You’ve decided to buy a radio-controlled (rc) airplane, for yourself or a as a gift. There are an overwhelming number of these airplanes on the market, with a huge range of prices. What factors should you use in your purchase decision?

Performance should really come first. At this stage, it’s really all about the flying. You will need something that is slow, and stable.

Ease of assembly should also be high on your list. You’ll need good, complete instructions. If you have the time, consider building from a kit, as a wooden kit plane can turn out very light (good for performance).

Crash resistance should not be your main consideration. Airplanes designed to withstand crashes tend to be much heavier than is good for decent fight performance. Because of this they end up doing a lot of crashing!

Cost is usually on someone's mind when they get into any new hobby, and rc airplanes are no different. Just remember that you usually get what you pay for. The cheapest system is generally not the best.

Looks should be the last thing on your mind when you get your new rc airplane. You will not have a fun experience trying to fly a scale model as your first. You can scale the airplane down, but you can’t scale down the forces of nature. Scale models will be too fast and unstable for a beginner.

For more information about choosing that perfect first radio controlled model, including specific recommendations, visit the RC Airplane Advisor.

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