RC vehicles are often modeled after their full-size counterparts. So, of course, we like to model their behavior too. We race cars at the Indy 500. We race RCs down at the local RC track. We put big tires on monster trucks and try to drive over little cars. We use our RC monster trucks to drive over little brother's Hot Wheels. So why not RC-sized tractor pulls?
The RC version of truck and tractor pulls has been around for decades but it's probably not the most popular way to play with RC vehicles so you may not have even known it existed. But of course, if you can do it with a full-size truck or tractor, you know someone's going to try it with an RC. Organizations that engage in RC truck and tractor pulling have developed rules and guidelines just like there are for the more prevalent RC car racing. Of course if there is no group in your area you can always get a bunch of RC-loving friends together for some backyard pulls of your own creation. Discover the world of RC Truck and Tractor Pulling.
RC Tractor Pulling: Heavyweights Pulling Heavy Weight originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 10:51:56.
The rain has been cooling it down around here this week. Don't know how long it will last. But rain isn't the best way to cool off a nitro engine. However, there are some guys that want to try a water-cooled setup for their RC nitro trucks. Personally, I'm not so sure it's worth the trouble to do. Â What do you think? Have you tried a water-cooling system for your RC car or truck?
FAQ:Â Is It Possible to Have a Water-Cooled System for a Nitro RC Car or Truck? (Yes. But is it worth it?)
Water-Cooled Nitro? originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 10:55:56.
Can you learn to fly RC airplanes by reading a book? Well, not entirely. You are going to have to get out there and put your plane in the air. Actually, getting it in the air is the easy part -- keeping it in the air and landing safely are the tricky parts. Â For me at least. Anyway, a book can help you get started in the right direction.
The Beginner's Guide To Flying RC Airplanes E-Book (Buy Direct) is for beginners. Â It teaches the basics of RC airplanes and even helps you buy your first starter plane. You can read an excerpt online to see if the writing style appeals to you. It's an e-book so you can buy, download, and get started flying right away. Do you have this book? Tell us in the comments what you think of it. Was it useful to you?
More on flying RC airplanes:
Flying By the Book: E-Book Teaches You To Fly RC Airplanes originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 15:20:20.
This was posted on an earlier blog:
"I have a "Micro Flayer" Jet, remote twin engine airplane. This is a jet with the engines mounted on the back of the wings aft and near the tip, one motor on each wing. when I operate it one motor provides fwd air motion and the other provides aft air motion? they are working against each other, I am not sure what is wrong. It will not fly. I pulled off the prop and turned in around on the motor blowing fwd it did nothing , air still pushing fwd?
this is baffling. Any ideas on what is wrong? Is it the prop, the controller, the wiring, circuit board?"
First, I'd suggest trying to return this product where you purchased it and get another one. Sounds like there might have been a glitch in the particular plane. If that's not feasible, here's a simple way of fixing this as long as you can do a little soldering. Take the engine in question pushing air the wrong way and see if you can get to the wires to that engine. Might require removing a couple of screws but nothing too difficult. After you have the wires exposed to the back of the motor carefully unsolder the two wires and switch them around and solder them back on. This should fix the reversed airflow problem.
Anyone else have other suggestions?
Flipping Airflow on a Twin Engine Airplane originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 12:34:29.
Recently I pointed out some about airbrush and spray can painting resources for RC vehicles. The one thing I blindly missed was that the painting tutorials focused on RCs that weren't see-through. The videos were about how to airbrush and spray paint foamie RC airplanes. What wasn't shown was how to airbrush on a clear Lexan RC body. While the techniques are similar, there are key differences as well.
Here is a short series of five videos for beginners showing techniques specific to airbrushing a clear RC body from the inside out.
The first CFX Airbrush video tutorial begins by showing you three different types of airbrush strokes.  The second video shows how to do drop shadows to  give your design the illusion of depth.
