Something Extra

Something Extra

RC airplanes come in several distinct categories; trainer, sport, scale, pattern, 3D, jet, and a few others.  Each category generally emphasizes certain features or abilities while sacrificing others.  Some of the fun in the RC airplane hobby comes from trying these types and discovering which is for you.

The first type, because it is commonly a first RC airplane, is the trainer.  The trainer is identified by the wing mounted high on the fuselage and quite a bit of dihedral – the angle between the two wing halves.  It is designed to be stable, easy to fly, and simple to build.

A pilot’s second or third RC airplane, usually the sport type, drops the wing to the middle or bottom of the fuselage and emphasizes performance.  The airfoil thins out, the wing shrinks, and the fuselage is thinner, all in the name of increased performance and speed.  Sport airplanes probably make up the biggest sector of RC airplanes.  They are one or two steps up from a basic trainer, but can also be used for training purposes.  Sport airplanes, like trainers, can be any size or shape and are more capable of performing aerobatic maneuvers than trainers are.  Although some sport airplanes are high wing, many are also shoulder, mid or low wing making them better for performing such maneuvers.  Most sport planes can perform all the basic maneuvers such as loops, rolls, spins, Cuban 8’s, and so forth.  Many will do more advanced knife edge flying, hammerheads, waterfalls, and the like.

Transitioning from a trainer to a sport plane can usually be accomplished more easily with the use of shoulder wing (the Stick series) or mid wing (Mid Star, etc.) styles of planes.  In a more general sense, the term “Sport” plane is used to describe a plane that is “fun” to fly, typically in non-competitive events.  High performance planes and scale planes require more attention to details (weight, balance, throws, etc.) than sport planes.

Examples of great sport planes: Sky Raider, Super or Ultra Stick, Sig Somthin’ Extra, Sig 4 Star, Goldberg Tiger series, and the like.

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