Aileron : Located on the trailing edge of the main wing, it is used to control movement about the roll axis.
Airfoil : The shape of the wing when looking at it from the side.
AMA : Academy of Model Aeronautics, the world's largest sport aviation organization. Publishes Model Aviation magazine.
Angle of Attack (AoA) : The angle of the wing relative to the oncoming air.
ARF : Almost Ready to Fly. An ARF kit is pre-assembled and requires little assembly and installation of mechanical parts such as the engine, receiver, servos, and transmitter.
Center of Gravity (CG) : The balancing point of an airplane.
Channel : The frequency number that the transmitter is operating on. By law, radio frequencies for rc airplanes must be in the 72Mhz (72.010– 72.990) band. Each separate frequency within the band is given unique channel number. RC airplanes flying on the same frequency channel will cause signal interference from the transmitter to the receiver.
| Ch.# / Frequency |
Ch.# / Frequency |
Ch.# / Frequency |
| 11 / 72.010 MHz |
28 / 72.350 MHz |
45 / 72.690 MHz |
| 12 / 72.030 MHz |
29 / 72.370 MHz |
46 / 72.710 MHz |
| 13 / 72.050 MHz |
30 / 72.390 MHz |
47 / 72.730 MHz |
| 14 / 72.070 MHz |
31 / 72.410 MHz |
48 / 72.750 MHz |
| 15 / 72.090 MHz |
32 / 72.430 MHz |
49 / 72.770 MHz |
| 16 / 72.110 MHz |
33 / 72.450 MHz |
50 / 72.790 MHz |
| 17 / 72.130 MHz |
34 / 72.470 MHz |
51 / 72.810 MHz |
| 18 / 72.150 MHz |
35 / 72.490 MHz |
52 / 72.830 MHz |
| 19 / 72.170 MHz |
36 / 72.510 MHz |
53 / 72.850 MHz |
| 20 / 72.190 MHz |
37 / 72.530 MHz |
54 / 72.870 MHz |
| 21 / 72.210 MHz |
38 / 72.550 MHz |
55 / 72.890 MHz |
| 22 / 72.230 MHz |
39 / 72.570 MHz |
56 / 72.910 MHz |
| 23 / 72.250 MHz |
40 / 72.590 MHz |
57 / 72.930 MHz |
| 24 / 72.270 MHz |
41 / 72.610 MHz |
58 / 72.950 MHz |
| 25 / 72.290 MHz |
42 / 72.630 MHz |
59 / 72.970 MHz |
| 26 / 72.310 MHz |
43 / 72.650 MHz |
60 / 72.990 MHz |
| 27 / 72.330 MHz |
44 / 72.670 MHz |
Channel : The number of controls an airplane has.
Chicken stick : A small stick used to start the engine. When starting the engine using your finger, it can also mean the rubber sleeve wrapped around your finger for protection from the propeller.
Chord : The distance between the leading edge and trailing edge.
Control surface : A moveable surface that is attatched to the trailing edges of an airplane and controls the 3D movement of the ariplane.
Cowl : The covering over the engine that reduces air resistance and allows a path for air to cool the engine.
Crystal : Electronic component located in the transmitter and the receiver, it determines the frequency the radio system is operating on.
Dead stick : To land without engine power.
Dihedral : The positive angle of the wing from true horizontal.
Elevator :Located on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer, it flaps up or down to control movement about the pitch axis. Up is to climb, down is to dive.
Engine mount : Holds the engine in place inside the airplane. They are included in most ARF kits as either wooden rails or nylon or aluminum mounts.
Fin : See vertical stabilizer.
Flaps : A control surface located on the trailing edge of the wing between the ailerons and fuselage, it is used to increase lift or drag. Flaps are found on airplanes with at least 5-channels such as scale airplanes, but not trainers with 4-channels or less.
Fuselage : The body of an airplane.
Glow fuel : A mixture of methanol, nitro methane and castor oil and synthetic lubricants to protect the engine. Glow fuels are rated by the percentage of nitro content, the most common being 10%, 15%, and 25%.
Hand launch : One way of getting the airplane in the air without the need for a landing gear.
Horizontal stabilizer: the small, horizontal tail wing.
Landing gear : Also known by the British as the undercarriage, it is comprised of the wheel and wheel strut. It performs the function of supporting the weight of the airplane and allows for mobility while it is on the ground.
Leading edge (LE): The front edge of the wing, it is rounded to let air flow around it.
NiCd : Nickel Cadium. High powered rechargeable batteries used in transmitters and receivers.
Nitro Short for Nitromethane. Added in fuel for better performance. Glow fuel is rated by their nitro content in percentage terms.
Park flyer : Any electric airplane that can be safely flown in small flying area, such as a park, school yard, or parking lot.
Pitch : The axis of the airplane that is controlled by the elevator, it determines the altitude of the plane.
Pushrods : Connects the servos to the parts of the airplane that the servos move.
Receiver : Radio component located inside the airplane that takes signals from the transmitter and relays it to the proper servo.
Retracts : Short for retractable landing gear. Retracts fold into the airplane after lifting off to reduce air resistance and unfolds for landing.
Retract ready: An ARF airplane kit is retract ready if retracts can be installed without any adjustments being made to the aircraft.
Rudder : ocated on trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer, it flaps left or right to control movement about the yaw axis.
Scale airplane : Any rc airplane that is modeled after a real airplane.
Servo : 
: Converts the signals of the receiver to motion. Servos are labeled by their weight in grams. For example, a 9 G servo weighs 9 grams
Servo horn : Also known as a servo arm, they are attached to the output shaft on the servo.
Starter : Any device used in starting a engine. Can be electric(electric starter) or manual(chicken stick).
Throttle : The lever a pilot uses to control the speed of the engine. The lever controls the valves of the engine that regulates the amount of vaporized fuel entering the cylinder. Increased fuel leads to higher speeds.
Trailing edge (TE): The back edge of a wing, it is sharp so as to minimize drag.
Undercarriage : See landing gear.
Vertical stabilizer : The small, vertical tail wing. Also known as the vertical fin or just as fin.
Wing root : The edge part of the wing that is attatched to the fuselage.
Yaw : The axis of the airplane that is controlled by the rudder, it helps in stabilizing the airplane.
