Remote Control Flying Tips

Welcome to Flight School. Here's where you'll find remote control flying tips on getting that remote control plane in the air and on the ground safely.

Follow these tips to make flying and landing fun and safe.

If you've ever flown in a real airplane, you know how rough flying can be if there's a lot of turbulence, and most light remote control airplanes just can't handle high winds. This is because most remote control aircraft don't have up and down (pitch) control, so in high winds if you add power the aircraft can climb quickly but you usually don't have any way to make the aircraft point the nose down.

Although some remote control planes do have pitch (up and down) control, it's still not safe for beginning pilots to fly in winds over 10mph, so fly your plane on days when the wind is low.

If you fly a remote control airplane too far away, it becomes difficult to see which way it's headed and this can cause you to crash. Be sure to keep your plane close enough to see and try to keep it upwind on your first few flights.

This is very important. You must never ever fly your plane around, near or close to power lines! Go to a large field where there is plenty of room to fly, a football field, park or baseball diamond where there are no power lines! Some schools have large enough areas where flying is possible.

WWherever you fly your plane be sure to have plenty of room so you're able to make wide turns without having to maneuver around a building. If a gust of wind suddenly pops up, you just might find yourself on a collision course with a tree, a car or even worse a neighbor's house!

So be sure to pick an area where there is plenty of room and make sure there are no power lines around!

Keep your airplane low enough so if high winds or other trouble develops, you can descend and land quickly. If you fly too high you can loose sight of your plane and possibly become out of range so your remote will not work properly and can possibly lose your airplane.

If you crash your aircraft, make sure to check everything over before taking to the skies again. Most well made remote control planes can handle a great deal of abuse, but they often cannot survive a high impact crash into the ground or other objects.

If you crash your plane at a high speed and the it stops suddenly it will usually bends the tail boom causing your airplane to not fly correctly.

If you find yourself in this unfortunate situation, inspect your airplane closely and check to ensure that the tail boom and tail is straight and make sure the control surfaces on the tail move free and correctly.

If you're at all in doubt, contact your local hobby shop for help or call the number in your owner's manual for tips on repairing the tail boom.

When you take off, instead of climbing it fly's straight into the ground, you probably have a damaged tail boom.

It's important you select the proper plan. If you're a beginner you may not want to spend a ton of money on your first plane. Then again you don't want to go and get the cheapest thing you can find either. You want to get a good plane so your flying experience will be a good one. Don't get a plane just because it doesn't cost that much, check out planes for beginners and if you're really serious and have the cash go for one that costs a bit more, you'll be better of in the long run. Remember, this can be an expensive hobby. I'm not saying that you'll have to spend an arm and a leg but planes can and do crash especially if you're a beginner.

Keep your turns gentle and shallow during your first few flights. A spiral is probably one of the top causes of remote control airplane crashes. In a steep turn/spiral a remote control airplane will descend rapidly and quickly.

Before your first flight of the day, have a flying partner hold your plane or radio and walk at least 100 feet away and make sure there are no problems with radio reception aboard your aircraft.

Also check to make sure there is no debris trapped between the tail, and the moving control surfaces. Check to make sure your propeller is securely fastened.

Each remote control plane is assigned a radio channel. The channel number is on a sticker on the airplane, and on the back of the radio controller. Make sure you are not flying on the same channel as another pilot in the area, or a crash will be guaranteed.