Can I use the RC transmitter/receiver from toy to run bigger motors?

My school's science club wants to build a giant RC blimp about 15 ft long, but we don't want to spend too much on the radio control system. Is it possible to rip the RC stuff from a toy and attach it to bigger motors that can power the blimp? If so, do we need to by different speed controllers or could we use the ones built into the toy? Thanks.|||you should be fine using the one out of the toy.