he will know what to look for. If the Upstar ARF is launched
with the nose up or launched too hard it will climb a few
feet, stall and fall nose first straight down. With the nose
pointed down slightly the sailplane will accelerate down
until it picks up enough flying speed then level off and glide
forward. The plane should be launched with a gentle push
forward. With a little practice you will be able to launch it
at just the right speed so it soars straight ahead in a long and
impressive glide path. Adjust the trims on your transmitter to
get the plane to fly straight ahead in a smooth glide path.
Once you get the hang of launching it you can try
turning the plane during the trim flights by gently
applying a “touch” of right or left rudder. You can also
try “flaring” the landings by slowly applying a touch of
up elevator (pull the stick back) as the plane nears the
ground. The Upstar ARF will continue to fly just a few
inches off the ground for a surprisingly long distance. It
is important you don’t “over-control” the model. Make
any control inputs slowly and smoothly rather than
moving the transmitter sticks abruptly.
Find a BIG, OPEN field for your first flights. The bigger the
better as you won’t have to worry about where you need to
land. Ground based objects (trees, poles, buildings, etc.)
seem to attract model airplanes like a magnet.
Again, we
would like to recommend that you find an experienced
pilot to help you with these first flights. Note
: You need
to remember that your radio control responds as if you
were sitting in the cockpit. When you push the
transmitter stick to the right, the rudder moves to the
plane’s right! This means that when the plane is flying
towards you it may seem like the rudder controls are
reversed (when you give “right” rudder the plane turns
to your left–which is the plane’s “right”). It is sometimes
easier to learn to fly the plane if you always face your
body in the direction the plane is flying and look over
your shoulder to watch the model.
Turn on your transmitter and then your receiver and hold
the model as you did for the hand launched test flights.
Hold it firmly and move the throttle stick up to test the
motor operation. When satisfied that everything is
responding as it should, launch the model straight into the
wind just as you did without the motor running. It is
important that you do not throw the airplane up or it may
stall an hit the ground. If you launch it level or slightly down
the airplane will accelerate and start climbing on its own.
Don’t worry about accomplishing very much on your first
flights. Use these flights to get the “feel” of the controls and
the Upstar ARF’s flying characteristics. For the first few
seconds of the flight allow the airplane to gently climb
straight ahead. Try to keep the plane upwind and just
perform some gentle “S-turns” (always turning into the
wind) until it is time to set up for landing. Have a helper
adjust the trims on your transmitter (a little at a time) until
it has reached a comfortable soaring altitude (200’ - 300’).
Turn the motor off and allow the Upstar ARF to soar
around, keeping the airplane upwind of yourself. When
you feel its getting too low, turn the motor back on and
climb back to altitude. It can be very hard for a beginner to
fly a plane straight towards him as he would have to do if
the plane were downwind. While the Upstar ARF is gliding
have a helper to adjust the trims on your transmitter (a little
at a time) until the plane will fly straight and level with the
transmitter sticks in their neutral position.
When you can hear the motor starting to die off and/or
the plane does not want to climb anymore it is time to
shut off the motor for the last time (especially if you
have BEC.) It is important to remember that you no
longer have enough power to climb out again, so you
only get one chance at landing. When it is time to land,
just continue performing the gentle “S-turns” upwind
and let the plane glide onto the ground. Don’t worry
about where the plane lands–just miss any trees, etc. If
you need to “stretch” a landing you can switch the
motor back on but do not expect it to be able to carry
you very far. When NiCd Batteries start going dead, they
really go dead in a hurry. An alternative to allowing the
battery to become weak before shutting the motor off
for good is to time the motor runs so you can leave
enough “juice” in the battery for a couple of “go
arounds” if needed.
Note:
BEC is a system offered by most modern speed
controls that allow you to get rid of the radio battery
and use the motor battery as the means for supplying
power to the radio. The BEC will cut power to the
motor when the motor battery is low on charge but it
will still give the modeler enough power to use the
radio normally for a short time until landing. Keep in
mind that while there is still enough charge to use the
radio the motor battery is low, so you should land
within 10 to 15 minutes of motor cut out time.
FIRST FLIGHTS
18
