Learning to Fly Radio Control

Safety First

Powered Model Aircraft can be dangerous.  They can be very dangerous.  You would not stick your hand into a running liquidiser in the kitchen.  A running propellor is just as sharp, but unlike the liquidiser is unguarded and and invisible.  
Gliders can fly very fast and carry a fair bit of ballast.  If they hit someone they can hurt and injure.  

BMFA Resources

Part of learning to fly model aircraft is to learn to fly them safely, and to learn how to be safe when others are flying them.  The BMFA governs our hobby, and they provide a handbook containing help and rules for us. Our club follows these.

Some parts of the flying field are for people.  Other parts are for the flying models.  Ensure that it is safe if you need to go into the flying area.  Make sure that pilots know that you are there.  Pilots must ensure that they keep their aircraft away from people.

Always treat the hobby with respect.

Before you buy

Before you rush out and buy all the kit you need to consider a few things.  You need a suitable model, and the correct radio gear.  Do come and chat to us if you want advice.  

Transmitter Mode

Simulators.

There are various radio control simulators on the market. They can be very useful to help you learn the automatic reactions you need.  They allow you to crash models cheaply.  

Examples, in no particular order are:

Great Planes Real Flight
RF2 and RF3. (Windows only) Comes with a mock transmitter that plugs into your USB port.  You can connect a "real" transmitter to it via the supplied one.
Phoenix
(Windows only) Comes with a box and cable that allows your transmitter to connect with your computer.
FMS
Free downloadable software. You need to buy an interface, or can use joysticks, but that is probably not a good way to learn - since a real transmitter will be very different.
CRRCsim
For Linux, windows or Mac.  A free Simulator - for the Geeky amongst us.People who have learned to fly full sized aircraft and model ones often say that flying the model is harder.

There are several ways of mapping your model's  controls to your transmitter sticks.  These are called Transmitter Modes.  The two most commonly used are Mode 1 and Mode 2.  See the BMFA page for more information.  

With very few exceptions our club flies Mode 1, also known as Throttle right.

Radio Frequency

There are several bands of the radio spectrum that are available for radio control use.  It is illegal to transmit radio waves at non-approved frequencies.

For flying models there are two frequency bands, 27 MegaHertz (MHz) and 35 MHz.

Crystals.

A Crystal for a Transmitter or Receiver is a thin round piece of quartz, with electrical contacts on the sides, all enclosed in a small metal can. The contacts are brought out to a pair of pins which plug into your radio kit.

Quartz is piezoelectric. This means that if you bend it it generates a voltage, or that if you put a voltage across it, it bends. The sliver of quartz in the can is carefully shaped so that it will naturally vibrate (like a bell) at a particular frequency.  An oscilating voltage makes it vibrate, and its frequency will at governed by its natural frequency.

The crystals are probably the most fragile part of the radio. If either one fails, then you WILL lose all control. Protect them.

The receiver and transmitter crystals are not the same.  Do not exchange them.  Similarly, the crystals for different makes of radio differ.  Get the right ones for your equipment.

The 35 MHz band is divided into a number of frequency channels, each identified by a number from 55 to 90.  Only one model can be flown at a time on a single frequency. To prevent interference between adjacent channels it is common to use only alternate channels.

Although modern radio equipment is less prone to interference than in the past, our club still tries to maintain this frequency separation.

When buying radio kit it will come with a pair of crystals, one for the transmitter (Tx) the other for the receiver (Rx).  It would be a good idea, when buying, to ask the shop to exchange the crystals to channels that are unused in our club.  You can see which are in use on our frequencies page.

Suitable Model

You may yearn to fly a Spitfire, Hawk Jet, or Mustang. You must wait! Start, as full sized pilots do, with a trainer.

These will often be quite large models, with high wings  and plenty of dihedral.  

Dihedral.

Dihedral is a slight angling of an aircraft's wing from the horizontal. You will notice that the wing tips of trainer aircraft are higher than their centre section.

Dihedral gives a model a tendancy to roll back to the level if displaced, making it easier for the novice.

The trainer will be easy to fly, and give you time to react and learn.  Being large, it will be easy to see in the sky - always important.

The club has a trainer, equipped with a dual tranmitter, a so-called Buddy Box, which allows your teacher to take control of the model should you lose control.