RC Glossary

Below is and Alphabetical list of commonly used Acronyms and Terms used in RC Aircraft Flying and Building

AMA 4204
Jun 15, 2025

RC Glossary of Terms

Nose
The front portion of a model's fuselage.
One-Point Landing (or a figure 9)
Synonymous with "stuffing it in." Something we hope you never do.
Oscillation
Back-and-forth movement similar to a vibration that may appear like a wobble. It may occur around any axis, roll, pitch or yaw.
Over-control
Excessive control inputs that overcompensate for unwanted model movement.
Packets
A set or group of data that is sent from an RC transmitter to a receiver in a digital radio system.
Panic Recovery
One of the most exciting features of SAFE receivers, Panic Recovery will automatically return the aircraft to level flight with the push of a button.
Parasitic Drag
A resisting force caused by external items mounted on an aircraft other than the lifting surfaces.
PCM
Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a digital representation of an analog FM signal where the magnitude of the signal is sampled regularly at uniform intervals, then quantized to a series of symbols in a digital (usually binary) code. PCM hides small amounts of interference, which helps prevent unexpected aircraft movements during transient interference. However, small RFI issues may go unnoticed until they become significant.
Peak Charger
A charger that automatically shuts off when your battery is fully charged, ensuring longer run times and preventing overcharging.
Pitch
The angle of the aircraft in the up or down direction.
Pitch Axis
The airplane axis controlled by the elevator. Pitch movement involves raising or lowering the nose, affecting climb or dive control.
Platform
Platform
The outline of a flight surface, such as an elliptical-shaped wing.
PNP
Plug And Play. Usually comes set up and ready to fly except for the receiver and transmitter. Some models may include both.
Polyhedral
A wing design with three distinct upward angles. The two wing halves form the first angle at the center, and additional angles occur closer to each wing tip.
Power Panel
A 12-volt distribution panel that provides correct voltage for accessories like glow-plug clips, fuel pumps, and electric starters. Usually mounted on a field box and connected to a 12-volt battery.
PowerSafe
An aircraft device (receiver) with dual battery redundancy to support high-current systems found in giant scale and turbine powered aircraft.
Preflight
A thorough check of an aircraft prior to flying to ensure airworthiness and safety. This includes checking all control surfaces, the propeller, spinner, landing gear, and more.
Priority
In Gyros Stick priority reduces the amount of gain as the control input (stick) is displaced from center. This gives more control authority as the limits of travel.
Prop Balancer
A tool used to ensure the propeller and spinner are equally balanced side-to-side, avoiding vibration problems.
Prop Pitch
The second number in a propeller designation, representing the distance the propeller will move forward in one revolution.
Raceware
Exclusive software developed by Spektrum for surface RC transmitters that includes all programming functions and features.
Range Test
An important aspect of RC flying success, the Range Check is a ground procedure to test the radio signal from your RC transmitter to the receiver to make sure it is strong and secure. We suggest a Range Check at the beginning of each flight session to confirm the system's operation.
Re-Kitting
Returning your finished model back into a kit, often due to a crash.
Receiver
The part of the radio system that converts signals sent by the transmitter into electrical impulses.
Reciever
A device mounted into an RC car or aircraft that receives and decodes a signal sent by a transmitter. Servos, ESC, and other devices are plugged into the receiver.
Reliakote
A water/ chemical resistance coating that is applied to the PC (electric) boards that make the electronics highly water resistant.
Remote Reciever
An auxiliary receiver that works in conjunction with a main receiver. These are beneficial in larger aircraft and aircraft that may have Radio Frequency blind spots caused by larger metallic objects such as engines, batteries, or carbon fiber.
Remote Reciever Protocol
The transmission “scheme” that each specific radio manufacturer designs for the brand.
Resolution
Refers to the incremental step size of the data transmitted to the receiver.

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