Last modified on 15 May 2009, at 05:20

RC Airplane/Before you fly

Before attempting to fly, it is highly advisable to:

  • Have the model checked (and test flown) by an experienced pilot. It's hard enough to learn to fly a well set-up plane, but there are many simple mistakes that can make it much harder. RTF (ready to fly) planes attempt to address this but building and set-up skills greatly improve the satisfaction and enjoyment available from the hobby. If you join a club, this help is much easier to find.
  • Ensure that your field is large enough. This depends on your model but a football field is a good size for a park flyer.
  • Pick a calm day. Wind will make it much harder to control (especially for a small park flyer) and greatly increase the chance of an accident happening.
  • If you are flying outside a club, ensure you are not within a couple of mile or so of an existing club as your radio could well interfere with them and cause accidents. Likewise, their radios could cause interference with your model.
  • Ensure your field is empty. Dogs will chase your plane and other people may consider your plane more dangerous than you do.