Soar Like a Bird With RC Gliders and Sailplanes

Flying outdoors with your own little glider is both fun and relaxing. RC gliders and sailplanes offer a quieter and cheaper flying experience as opposed to electric or gas powered RC planes.

The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, once said this about gliders. "Gliders, sail planes, they're wonderful flying machines. It's the closet you can come to being a bird."

Neil was not wrong, RC gliders are just like there full size counterparts and really gives everyone the chance to soar like a bird. So you want to soar? Then read on.

First you need to know there are glider and sailplanes, which are basically both the same thing, it is just that gliders can sometimes have a small electric motor for steering and sailplanes don't. Out of the two, I think RC gliders are better because you can still have some control but also have an enjoying and relaxing flight.

Next you should know some of the downsides to flying an RC glider or sailplane. One thing is that they require more room to make a turn and they also move much slower. Moving slow is actually an advantage for beginners because it allows them more reaction time when flying, but if you have more experience then it isn't so much fun.

When looking for a glider, there are two options that you have; a powered glider or a non-powered one. Powered gliders are exactly that, they have electric motors that can be used for steering or actually propelling, but that kind of takes away the whole purpose of a glider so I wouldn't recommend that.

Non-powered gliders ride on thermal air currents, which allow the plane to fly along slowly. Powered gliders use a small electric motor with a folding propeller, and when the glider is to your desired height, you can just turn the motor off and it will become a true glider. Then if your glider starts to drop, you can just turn the motor back on and you can climb again.

Lastly we need to discuss launching your RC glider or sailplane. There are actually several ways to get your glider into the air, and all work just as good as the other I would say. The first way is hand launching the plane into the air. When doing this, always make sure you keep your hand at the exact center of gravity on the glider or sailplane, and launch it into the wind. That's it, it is that simple!

Another way to launch your glider is called discus launching, which takes the strain of hand launching out of the picture. Learn more about discus lunching if you think that is something you want to do.

That is some useful information on RC gliders and sailplanes that I have learned from my own experience. Just remember, when buying any glider or sailplane, always check for required accessories and what is not included. A Ready to Fly (RTF) glider should come with everything needed to start flying, but other kits might require some extra spending.