In general, setting up an RC Glider should be quite a simple task.
If you have some experience with other types of airplanes – great!
But, if you are a complete newbie, some obvious things become not so…
So, in this article, let’s get an RC Glider Setup sorted from start to finish.
But first, let’s find out what type of glider you have, since the setup will differ slightly depending on a few factors.
RC Glider Types
There are just two main criteria that differentiate the models you might get:
- The existence of a motor to help it launch and gain altitude
- And the type of your airframe
The gliders with the motor in front are called powered.
If there is no motor – powerless, or just pure gliders.
RC Gliders By Airframe Type
There are two main airframe styles used to design an RC Glider.
It’s either a classic scheme or a flying wing.
There will be a variety of options to the above, so don’t get confused.
The core always remains untouched.
The flying wing will usually look like a wing that was taken off the complete classic airframe and somehow stays aloft. 😉
The classic airframe should have a main wing in the front attached to the fuselage, and a tail surface in the rear.
The tail surfaces at the rear may have different configurations as well, i.e., a V-tail, a T-tail, a Crosstail (aka an X-tail), etc.
Canard design with the “tails in front” of the wing is rarely used for RC gliders, so we’ll skip it for now.
Center Of Gravity
One of the most important things that you need to set up for your RC Glider.
It’s critical for all flying vehicles, allowing a little bit of play for powered models.
But for RC gliders, a 1mm shift may lead to a complete change in your plane’s behavior.
See that in this video:
To know a proper CG position for a particular model, refer to the manufacturer’s notes for your model.
If it’s missing, you can also use the Online CG Calculator available or its Google Sheets version (copy and enjoy).
Then, install all your electronics, receiver, and battery in the correct spots and balance your model “on the tip of a pencil”.
Move your electronics around, or add some lead (tungsten putty) to the nose or tail to move the balance point to the recommended position.
This will be your starting point for the maiden.
Once flying at a safe altitude, you can also use an RC Glider Dive Test to see the true CG position for your specific aircraft.
Adjust based on the result of it and see how you prefer your glider to fly, with neutral, forward, or backward CG.
Powered RC Glider Setup
So, what are the RC glider settings, specific to the motor?
As mentioned above, the motor is usually used to launch a glider and gain altitude.
This fact dictates how the motor is configured, both hardware- and software-wise.
RC gliders usually use so-called folding props, like the one in the image below.
These props unfold when the motor is spinning, as pictured above, and fold down, aligning with the centerline of the fuselage when the motor stops.
This nicely reduces the drag of the propeller when not in use, especially when combined with an aerodynamic nose cone, also called a spinner.
No rocket science here, and there are plenty of folding props available on the market.
The primary consideration here is that the motor should have brakes enabled at 0% throttle.
When the prop is unfolded and spinning, and the pilot drops the throttle, the prop may continue spinning as your glider flies with 0% throttle.
This is called freewheeling and creates an enormous amount of drag that slows your glider down.
Most ESCs used with RC gliders offer this feature.
Sometimes you just need to enable it via Tx Programming or by connecting it to a PC or a specific programming card.
The Throttle Control
Given the occasional nature of throttle control on the RC glider, there are a few options where you can put it on your radio transmitter.
The throttle stick is the most obvious, but usually, you would also like this input to control the proportional brakes settings.
Not the one that stops the motor from spinning, but the combination of flying surfaces’ deflections that will help you slow the glider down on landings.
If your programming skills aren’t enough to combine both of these functions at a single throttle stick input, then a slider or just an on-off switch will work just great as well.
Most of the time, you will just need to gain some altitude using a motor, and should drop it afterwards and soar;)
Flying Wing Glider Setup
Next, let’s have a look at the flying wing configuration.
Aka the delta wing.
The main feature of this type of RC gliders is that the flying surfaces of this aircraft perform the pitch and roll control simultaneously.
Yaw control is rarely used, and it’s not that efficient for delta wings.
For this RC glider type, you must have a radio that is capable of delta wing mixing.
Most of the modern programmable radios should handle this task.
So if you are using a programmable radio by either FrSky, Flysky Radiomaster, Spectrum, Jetti, JR, or Jumper, etc., you should be good to go.
The pro tip here – Flying Wings are the most fun to fly with minimal pitch and maximum roll throws.
And they are extremely sensitive to the CG position.
So keep that in mind.
Classic Airframe RC GLider Setup
With RC gliders, the classic airframe combines a few options, briefly divided by the number of channels needed to control the flight, regardless of the motor.
Add of them look similar, with a main wing, fuselage, tail boom, and tail feathers.
But the core of their setup differs slightly.
2-Channel RC Gliders
One of the simplest configurations is a 2-channel controlled RC glider – only pitch and yaw controls are intact.
The tail feathers can have various configurations, though.
