Top 5: Best First RC Planes

Picking first plane is an important first step and magical part of getting into the RC hobby. There are almost endless options available, which can make it somewhat intimidating to choose. Because we want you to have a great first experience, we have compiled some of our favorite beginner planes for you to consider. 

Before we get to the planes we recommend, you should probably know the difference between 3-channel and 4-channel airplanes.   

3-channel
Gives you the ability to control thrust, climbing and turning.

4-channel
Gives you the ability to control pitch, roll, yaw and thrust. 

Stable Highwing | E-Flite Apprentice S 15E RTF (Ready to Fly)

The Apprentice is very stable and a nice size for visibility. Typically, we wouldn’t recommend this plane, but this specific version has a setting called “SAFE” which is basically the “oh, crap” switch. (Also, stands for: Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope.) It assists you by taking control and brings it back to level. A word of caution: learning to take your fingers off the control and hit a button will not benefit you if you move on to another plane that does not have the self-righting function. It’s important to learn how to get out of all kinds of situations where your plane isn’t in ideal flight. This plane helps you progress from being a beginner to the next level. Because of its size, you need a lot of room to fly it.

Micro Brushless Airplane | Hobbyzone Champ S+

If you don’t have the room for a stable highwing, a micro brushless airplane is a good option for you. It gives you more power than a typical brushed motor and lasts longer. Benefits: it is less than $200; has a GPS on it, which restricts the bank ability at a certain height so it doesn’t go out of control; has the ability to land with the push of a button. You still need a bigger space for it.

Most planes you can turn off the assistance features, which is nice as you progress. But most keep the gyro stabilization on in case wind hits your light plane hard. This plane can grow with you and you can even upgrade with FPV if you so desire.

DIY/Kit Build 

Our foundation is built on DIY and our desire is to get people into the hobby as cheap as possible. Typically, foam board planes are harder to build than balsa wood planes. our two favorites for beginners to get into the hobby. Flite Test has plenty of kits available for you to purchase with everything you would need, but we also supply free plans for you to build your own. 

Tiny Trainer

The Tiny Trainer is our most popular trainer of all time. We’ve seen many parents and kids fly it together. The Tiny Trainer takes a little longer to build than the Scout, but it teaches all aspects of building a plane. It can start out as a 2-channel glider and be upgraded to 3-channel plane then to a 4-channel plane. Josh B. flies it often with his wife, Jen.

Scout 

The Scout gives the biggest reward in the shortest amount of time. It looks like a nice model to put on desk and is super durable when flying. The Scout was our first mighty mini and with the free plans, you can build it for as little as $10. Or you can cut your build time in half buy purchasing a speed build kit in our store for approximately $5 more!

Pusher Trainers 

When crashing a plane, the propellers are usually the first to get wrecked. With the props on back, you don’t damage them as much and you can get back up in the air quicker. Pusher trainers have light wing loading, which makes them glide well. These are also a fairly safe option to fly. When buying a pusher trainer, look for light wing loading, pusher propeller and safety. These are some of our favorites:

V-Venture

Bix3

FT Explorer

Foam Gliders | Radian

Foam gliders have folding (folded) wings, which gives a nicer glide and ability to land without breaking propellers as easily. You still need a larger area to fly these. Flying one of these can be relaxing and sometimes you can get 45 minutes to 1 hour flight time because you can cut the propellers and let it glide. Our favorite beginner ones are the Radian and Micro Radian.

There are always updates and new technology in the RC industry, so we plan to continue to share more videos in the future if anything major changes with beginner planes. What are some of your favorite beginner planes?