores you can find even cheaper ones.



If it's so simple, then why going further? What about the argument that doing things on your own is more fun?

Building Model Aircraft From Kits

Do you know what is the most popular way of buying ultralight and light sport aircraft? No, ultralight pilots don't buy so many airplanes neither build them from scratch. Most aviation enthusiasts buy airplane kits and build their airplanes themselves.

This is very valid for the model airplane hobbyists as well.

The kits or ARF (almost ready to fly) packs are cool for many reasons, especially if you are just starting and have tried only completed models so far:

There are thousands of models available
It's relatively easy to build from kit
It's still an exciting challenge
It's a great learning experience
If you are keen on building model airplanes, it's most recommended to start with a kit or ARF.

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Creating Model Aircrafts From Scratch

Friday, December 21, 2018

Beginner's Guide to Remote Control Airplanes Flight

Radio controlled aircraft modeling is one of the most exciting hobbies available. It involves many interests, disciplines, and skills. Some of these are aerodynamics, electronics, mechanics, drafting and design, composite material construction, and woodworking, and these are in the airplane alone. There are many other fields of interest in the hobby of aircraft modeling; far too many and too varied to try to list. Many people find that many new skills must be learned before they are ready to begin to learn to fly. The hobby is constantly changing as new technology is developed. A new modeler may become frustrated at times but certainly not bored.


To reduce the chance of frustration, a new modeler should become involved with other modelers in order to learn the necessary skills. This may involve simply visiting a flying site and becoming acquainted with experienced modelers or joining a club. These modelers are a source of knowledge and experience that can be invaluable to the new modeler when he begins to build his first aircraft and when he begins to learn to fly. An experienced modeler can act as an R/C flight instructor to teach a new person the skills required to fly the aircraft properly and to avoid the inevitable crash.
New modelers must realize that a radio controlled model aircraft is not a toy. It is a true aircraft in that it flies and operates by the same principles as a full scale aircraft with the difference being the size and weight. The average model will fly in a range of 20 to 60 MPH and weigh 5 1/2 to 6 pounds. The force of the model hitting an object can be devastating especially if it hits a person. Models must be controlled properly both for enjoyment and for safety. The skills required to accomplish this must be learned from an experienced modeler.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Flying RC Planes – Essential Tips

Flying rc planes is a great hobby which will give you immense excitement and joy. Anyway, in case you are a beginner, well, you will have to take up this hobby seriously in order to master the art of RC model airplane flying.

a guest post by Roy M.

The simplest way to start is the 2 channel electric type RC model airplane. You need not be an experienced one to fly these ones as they are relatively easy and are available everywhere. The level of expertise will depend upon the amount of money you are willing to pump in and your own seriousness about it. If you are not bound by budgetary constraints then you can purchase a RC flight simulator although this is a luxury for flying simple RC model airplanes.

Flying model airplanes can be a lot of fun if you are aware of the following things. Weight and balance are very important for an airplane. So if you have a bought a Ready to Fly airplane and followed all the instructions correctly then the weight and the balance of the airplane should be ok. But it is also important to check the balance before flying a RC model airplane. Just remember that an incorrect balance will make it very difficult for you to control the airplane and it might just crash.





Tuesday, October 30, 2018

P51 Mustang - Building RC Planes

Modelling the P51 Mustang

a guest post by Tony LeGrand

WW2 war-birds hold a fascination with most people that love the look of a great aircraft. During this era planes developed from slow flying bi-planes to sleek 400 mile per hour single wing fighters. There is nothing like a war to accelerate the development of aircraft and none more so than the period of the second world war. The Mustang stands as one of the pinnacle fighters of this era, being loved by all who have flown in them or had anything to do with this wonderful piece of history. So, I bought a plan from the internet (you can find some very good ones on Amazon or Ebay) and, I jumped at the opportunity to build it and do an evaluation and flight test on this ‘Cadillac of the skies’.

The plan I used for this amazing RC warbird is about 1:6th scale, with a wing span of 1.6m, (65inches), and a fuselage length of 1.4m. A good .60 2-stroke, or if you hate the scream of a two’eee, .80 to .90 4-stroke like the Magnum .91 I will be using, will do just fine. A warbird should sound as close to the real thing as possible, so a 4 stroke is just the ticket in my opinion.