Hobbies And Interests
For the New Pilot
Trainer airplanes are designed to fly slower and be more forgiving if and when you make a mistake. Trainers typically have large wings that are mounted on the top of the fuselage, tricycle landing gear and limited controls (no ailerons). These features help the new pilot gain control and experience. A new pilot can help himself out even more by finding an experienced pilot to teach him the basics. Once you feel like you have mastered the trainer, it's time to move up to your second airplane, which should be a low-wing trainer with rudder, aileron, elevator and throttle controls.
For the Intermediate Pilot
The typical second RC plane is a low-wing trainer. These planes require a little more effort to fly. A high-wing trainer uses the pendulum effect to help stabilize the plane after a rudder-based turn. Since the plane is tilted and all the weight is below the wing, the plane naturally wants to return to a neutral position. With low-wing aileron planes, no pendulum effect is seen, so the pilot must fly the plane back to neutral. Here, too, an experienced pilot can help teach the techniques needed.
These planes tend to be more aerobatic than the high-wing trainers. This allows the pilot to gain the skills needed for loops, rolls, inverted flight and other tricks. These skills open the door to flying the A.M.A. pattern or 3D maneuvers.
For the Intermediate to Advanced Pilot
Warbirds and ducted-fan planes are difficult to fly because they are fast and responsive. Warbirds also have a tendency to tip stall at low speeds. A low-speed turn will cause the inside (side the plane is turning to) wing to stall. When this happens, the plane will fall into a dive. If the stall happens on landing approach, this can lead to a crash. A pilot can recover from a tip stall by applying power and letting the plane gain speed in the dive before giving some elevator. This can be rather nerve-racking and requires altitude.
Ducted fans are jet-like planes that are built for speed. Like real jets they often have short delta wings. These small wings cause the plane's wing loading to go up. The higher wing loading reduces glide ratios and increases the need for speed to keep the plane flying.