RC Model Vehicles and Kits
Remote-controlled models are a fun hobby because they add a whole new interactive dimension to model-building. There are RC versions of all kinds of vehicles, including drones and flying machines with no full-scale counterpart. Whether you appreciate consumer, military, or industrial machines, and whether they travel by air, land, or sea, there is likely to be an RC vehicle for you to enjoy.
What kind of flying RC models are there?There are several types of remote controlled flying vehicles for fun and for racing. RC airplanes can be based on real planes, or they may be a new, model-specific design. They often have the ability to fly high and far, do tricks in the air, and move at high speeds. Helicopters are maneuverable in tight spaces, and so you can often fly them indoors. Quadcopters and other exotic forms tend to perform like helicopters. The larger they are, the better they can fly outdoors, and some of them are big enough to mount a camera or other attachment to them to capture footage from the air. Each of these types of vehicles with radio control has its own attractions based on what you want to do with the aircraft. An RC yacht or sailboat is a simple machine with a sail and a hull. Sailing a machine like this uses the same principles humans developed centuries ago to explore the world.
Which fuels can remote-controlled models use?The biggest divide in the energy sources that these models use is between the ones that are electric and have to be charged up and the ones that use gasoline. Electricity-powered models don't require you to keep fuel around, but you can't power them until they've been charged. On the other hand, gas-powered vehicles are ready to go as soon as you pour in enough fuel.
What do you need to get started with remote vehicles?RC kits come in a few different levels of readiness out of the box. If you see a model kit that is labeled Ready to Go or Ready to Fly, this means that the kit contains everything you need to start right away with the exception of fuel or power. Bind-N-Fly is a designation for fliers that means you need to have your own remote control transmitter. You can link the model to the transmitter and then you will have control over it. Almost Ready means the vehicle needs something extra. This might be a motor, a battery, some kind of electronic component, or a glued joint between some of its parts. The kit you select will likely be clearly labeled to tell you what parts come with it and what parts you might need to supply yourself.