RC Airplane/Before you fly

Before attempting to fly, it is highly advisable to:

• Have the model checked (and test flown) by an experienced pilot. It's hard enough to learn to fly a well set-up plane, but there are many simple mistakes that can make it much harder. RTF (ready to fly) planes attempt to address this but building and set-up skills greatly improve the satisfaction and enjoyment available from the hobby. If you join a club, this help is much easier to find.
• Ensure that your field is large enough. This depends on your model but a football field is a good size for a park flyer.
• Pick a calm day. Wind will make it much harder to control (especially for a small park flyer) and greatly increase the chance of an accident happening.
• If you are flying outside a club, ensure you are not within a couple of mile or so of an existing club as your radio could well interfere with them and cause accidents. Likewise, their radios could cause interference with your model.
• Ensure your field is empty. Dogs will chase your plane and other people may consider your plane more dangerous than you do.

Dedicated model airfields run by hobbyist groups are an ideal place to get started. Not only will you be in an area with good properties for flying, there will be more experienced fliers you can request advice and assistance from if needed.