The most common is cross tail, aka X-tail.
V-tail and T-tail are the other possible options that perform the same features.
The one feature that stands out on all 2-channel gliders – all of them feature either a high dihedral or polyhedral wings that increase the yaw control. Check the Lull as an example.
The setup for this type of RC glider is quite straightforward.
- Make sure the CG is correct
- Make sure the servos are mapped to the corresponding sticks on the radio
- Make sure the Rudder and Elevator are moving in the correct directions according to the stick movements
- Set up the neutral and endpoints.
Advanced pilots also set up flight modes for Launch, Zoom, Powered Takeoff, Speed, etc.
See an example of flight models for a 2-channel RC glider at the bottom of the Lull DLG description.
4-Channel RC Gliders
Arguably, one of the most common configurations for a lot of models out there.
Way more maneuverable than 2-channel, so not considered for complete newbies.
Regardless, the 4-channel models introduce Ailerons, which open up a whole new world of setups.
Check the Falcon 2 F3K as an example.
Ailerons are originally designed to control the Roll of an airplane, but are often assigned some extra features, i.e.:
- Camber control that adjusts the airfoil characteristics to certain conditions;
- Airbrakes to slow the glider down before landings
- Advanced mixing opportunities.
With the ailerons onboard, you will also need to center them and make sure they are working in the right directions and respond to your Roll stick on the radio.
Ailerons also open up more flight modes for your RC glider that we’ll cover later in this article.
Full-House Or 6-Channel RC Gliders
The full-house wing of an RC glider refers to at least four control surfaces being present.
These are two ailerons and two flaps.
One of the great examples of this glider type are Maverick F5K and Berkut F5J.
The benefit of carrying flaps on board comes down to a more precise Roll control, Camber settings, and Airbrakes.
In addition, some new advanced mixes come into play to help you fly in challenging conditions.
The full-house wing requires a precise setup that might be challenging for some pilots.
But the benefits overcome the complexity by 100%.
And the list can go on by going through all the variations and possible wing mechanics options…
So we’ll stop here for now.
And move on to the more advanced stuff – the flight modes and mixes that you can benefit from while setting up your RC glider for the best performance.
RC Glider Flight Modes Explained
As you figured out the basic configuration, so your servos are moving (!), control surfaces are centered and deflecting in the right directions, you can get started with the fancy stuff.
The flight modes.
These are “presets” of your control inputs that change RC glider flight characteristics and make it easier to fly under certain conditions.
Say, in the thermal, when you need a sailplane that can gain altitude fast and stay in the lift for long.
Or in the upwind returns, when you are coming back towards yourself and need the slippiest airframe possible, not to perform a walk of shame to the nearby bushes.
All these flight cases can be improved in a certain way with a dedicated flight mode.
So, let’s cover these one by one.
A Launch Mode
Depending on the glider you are flying, the Launch Mode can be very different because it covers a certain, often very short period of the launch phase.
Let’s take a few examples…
For a DLG model, the Launch Mode will be active for fractions of a second after the pilot releases the launch peg.
Its main purpose here is to rotate the model upwards and level the wings to let the model climb up in a Zoom Mode.
A slope glider might not need it altogether, due to the specifics of the flying site.
The powered gliders will prefer to have a motor that activates for the climb up with proper control via the Throttle Stick or a slider/rotary knob/switch, etc.
For a bungee launch or a high-start, you would benefit from a takeoff flap position, and some up elevator to maximise the tension on the line, and less aileron throws, etc.
Your specific setup strongly depends on the model you are flying and often sits in the manufacturer’s recommendations.
And, as you gain expertise, you can also adjust these settings to your preference.
Zoom Mode
A Zoom Mode is a specific set of your RC glider control surface settings, which usually refers to the most aerodynamic set of controls that allows an RC Glider to fly the farthest distance, usually upward.
With DLGs, it engages after the model rotates upward upon release, and straightens the trajectory of the launch up.
With the High-Start launch, it’s used after the pilot slingshots the model in the final seconds on the line with the same purpose as with the DLG – to gain max altitude by trading speed gained during the launch.
Ideally, the RC glider in a zoom mode will move in a straight-line trajectory, hands-off.
As soon as the maximum launch height is reached, usually, pilots switch to one of the Cruise, Speed, or Thermal modes.
Speed Flight Mode
Speed mode is very similar to the Zoom Mode and is often in use for upwind returns or aerobatic maneuvers.
If your glider allows for camber settings on the wing with either flaps or ailerons, you would use this to maximise the speed component of the airfoil.
That, combined with the certain elevator trim, should offer you a speedy model.
Zoom mode would use a very similar configuration.
Cruise Flight Mode
Cruise is a flight mode that balances the speed and lift components of your glider, so it can fly horizontally, maintaining altitude and constant speed.
