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
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
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
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
best.