Product Reviews

The Best RC Planes for Beginners

Remote control (RC) planes are tonnes of fun for young and old, but finding a suitable model for beginners is not always easy. If you are thinking about getting started with RC planes, or know someone who is, we hope this blog post will be a useful guide in helping you find a suitable trainer plane. We have listed our Top 5 RC planes for beginners; focusing on models that are easy-to-use and will give you a solid foundation to move up to more advanced levels as your skills develop. Let's start this list with the HobbyZone Duet.

Number 5 - The HobbyZone Duet RC Plane

The

What's the only thing better than a high performance RC car? Drifting one! If you love to conquer corners, Modelflight has a great range of remote control cars designed especially for you. In this blog post, we will be looking at our Top 5 RC drift cars.

Number 5 - Vaterra 2015 Ford Mustang

This car is pure muscle. The 2015 Mustang is underpinned by Vaterra's durable V100-S chassis and comes with shaft-driven 4WD, making it ideal for on-road drifting. With its Dynamite power system, you will be able to approach turns with great speed and control. Coming ready-to-run with

The Striking E-Flite Clipped Wing J3 Cub

Aerobatic skill and great scale design - the Clipped Wing J-3 Cub 250 is an exciting new release from E-Flite. You may already be familiar with E-Flite's original J-3 Cub. This one is slightly smaller, but still has much to offer. It is constructed from balsa and plywood, which gives you a lightweight, yet durable structure. As you would have noticed, the Cub comes with a bright Hangar 9 UltraCote ParkLite trim scheme, which really makes this model a stand-out. E-Flite have also ensured that the proportions of the model accurately reflect that of the full-size Piper Cub. While we are on the topic of scale, we should note the great details of this plane. For example, it comes with a painted cowling featuring engine detail. There are also exposed cylinder heads which allow for better cooling, in addition to air intakes on the

The Majestic Hangar 9 Super Cub

Of all the model planes that we have discussed on the Modelflight blog, this one has got to be the largest, and arguably the most iconic! The Hangar 9 Super Cub is a 1/4-scale plane with excellent details. It is modelled on the Piper PA-18 Cub, the adventurous aircraft originally created in 1949. Staying true to its roots, Hangar 9 have accurately recreated this plane with several features that we would like to outline.

To begin with, every line and curve on this model is an authentic replication of the full-size aircraft. The shape of the fillet where the fuselage and vertical stab meet has also been recreated. Additionally, the Super Cub comes with fully-functional flaps and cockpit door. These flaps will allow you to perform short-field takeoffs and landings with ease. Assisting you in these endeavours is a scale landing gear

Blade have always been known for producing high quality RC helicopters. While the majority of these models come ready-to-fly (RTF), today we wanted to look at two new helis at the opposite end of the spectrum. The 600 X and 550 X kits are great for pilots who want to build a heli to their own specifications. The great thing about these kits, though, is that they give you a very solid foundation for building this dream machine. Let's look at each kit in turn.

Blade 550 X

The 550 X is one of three helicopters to be found in Blade's Pro Series range. It is no surprise, therefore, that this model has been designed for peak performance. It comes with an E-Flite Heli 550-sized brushless motor. This 1360Kv outrunner gives you the power you need for extreme aerobatic performance. This is coupled with a 10-amp BEC, also from E-Flite. As for the rest, that's entirely up to you! You have the opportunity to add your own transmitter, receiver and other components to create a 550 X of your own. Once these components have been added, you can experience all that Blade has to offer. This helicopter has many appealing design features. For example, the flybarless head comes with direct-to-swash functionality and main frames made from carbon fibre. The head block is also made from carbon fibre and the swashplate is CNC-machined aluminium. It's these attributes that make the 550 X a true performer in the air.

Blade 600 X

If you are looking for something even larger, the Blade 600 X kit is a great choice. This helicopter comes with the same frame and rotor head used in the aforementioned 550 X, but is equipped with an E-Flite 700-size brushless motor. Blade have also equipped this model with 600mm Revolution main blades from carbon fibre. You will also receive 95mm Revolution tail blades. This is a great base upon which you can complete the 600 X. Some of its other features include triple ball bearing support with a 10mm steel main shaft and an integrated bearing block servo mount. The 600 X is, ultimately, one of Blade's finest. We hope this blog post has given you a taste of these exciting new RC helicopters. Be sure to stay tuned for new releases from Blade. Until then, the sky's the limit!

