Electric Ducted Fan JetThey fly very fast and have no externally visible means of power! Beginner Level: One of my favorite easy-to-fly 2 channel electric RC airplanes is actually not really an airplane, it's an electric ducted fan jet! Modeled similarly to the bigger and much more expensive WattAge Sabre F86 and MIG 15 ducted fan jets, the Megatech A7 Tornado is a great introduction to RC flying and very simple for young beginners to fly. Channel one controls the throttle and channel two controls the tail rudder. The more throttle, the more the jet will ascend. The electric ducted fan jet technology is best explained with this diagram:
What's missing from this picture is that there is also an opening in the bottom of plane just forward of the motor. This opening provides a "venturi effect" which results in more air getting pulled in by the fan and then forced out the rear of the plane through a smaller opening. The build-up of air pressure provides the increased thrust needed to keep the plane airborne and in motion. With this particular model, I found that by bending the tail elevator tabs a few degrees up, it provided the Megatech A7 Tornado with a more level glide. This is important since the last thing you want is for the jet to descend too quickly.
The flight pack charges in about ten minutes and uses the DC Quick Charger that comes with the jet. This charger only has a car adapter plug so charging is restricted only to your car or truck. It is also highly recommmended that the vehicle is not being driven while the battery is charging since this may cause unwanted spikes that can damage both charger and battery. Beginner Level: New from Kid Galaxy is the first of their Elite Fleet radio controlled airplanes, the Shadow Caster. This two channel rc airplane uses an electric ducted fan jet for power and comes ready to fly. This is targeted to 9 to 12 year-old boys and has the added safety feature of no external propellers for fingers to get nicked by. 
The Kid Galaxy Shadow Caster comes in either Grey/Black or Grey/Green, has a flight range of approximately 300 feet, and uses the batteries in the base (not included) to charge the on-board battery pack. Each charge lasts approximately four minutes at full throttle. Since the charge time is less than typical battery powered RC airplanes (12 minutes average), I like to slightly bend the tail evelons a dgree or two upward to allow for a more gradual descending glide. This way I can prolong the flight time by launching and climbing under power, then glide down, then power up again. This flying technique extends the flight time for another few minutes.
Intermediate Level: New from Shark Jaw Toys is their first entry into the the RC Hobby Universe. For years I've been selling their X-Stream Gliders which are these amazing hand thrown or bungee launched gliders that just keep on going.
Well, they took that unique aerodynamic technology and built the Mako electric ducted fan jet. I really love what they've done.
The only bad thing about this item is that over 50% of them caught fire! That's right, due to manufacturing defects, the Lipo batteries overheated and the next thing you knew there was a ball of fire in the sky! Shark Jaw Toys (formerly IWA Toy Co) is now in a lawsuit with the original manufacturer. That's the bad news. Now the good news: they are offering a replacement model when they become available to anyone who purchased the original and had any problems with it. They also have since hooked up with the top manufacturing facility in China and have developed three more electric ducted fan jet models:
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