Remote-controlled planes - a hobby on the rise

Remote planes are one of the fastest-growing hobbies around, not to mention one of the most fun. You can buy a kit (or even cut wood yourself), build a plane, and then use your remote control to fly your creation around in the park. In recent years their popularity has even begun to catch up to remote-controlled cars: cars might be fun, sure, but do they fly? No!
So how do remote-controlled planes work? Basically, the controller you hold sends radio waves through the air to the plane, telling it what to do. The receivers on the plane then carry out your actions to move the wings and other parts, just like the controls on a real plane send signals to mechanically move the parts – after all, it would be almost impossible for a pilot to move a plane without mechanical assistance.
Remote-controlled planes have gained popularity in recent years as their technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. A decade ago, for example, people were still using fuels like petrol to make their planes go, but today technology has moved to the point where model planes can fly using only electricity.
If you want to fly a remote plane yourself, the best way to do it is to buy a kit – they don’t cost that much. Generally, you will get a collection of parts made out of balsa wood (used because it is so light), together with instructions for building the plane. However, the kit will not include all the tools you need, which can include saws (if the wood hasn’t already been cut) and various kinds of glue.
Unfortunately, building planes this way can be very difficult and time-consuming, even when you buy a kit that is supposed to be easy to build. Because what you’re making is basically a scale model of a plane that has to work in the exact same way, it doesn’t take much for it not to fly at all. Errors that wouldn’t matter when building most other DIY projects can cause your plane to crash on its first flight, destroying hours of work.
While you could just go out and buy a ‘ready to fly’ plane, many people believe that takes a lot of the fun out of remote-controlled planes as a hobby. If you’re careful when you build your plane and follow the instructions to the letter, it should work just fine. Good luck!
However you do it, enjoy your shed!