RC Airplane Supplies: What You Need to Fly on Day One

What to Buy So You Can Fly the Day Your Plane Arrives

Few things in the RC hobby are more exciting than the day a new airplane shows up at your doorstep. The box is heavy in your hands, the lid is begging to come off, and the only thing on your mind is putting it in the air before the sun goes down. Then you open it and, depending on what you ordered, your maiden voyage might run into a small delay.

Obviously, the plane is in the box. The battery? Maybe not. The transmitter? Sometimes. The hex driver you need to attach the wing? You’d be surprised how often that’s not included, too.

The good news is that almost every “I bought an RC plane but couldn’t fly it” story comes down to a short list of completion items required to fly an RC plane. This guide walks through everything beginners and more experienced pilots might need based on each completion level, plus the RC airplane supplies every pilot should have within arm’s reach at the field.

Grab these essentials before you head to the flying field, and the only thing standing between you and the wild blue yonder is a charged battery and a calm spring breeze.

Start with Your Completion Level

The first step is understanding how much your plane includes out of the box. RC airplanes ship at one of several completion levels: Ready-to-Fly (RTF), Ready-to-Fly Basic (RTF Basic), Bind-N-Fly (BNF), Plug-N-Play (PNP), Almost-Ready-to-Fly (ARF), and Kit. Each one is missing something different. If you’d like a deeper refresher on what these abbreviations mean and how they affect assembly, the breakdown of RC airplane completion levels covers it in detail.

Once you know your completion level, you can shop for the right RC airplane supplies. Here’s what you need at each one:

RTF: The Closest Thing to Open-the-Box Flying

A Ready-to-Fly RC airplane is the most beginner-friendly level of completion Horizon Hobby offers. Out of the box, you get the aircraft, transmitter, receiver, motor, electronic speed control (ESC), servos, battery, and charger. Everything is factory-installed and set up to work together. A great example is a HobbyZone RTF trainer with SAFE technology, such as the AeroScout S 2 1.1m, which is designed to automatically help new pilots learn how to fly and recover when the sticks go in the wrong direction.

What do you need to fly an RTF?

Even with an RTF, there are a few RC airplane completion items worth adding before your first flight:

• AA batteries for your transmitter. Most RTF radios run on four AA cells, and they almost never come with them. A pack of fresh batteries saves you a last-minute trip to the gas station.
• A spare flight battery or two. Most RTF planes ship with one battery, which provides about 8–12 minutes of flight time. That isn’t a lot when you’ve driven 30 minutes to the field. A second matched aircraft battery easily doubles your stick time.
• A field-friendly hex driver. Even RTFs need a wrench to attach the wings or adjust a control surface. We recommend keeping a small set of metric hex drivers in your flying bag.

That’s it for a true RTF. Charge the flight battery, install the AAs, and you’re ready to fly.

RTF Basic: Add a Battery and Charger

Ready-to-Fly Basic trims one piece of the package: the battery and charger. Everything else, radio, receiver, motor, ESC, and servos, is still installed at the factory. This completion level is built for pilots who already have a charger and don’t need a second, but it's also a smart pick for first-time buyers who want to invest in a quality charging setup they’ll keep using as their hangar grows.

The easiest way to fill the gap is a Spektrum Powerstage Bundle, which pairs Smart batteries and a Smart charger that talk to each other automatically. Match the cell count, which is typically 3S or 4S for entry-level planes (check your airplane’s manual), and you're set.

A few add-ons worth grabbing alongside the bundle:

• A LiPo battery charger if you’re not going the Powerstage route. A Spektrum Smart charger reads battery health automatically and takes the guesswork out of charge rates. New to LiPos? Our beginner’s guide to charging RC batteries walks through the basics.
• A second flight battery. More batteries equal more flight time.
• AA batteries for the included transmitter.

BNF: Bring Your Spektrum Transmitter

Bind-N-Fly Basic airplanes arrive assembled, painted, and ready to fly, with the power system, servos, and a Spektrum 2.4GHz receiver already installed. What’s missing is your transmitter, battery, and charger.

BNF is the most popular completion level for pilots who own (or plan to own) a single quality transmitter and use it across an entire hangar of planes. If you don’t yet have one, the Spektrum NX8+ is a strong starter at 20 channels and DSMX compatibility, while the iX14+ steps up for pilots who want to slowly get into warbirds and jets. Many newer Spektrum receivers also support Smart Transmitter File (STF), which auto-loads the correct switch assignments, rates, and expo into a compatible iX or NX transmitter in seconds. This is a huge help for beginners who don’t quite understand all the programming menus in those early days of flying, and speeds things up for intermediate and expert pilots.

What do you need to fly a BNF?

For a BNF RC plane, you'll need:

• A compatible Spektrum DSMX/DSM2 transmitter
• A flight battery (cell count per the manual)
• A LiPo charger
• AAs or a transmitter pack, depending on the radio

A popular BNF starter is the E-flite Timber 1.5m, a STOL trainer that flies on either 3S or 4S power.

PNP: Add Receiver, Transmitter, Battery, and Charger

Plug-N-Play airplanes come with the motor, ESC, and servos already installed, but no receiver. The goal here is for you to pair the plane with the radio system you already trust. Add a compatible Spektrum receiver, bind it to your transmitter, charge a battery, and fly. PNP is unlikely to be the starting point for a brand-new pilot because the receiver is an additional required item, but it’s a great fit once you’ve settled into a radio system and want to keep using the receivers you prefer.

ARF and Kits: More Building, More Tools

Almost-Ready-to-Fly and Kit RC airplanes are where the parts list grows. As Horizon’s completion-levels guide notes, ARF planes aren’t recommended for first-time flyers. The airframe is built, but you’re sourcing and installing the motor, ESC, servos, radio gear, control linkages, and landing gear yourself. Kits take it even further, letting you build the airframe from the wood up.

RC Airplane Supplies Every Pilot Should Have

No matter which completion level you pick, a few RC airplane supplies belong in every pilot’s kit before that first flight:

• Flight box. The E-flite Flight Pack Field Box keeps everything organized and traveling together. Even a small portable toolbox will do for now.
• Hex drivers and a Phillips screwdriver. The two most-borrowed tools at any flying field.
• Voltage checker. A LiPo with a too-low pack voltage shouldn’t fly. A simple battery checker tells you instantly.
• A spare propeller of the correct size for your plane. Maidens occasionally end with a nicked prop, and an inexpensive replacement saves the day.
• CA glue (AKA super glue) is great for foam planes.
• Hook-and-loop strips and zip ties are fantastic for securing batteries and tidying wires.
• AMA membership and a local club. Finding other RC pilots is the fastest way to find a new flying friend who’ll buddy-box your first flights.
• One of the smartest pre-flight investments a beginner can make is starting out on an RC flight simulator. A few hours on RealFlight before your first flight can pay off on flight day because you'll already be familiar with the controls, how the airplane flies, and you can crash the sim a thousand times and just hit reset.

Pack the Box Before the Plane Arrives

One smart tip for new pilots is to order your RC airplane supplies before your plane arrives. That way, you can have your spare batteries charged and set up your field box well ahead of your first flight. Of course, you can do it all on the same day, but why add the stress? Plan ahead, and your flight will be smooth sailing.

Whether you’re starting with an RTF trainer or working your way up to a BNF warbird, take fifteen minutes with your completion level in one hand and this list in the other. Get the RC airplane completion items squared away early, and the only question left will be whether it’s a sunny day.