Drone vs RC Aircraft?

The main differences between drones and RC planes are in the way they are controlled and the way they are put into use. ... When compared to an RC plane, a drone is more specialized in the way it is controlled and in its applications.

RC is for fun.  Drone is for work.  RC have also been used for work going back decades.  RC have even been used to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border.  Drones usually do not have pilots.  But F102 and F106 Jet Interceptors worked just fine with dead pilots on board.  I would think the same is true for F22 and F35 but no one will be talking.  DARPA has or is working on semi-autonomous and autonomous drones that think for themselves.

TOY drones can hover,  go sideways,  go backwards.  They fly due to pure power of the rotor blades.  An RC aircraft other than the ones that look like Helicopters have to go forward to stay up,  the lift comes from the wings.   

A drone is a pilotless aircraft according to the FAA. Which includes fixed wing and rotating wing aircraft that is unmanned and controlled either remotely or by programing. I am pretty sure the FAA regulations apply for lighter then aircraft that is remote controlled.

In the RC industry the difference is different. There are RC helicopters, RC airplanes, RC dirigibles, RC non-dirigibles and drones. With drones having three or more rotating horizontal wings.

The FAA bans any drone which is not flown by line of sight by a hobbyist. They are to be in sight at all times. It does not matter what the hobby industry calls it!

To fly a remote aircraft with other then line of sight control demands special licensing for the pilot and the aircraft.

For the purposes of this question, a drone uses a computer to interpret the control inputs from the remote pilot but does not allow direct control.

So even a cheap quadcopter with no ability to follow a pre-programmed flight pattern and appears to move in three dimensions according to the pilot inputs is still constantly self-adjusting the exact power level to each rotor and typically has one or more accelerometers to allow the drone to remain both flyable and stable. 

An RC aeroplane or helicopter is directly controlled by the pilot. Moving the controls on the remote control *directly* acts on the appropriate servo motors and they *directly* operate things like control surfaces, throttles, and on helicopter directly controls the swash plate and collective controls. 

Many RC helicopters do have a gyroscopic controller for the tail rotor. That means the tail  stays pointed where the pilot intends with the gyro making constant tiny automatic adjustments to the the pitch of the tail rotor. But it only affects that one control and just makes the heli easier and more forgiving to fly. But it’s still a long way from turning a regular helicopter model into a drone.

Military drones are simply any pilotless aircraft, regardless of whether they are directly remote controlled or use computers and accelerometers to interpret remote pilot inputs.

The ability to fly autonomously is what makes a drone a drone.  You can create a 'mission' by compiling a list of waypoints, and once you start it the aircraft will fly the predetermined route all on its own.  I think 'drone' is a very unfortunate choice of words for that, but that's the word we use..

The great majority of drones are quadcopters (I guess 'drone' is easier to say) but there are fixed-wing drones also, in fact you can buy a control board with a GPS that is carried in the aircraft and will convert any RC aircraft into a drone.