Model aircraft
A small aircraft built to fly as a replica or simplified design, powered or unpowered, for recreation, competition, or education.
Aerodynamics: The study of how air moves and exerts forces on objects. Lift and drag determine how a model aircraft flies.
Airframe: An aircraft's structural body, including its wings, fuselage, and supporting components. Model aircraft vary widely in airframe layout and construction.
Aeromodelling: The design, construction, and flying of model aircraft as a hobby or sport. This broad activity encompasses much recreational model-aircraft building and flying.
Wright Flyer: The Wright brothers' powered aircraft that made the first controlled, sustained flights by a piloted heavier-than-air machine in 1903. Replicas of this landmark full-size aircraft are common scale-model subjects.
Toy airplane: A plaything shaped like an airplane, whether or not it can fly. A model aircraft is built for flight rather than merely airplane-themed play.
Lift: The aerodynamic force perpendicular to an object's motion through a fluid. A model's wings generate the upward force that supports flight.
Fixed-wing aircraft: An aircraft that generates lift with wings fixed relative to its fuselage. Most model aircraft belong to this broad aircraft type.
Radio-controlled aircraft: An aircraft piloted remotely through a radio-control system. Remote piloting enables aerobatics, precision tasks, and varied recreational flying.
Free Flight World Championships: International competitions for free-flight model aircraft disciplines. The contests showcase models optimized for duration and performance without in-flight control.
Unmanned aerial vehicle: An aircraft operated without a pilot aboard, often using remote control or automation. The term usually denotes operational aircraft, while model aircraft are built chiefly for recreation, sport, or education.