I Want to Fly RC Airplanes Where Do I Start? 

This is a great video and a real pleasure to watch, thank you Tim. You're so right about everything! Spektrum stuff is fantastic. I'm still rocking the older Spektrum dx6i but it's still a great transmitter The new nx smart series look incredible, haven't seen or used one yet. RealFlight was invaluable in learning and becoming comfortable with flight controls without having to put your first plane at risk until you're ready. As for your first beginner aircraft, you can't go wrong with an eachine warbird. 15" wingspan, RTF with everything you need right out of the box for just over $100 bucks, and a 6 axis stabilization gyro with beginner safe mode that makes it a great choice for beginners.The plane itself is also very durable yet rigid foam and the perfect size for smaller open spaces like a local ball field. I'm just getting back into flying after a 6 year hiatus, and these stable little warbirds have been so forgiving of my rusty thumbs, and are so fun and easy to fly. They're every bit as awesome as everyone says they are, definitely take a look if you're a beginner, they're just what you're looking for at a great price.

Great video, Keep up the good work. It seems I have covered all the bases. I got my first plane back in 1959. Plastic C/L w/ .049. Then I found Balsa. In 1976 got my first Radio. Been flying R/C ever since. The building for engines on hand. TD.049, .15, .25, .46, & .60's. From small to kinda big. Currently working on Blended Lifting Bodies. Build the "Wing" and the plane is done. 4 channels. One electric. .05 can motor, 7 cell "C" cell battery pack, 8x6 prop. 3 channels, throttle was a standard wall light switch operated by a servo. Simple On/Off. Wing span was 48 x 10 in. Mono Coat, Typical flight is to hand launch, climb to altitude, shut down motor, set up plane for Glide. Depending on how high you climbed you could do all sorts of stuff coming down. loops were easy, inverted ,too. lazy "8"'s, then power on climb back to altitude, and do it again. About 4 times per fully charged battery pak. Short motor runs seemed to work the best. Belly Landing in the proverbial tall grass. I build from "Blue Prints" if I don't have one, I draw my own.

Great video. I am just getting back into rc flying again after 25 years. It's been a blast getting all my old planes and engines running again. As far as the 72mh radios you are so right. I got my old trainer out with my old radio equipment. I just bought new batteries for them . First day out the radio glitched or failed and the plane went straight into the ground at full throttle. It ended up in about a thousand pieces. I then purchased new radio gear and have been flying a few times a week at our field. It's been awesome and have met some great new friends at the local field.

Tim, thank you so much for this video! I learned to build and fly balsa RC gliders as a teenager 20+ years ago with a great mentor. Now that my teenage son is interested, I’m re-entering the world only to find that it has completely changed. Your video has all the right info and explanations I needed. Thanks again

Tim, as always, great content!

As I was introducing myself to the president of the local club, I mentioned, almost boasting, that I had been a full-scale pilot for over 30 years. His response: "That's OK. We can teach you in spite of that."

Great information, as always. Thank you! 🙏

Always helpful. Thanks so much.

Great video Tim!

Thank you, this was an education!

Thank you for your efforts in putting this video together - nicely done. I will say, I am glad my club isn't 98 percent electric - I would go nuts with boredom. I still think the best trainer is balsa with a heavier wing loading. You just don't learn power management well with those foam trainers designed to fly themselves!

Love you encouraging new flyers. Great advice as always. I'm in on a world record attempt this weekend hoping to get hundreds (maybe a thousand) of RC model in the sky all at the same time 12.00 uk on Sunday.

Wow. There's another guy on You Tube who's a 777 Pilot; Juan Brown, who also owns a "Mighty Luscombe, his 'Handle' is Blancolirio. Good stuff Tim.

Thank you nice vidéo!!

Thks again

I’m so pleased to find and subscribe to your channel. A couple of weeks ago, I was gifted two Spektrum transmitters, lots of lipo batteries and chargers and three beautiful aircraft: Timber, Piper Cherokee ( both styrofoam) and a skin-covered Stearman, all nearly new. I just joined AMA and a local club and I’m eager to learn the right way. I have the real flight simulator but waiting on the dongle to link the DX 6i to my pc. Thanks, Tim, for all of your great advice.

