Radio control is such a great hobby. I first got into radio control when, at the age of 10, a generous uncle bought me a model aircraft for my birthday. He gave me a scale model of a WWI biplane powered by a little spirit fuelled engine. Today RC cars and aircraft are much more sophisticated, but still great fun and very educational.

Today I am lucky enough to own several excellent RC cars and a couple of high performance model aircraft. I have dabbled with RC boats but I still tend to favour model aircraft and cars.

If you are thinking about buying a radion control model its worth taking a few moments to consider exactly what you’ll be spending your money on. Radio control cars tend to fall into two categories:  those that are powered by an electric motor and those powered by a little engine that uses a Nitro Methanol fuel mix. 

Like many RC car enthusiasts I  my favoured RC cars are those powered by proper little engines. The hobby, for me, is not just about racing around a track. Optimising your RC car is much like formula one racing, its all about the engineering, the tuning and tweaking to get the best performance. 

Getting into RC cars at an early age can be very educational. My personal interest in radio control led to my career in electronics, all because I had to build and maintain my own radio control equipment. If you are looking for an educational gift for a child that is great fun and doesn’t look like an educational toy I strongly suggest you consider a radio control car.

For a very first RC car I recommend you select an electric model. Firstly the price. Electric-powered radio control cars are much cheaper than their Nitro powered equivalents. Secondly, ease of operation. Electrically powered cars are much simpler than Nitro but don’t be surprised if you soon want to upgrade. There is a truly fantastic selection of electric cars to choose from so you are bound to find a model that fire’s the imagination. Personally, I love the off-road style of rc cars. Great fun on some rough terrain, bouncing over sand dunes and through muddy puddles.

But I started out with a radio control model aircraft. I can still recall the thrill of taking the controls for the first time. Making the plane swoop toward the ground and then climb almost to the limit of the radio range. 

As for rc cars, these days there is a great selection of model aircraft to choose from with a range of price tags. For a small amount of money you can get yourself a little RC aircraft that can be launched from the palm of your hand, great fun in the office or home. For a little more cash you can get yourself an easy-to-control model aircraft that will give you many hours of fun.

Some of todays model aircraft come with advanced crash avoidance systems that will detect the ground and help the aircraft to land safely. There are even some truly magnificent scale models of well known aircraft including the Spitfire and Focke Wulf.

Radio control is a great hobby that provides interest, excitement, fun and competition. If you are just thinking about giving it a go I’d recommend that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get yourself a very capable plane or car that will give you a good taste of how much fun this hobby can be.