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Thirty years ago, nearly all RC airplanes were gas or nitrous powered craft. Obviously, an aircraft powered even by the smallest gas model engine is not suitable for indoor flight. Of course, if you own a giant indoor football stadium, you might be considered an exception. Today, a new breed of aircraft have emerged. Electric aircraft are the new trend for beginner aces. With the novelty of electricity to power your craft, the motors have gotten smaller and smaller along with wingspan and the mass and weight of the aircraft. These winged wonders can navigate large family rooms and lofty cathedral ceilings. Some are even small enough to handle the smaller living rooms and bedrooms. Are these tiny terrors actually safe enough to be patrolling the airspace of the family room? One must consider several factors in answering this question.

One of the first things to consider when pondering whether to fly or not to fly is the amount of space available compared to the ability of your indoor craft. If you have an eight by ten foot room with various units of furniture, it is unlikely that that you will be able to navigate any remote controlled plane safely. There are a few RC airplanes that will offer an exception to this. These planes are made of lightweight foam and have puny little propellers. There are even some more expensive little airplanes made of carbon rods and special RC model covering material that could navigate such an area. However, suggested flying areas would not be around mom's preciously guarded figurines or china.
Another thing to consider in the amount of safety that flying an RC airplane indoors poses is the speed and mass of the aircraft. The heavier and faster an RC airplane is the more damage it is likely to cause. For example, a table tennis ball traveling at two miles an hour could not do the same amount of damage as a golf ball traveling at eight miles per hour. Usually the manufacturer of RC aircraft will display on the packaging of the airplane whether or not it is intended for indoor use. Likewise, in the manual of the airplane, the area needed to fly the airplane should be documented.
The best advice anyone could offer in assessing the safety of indoor RC airplanes is read the manual and use common sense. Flying an airplane in a room that has many fragile objects is not a good idea. Usually indoor RC airplanes are light and made of foam that would not hurt a person if it were flown into them. One could liken this experience with being gently hit with one of those small balsa wood gliders that used to be sold at drug stores. Of course, the size of the person has an affect upon one's resiliency toward objects hitting them. For example, an object hitting an infant could pose a greater negative affect than the same object hitting an eleven-year old. So I encourage you. Read the manual. Try to learn the capabilities of your indoor flier. Perhaps you could try you aircraft in a gymnasium first. Then one can assess whether or not it would be safe to fly one's indoor craft in a smaller area. Be patient and use some common sense.

Learn more about this author, Franklin Hughes.
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