Good advice, Tim. Aeroscout and CarbonCub 1.3 are excellent starter planes. I recommend starting with these, or a Flitetest model, or one of the foamies you designed. Not a balsa model like the one on your desk, because you will likely destroy your first model, and it can be depressing if you spent a lot of time building it. One has to accept the fact that you will crash and destroy planes. Everyone does. I started a little late (65). I am now 79, and working on knife edge and flat spins with my e flite extra 300. I believe in SAFE for geezers, it has saved me from many crashes. Good for beginners too. I appreciate your contribution to the sport

This is a great and easy to understand movie unfortunately my city does not have clubs and no open fields. If i do move somewhere thst does then i will definitely remember this video😊👍🏻

Everything has gone up in price big time in the last 6 years I have gotten back into flying RC. The quality has gone up since I started and the electronics have advanced since I started 6 years ago. I started out with a Spektrum DX6i that I quickly found couldn't handle anything beyond basic programming. I have the 3rd Gen DX6 and it's everything I need. I never would recommend anyone getting into beginning flying to start with a War Bird. Flite Test made a beginning series that I think is helpful. I always, always recommend anyone getting into RC to invest in a simulator and a good basic high wing trainer. My personal favorite is the Apprentice as it allows the person to advance where pusher prop planes are limited at what you can do with them. Good video and good advice here.

Just getting back into the hobby. I was young and last time I flew was 1998. I remember we had to switch crystals and leave them flagged when not in use . Things have really changed and I feel I'm lost a bit but at the same time, it all feels so new again! I am 42 and super stoked to learn and jump back in with my kids now just like my dad did!

Great video. In my neck of the woods I don’t think the issue is people not knowing how to get into rc flying, it’s more that no one is interested in doing so. Used to have a decent turnout at the field, but many have aged out and few younger people have any interest.

Thank you Sir. It seems every 5 yrs, I buy a kit, crash it, quit, then return. This was helpful.

The best kit ever for learning to fly is the Sport Cub s-2, the kit comes with or without a transmitter. Watch a you tube video on how to fly and aerodynamics and you are gold. This little bird is genus. With the onboard gyro in the receiver, it keeps you straight and level. Take off and landings are fun and regular flying keeps you interested in this extremely difficult hobby. Horizon Hobby hit it out of the park with this kit.

2:25 Me with bad eyesight flying models way farther out than I should be able to: "hmm I never considered that". I currently own: E-Flite UMX Timber X XK- P-40 Warhawk. Edit: the Volentex RC warbirds and XK warbirds brand of planes you can buy on Amazon are in my opinion good for newer pilots, they are 4 channel and come with a great stabilization system. They can also take a beating and keep flying. After that start looking for hobby grade planes from E-flite.

PS. I'm use dollar tree 3 mm foam, and just want to build small park flyers. thanks Joe

I have to take exception to several points. The first, the trailing edges on every RTF or ARF I've seen have not been tapered properly. This not only restricts the speed, but the precision of control is lost. I taper them as thin as I think wise, maybe it makes setting them properly a little more difficult, but once set, the amount of solid control you have at lower speeds is immediately evident.. That means all trailing edges, not just the ailerons. A bit of a pain, but balsa works pretty easily, and well worth the effort. Engines. I have never had an electric other than the Cub from Harbor Freight, which is well known to be capable of staggering around on the edge of stall. Changing to bigger batteries only means it staggers around at a higher speed. Kits. Balsa USA is still in business and has a good assortment of very good flying models, I've seen some of them powered by battery, but their performance is nowhere near if they're built for the glo engines they were designed for. I've had more than a couple of their kits, they're not difficult to build, but unlike the foamies, they can take a beating and still be ready to fly with little effort. Balsa USA also sells the woods and other materials necessary, and I consider their Stick probably the best trainer that was ever designed. It's large, although the span has been reduced somewhere along the line. It's not pretty, but it can do about anything you'd want it to do, and it's rugged. They now recommend a .46 engine, probably because a .40 is getting hard to find. Radios used to come complete, transmitter, receiver, full ni-cad batteries and charger, wiring harness and servos in one fully compatible bundle. Thing of the past now, you just accept whatever was installed in the model when you bought it. A gallon of glow fuel would last most of a day if you were running something within the normal range. Fully charged ni-cads were good for about 100 minutes of flight time, that's a lot. Plans for scratch building are available in the different online groups. All you have to do is download the .pdf and find a printing house that can do the larger sizes and you have another entirely different world opened to you, unless you're too lazy to build. It's a little work, you have to pay attention to details, but the end result will be something that no prebuilt of foamy can match. Dan Santich's Magnum 40 is probably the best flying plane anyone could have. You can push it to full throttle and burn up the sky, or slow it down much further than any of the prebuilt models can match. The download is free, but you can expect to pay between $30 to $40 to have it printed to full size. And again, tapering the trailing edges and rounding the leading edges will go a long way to making a good flying model. It hurts me to see how far down the model aircraft hobby has sunk, it's now just something for grown up kids that don't want to do any work, which I found very satisfying. All just my opinion, take it for what you want to, but don't call yourself a modeler if your material is preformed foam or prebuilt wood models. But I agree that experience in full size has no bearing on your success flying an RC model. I also flew full scale, but my plane didn't have an engine once I pulled the tow release. From take off until starting to land, every thing was an option, landings aren't and you only have one chance.

