GREAT PLANES DIRTY BIRDY .60 ARF, Instruction Manual

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2
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of the Dirty Birdy .60
ARF! For 35 years Joe Bridi’s design has been known for its
capabilities of precision pattern fl ying and was revolutionary at
the time of its introduction. Great Planes offered a fi berglass
kit version of the Dirty Birdy in the 1980’s, and now it has
fi nally been revived as a fi berglass ARF. Accommodations for
mechanical retracts, pneumatic retracts, and a tuned pipe are
provided for drop-in installation. Fixed landing gear is provided
in the box for those budget-minded modelers as well. With
pre-hinged control surfaces and stab halves that mount onto
two carbon tubes, assembly couldn’t be easier. If you were
one of the fi rst to build this fantastic plane in 1975 and want
to relive the experience, or this is your very fi rst pattern ship,
you have made the right choice as the Dirty Birdy will surely
deliver the performance you expect.
For the latest technical updates or manual corrections to
the Great Planes Dirty Birdy .60 ARF visit the Great Planes
web site at www.greatplanes.com. Open the “Airplanes” link,
then select the Dirt Birdy .60 ARF. If there is new technical
information or changes to this model a “tech notice” box will
appear in the upper left corner of the page.
Academy of Model Aeronautics
We urge you to join the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics)
and a local R/C club. The AMA is the governing body of model
aviation and membership is required to fl y at AMA clubs.
Though joining the AMA provides many benefi ts, one of the
primary reasons to join is liability protection. Coverage is not
limited to fl ying at contests or on the club fi eld. It even applies
to fl ying at public demonstrations and air shows. Failure to
comply with the Safety Code (excerpts printed in the back of
the manual) may endanger insurance coverage. Additionally,
training programs and instructors are available at AMA club
sites to help you get started the right way. There are over 2,500
AMA chartered clubs across the country. Contact the AMA at
the address or toll-free phone number below:
Academy of Model Aeronautics
5151 East Memorial Drive
Muncie, IN 47302-9252
Tele. (800) 435-9262
Fax (765) 741-0057
Or via the Internet at: http://www.modelaircraft.org
IMPORTANT!!! Two of the most important things you can
do to preserve the radio controlled aircraft hobby are to avoid
fl ying near full-scale aircraft and avoid fl ying near or over
groups of people.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Academy of Model Aeronautics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
DECISIONS YOU MUST MAKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Radio Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Engine Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Optional Tuned Pipes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Optional Retracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ADDITIONAL ITEMS REQUIRED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Required Hardware & Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Adhesives and Building Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Optional Supplies and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Building Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
IMPORTANT BUILDING NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
KIT INSPECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ORDERING REPLACEMENT PARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
KIT CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
PREPARATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ASSEMBLE THE WINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
INSTALL THE FIXED LANDING GEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
INSTALL THE OPTIONAL HOBBICO
MECHANICAL LANDING GEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
INSTALL THE OPTIONAL
PNEUMATIC LANDING GEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
MOUNT THE WING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
INSTALL THE STABILIZER AND TAIL SERVOS . . . . . 18
INSTALL THE POWER SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
INSTALL THE FIXED NOSE GEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
INSTALL THE ELECTRONICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
INSTALL THE OPTIONAL
MECHANICAL NOSE GEAR RETRACT . . . . . . . . . 25
INSTALL THE OPTIONAL PNEUMATIC NOSE GEAR
RETRACT AND AIR CONTROL SYSTEM . . . . . . . . 29
OPTIONAL TUNED PIPE INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . 33
FINISH THE MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Apply the Decals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
GET THE MODEL READY TO FLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Check the Control Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Set the Control Throws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Balance the Model (C.G.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Balance the Model Laterally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
PREFLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Identify Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Charge the Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Balance Propellers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Ground Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Range Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ENGINE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
AMA SAFETY CODE (excerpts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Radio Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
CHECK LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Takeoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39