FLYING YOUR FLEXJET TV
Selecting a Flying Site
Selecting a flying site is critical to a successful flight. Airplanes
require a lot more room than other R/C products, therefore, a
neighborhood or parking lot is not recommended. A local AMA field
is the best location for flying your FlexJet TV. If no AMA field is
available in your area, a large open field with short grass and
generous overfly area is the best candidate. Know your overfly
area. Ensure that there are no houses, playgrounds, people or
other buildings that may be damaged if the airplane were to crash.
Takeoff
Taxi or place the FlexJet TV on the runway centerline, with the nose
pointed into the wind. Select Mode 1, then set throttle trim so that
the motor spins at it's lowest RPM without stopping. Smoothly
advance the throttle to full while maintaining directional control with
the rudder and slight back pressure on the elevator. The FlexJet TV
should lift off smoothly once flying speed is attained. Fly in Flight
Mode 1 until the FlexJet TV is fully trimmed
(see special trimming
instructions)
, and you are comfortable with it's handling, then
explore the other modes as desired.
Flying
Altitude is your friend on the first flight. Briskly climb to a safe
altitude and trim the airplane. The FlexJet TV should fly
straight and level at 1/2-3/4 power with no input from the sticks.
Try some basic maneuvers, and slowly progress into the
FlexJet TV's flight envelope as you become more comfortable
with the airplane's flight qualities and perfect your setup.
Note:
if at any time, such as after gain adjustments, you
experience unexpected control system inputs or
oscillations, switch to Flight Mode 1, land, and
troubleshoot the issue. ( Flight Mode 1 has the smallest
sensor inputs with default programming)
Trimming
The first several flights on your FlexJet TV should be dedicated to
trimming and setup. It is critical the Thrust Vecotor Nozzle is
aligned properly (reference page 18). If not, it will be extremely
difficult to properly trim the airplane. Fly the airplane at 2/3 power
in Flight Mode 1 and trim for level flight. Land, adjust linkages and
return transmitter trim to zero, and fly again. Repeat until the
airplane flies hands off, straight and level. Trim or sub-trim added
via the transmitter will cause trim shifts when different flight modes
are selected. To eliminate this trim shift, you have three options:
(1)
mechanically trim the model by turning the linkage clevises;
(2)
electronically trim the model via Subtrim Feature in the Servo Ports
tab of the Aura Config Tool;
(3)
use the "Quick Trim" procedure
below.
Trimming the Ailerons
Due to the FlexJet TV's large flight envelope, if your FlexJet is
holding about 1/16th of an inch or more (1.5mm) of aileron trim it is
likely that your Flexjet's aileron trim will change with speed
changes. To properly trim the roll axis and prevent these trim
changes, center the ailerons (mechanically or electronically) and
use and one of the techniques below to move the stabilizers in
equal amounts in opposite directions to trim the roll axis:
(1)
mechanically trim the model by turning the linkage clevises;
(2)
electronically trim the model via Subtrim Feature in the Servo Ports
tab of the Aura Config Tool;
(3)
use utilize the "Quick Trim"
procedure below.
Please reference
page 12
to adjust the flying stabilizers.
Pilots can accomplish this easily using the
Quick Trim
procedure.
Start as instructed with the Ailerons perfectly mechanically
centered. Fly and trim. Perform the Quick Trim procedure. Aura will
put in any AILERON trim (along with Elevator trim) into the tail
stabilizers instead of the ailerons, so your ailerons will return to
being perfectly centered!
Aura Quick Trim
The Aura 8 features a Quick Trim Mode that eliminates the need for
mechanical linkage adjustments during test flights. Aura will learn
the trim values from your transmitter, and apply them to the control
surfaces the next power-up.
Landing
Be mindful of your flight time and allow adequate battery
reserve for a couple of landing attempts, if necessary, on the
first few flights. Select Flight Mode 1 and using 0 - 1/4 throttle
slow the FlexJet TV to begin a landing approach. On the
upwind leg, toggle Ch5/gear switch to deploy the gear.
Visually confirm the gear are fully deployed. Once on final
approach, smoothly apply up elevator as required to maintain
0-5 degrees of nose high angle of attack. Use throttle to
control the descent speed. Once you are close to the ground,
gradually reduce the throttle to idle and begin to smoothly
apply up elevator as required to maintain 5-8 degrees of nose
high angle of attack. The FlexJet TV should gently touch down
and roll out with minimal elevator input.
Remember, you can
always smoothly advance the throttle to full, and make a
go-around to set up for another landing.
You don't have to
land on the first attempt.
Fly the airplane in Flight Mode 1. Trim the aircraft with the
transmitter and land.
DO NOT CHANGE FLIGHT MODES.
Power off the Aura. Insert a bind plug into Aura Port S3 (you
will need to remove the servo lead that is currently in S3).
Check the transmitter is on and repower the Aura.
Wait 5 seconds for the Aura to completely initialize. Confirm
Quick Trim mode is active by checking the Blue LED is
slowly flashing.
Remove the bind plug from
Aura Port S3
, and re-install the
servo that was previously removed into S3. Removing the
bind plug stores the current trims in the Aura. The Blue LED
will flash quickly after control surface trim values are store.
While the trim values are stored in Aura, they are not
applied to the control surface(s) until the Aura is repowered.
Remove power from the Aura and center all control surface
trims on the transmitter.
Re-power the Aura. The control surfaces are now adjusted
for proper flight trim, even though the trim has been
centered on the Transmitter. Switch between other Flight
Modes to ensure you do not see any changes in trim.
22
NOTE:
Quick Trim can also be used BEFORE flying to make
small changes to adjust the control surfaces before flight.
NOTE:
ENSURE AILERON/ELEVATOR/RUDDER
SUB-TRIMS
ARE
ZERO
BEFORE
FLYING FOR QUICK TRIM
PROCESS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.