🔤 RC Glossary

Every RC term, decoded

Cars, crawlers, boats, planes, helis, drones, tanks and radios — every real term, plain English, no jargon left behind. New to RC? Start here.

230
Terms
15
Categories
🎮 Test yourself — no pressure

Cross-linked to the Wiki, Guides and Tuning Guide.

All 230 🔋 Battery & Power (23) 🔧 Chassis & Handling (21) ⚙️ Drivetrain & Gearing (13) 🏁 Racing (13) 🏎️ Vehicle Types (16) 📡 Radio & Control (26) 🎥 FPV & Drones (22) 🚤 Boats (15) ✈️ Planes (18) 🚁 Helicopters (15) 🎗️ Tanks & Military (12) 🔩 General Hardware (16) 🛞 Tires & Wheels (8) 🎨 Paint & Body (6) 🧰 Maintenance & Safety (6)
ACDEFGHMSTW

A

✈️ Aileron The hinged control surface near each wingtip that rolls the plane l…

C

✈️ CG (Center of Gravity) A plane's balance point — getting CG right is one of the most criti… ✈️ Control Throws How far a control surface (aileron, elevator, rudder) physically mo…

D

✈️ Decalage The angular difference between a plane's wing and its horizontal ta… ✈️ Dihedral The upward angle of the wings from root to tip, which adds passive…

E

✈️ Elevator The hinged control surface on the tail that pitches the nose up or…

F

✈️ Flaps Hinged surfaces on the inner wing that increase lift and drag for s…

G

✈️ Glider / Sailplane An unpowered or lightly-powered plane designed for efficient, susta… ✈️ Glow Engine A small nitro-fueled engine ignited by a heated glow plug — the tra…

H

✈️ Hand Launch Throwing a plane or glider into the air by hand to start the flight… ✈️ High-Wing A plane with the wing mounted on top of the fuselage — generally mo…

M

✈️ Motor Mount / Firewall The reinforced bulkhead at the front of a plane's fuselage that the…

S

✈️ Spinner The rounded cone fitted over a plane's prop hub — smooths airflow i… ✈️ Stall When a wing loses lift because it's flying too slow or at too steep…

T

✈️ Thermal A rising column of warm air a glider pilot circles inside to gain a…

W

✈️ Warbird A scale RC replica of a WWII-era military aircraft — typically fast… ✈️ Wing Loading A plane's weight divided by its wing area. Lower loading flies slow… ✈️ Wingspan A wing's total tip-to-tip length — the standard way RC plane sizes…