Other electric rc airplane accessories you might need are going to depend on the plane you have, but the list rarely goes beyond a few basic hand tools such as screwdrivers, a spare propeller or two, maybe large rubber bands, CA glue, sticky & double-sided tape etc. Such a checker will tell you the charge state of your flight pack. So stock up with flight packs, and you won't be twiddling your thumbs between flights.Īlso, a battery checker is a must, especially if your charger doesn't have a digital display. Typically a flight won't last more than ten minutes at most, and most packs take an hour or so to charge - probably longer with a field charger on a 12V supply. On that note, buying two or three spare flight packs for your plane is highly recommended. This obviously negates the need to charge them at the field! If you have enough battery packs to last the session then you can charge them all at home beforehand and go flying armed with a handful of fully charged packs. Not every EP plane flyer uses a field charger, though - myself included. This lets you operate the charger at your flying site - hence the name 'field' charger. Therefore you can charge your airplane battery pack from your car battery, either by using 'crocodile clips' directly to the battery or via the car cigarette lighter outlet. But if one isn't, or you want a better one than the one supplied, a good quality field charger is the best option.įield chargers have a 12V input as well as, or instead of, the main 110/220V input. With RTF electric rc airplanes, it's unusual for a battery charger not to be supplied in the box. The most important item you must have for an EP plane is a good charger. But once you're at a stage where you can confidently fly your airplane alone at the field, then stocking up with your own set of essential accessories is a must, so you won't have to rely on anyone being at the field. IC planes almost always justify the purchase of a flight box, or 'tote', because of the amount of accessories that you need at the field, whereas with an electric powered plane you can get away with just a small box of bits, or even nothing at all if you're flying close to home.įield equipment rc airplane accessories are rarely very expensive and, in your early learning days, can even be borrowed from fellow flyers if you're flying at a club patch. IC (internal combustion) powered rc airplanes require more accessories than electric powered planes, purely because of the engine and the need to start it.

Rc fuel pump