How to Fly a Remote Controlled Vehicle
by j-nevil in Living > Toys & Games
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How to Fly a Remote Controlled Vehicle
You know what’s fun? Flying planes and helicopters. It’s just a plain (pun) old fact that stuff in the sky is really fun. However, a lot of people will wonder about the actual mechanics of flying a plane. Well the truth is it’s not that hard.
It doesn’t matter whether you want to fly a remote controlled helicopter, a quadrocopter, gyrocopter or are wondering how to fly a remote controlled spy plane – the principles are largely the same. So, enough speculating – let’s look at how to fly a remote controlled vehicle.
It doesn’t matter whether you want to fly a remote controlled helicopter, a quadrocopter, gyrocopter or are wondering how to fly a remote controlled spy plane – the principles are largely the same. So, enough speculating – let’s look at how to fly a remote controlled vehicle.
Let’s Start With Helicopters
So you’ve got your new helicopter and should just take it out the box and fly it right? Wrong. You need to do a bit of setting up first. The first thing to do is make sure that you have an appropriate area to fly in – if you’ve got an RC helicopter then it should be specified whether it’s indoor or outdoor.
Basically, you want to make sure the area you’re flying in is clean and doesn’t have any hazards in it. If you’re working on a giant house of cards, then it’s probably not a good idea to start flying your helicopter near it. By the same token, you shouldn’t fly your helicopter around any kind of valuables – the family sitting room with all the fine china for example.
Once you’ve got the area sorted, it’s time to think about the controls. There are many different types, but the basic controls consist of a throttle stick and a direction stick. The throttle stick moves up and down, whereas the direction sticks moves side to side. The throttle essentially rotates the blades, which controls the height – so if you push it up you go up and if you push it down you go down. The direction is quite self-explanatory, push it left and your helicopter rotates left - push it right and it turns right.
There is also a helicopter tilt control, although some models won’t have this, you can use this to move forward and backward in conjunction with the throttle. Tilting the helicopter forward and pushing the throttle up makes the helicopter go forward, the further you push the throttle up the faster it will move forward. Tilting backwards will cause you to reduce speed.
The helicopter should automatically stabilize itself, which is a good thing as it simplifies your experience. The best advice to give is just practice – it’s not going to be easy at first. Give it time and experiment, but remember to have fun!
Basically, you want to make sure the area you’re flying in is clean and doesn’t have any hazards in it. If you’re working on a giant house of cards, then it’s probably not a good idea to start flying your helicopter near it. By the same token, you shouldn’t fly your helicopter around any kind of valuables – the family sitting room with all the fine china for example.
Once you’ve got the area sorted, it’s time to think about the controls. There are many different types, but the basic controls consist of a throttle stick and a direction stick. The throttle stick moves up and down, whereas the direction sticks moves side to side. The throttle essentially rotates the blades, which controls the height – so if you push it up you go up and if you push it down you go down. The direction is quite self-explanatory, push it left and your helicopter rotates left - push it right and it turns right.
There is also a helicopter tilt control, although some models won’t have this, you can use this to move forward and backward in conjunction with the throttle. Tilting the helicopter forward and pushing the throttle up makes the helicopter go forward, the further you push the throttle up the faster it will move forward. Tilting backwards will cause you to reduce speed.
The helicopter should automatically stabilize itself, which is a good thing as it simplifies your experience. The best advice to give is just practice – it’s not going to be easy at first. Give it time and experiment, but remember to have fun!
On to Planes
If you’ve got yourself a nice remote controlled plane, the way to fly is slightly different. Once again you need to do a little bit of preparation before you take off. First of all, planes will normally need to be used outside. Unlike a helicopter a plane won’t be able to hover in a single position, so it’s unlikely you’ll find the sort of space you need indoors.
When outside, you need to find a wide open space that is clear of hazards – for example, you could use a field. Don’t fly your plane in a built up area. Getting the right take off is the first part of flying a plane. You will have similar controls as in an RC helicopter (throttle and direction) and you should first consider how you’re going to takeoff. Some planes will be capable of taking off from a runway, if you have one, but a lot of toy planes are hand launched. All you need to do is hold your plane and increase the throttle to maximum – then just toss it like you would a paper plane. It can be helpful if a friend is there as using the controls at the same time as throwing can be tricky.
Once the plane is in the air, you need to keep the throttle up to gain altitude – and ease off after you’ve reached a sufficient height. Maintaining a perfectly level flight path is quite a challenge, but it’s achieved by adjusting the throttle. After that you can gently adjust the plane’s direction left or right using the directional control stick – try and fly in a circular or oval shape to make sure you keep in a safe area and don’t fly too far away from your controls that the signal is lost in the plane.
The real trick to remote control helicopters is landing. If it’s windy, make sure you descend slowly in the direction the wind is blowing – so that the plane makes a gentle gliding descent. Descending is quite simple, just gently decrease the throttle. When the plane is a couple of feet above the ground, just cut the throttle and add should land nicely on its own.
When outside, you need to find a wide open space that is clear of hazards – for example, you could use a field. Don’t fly your plane in a built up area. Getting the right take off is the first part of flying a plane. You will have similar controls as in an RC helicopter (throttle and direction) and you should first consider how you’re going to takeoff. Some planes will be capable of taking off from a runway, if you have one, but a lot of toy planes are hand launched. All you need to do is hold your plane and increase the throttle to maximum – then just toss it like you would a paper plane. It can be helpful if a friend is there as using the controls at the same time as throwing can be tricky.
Once the plane is in the air, you need to keep the throttle up to gain altitude – and ease off after you’ve reached a sufficient height. Maintaining a perfectly level flight path is quite a challenge, but it’s achieved by adjusting the throttle. After that you can gently adjust the plane’s direction left or right using the directional control stick – try and fly in a circular or oval shape to make sure you keep in a safe area and don’t fly too far away from your controls that the signal is lost in the plane.
The real trick to remote control helicopters is landing. If it’s windy, make sure you descend slowly in the direction the wind is blowing – so that the plane makes a gentle gliding descent. Descending is quite simple, just gently decrease the throttle. When the plane is a couple of feet above the ground, just cut the throttle and add should land nicely on its own.
Remote Control Toys & Aerial Vehicles
Remote control toys are a lot of fun, and you can really get a lot of enjoyment from the more sophisticated models as well as the cheaper ones. There are some very expensive and complex ones out there; these are beyond the price of most toys which will have an extensive range of controls not covered here.
In any case, it’s useful to know the basic principles of flight because it can make the experience of getting a remote control helicopter or plane a lot more simple and fun!
In any case, it’s useful to know the basic principles of flight because it can make the experience of getting a remote control helicopter or plane a lot more simple and fun!