Tim, can you tell me what size propeller you use on your 8520 motors on the park flyer? I'm running straight drive with a 3" prop that came with the motors. they just don"t have the thrust for the plane. They work fine on a capactor plane but not enough for battery plane. Greatly apperciate your input. Joe

At the end of the video you were talking about servos and the need to replace them. Does that mean I would have to know basic electronics as well as the flight skills?

I would suggest going to several clubs before making a decision to join. Memberships are expensive and you don't want to lock yourself into a dysfunctional club. One of the clubs I belong to is of this category. Some belong to the Board of Directors because they want the title after their name, but don't want to do the real work. The club, even though their website says they are community active and support training, do not. The other club, I belong to, is great. There are events for the public and training is one of the best programs I have witnessed. Try to find a club which utilizes a club owned trainer. The simulator is a wonderful idea. You can crash and reset as many times as you want. Plan on

Ah, the Good 'Ole Days of gluing my fingers to assorted balsa ribs, then burning them on my covering iron, all while smelling like castor oil... How I _don't_ miss thee! Now I take a LiPo outta' my bag, strap it onto a -victim- quadcopter, slap my goggles on, and try not to ignore the Low Voltage OSD warning for too long! Rinse, repeat. The process is almost as easy for my planes; put wings on, take wings off, _insert spar,_ put wings _back on,_ slap on goggles, take off, gather foam bits. I agree, Tim, that this is the most affordable time to get into R/C - from powerplants to RC Links, everything is a fraction of the price of when I was growing up. But that's not to say that there aren't other hurdles, some that didn't exist then, to overcome. I wonder what the future holds, with regard to Remote ID, 250g weight limits, 107's, etc, as they continue to "streamline" the introduction of UAVs into managed airspace. Thank you for getting/keeping us caught up!

simple answer: hobbyzone aeroscout rtf kit. comes with a battery, transmitter, everything installed and ready to go. charge the battery, throw some AA's in the transmitter and head off to your local field. power it up, hit the throttle and pull back on the elevator. the plane's systems will make sure you dont do something really stupid, and you get to fly. i love mine. only crashing i did was into a tree. twice. same tree.

That's easy..........honey can I.... lol.

Sir, I'm a old retired vet with pstd. I don't like to be around crowds, but I'm trying to get into rc flying. Could you help me with some of my planes? Right now I'm using 8520 motors , 3.7 volt battery, and flysky electronics. I have to watch my money. So if you could answer some of my questions once in awhile I would greatly thank you. Joe

Find a club and talk to their instructors before buying a plane. They’ll probably have a plane they’ll let you fly. They can help you choose a good trainer. You will need an instructor to teach you the rules and regulations so that you won’t be a hazard to full scale aircraft or anyone nearby. I’ve never seen anyone teach themselves how to fly. There’s a lot to learn. Not just how to fly, but how to charge and take care of your batteries. Lithium polymer batteries will catch fire if not handled correctly. Styrofoam ready-to-fly trainers with a gyro stabilizer and an electric motor are a good choice for a new pilot. They can take a lot of abuse and can usually be put back together when crashed. Balsa and plywood trainers are heavier, fly faster, and turn into kindling when crashed. Our club field is next to a popular lake and we get quite few visitors. When someone expresses an interest in learning to fly radio controlled (R/C) planes, I ask them, “If you hear a full scale aircraft flying nearby, do you look for it so you can watch it fly by?” You really need to love aviation to be successful as an R/C pilot.

This is a great video for someone new in model flying.But unfortunately in 2023 there are a lot more requirements involved.I just went to a club today and they said that in addition to AMA and club membership FAA registration and a TRUST certificate is now required and anywhere outside the club Remote ID is required.This is a sad reality for new R/C modelers and if afraid,a detraction from the hobby.

In my opinion, if you want to learn how to fly rc airplanes, join a club that has a bunch of 70 year old men. They often have 50+ years experience and an airplane clutter problem. In my experience they shower you with knowledge, equipment and ridicule. It helps if you have a good eflite or hobby zone highwing plane. A used pre-crashed one is a great start.

Real planes are easier, though I do enjoy both

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