An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships, gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons.
A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models.
Radio-controlled cars, or RC cars for short, are miniature model cars, vans, buses, trucks or buggies that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. The term "RC" has been used to mean both "remote controlled" and "radio controlled". "Remote controlled" includes vehicles that are controlled by radio waves, infrared waves or a physical wire connection. RC cars are powered by one of the three energy sources—electricity, nitro fuel or petrol. Electric RC models are powered by small but powerful electric motors and rechargeable nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel metal hydride(NiMH), or lithium polymer (LiPo) cells with the former two being the most used. Both NiMH and LiPo have advantages and disadvantages in various RC applications where NiMH is mainly used for recreational and LiPo for more demanding purposes. There are also brushed or brushless electric motors—brushless motors are more powerful, long lasting and efficient, but also much more expensive than brushed motors.
A radio-controlled model is a model that is steerable with the use of radio control (RC). All types of model vehicles have had RC systems installed in them, including ground vehicles, boats, planes, helicopters and even submarines and scale railway locomotives.
An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the same scale as flying animals. Larger, crewed ornithopters have also been built and some have been successful. Crewed ornithopters are generally either powered by engines or by the pilot.
The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw is a multi-purpose piston engined helicopter that was used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom. United States Navy and United States Coast Guard models were designated HO4S, while those of the U.S. Marine Corps were designated HRS. In 1962, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps versions were all redesignated as H-19s like their U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force counterparts.
A radio-controlled aircraft is a small flying machine that is radio controlled by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver within the craft that sends signals to servomechanisms (servos) which move the control surfaces based on the position of joysticks on the transmitter. The control surfaces, in turn, directly affect the orientation of the plane.
A radio-controlled helicopter is model aircraft which is distinct from a RC airplane because of the differences in construction, aerodynamics, and flight training. Several basic designs of RC helicopters exist, of which some are more maneuverable than others. The more maneuverable designs are often harder to fly, but benefit from greater aerobatic capabilities.
Helicopter flight controls are used to achieve and maintain controlled aerodynamic helicopter flight. Changes to the aircraft flight control system transmit mechanically to the rotor, producing aerodynamic effects on the rotor blades that make the helicopter move in a desired way. To tilt forward and back (pitch) or sideways (roll) requires that the controls alter the angle of attack of the main rotor blades cyclically during rotation, creating differing amounts of lift at different points in the cycle. To increase or decrease overall lift requires that the controls alter the angle of attack for all blades collectively by equal amounts at the same time, resulting in ascent, descent, acceleration and deceleration.
An electronic speed control (ESC) is an electronic circuit that controls and regulates the speed of an electric motor. It may also provide reversing of the motor and dynamic braking. Miniature electronic speed controls are used in electrically powered radio controlled models. Full-size electric vehicles also have systems to control the speed of their drive motors.
On a helicopter, the main rotor or rotor system is the combination of several rotary wings with a control system, that generates the aerodynamic lift force that supports the weight of the helicopter, and the thrust that counteracts aerodynamic drag in forward flight. Each main rotor is mounted on a vertical mast over the top of the helicopter, as opposed to a helicopter tail rotor, which connects through a combination of drive shaft(s) and gearboxes along the tail boom. The blade pitch is typically controlled by the pilot using the helicopter flight controls. Helicopters are one example of rotary-wing aircraft (rotorcraft). The name is derived from the Greek words helix, helik-, meaning spiral; and pteron meaning wing.
A quadcopter, also called quadrocopter, or quadrotor is a type of helicopter or multicopter that has four rotors.
Nikko R/C is the largest toy-grade radio control manufacturer in the world. The company's licenses include those from Dodge, Ford, Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Porsche, as well as proprietary designs. In 2014, Nikko was acquired by global toy company, Toy State. In 2017, Toy State created a new arm of the Nikko brand, Nikko Air. In 2019 Nikko Toys Ltd. became the new home of the Nikko RC brand.
In aeronautics, an aircraft propeller, also called an airscrew, converts rotary motion from an engine or other power source into a swirling slipstream which pushes the propeller forwards or backwards. It comprises a rotating power-driven hub, to which are attached several radial airfoil-section blades such that the whole assembly rotates about a longitudinal axis. The blade pitch may be fixed, manually variable to a few set positions, or of the automatically variable "constant-speed" type.
The Picoo Z(also sold under the brand name of Air Hogs Havoc Heli in North America) is a miniature remote-controlled 2-channel helicopter manufactured by Hong Kong-based Silverlit Toys. In the United States it is distributed by Spin Master.
Spektrum is a brand of radio control systems designed for use with hobby radio-controlled cars and aircraft. Spektrum is a division of Horizon Hobby.
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of short take-off and landing (STOL) or short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft cannot perform without a runway.
Proxflyer refers to a family of micro R/C helicopter prototypes based on a dual coaxial counter-rotating rotor concept developed and patented by Norwegian Petter Muren. The concept differs from the swashplate designs in conventional helicopter flight controls and enables a helicopter to be passively stable in hover. Elimination of the conventional cyclic and collective pitch controls allows for simpler and lighter helicopters to be developed. A helicopter based on this design achieves stability without the use of gyroscopes or any form of active stabilization and thus is made up of much fewer parts than other model helicopters. The two counter-rotating rotors keep the helicopter very stable relative to the surrounding air. Altitude control is performed by varying the speed for both main rotors while Yaw control is achieved by increasing the speed of one rotor and reducing the speed of the other rotor by the same amount. A horizontally oriented tail rotor controls the helicopter’s forward or backward movement by shifting its center of lift with respect to the center of gravity (CG).
3D Aerobatics or 3D flying is a form of flying using flying aircraft to perform specific aerial maneuvers. They are usually performed when the aircraft had been intentionally placed in a stalled position for purposes of entertainment or display. They are also often referred to as post-stall maneuvers, as they occur after aerodynamic stall has occurred and standard control surface deflections, as used in flight, are not effective.
