A transmitter is often the first big investment you'll make when entering the world of R/C. Here's how to choose well.
When you start your exciting journey into the big wide world of Radio Control airplanes and drones, you'll find you're going to need a decent set of controls to fly with. An RC transmitter is something that you'll most likely keep with you for years to come, so make sure to get it right!
For complete beginners
If you're a complete newbie when it comes to R/C, check out the episode we did on R/C transmitters to learn about the basics.
Channels
The number of channels you have relate to how many functions your plane or multirotor can operate. Each channel is essentially a seperate frequency which can control each action of the aircraft. You'll have to decide on how many channels you need/want before purchasing a transmitter.
There are four main channels you'll almost certainly need to fly anything. These are:
● Channel 1: Throttle
● Channel 2: Ailerons/roll
● Channel 3: Elevator/pitch
● Channel 4: Rudder/yaw
Although more channels than this are an advantage, if you want to have extra functions such as flaps, gear, bomb drops and all of those fun things, they're not entirely necessary for a beginner. If you have a limited budget, you can pick up a simple transmitter (like this one) for a very reasonable price. However, if you're taking the hobby a little more seriously, and want to fly bigger and more complicated aircraft in the future, you may want to go for a radio with more channels. A six channel radio, like this one, would be a good choice.
Modes
RC transmitters mostly come in two main modes or configurations. These different modes determine what each stick does on your transmitter. Mode 2 is a lot more popular than mode 1. If you go with mode 2, which is more like the controls of a real aircraft, you'll probably be able to fly other people's airplanes a lot easier if you ever get handed their radio.
Mode 2: You control your roll and pitch with your right hand, just like the control yoke or joystick in an airplane. Your left hand controls the throttle and yaw.
Mode 1: Your right hand controls the throttle and roll while your left hand controls the yaw and pitch.
Receivers
One consideration that you will definitely have to think about is how much you're willing to spend on receivers. Receivers are an integral part of a radio system being the things that connect to your transmitter. You're going to need more than one so that you don't have to keep swapping them out between planes. If you have lots of aircraft, you'll probably need lots of receivers too. 
Some of our favorites
Here are some great choices of radios that we can provide through our Flite Test store.
A six-channel beginner's radio from Spektrum.
Spektrum DX6e (with a reciever)
An extremely capable six-channel radio with a whole bunch of great features.
A six-channel radio with inbuilt telemetry features from European manufacturer Grapner.
A 16-channel beast of a radio system packed with a ton of features for a fantastic price.
Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
www.youtube.com/projectairaviation
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When I first stated, Flite Test is what I turned to. I read all the newbie articles and viewed the video. I decided to buy the Flite Test intro package that included the Graupner MZ12. Now the Graupner product is a great product. As a radio I would give it 5 stars. BUT as a newbie I needed help in the whole radio operation/ model setup etc. this is were the problem starts. Graupner is a new to the US radio market and therefore (due to no fault of their own) doesn't have the help video on YouTube that an individual starting up needs. After crashing the explorer, I decided to get a simulator to practice more to learn the sticks. The MZ12 was problematic on hookup but with Manny's personal help on the phone we got it to work. (Manny is the head of Graupner USA). Flite Test does have a few Graupner based videos but for this newbie it wasn't enough to cover my questions. So then I joined a local club to buddy box learn and found out that none of their radios would work with my MZ12.
So long way to my suggestion is to ..... Join a club first and get a radio that works via buddy box with theirs. My club mainly uses Spektrum so that is what I'm flying with now. That way if I have problem I have people to help me through the process. If you don't want to join a club, either buy a radio that matches a flying buddy or search YouTube for a radio with lots of videos to support that radio. There are lots of great radios on the market in all price ranges. what is needed is learning support for your radio.
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