Radio-controlled aircraft

Nowadays, distinct from recreational civilian aeromodelling activities, unmanned aerial vehicle (drones) or spy planes add a video, GPS or autonomous feature, enabling instrumental RLOS or BLOS capabilities,[1] which are used for public service (firefighting, disaster recovery, etc.)

Two and three-channel gliders which use only rudder control for steering and dihedral or polyhedral wing shape to automatically counteract rolling are popular as training craft, due to their ability to fly very slowly and high tolerance to error.

By combining the efficient wing size and wide speed envelope of a glider airframe with an electric motor, it is possible to achieve long flight times and high carrying capacity, as well as glide in any suitable location regardless of thermals or lift.

A common method of maximising flight duration is to quickly fly a powered glider upwards to a chosen altitude and descending in an unpowered glide.

So called "EDF" models can be of much smaller size, and only need the same electronic speed controller and rechargeable battery technology as propeller-driven RC electric powered aircraft use.

The type of flying could be referred to as 'on the prop' as opposed to 'on the wing', which would describe more conventional flight patterns that make more use of the lifting surfaces of the plane.

All this results in an extreme racing class, where R&D, trial and error, science, and piloting skills meet to create a very fast and exciting sport.

The smallest park flyers are called micro planes, and are slow and docile enough to fly within an enclosed area such as a gymnasium or even a living room.

Because of their size and relative ease of setup, ready-to-fly park flyers are among the most popular class of RC aircraft for beginners and advanced pilots alike.

Advanced electronic and material technologies have even brought forth high-performance, park flyer sized "3D-flyers", or fully aerobatic aircraft capable of extreme high g maneuvers and even nose-up hovering.

More advanced setups commonly add a flight controller, including an on-screen display (OSD), auto-stabilizer and return-to-home (RTL) functions.

An RTL function is usually applied with a failsafe in order to allow the aircraft to fly back to its home point on its own if the signal is lost.

On-board cameras can be equipped with a pan and tilt mount, which when coupled with video goggles and "head tracking" devices, creates a first-person experience, as if the pilot was actually sitting in the cockpit of the RC aircraft.

The most commonly chosen airframes for FPV planes are models with sufficient payload space for a larger battery and large wings for excellent gliding ability.

The advent of "foamies," or craft injection-molded from lightweight foam and sometimes reinforced with carbon fiber, have made indoor flight more readily accessible to hobbyists.

EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) foam planes are actually even bendable and usually sustain very little or no damage in the event of an accident, even after a nose dive.

Fans of the SPAD concept tout increased durability, ease of building, and lower priced materials as opposed to balsa models, sometimes (though not always) at the expense of greater weight and crude appearance.

Hobby Companies like Motion RC and Horizon Hobby have also began to sell ARF+ Models or ARF Plus which are models that are between a full ARF and PNP where they will have some electronics like control surface servos and retracts for the landing gear but will not include a power system (ESC and Motor) Bind-N-Fly (BNF) aircraft are similar to Ready to fly aircraft, except they do not come with a transmitter.

Wood has relatively low cost, high specific Young's modulus (stiffness per unit weight), good workability and strength, and can be assembled with adhesives of various types.

In such cases, more channels may be required to perform various functions such as deploying retractable landing gear, opening cargo doors, dropping bombs, operating remote cameras, lights, etc.

Delta winged aircraft designs commonly lack a separate elevator, its function being mixed with the ailerons and the combined control surfaces being known as elevons.

V-tail mixing, needed for such full-scale aircraft designs as the Beechcraft Bonanza, when modeled as RC scale miniatures, is also done in a similar manner as elevons and flaperons.

Very small ready to fly RC indoor or indoor/outdoor toy aircraft often have two speed controllers and no servos, in order to cut production costs and lower sale price.

An important part of the V-Tail configuration is the exact angle of the two surfaces relative to each other and the wing, otherwise the ratio of elevator and rudder outputs will be incorrect.

[23] A modern computer radio transmitter and receiver can be equipped with synthesizer technology, using a phase-locked loop (PLL), with the advantage of giving the pilot the opportunity to select any of the available channels with no need of changing a crystal.

Dual-conversion radio receivers have been in existence since the 1980s and commonly in use since that time, which add security for the proper reception of the control signal, and can offer the advantage of a built-in 'failsafe' mode.

Various countries have regulations and restrictions on model aircraft operations, even for non-commercial purposes, typically imposed by the national civil aviation authority.

The July 2000 announcement of the "FRN" code system was partly worded: ..."The use of the registration number is voluntary, although the Commission will consider making it mandatory in the future.

Any laws restricting aerial photography of areas where no reasonable expectation of privacy exists would also likely be vulnerable to challenges under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

All unmanned aeronautical activities in Australia are ruled by CASR (Civil Aviation Safety Regulations) Part 101[31] which includes sections for UAV's and model aircraft among other operations.