An RC helicopter and an RC glider both use the same principle of lift to fly, but they go about it in very different ways. A helicopter creates lift with its spinning rotor blades. Each blade acts like a small wing, and as it spins, it pushes air downward. That downward push creates an upward force strong enough to hold the helicopter in the air. Because the rotor is always forcing air, a helicopter doesn’t need to be moving forward to stay aloft. It can hover in place, climb straight up, or even drift backwards. The pilot controls this lift directly by changing how fast the blades spin or by adjusting the blade angle.
A glider, on the other hand, relies on fixed wings, and those wings only work when the glider is moving forward through the air. As the wing slices through the air, the flow moves faster over the top of the wing than underneath. This creates lower pressure above and higher pressure below, and the difference generates lift. A glider cannot hover or climb on its own—it must be launched, towed, or carried by rising air currents like thermals or ridge lift. Instead of controlling lift directly, the glider pilot manages speed, flight angle, and position in the sky to make the most of the available air.
The difference can be summed up simply: a helicopter makes its own wind, while a glider needs the wind—or forward motion—to fly.