We recently spoke about the range of ECX RC cars available at Modelflight in a buyer's guide we published a few weeks ago. In this same spirit, we wanted to talk about an equally popular car brand, renowned for making vehicles that are of great value for money. Carisma have a wide selection of remote control cars that can easily be driven by beginners. Much like ECX, though, a common Carisma conundrum is being spoilt for choice. Which Carisma car is right for me? In this blog post, we hope we can help you find the answer to that very question. We will discuss each Carisma car with regards to the kind of driving they are suited for. Let's begin by looking at some rally cars.

Rally Cars

The first car we wanted to talk about is the Carisma 

ECX have always had a great range of RC cars and trucks and as in any scenario when you are spoilt for choice, making a final decision can be difficult! Hence the reason why we have put together this buyer's guide for ECX remote control vehicles. We hope that it helps you narrow down your selection to help you find the perfect ECX car or truck to suit your needs.

For The Beginner

A great place to start with ECX remote control cars is the vehicle size. ECX cars come in two sizes: 1/10th- and 1/18th-scale, with the majority of their products falling in the first category. This is quite normal for most RC car brands; 1/10-scale is the standard size for most remote control vehicles. 1/18-scale cars certainly have their benefits, though. If you are looking for a great gift idea (especially for children), 1/18-scale RC cars are lots of fun. Their small size makes them easy to handle and it is quite feasible to drive them both outside and inside the house (without wreaking too much havoc)! ECX have two fantastic 1/18-scale cars that would make for great gift ideas (especially for Christmas).

The 1/18-scale Torment is a thrill to drive. It comes with four wheel drivetrain, oil-filled shocks and everything you require included in the box. It has a great short-course truck design with a striking trim scheme that will stand out wherever you go.  It is powered by a Dynamite 380-sized brushed motor and comes with a 6-cell NiMH battery (a charger is also included).

The Classic HobbyZone Corsair

You may have already heard of the F4U Corsair. It was one of the most distinguished military aircraft in the history of aviation, offering strong firepower and great versatility during World War II. Capturing the essence of this famed fighter, HobbyZone have created an RC version of this plane and we are pleased to announce that it is now available at Modelflight. At the core of this new model is Sensor-Assisted Flight Envelope (SAFE) Technology. SAFE has been used with great results in other models such as the Blade 350 QX and the HobbyZone Delta Ray. The Corsair is no different. SAFE will allow you to fly without fear of wind, turbulence or other factors in the environment. SAFE can work in the background to make adjustments as you fly, giving you a smooth flying experience.

This plane has a very appealing trim scheme, complete with scale military details. It is a true stand-out both in the air and on the ground. This plane

The Pitts Hits the Target

The full-size Pitts Special 1S is an icon in the field of aerobatic planes and now you have the opportunity to fly this aerobatic wonder in the most accessible fashion! E-Flite have turned the aircraft into an ultra-micro model; maintaining its ability to perform stunning aerial feats, but in a size that allows you to fly in your own backyard. The Pitts S-1S RC plane handles very well, thanks to the in-built Artificial Stability - 3 aXis (AS3X) system which gives you both great stability when required and great agility when you need to perform at your peak. AS3X utilises multi-axis sensors and software to make attitude corrections in the event of turbulence, torque and tip stalls. This works subtly behind-the-scenes, so you will be able to maximise your flying efforts without fear.

This plane comes fully-assembled out of the box (the only thing you will need to supply is a suitable transmitter), so you will be able to get flying very quickly. Even

Rock crawling is fast becoming one of the more popular means of driving RC trucks. It's easy to see why. The challenge of scrambling over large obstacles in your path makes rock crawling a really enjoyable activity for drivers of all ages and skill levels. At Modelflight, we are pleased to offer a range of RC cars and trucks that will cater to the rock crawler within you. In this blog post, we wanted to talk about that range of vehicles, covering cars and trucks from both Losi and Vaterra.

Losi Night Crawler

Let's start with one