Essential Radio Control Air Planes Parts

A great way to become familiar with radio control air planes is to understand the parts that make up the control system. These parts


include the transmitter, receiver, servos and battery pack. There are, of course, other parts involved in the airplanes flight, but


these are the ones that make up the brains of your plane.

The transmitter is the control interface between the pilot and the radio control air planes. Transmitters can come in 2, 4 or 6


channels, and generally consist of two joysticks and various other switches and controls. The joysticks are used for left, right, up,


and down controls, and the configuration depends on if the transmitter is a 2 or 4 channel radio. These joysticks on the transmitter can


also be set up by the user, giving the pilot customized control over how the plane responds to the transmitter.

The transmitter sends signals as dictated by how the pilot moves the transmitter part positions, and these signals are picked up by a


receiver which is integrated into the structure of the radio control air planes themselves The receiver takes this signal and transfers


it to the servos which are also located on the plane. The motion of the servos is called proportional motion because the more a pilot


moves a control, the more motion the servo responds with.

Servos are small electric motors with gears and the servos are connected to moveable parts of the radio control air planes. The receiver


converts signals to the servo, and the servo converts this signal into motion by moving the part of the plane it is connected to. Rudder


control, throttle control, landing gear you name it...if there is a servo involved the transmitter can be set up to control it!

All of this motion of the radio control air planes is dependent upon the battery packs used to make this transferring of signals happen.


Battery packs are made of battery cells, the number of cells dictating the power output of the battery pack as a whole. The most common


batteries are Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh), which are rechargeable and last through countless charges.

So these parts...the transmitter, receiver, servos, and battery pack, make up the control system of your radio control air planes. No


matter what else you spend your time and money on, its worth the effort to make sure this control system is adequate and functioning


properly.

After all, it is this system that dictates how far you can fly and how much control you have over your plane when its in the air. Try to


remember that it doesnt matter how fast a plane goes if the pilot isnt in complete control.