RC Airplane World flight school
- lesson #3; preparing your RC airplane
Following on from lesson 2, this rc flight school page will get you preparing your rc airplane for flight, including charging and installing the batteries.
Final assembly of your RC airplane
As you know by now, this rc airplane flight school is focusing on a 2 or 3 channel electric 'Park Flyer' type airplane, and by this stage you've bought it, built it if it was a kit, and spent some time studying the manual and getting familiar with your plane.
Final assembly of an RTF rc airplane is nothing more than fixing a few pieces into position, notably the wing. The tailplane might also need to be secured into its permanent position, depending on the model, and you will also need to slot the landing gear into place and fit the propeller and spinner.
This is all easy stuff, and you just need to carefully follow the manual step by step to make sure that it's all done properly. Take your time and triple check everything, cross-reference with the manual a final time when you've finished, and be 100% sure that you've done it all right!
Above, final assembly of an RTF rc plane doesn't take long,
but make sure you do it right!
Of course, depending on the size of your airplane and where your flying site is in relation to home, you might need to transport the wing unattached, and fix it when you get to the field. This is quite normal; have a few practice runs fixing the wing at home so you don't need to refer to the manual when you're at the field.
Transmitter batteries
Brands like HobbyZone and ParkZone include the transmitter batteries in the box, but unfortunately many RTF electric rc airplanes don't come with the transmitter batteries supplied. This means you need to purchase them separately, and if this is the case you have two options...
The first option is to use good quality dry cells (aka alkaline / non-rechargeable / disposable). They shouldn't be your local supermarket's home brand cheapies, they should be from a reputable brand (Duracell, Energizer, EverReady, Panasonic...) and new - don't go digging around the bottom drawer of the kitchen cabinet emptying old flashlights!
The reason you need good cells is simple - the signal from the transmitter to the receiver has to be as strong as possible, and this can only happen with good cells in the transmitter. If the signal is weak, your airplane will quickly go out of radio range and you'll lose control - crash!
Your second option is to use rechargeable cells. They're more expensive than dry cells but are cheaper in the long run. Good quality NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) cells last for around 1000 charges or so, and one set of rechargeable cells is a darn sight cheaper than 1000 sets of dry cells!
Of course, with rechargeable cells you need a suitable charger but good chargers can be bought quite cheaply these days.
If you do opt for rechargeables and need to buy a charger, be very sure that you're buying one appropriate for the cells that you have. If you have any doubt at all, check with the seller.
Installing the batteries into the transmitter is a straightforward task - pay attention to the polarity and make sure each cell is secure and not loose. When they're all in, place the battery compartment cover in place and make sure that it's secure too.
Motor battery pack
Modern electric rc airplanes almost always get their receiver power from the motor battery pack, via the ESC.
If you've bought an RTF rc airplane, the pack will be included and you should have a charger for it in the box also. If a charger didn't come with the plane, you'll need to buy one and, again, be 100% certain that the charger is compatible with the pack. This is especially important for li-po (lithium polymer) motor battery packs which can only be charged with a li-po charger, not one that's meant for NiCDs or NiMH cells.
Above, your RTF airplane will have either an NiMH (left) or li-po (right)
motor battery pack - charge them carefully!
Charging the pack correctly is of paramount importance if you're to keep the pack in tip-top condition, and you'll need to follow the recommendations for your specific pack very closely. View the battery charging as a serious part of your rc flying, and don't cut corners on the process.
Once charged, secure the pack into the airplane exactly as the manual tells you to. In an RTF plane, you probably won't have much choice of where to place it because there will be a specific location or compartment for it to go into.
The pack needs to be very secure because any fore-aft movement of the pack during flight is going to drastically effect the airplane's Center of Gravity, and this is bad news. You'll learn more about this in the next lesson...
Next up: Lesson 4 - Checking your rc airplane weight and balance.
Or skip to the lesson appropriate to your current situation...
- Lesson 1: Buying your rc airplane
- Lesson 2: Know your rc airplane
- Lesson 4: Weight and balance
- Lesson 5: Where to fly your plane
- Lesson 6: Pre-flight checks
- Lesson 7: Take off / hand launch
- Lesson 8: Flying your rc airplane
- Lesson 9: Landing your rc airplane
Got a question about preparing your rc airplane? Join the forum!
