lattice rails, and the front end secured with 2 screws or bolts.
There are several tabs in various positions on the board to allow you to use multiple rubber
bands or cable-ties to secure the main components, such as the turbine ECU and Receiver. Of
course the main items will need to be positioned to set the correct centre of Gravity, but nor-
mally you will not need install any heavy items (or lead) in the nose the achieve this.
The nosegear steering servo is best positioned at the front of this board, and you will need to
make up a small plywood plate to position it here. In the next production run we will add this
milled plate, or modify the main board to give a cutout for a standard sized servo in this posi-
tion.
Note that you will almost certainly need to remove the main board to allow removal of the fuel
tank for maintenance etc, so try to make this as easy as possible with your fixing method.
The hole in the nosegear bulkheads is large enough to install your air tanks in the nose if you
wish.
Setting Up Your Aircraft
Depending on the turbine and R/C set-up used, and whether you use normal Nicads (1 or 2) or
lightweight batteries, your completed ‘ready-to-fly’ Rookie will weigh between 8 - 9.5 kg.
Centre of Gravity
For the 1st flights set the Centre of Gravity at 125 -130mm in front of the front edge of the alu-
minium wing tube, with main fuel tank empty and any hopper tank (if used) full, and the landing
gear in the ‘down’ (extended) position.
This is about 30mm in front of the CG position for the original Rookie, and is required because
of the surface area of the canards in front of the centre of pressure.
Control Throws
NB: All control throws are measured at the root /trailing edge of each surface
Elevator:
Set 30mm ‘up’ and 25mm ‘down’ initially. These can be increased later for 3D flight after you
have some experience of the plane. If you use rate switches set about 70% of these throws for
‘low’ rate. We recommend that you add about 25 - 30% exponential to elevator throws, to reduce
the sensitivity around the neutral stick positions.
Depending on your set-up and Centre of Gravity you might find that for level flight the elevon trail-
ing edge needs to be reflexed ‘up’ by about 1mm.
Aileron:
Set 20 mm ‘up’ and ‘down’ for 1st flights. If using rate switches you can set the ‘low’ rate to 70%.
We recommend that you add about 25 - 30% exponential to aileron throws, to reduce the sensi-
tivity around the neutral stick positions.
Composite-ARF New Rookie
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