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Home › Course › Lesson 7: Your Transmitter
1. Welcome to the Hobby2. Safety & Rules3. Types of RC Planes4. Buyer’s Guide5. Simulators6. LiPo Batteries7. Your Transmitter8. Flying Skills9. Airspace & Where to Fly10. Weather11. Finding a Club12. Maintenance
Lesson 7 of 12

Your Transmitter — Learning the Controls

What the sticks do, what the switches may do, and the check I make before every flight.

The Radio Looks More Complicated Than It Is

A modern transmitter can have enough switches, screens, menus, and settings to make a new pilot wonder which ones actually matter. For your first airplane, most of the flying still comes down to four controls: throttle, rudder, elevator, and ailerons.

The transmitter sends your commands. The receiver in the airplane passes those commands to the servos and the electronic speed controller. You do not need to understand every programming menu yet, but you absolutely need to know which surface should move when you move a stick.

The Common Mode 2 Layout

Mode 2 is common in the United States. The left stick handles throttle and rudder. The right stick handles elevator and ailerons. Other modes exist, so do not change settings just because somebody online says their layout is “standard.” Match the radio, airplane, and instructor you are using.

Left stick ↑↓

Throttle. Up adds power and down reduces it.

Left stick ←→

Rudder. Moves the rudder left and right for taxiing, heading corrections, and coordinated turns.

Right stick ↑↓

Elevator. Pull back for up elevator and push forward for down elevator.

Right stick ←→

Ailerons. Move in opposite directions to roll the airplane.

The Check I Do Before Every Flight

Stand behind the airplane so you and the airplane are facing the same direction. Keep yourself clear of the propeller, verify that the right model is selected, and move one control at a time.

  • Right aileron: right aileron up, left aileron down
  • Left aileron: left aileron up, right aileron down
  • Pull back: the trailing edge of the elevator moves up
  • Push forward: the trailing edge of the elevator moves down
  • Right rudder: the trailing edge moves right; left rudder moves it left
If anything moves the wrong way, stop. Do not automatically reverse a channel and call it fixed. Check the model memory, linkages, receiver setup, and manual. On a stabilized airplane, the correction system also has to move the controls in the proper direction.

Trim, Rates, and Switches

Trim makes a small adjustment around neutral. Before adding a lot of trim, look for a bent linkage, off-center surface, wind, or a balance problem. If the airplane needs trimming in the air, do it at a safe height and let an experienced pilot help while you are learning.

Rates, expo, throttle cut, and flight modes depend on the radio and model. A switch does not control SAFE just because it did on somebody else’s airplane. Follow the setup for your equipment.

Next Up

Now we can put those controls to work. Lesson 8 covers the first flights, including the very useful skill of deciding not to force a bad landing.

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