Center or Gravity
We recommend a CG of 3.5 inches, measured back from the leading edge of the wing at the wing root
(where the wing meets the fuselage). This provides a fairly nose-heavy CG so the pilot may maiden and
trim the aircraft. Once accustom to the aircraft, the pilot may want to adjust the CG to their liking.
Flying the Bigfoot
Bigfoot is different! If you have been flying our 3D planes for a while, you are used to the feel of them and
you have developed reactions for flying them. Before you fly the Bigfoot, realize that it is a different
animal.
On one of our 3D planes, for example, you can simply power out of a spin. The Bigfoot spins like a full-
scale plane, and so you need to neutralize the controls and give it a little extra time to recover, just like a
full scale aircraft or most RC scale aircraft.
The Bigfoot has an extremely wide speed range, from fast to extremely slow (about 3 mph), but you need
to have the flaps extended at least 45 degrees to fly slowly and the aircraft will fly much slower with the
flaps at 80 degrees than at 45. For this reason, we recommend approaching the Bigfoot in this manner:
Set the flaps up on a 3 position switch at first, with the positions as 0 degrees (full up or no flaps), 40
degrees (half flaps), and 80-85 degrees (full flaps).
Fly your first flight with no flaps and keep the speed up. Fly it like you would any sport plane. Once you
have done this, gain a lot of altitude on the next flight and extend the flaps 40 degrees. You will see the
nose pitch up. Take note of how much down elevator pressure it requires for level flight. Retract flaps.
Land as before. Program in this same amount of elevator as your elevator-to-flaps compensation on your
transmitter, so that you automatically have this amount of down elevator added when you drop flaps.
Fly again, gain altitude, and drop flaps 45 degrees and establish slow level flight. Drop flaps to 80
degrees. Full flaps are only for very slow flight. At full flaps, you will use throttle for your climb control, and
you will not need to touch the elevator very much, just occasionally to keep the nose level. It is a different
flight skill to fly this plane with full flaps, but once you master it, you will be able to fly extremely slowly at
low altitude, turn very tightly, take off and land in little or no distance.
Practice using the flaps switch so that you become comfortable selecting UP, Half, and Full very easily
without having to look at the transmitter. Once you do this, you can use the flaps for radical maneuvers.
For instance, to perform a radical short distance bushplane takeoff, you drop FULL flaps, add full throttle
so that Bigfoot leaps off of the ground, and once you have cleared the ground you select half flaps and fly
away. If you can’t operate the flaps switch easily, you can’t fly this maneuver cleanly.
We hope you enjoy your Bigfoot and please watch for new aircraft offerings from 3DHobbyShop.com