Electric Radio Controlled Airplane

I bought my first electric radio controlled airplane when I was 16 years old. Back then, RC aircraft were not inexpensive and readily available like they are today. The only RC electric planes out there were expensive kits meant for adults. I worked an after-school job at the time, and save my money for more than a month to get the airplane kit of my dreams.

It was a high wing airplane meant for beginners – a Piper Cub with classic styling and yellow paint. I was sort of a hobby novice, having never assembled toy cars or boats as I was growing up, so it was definitely slow going to put together the plane. It took me about a month of working for around half an hour everyday after school to finish putting together the kit.

I waited for the perfect, calm day before taking my electric RC airplane out on its maiden run. The sky was blue and there were only a few thin, wispy clouds. There was the tiniest breeze, alternating with periods of complete stillness. Carefully, I lined up my electric radio controlled airplane at one end of an empty field, facing in the direction of the nearly nonexistent winds. I taxied around for a while, checking the controls and learning the sensitivity of the sticks. When I was satisfied that everything worked properly, I press the throttle down, engaged the flaps and I was off!

A friend of mine, was pretty serious about electric radio controlled airplanes, and he had given me a few tips before I even flew my first flight. As he had advised, I took it slow and easy. I got up about 25 feet off the ground, banked gradually to the left and took a slow, leisurely trip around the field with the throttle at about half. Then I lined up the plane for a landing and eased it down as gently as I could.

The first landing was a little bit rough. I must have been flying a little bit too slow because it stalled at the last second, plunging into a nosedive from just a few feet up. Fortunately, it didn't have time to get up a lot of speed and, aside from a bit of dirt on the prop, was basically alright. I brushed off the dirt, change the batteries for a fresh pack, made sure that everything was working, then took off again. I was a quick learner, and the second time I came in quite smoothly, making an almost picture-perfect landing. I flew a couple more times that afternoon and, by the end of the day, could maneuver freely around the field without worrying about crashing or losing control. I've flown a lot of remote control airplane models since then, and moved on to more advanced kits, but I still have that yellow Piper Cub. It was my first electronic radio controlled airplane, after all, and still has a sentimental place in my heart.