What kind of radio transmitter to use?

Wow, that is a very big question. The short answer is: "that depends". The kind of radio you choose depends on what kind of sailplane you plan on flying. If you are going to fly a simple rudder / elevator glider then you can get by with a simple three or four channel radio that costs under a hundred dollars.

If you're going to fly something more complicated you will need a radio with the ability to "mix" controls. An RES (rudder, elevator, spoiler) glider sounds simple and it is, but you will likely need to mix in some up elevator with your spoiler so it doesn't nose in when you deploy the spoiler. The radio must have some way of mixing those controls to one simple function like pulling a stick down.

Full house sailplanes that have a rudder, elevator, ailerons and flaps will need a five or six channel radio at the least. Also, the programming needs to be more compatible with programming for sailplanes. As you get more into the art of flying RC sailplanes your programming will get more sophisticated with mixes that combine rudder and aileron controls, flaps and elevator and ailerons with flaps. In addition to these mixes you will want to set a launch mode which typically droops the flaps and ailerons some and maybe mixes in a slightly different elevator setting while the sailplane is being towed up the line. Also, you will want a way of introducing camber to your wing while thermalling. Camber will droop the flaps and ailerons slightly, usually by using a slider switch. As you move the slider the flaps and ailerons will droop ever so slightly giving your wing more lift to take advantage of the thermal or wave.

There are several excellent radios and the good news is they are getting less costly. I really won't get into which radio is best ( I don't want to get flamed). Here are some of the companies and models that are well suited for use in full house RC Soaring.

One more tip, consider getting one of the 2.4 ghz models. They have the avantage of eliminating radio conflicts.

Airtonics Stylus - 8 channel great for full house sailplanes, but be sure to get the optional glider card. Also, get a memory card it will store 50 setups.

Airtronics RD 8000 - 8 channel with glider programming built in.

Airtonics - RD 6000 Super - 8 channel with sailplane capability.. Cost effective.

JR 9303 - 8 Channel, comes with significant sailplanes programming. Will store 30 setups.

JR 8103 - 8 channels, 10 setups, sailplane programming built in.

JR 10X - 10 channel, top of the line. Sailplane programming built in.

Futaba 9z - 8 channel, has all of the programming you need.

Futaba 12Z - 8 channel, better than the 9Z

Futaba - 14MZ - 8 Channel, excellent programming (you will need a fat wallet)

I'm sure there are many others, if you have a suggestion send an email to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The JR 9303 and Airtonics Stylus seem to be the most popular for full house gliders. Although many of our members use the older Airtonics Vision and JR 8103's.

Personally I have a JR 9303. The Airtonics Stylus is also very good.

It really would be best to talk it over with some of the more experienced club members and get their input. Also, before to buy a radio, check to see what frequencies are being used by other members and buy a radio with a different frequency, this way you can avoid conflicts at the field and during contests.