The first part of the third CFX Airbrush video goes into brief detail about the importance of knowing what colors complement each other and why color knowledge is useful in airbrushing. showing you what gives your paint scheme a little more texture to bring a bit more life into your base coat.  The second section of the third video deals with adding streaks using one of the three strokes called the dagger stroke and how to judge how much and where to use them in your paint scheme. The final tutorials show how to apply a good base coat and the different ways to apply them and  backing the base coat using broad strokes
Also see: Painting an RC
Airbrushing A Lexan RC Body originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 10:18:58.
Using an airbrush is something I want to learn. After watching several online videos posted at RCGroups.com I'm amazed at how easy it really is (well, it looks to be). No matter what specific technique or painting scheme you employ it's all really just a matter of practice, practice, practice. The more you do it, the better the result.
In addition to seeing different airbrush techniques demonstrated, I enjoyed watching the video explaining and showing the difference between using rattle can painting versus airbrush painting. The overall results showed that even though it is possible to get good results with regular old spray paint cans (I do alright with them myself) you will definitely have more control with the airbrush. After watching these videos I'm gonna try to "brush" up on my painting skills so that when I get my next RC the paint job on the body will be the envy of all my friends. YouTube is a great place to look if you're trying to get a certain look. It has a lot of decent painting videos. Check out "Ed Hubbs Airbrushing" videos (not RC specific) -- this guy is real good.
Are there a particularly good series of airbrush video tutorials that you recommend? Tell us about them in the comments.
Airbrush, Rattle Can And Roll... Of Tape originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 11:30:01.
Playing with plastic army men has just been upgraded. Now instead of pushing flimsy plastic tanks around by hand and making odd sounds that you think are explosions, you now have the option of applying real power -- like these Airsoft RC tanks. There is also an Airsoft military style Humvee that has an actual working laser sight. Now when the wars start those little green and tan plastic dudes will have something to worry about. Throw in some Popsicle sticks for building a fort and I am there dude! Oh the childhood memories.
Also see: RC Tank Basics | Warship Combat Clubs | RC Military Aircraft | Air Combat Clubs
Military Warfare RC Style originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Thursday, July 15th, 2010 at 11:15:00.
Upgrading or modifying your RC is a great way to make it go faster, run more efficiently, or resist damage better. But before you upgrade, make sure the rest of the RC can handle whatever you're doing. Sometimes one upgrade requires another -- or you risk the kind of problems shown in these videos.
In the Centrifugal Force - Explosion video observe what happens to the rear tires of this RC. It's pretty cool to watch, isn't it? But at the end of the video read about what had happened to the gear box after this little blow-out.
The RC Stadium Truck Fire shows what can happen when you pair a "whole lotta motor" with a not-so-great ESC. Duh, indeed. Here's another quicky ESC smoker.
Remember: be sure that your RC and all its components can handle whatever you want to upgrade. If not, that simple or expensive upgrade could turn into a lot more complex or expensive repair job.
Will That Upgrade Be Your RC's Downfall? originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 10:32:43.
I would like to add one of these to my collection of RC vehicles. It's a truck... no it's a plane... oh! It's BOTH!
Still capture from video of Flying RC Trucks
No CDL (commecial driving license) or pilot's license needed to drive or fly, I guess.  The funny thing about this flying RC trucks video is that at the beginning the "trucks" are just racing around the track. Then the fun begins as one of the RC truck/plane things takes off and leaves the track. Now whether or not there is a certain flight pattern to follow isn't quite clear as the truck/planes are just zooming about (and the video is not in English so I don't understand what's being said).  The title of the video is what first grabbed my attention. Go watch Flying RC Trucks.
Go Fly A Kite... Or, If You Prefer, a Truck originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 08:55:51.
There really should be a "Take Your RC to Work Day" don't you think? Even without a special day, in some workplaces it is OK to have a little RC fun now and then. In fact, some RCs just seem perfect for work, such as a little RC forklift to help with that soda can or box of paperclips. And what better way to decide who brings the donuts next week than a laser battle with a pair of Havoc Helis? (So much more fun than rock, paper, scissors). But, before you pack that RC car, helicopter, or other gadget into your briefcase, here are three questions to ask and answer and things to consider Before You Take a Radio Controlled Vehicle to the Office.
Take Your RC to Work (or Not)? originally appeared on About.com Radio Controlled Vehicles on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 15:31:15.
