Well my grandson and I have been having some discussions on Remote Control Airplanes and it led him back to the first time he flew one. He didn’t have much luck with his first flight as it crashed shortly after takeoff but he didn’t know at the time there were tips that will help the novice fly Remote Control Airplanes.

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There are a few rules to doing this and personally I know I wouldn’t get it off the ground where my grandson has a lot more confidence in me than I do. But he is quick to tell me that you never fly your plane on a windy day and there are ways to determine this before you start. You have to tie a piece of ribbon onto the end of the antenna attached to the hand held remote.  He then holds the controller level to the ground. If the ribbon is parallel to the ground it is too windy to continue but if it’s less than thirty degrees then it’s okay to fly.

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You can also determine the wind direction by throwing grass up in the air keeping in mind that you have to fly your plane into the wind rather than with the wind flow. Flying into the wind will give you the best performance.

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If you are thinking about flying your airplane it is best to have a friend come along. It is difficult to hold the remote and try to launch the plane at the same time. Your friend can hold your plane and get it going while you operate it from your control.

When you first start to fly a remote controlled plane it is best to practice in circles around and around. Once you get the feel of the plane then you can introduce other moves. Of course you can switch the turns and fly the other ways. Once you have both of these moves down pat then you shouldn’t have much trouble completing the figure eight.

The more my grandson tells me about this the more I understand how complicated it is. When you’re landing the planes you should take notice of which way the wind is blowing. Once that is determined and you can land you have to reduce the power very slowly and let the plane glide in for the landing rather than flying it right to the ground. When it reaches approximately five feet from the ground then cut the power altogether.

When flying your plane there are a few tips you should follow as flying your plane in an open field. Parks and crowded places are not ideal as they are much to busy and leave the potential for someone to get hurt. Always read your instruction manual to find out how your airplane works but if the plane you have is made from scratch then you know about how to fly it although it is still important to chose your flying site carefully.

If you are truly interested in this hobby the best thing you can give yourself is take lessons in flying from an instructor. Remember crashes will happen and has happened to my grandson, but he just keeps going and is doing quite well now with crashes few and far between. As for me I’m learning more every day and just maybe one of these days I will try it…….. That’s a big maybe.