Glossary of What? er RC Airplane Terms!

A Glossary may come in handy for beginners, to help clarify the terms associated with flying rc airplanes.

Aileron -The hinged control surface on the back(trailing edge) of the wing furthest away from the fuselage.

Airfoil -The wing shape viewed from the end. Flat-bottom, Semi-Symmetrical and Symmetrical are three very popular airfoil types.

Altitude -How high an aircraft is flying in the sky. Such as 100' feet.

ARF -(Almost-Ready-To-Fly) A aircraft that is factory built and ony needs final assembly.

Control Surface -A moveable part of on rc airplane, such as a rudder, aileron or elevator.

Dihedral -A wing with a upper angle, resemblying a v-shape. Many trainer airplanes are built with increased dihedral.

Dead Stick -When an rc airplane engine loses power in the sky. The pilot has to land the aircraft without engine power.

Disorientation -When a pilot loses control flying a rc airplane, and cannot regain control of his aircraft.

Drag -The force an aircraft creates as it moves through the air.

Dual Rates -A very nice feature that reduces control movements on the transmitter.

Elevator -A control surface located on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer, that allows the airplane to assend or desend.

Fin -The vertical stabilizer on an rc aircraft.

Fixed -Describing landing gear that cannot be moved, it remains down throughout the entire flight.

Flap -A control surface that increases lift and is located close to the fuselage.

Flat bottom -A wing that consist of a flat end surface, found in many highwing trainer airplanes.

fuel tank -A plastic container that supplies fuel to an airplane's engine compartment.

Fuselage -The aircraft structure that houses the engine and fin.

Glossary -A collection of terms related to one specific subject.

Glow fuel -A fuel mixture of nitromethane. It is labled many by percentage, such as 10%, 15%, or 25 nitro.

Glow plug -A small plug that screws onto the top of a glo engine, and produces heat that is needed to ignite glo fuel.

Kit -An rc airplane that requires building, it comes with balsa wood, hardware and building plans. Does not include engine or radio transmitter.

Leading edge-The front of the wing.

Loop -A basic maneuver, which the airplane climbs up and over thus returning to level flight.

Main gear -An airplane's two main landing gear, located under the wings.

Prop -Refers to propeller.

Propeller -It turns the engine power into thrust.

Radio Transmitter -The pilot controls an airplane's flight movements.

RPM -Revolutions per minute. A engine's operating range.

RTF -Ready-To-Fly. An airplane that is completely built with engine and radio accessories installed.

Symmetrical -A airfoil that has the same shape on both sides of a wing's center line.

Tail -The rear part of the fuselage that includes the vertical stabilizer.

Trailing edge -The rear part of a wing.

Trimming -Adjusting the airplane in flight mechanically, via the radio transmitter. Thereby providing smoother flights.

Wing area -An area of the wings measured in square inches.

Wing chord -Is the depth of a wing, from the edge to the backedge.

Wingroot -Where the wing joins the fuselage.

Wingspan -It is the length of the wing measured from one wing tip to the other.

Wingtip -The furthest end of the wing from the fuselage.

I hope this Glossary can be of help to those new to this hobby!