RC Plane Manufacturers Guide: Major Brands and Their Lineups

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Walk into a hobby shop or scroll an RC catalog and the brand names blur together. HobbyZone and E-flite look like rivals, FMS shares a store page with them, and a jet maker you have heard of is nowhere to be found on the usual websites. Knowing who makes what turns out to answer practical questions about parts, radios and stabilization.

This page is built from manufacturer websites, product pages and stock listings, checked in October 2026. It is not based on our own flying, so it has no reliability verdicts from owner forums. Instead it gives facts a reader can check: when a company says it was founded, which stabilization system it names, and how much of its catalog shows as available.

The Landscape in One Table

Horizon Hobby and Its Product Families

Horizon says it began in the basement of Rick Stephens' home in Champaign, Illinois, and officially opened for business on October 1, 1985. Its own anniversary post says the company operates in four countries (the United States, the UK, China and Germany) and employs more than 400 people. Among the milestones it credits are the HobbyZone Firebird, Spektrum 2.4GHz radios and SAFE stability technology.

A few facts matter for buying. Horizon's site lists its brands, including E-flite, Spektrum, Blade, Axial, ARRMA and Losi, but HobbyZone and Hangar 9 appear on the Horizon store under their own SKU families. The stabilization technology is shared: AS3X smooths the effects of wind and turbulence, and optional SAFE Select adds pitch and bank angle limits plus automatic self-leveling. On BNF Basic models the receiver can be bound with SAFE switched off, so the same airframe can serve a new pilot and an experienced one. Radios are Spektrum, so one DSMX transmitter covers the Horizon families. The ARF, RTF and PNP guide explains the completion levels, and the transmitter and receiver guide covers compatibility.

E-flite

E-flite is Horizon's sport and scale line, and its catalog is the broadest of the brands covered here. The Horizon store lists 287 complete-model listings (BNF, PNP and RTF, counting variants), of which 80 are in stock, 38 on backorder, 3 on pre-order, 1 out of stock and 165 discontinued. A snapshot of current models:

Not everything survived. Discontinued per Horizon: the Spitfire Mk XIV 1.2m, the FW 190A 1.5m, the P-51D 1.5m Smart, the Radian XL 2.6m, the Night Radian FT 2.0m and the earlier UMX P-47. The Apprentice STS 1.5m BNF Basic is a Level 1 trainer at 59 in (1500 mm), listed on backorder, while its RTF version is discontinued.

Search for the E-flite P-51D Mustang 1.2m on Amazon For models and skill levels, the best RC trainer planes guide goes deeper, and many E-flite models include navigation lights, which the RC plane lights guide explains for retrofit builds.

HobbyZone

HobbyZone is the beginner-first line. The current stock picture:

At 2.1 oz (61 g) with the recommended battery, the Sport Cub S 2 is far under the 250 grams (0.55 lbs) at which the FAA requires registration. For flying advice, see the beginner's flying guide.

Search for the HobbyZone Sport Cub S 2 on Amazon

Search for the HobbyZone Carbon Cub S 2 on Amazon

Hangar 9

Hangar 9 covers larger ARF and PNP airplanes. Of 42 ARF and PNP listings checked, 12 are in stock, 7 are on backorder and 23 are discontinued. In stock: Ultra Stick 30cc 81 in, Ultra Stick PNP 60 in, J-3 Cub 10cc ARF and EP PNP, P-51D Mustang 20cc and 60cc, OV-10 Bronco 30cc 108 in, Valiant 10cc 69 in, Fun Scale PT-19 PNP and turbine jet ARFs (Viper 100N, Hawk/T-45 and Aermacchi MB-339). The Valiant 20cc, Carbon Cub FX-3 165 in, XCub 60cc and P-47D Thunderbolt 20cc are on backorder. The giant-scale guide and the balsa kits guide cover the build side.

FMS: Independent, Mostly Discontinued at Horizon

FMS's site says it was established in 2007 and has worked on RC product development for 18 years. It lists RC airplanes for every skill level, RC cars and trucks, parts and licensed-brand collections, and names its stabilization system Reflex. It does not name a headquarters, and it no longer mentions Horizon.

