RC airplanes are exact miniature replicas of the various planes that have graced the skies with their flights some time or the other. It could be a magnificent B-52 Bomber, or the formidable Airbus or the graceful Concord, albeit with much lesser power. These RC planes (also known as model airplanes) are generally tough to fly the first few times, but once you get the hang of them, you will be hooked.

Model airplanes are usually made up of plywood, balsa wood or, at times, of composite fiber. Like their real counterparts, the design of a model plane is based on its utility, power of the motor and most importantly on the skill of the 'PILOT'. The engine generally consists of a motor ranging from 15cc up to 75cc, and some ingenious designers have been known to rev up their engines up to 95cc!

The trainer planes are usually more bulky with a composite fiber body. They are designed to be slow, so that rookies get a hang of flying the planes, before they can actually start displaying their gravity defying skills. As the flying skills of a person improve, one can gradually start to elevate to sleeker and faster planes.

The sport of flying RC Airplanes has been around for many decades now. Many model airplane flying clubs have been set up almost all around the world, and members have been increasing steadily, but surely. The organizers or administrators of these associations arrange for weekly or fortnightly meets, wherein the members get their planes to fly in the open skies.

At times, they may even organize competitions within the club, to find out who the ACE PILOT is. There are usually two kinds of competitions; COMBATS and SKILL. In the skill mode, pilots with airplanes of the same engine capacity are pitted against each other to display their skills and successfully complete certain maneuvers within the demarcated area, in a specific period of time. In the combat mode streamers are tied to the ends of the two competing planes. The objective for the contestants is to cut the streamers of their opponents using their propellers or tail or wings, at the same time ensuring, they do not fly out of the 'combat zone'. After landing the pilot with the longer length of streamer attached to his plane is adjudged the winner.

Although this form of competition sounds rather drab, it is extremely popular within the flying community. The objective of such competitions is to test the talent of the pilot and not the machine. The most important aspect here is that only planes of the same engine capacity are competing against each other.

Flying model airplanes with friends and peers has been known to be a great stress buster. These planes are available at most hobby stores, ready to be purchased off the shelf or as assembly kits. Many innovative pilots have been known to design their own planes, using only their imagination as a blueprint.