RC Planes for Beginners - Help in Choosing a First Radio Control Plane

If new to the world of radio control aero-modeling, aka remote control flying or RC aviation, choosing your first airplane can be a daunting task, if only because of the mind-numbing array of models on the market. Your local hobby store will carry several to a dozen or more; online, you’re looking at hundreds of different RC aircraft, all carrying descriptions filled with terminology and acronyms with which you’re at best vaguely familiar. How then to narrow down the options to a manageable handful? First hint is that, most often, the best RC plane for a newcomer is rarely the sexiest or most realistic-looking model. In fact, they're almost always strictly for intermediate or advanced pilots, skill levels the novice won’t progress to without trial and error and lots of practice. Since most newbies won’t know that, let’s try to answer the question: what are good RC planes for beginners?

Two suitable ‘first model’ RC planes for beginners are the small electric park flyers and standard trainer planes. Unless you actually want to spend days or weeks assembling the plane and purchasing and installing all necessary components, then a RTF or ready-to-fly plane is the model for you. RTFs come complete with everything you need and can be ready to go in a matter of minutes. If you don’t have a flying field nearby, or access to a sufficiently large and unobstructed piece of private property, electric park flyers can be safely flown at most parks or sports fields or decent-sized backyards.  Park flyers are generally durable—i.e., they crash well-- and require little or no additional equipment and accessories. 

While many standard trainers are also constructed of crash-resistant material such as EPP or Elapor foam or Polynylolene, others are made of balsa wood and are much more susceptible to damage.  Trainers may be either electric-powered or nitro-driven; being larger than park flyers, they require more space—lots more when first learning to fly. These are great RC planes for beginners and fun for intermediates as well, but for first-time fliers trainers are best flown with the assistance of an experienced pilot. An instructor often uses a Buddy Box when training beginners, a device which allows him to take control if things get out of hand. Learning to fly with the Buddy Box can greatly reduce the risk of damaging or destroying your plane.   

Now that you know a little more about good first models, it’s time to start looking at RC planes for beginners at an area hobby shop. Another option is to search for online retailers who sell RC models---you’ll find lots of great bargains on park flyers and trainers on the internet. Who knows--you may even score an awesome deal with a secondhand pre-loved electric RC plane. Remember, don't be swayed by appearances. When it comes to flying RC, beginners really do need to start at the beginning, but stick with it and you'll soon be flying gas-turbine jets with the big boys!