Glossary of Terms
Wing Tip
Trailing Edge
Aileron
Hinges
Rudder
Hinges (on
all control
surfaces)
Elevator
Control Horns
Stabilizer
Receiver
Antenna
Fuselage
Servos
Receiver
Receiver Battery
Fuel Tank
Muffler
Engine
Propeller
Leading
Edge
Spinner
Switch Harness
Pushrods
Ailerons
– Hinged control sur-
faces located on the trailing
edge of the wing, one on each
side, which provide control of
the airplane about the
roll axis
.
The control direction is often
confusing to first time model-
ers. For a right roll or turn, the
right hand aileron is moved
upward and the left hand
aileron downward and vice
versa for a left roll or turn.
Canard
– A unique type of air-
plane, in which the wing is
located near the back of the
fuselage and the
horizontal sta-
bilizer
is located at the nose of
the fuselage.
Carburetor
– The part of the
engine which controls the
speed or throttle setting and
lean/rich mixture via setting of
the
needle valve.
Charge Jack
– The plug recepti-
cal of the
switch harness
which
the charger is plugged into to
charge the airborne battery. An
expanded scale voltmeter
(ESV)
can also be plugged into
it to monitor battery voltage
during a flying session. It is
advisable to mount the charge
jack in an accessible area of the
fuselage
so an ESV can be used
without removing the wing.
Charger
– Device used to
recharge batteries and is usual-
ly supplied with the radio if
NiCd
batteries are included.
Chicken Stick
– A hand held
stick used to flip start a model
airplane engine.
Clunk
– A weighted fuel pick up
used in a fuel tank to assure the
intake line is always in fuel.
Clevis
– A small clip which is
threaded or soldered onto the
wire end of a pushrod and con-
nects the pushrod to the
control horn
of a control sur-
face. The threads allow fine
adjustment of length of the
pushrod.
Computer Radio
– A radio con-
trol unit in which the
transmit-
ter
has several advanced func-
tions which can be pro-
grammed completely to fine
tune an airplane without mak-
ing mechanical changes.
Control Horn
– The arm which
is attached to a control surface
at the hingeline and is connect-
ed to a pushrod.
Dead Stick
– A term used to
describe unpowered flight
(glide) when the engine quits
running.
Delta Wing
– An airplane with a
triangle shaped wing. Delta
wings have no
horizontal stabi-
lizer.
Aileron
Torque Rods
Vertical Fin
Yaw Axis
Pitch Axis
Roll Axis
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Words shown in italics are defined elsewhere in this glossary.