Servos 101

All you need to know about your RC airplane’s “muscles”

There’s something really special about radio control model airplanes. Like magic, you move your radio’s control sticks and your model’s control surfaces move precisely in sync with your stick movements. Think of servos as the plane’s muscles, and your radio as its brain. Today’s radio systems and servos work flawlessly, and this allows new pilots to concentrate on learning to fly instead of fretting about the radio signal. Regardless of the type of airplane you fly, it is the servo that makes the whole experience possible. This article explains the basics of servo function for the RC’er who wants to know how the magic works.

Flying radio control airplanes seems like magic. Just move the radio stick and the control surface follows suit. It’s the servos that make it all happen.