How long can a typical RC airplane fly?

by James

How long can a typical RC airplane fly? I am speaking of a typical average run-of-the mill amateur style RC airplane.

Matt's Reply: Typical Flight Times
Hello James,

How long an RC airplane can fly really depends on the type of plane, the power system, and how you fly.

It takes a different amount of power to keep different types of RC aircraft in the air. For instance, gliders can stay in the air for an extremely long time if an experienced pilot knows how to ride the thermals on a summer day.

On the other hand, it takes much more power/weight to keep heavier planes with less lift a float. Therefore the flight times will be much short.

If your RC airplane is powered by a glow engine, your flight time will also depend on the size of fuel tank. But I'd say 10-12 minutes is about the average flight time for a typical glow powered airplane. I'm sure many go longer, but I'd say this is about the average amount of time a glow planes can fly.

Electric RC airplanes generally do not fly as long as glow powered RC planes. Where as a glow powered RC airplane's duration is determined by the size of the fuel tank, the capacity of the battery has a great impact the flight time on an electric RC airplane.

Flight times for different types of electric aircraft can vary great depending on the size, type of motor, propeller, battery etc. But it has been my experience that my electric RC airplanes usually stay in the air between 6-8 minutes before I notice the airplane starting to get weak.

Whether you're flying electric or glow, the way you fly has a great impact on the flight time. If you just flying gently around the sky your flight times will be much longer than if you flying around at full throttle performing demanding 3D maneuvers etc.

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How long can a typical RC airplane fly?

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Duration Flights
by: Rocky Driggers

Well, the average endurance for running a .40 size glow engine at full power is about 10-12 minutes with a 10 once fuel tank.

I run my O.S. .46 a little bit lean of peak, so at full power it gets about 13-15 minutes of flight time on a 12 ounce tank. But throttled back to about half throttle, I have gotten about 25-30 minutes of flight time with a half tank reserve. With that, I would run my battery on my transmitter and receiver out of battery before I landed.

If you are looking for long run times, just throttle back when you are in level flight. If you are going for speed, just run it wide open.

The engine running lean of peak is not always good, some people will say that it burns pistons, but i still do it, because it saves gas, and it develops more power.

And if you are running LOP (lean of peak) on a two stroke engine, make sure to run between 10%- 15% nitro. Else you will burn the piston.

If you run 20%, it would not be cheaper to run LOP, because you would have to buy a new engine about 6 months after you buy it. This is because the engine will seize up.

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