The Horizon store still carries FMS SKUs, but 43 of the 46 warbird SKUs checked show as discontinued, including the B-25 Mitchell 1470mm, the F4U Corsair 1400mm, the A6M3 Zero 1400mm, the P-47 Razorback 1500mm, the T-28D 1400mm and the P-40B. Two are on backorder (the F4U Corsair V3 1700mm and the P-51D Voodoo 1100mm) and one is out of stock (the P-51D Red Tail V8 1450mm). That is Horizon's listing and may reflect Horizon's distribution of the range, not FMS's own catalog, and FMS's website did not respond to automated requests. If you are chasing an FMS model, check with FMS and a current seller.

Dynam

Dynam's own About page describes the brand as founded in 2005, and says its industrial zone covers 80 acres with 28,000 m² of buildings. It lists three brands: TomCat for motors and power control systems, Dynam for airplanes and related electronic parts, and Detrum. It says its products export to more than 60 countries and regions, and one factory photo is captioned "DetrumTech Plant".

Dynam's store is a catalog of more than a thousand items including parts, and most current warbirds show in stock: Spitfire V3, P-51 Mustang V2, P-47D V2, Hurricane V3, Bf-109 V2, FW-190 V3, F4U Corsair V3, T-28 V2, F6F Hellcat V2 and the twins (B-26 Marauder, P-61 Black Widow, Bf-110 V3). Others in the range include the AT-6 Texan V3, Albatros D.Va V2 biplane, the PBY Catalina V2 1500mm seaplane, the C-47 Skytrain, the Cessna 310 Grand Cruiser V3 twin, and the Me-262 V3 6S twin 70mm EDF jet. A few items, such as the Hawker Tempest V2, the Hawksky V2 glider and the Cessna 182 Sky Trainer V2, showed as unavailable. The specs for the warbirds are in the warbird guide.

Search for the Dynam Spitfire V3 on Amazon

Freewing and FlightLine

A US hobby retailer's storefront says it is the exclusive North American and European distributor of Freewing Model RC products, and describes Freewing as offering the largest assortment of EDF RC jets. Freewing models come as PNP, ARF and ARF PLUS, and the storefront suggests the Pandora, a high-wing trainer, as a starter. Freewing's own website did not respond to this check, and the EU storefront showed the Avanti S V2 80mm EDF sport jet as sold out. Stock and specs are best confirmed with the distributor. For jets in general, see the EDF jet guide.

Other Makers Worth Knowing

• Multiplex. A German maker whose RR+ EasyGlider 4 is in stock at its shop, in Elapor foam and labelled "100% Made in Germany".
• Volantex. Its own EXHOBBY store lists 77 products under the VolantexRC brand, but its Phoenix and ASW28 gliders all showed out of stock.
• Seagull Models. A balsa ARF maker, listed as "since 1998", with gas and electric trainers, sport-scale, aerobatic and scale categories and a Giant P-47 55-60cc gas/electric ARF at 81 in. The site does not show stock status.
• Extreme Flight RC. Sells direct; its 78" Extra 300 V3 showed out of stock in every color.
• Dream-Flight. Sells the Libelle DLG, alula-TREK, Weasel-TREK and Ahi kits direct, all available.
• SIG, Balsa USA and Carl Goldberg. Classic balsa kit names. SIG's Riser kits are sold out, Balsa USA's 1/4 Scale J-3 Piper Cub kit is in stock, and Goldberg's site lists manuals for kits such as the Gentle Lady.

Compare What Can Be Compared

The old habit of ranking brands by forum reputation does not produce facts you can check. These fields can be checked:

Parts follow the same pattern. Horizon stocks parts for its own families (tail sets, wheels, decals and so on for models like the P-51D 1.2m), and Dynam's store lists parts for most of its warbirds. For other brands, check the parts situation before buying a model.

Which Brand Fits

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