Topic
Tutorials
Guides and reviews focused on tutorials, filtered directly from the article feed.
RC Plane Buddy Box and Trainer Cord Guide: How to Train with an Instructor
A buddy box lets an instructor retake control the instant a student gets into trouble. Here's how trainer cords, wireless links and radio setup work.
Advanced RC Aerobatics: Hovering, Torque Rolls and Harriers Explained
Learn how to hover an RC plane, hold a torque roll and fly a clean harrier, with the exact control corrections and setup that make each one repeatable.
How to Trim an RC Plane: Straight and Level Without Guesswork
Most crooked-flying planes are untrimmed, not broken. Here is a bench-then-field routine based on E-flite manuals and AMA Flight School, with a symptom guide.
How to Fly an RC Plane in Wind
A researched guide to windy-day RC flying: the wind limits makers actually publish, how gusts change the picture, what to adjust in your setup, and how to approach, turn and land when the air is moving.
How to Take Off and Land an RC Plane
A researched walkthrough of RC takeoffs and landings built from trainer manuals, the FAA handbook and the AMA's intro-pilot program: wind limits, hand launches, the approach and flare, and what to do about bounces and crosswinds.
Basic RC Aerobatics: Loops, Rolls and Stall Turns
A researched guide to the three maneuvers that unlock sport aerobatics, with stick sequences, symptom-to-fix tables and the airplane setup that makes them safer to learn.
RC Plane Dogfight Guide: Combat Formats, IR Systems and Gear
Searches for an RC plane dogfight turn up several different hobbies. This guide sorts out streamer combat, contact games, IR laser tag for FPV and payload drops, with the AMA and FAA rules that apply to each.
RC Plane Long-Range Flying: Antennas, Telemetry and Legal Limits
Range on an RC plane is a link budget problem, then a failsafe problem, then a legal one. This guide walks through antennas, the main control links, return-to-home basics and the US rules that cap what you can do.
RC Airplane License and Registration: What the FAA Requires
The FAA does not issue a recreational RC pilot license, yet three separate obligations still apply to fixed-wing flyers: registration, the TRUST test and Remote ID. This guide explains each one and where the exemptions come from.
Buying and Selling Used RC Planes: Swap Meet Guide
Used RC planes can save money, but only if the radio, battery and airframe check out. This guide covers inspection, compatibility, scam red flags, legal basics and shipping limits, drawn from maker manuals and official sources.
Major US RC Plane Events: Fly-Ins, Nats and Swap Meets
The biggest US RC events each serve a different kind of modeler. This guide sets out what Joe Nall, Ace of Aces, the Nats, the swap meets and the jet and warbird rallies offer, based on organizer and AMA documentation.
RC Plane CG Balancer Guide: Tools, MAC and Setup
Center of gravity is the cheapest performance upgrade in the hobby, because it costs a few grams of weight and some patience. This researched guide covers where the number comes from, how to measure it, and which balancer fits which model.
RC Floatplane Guide: Setup, Technique and Rules
Flying off water has its own sequence: displacement, hump, step and lift-off. This guide covers setup, waterproofing, technique and the rules that apply, using maker manuals and the FAA seaplane handbook.
RC Plane Clubs Near Me: How to Find and Join a Local Club
A local club gives you a legal place to fly, instructors and a buddy box. Here is how to find one, what to ask on a first visit, and how FAA rules and insurance fit in.
RC Plane Flying Fields Near Me: How to Find a Legal Flying Spot (2026)
Find legal RC plane flying fields near you: AMA Club Finder, FRIA map, B4UFLY apps, FAA rules, and what to bring to your first club visit. Current US guide.
RC Plane Simulators: Free and Paid Picks, Plus Radio Setup
A researched guide to RC plane simulators, sorted by computer and payment style, with steps for connecting a real transmitter and a list of beginner planes that ship with a sim.
RC Glider Guide: Thermal Soaring and Discus Launch Gliders
RC soaring is the quiet corner of the hobby where reading the sky matters as much as flying. This guide explains thermals, glider types and DLG launching, and checks three gliders against maker specs.
RC Plane ARF vs RTF vs PNP Explained: Which Build Level Fits You
The same RC acronym can mean two different boxes depending on who made the plane. Here are the makers' own definitions, real in-box and needed-to-complete lists, and how to pick the build level that fits you.
How to Fly an RC Plane: A Beginner's Guide From Simulator to Solo
The path from a boxed trainer to a clean landing is full of avoidable mistakes. This guide walks through simulator practice, finding an instructor, choosing a SAFE trainer, pre-flight checks, takeoffs, landings and US rules.