FLYING
Once again check the correct position of the centre of
gravity, check for any excessive warping of the wing,
tailplane and fuselage. Choose a nice calm day for the
first flight.
The model must be launched into the wind every time.
Throw grass into the air to observe the wind direction.
Hold your model with the wing and fuselage level.
Launch your model with a gentle push straight with
the nose pointing slightly down. Do not throw your
model with nose up, or at greater angle than 10 de-
grees down. The model must have a certain minimum
speed from the very start to stay airborne. It is not
enough to just place your model in the air. It is better
to land in tall grass in order to prevent any damage to
your model during initial trimming.
If everything is OK (correct wing and tailplane
alignment, correct CG position) DINGO will fly with the
wings level in a nice glide with her nose pointing sli-
ghtly down. If the model glides straight down to the
earth a few paces in front of you, check the CG posi-
tion again. If OK, add a thin piece of balsa or plywood
under the trailing edge of the horizontal tailplane until
the model glides in a nice flat and straight path. On the
other hand, if your model pitches the nose up and sta-
lls, sand the rear horizontal tailplane seat 39 step by
step, until the model glides in a nice flat and straight
path.
Once satisfied, bend the rudder 30 slightly (about 2
mm) to the left (looking from the tail to the nose). Now
the model should glide in large left (counter clockwise)
turns; whilst under tow, the off-centre towhook wou-
ld force your DINGO right - resulting in straight flight.
Elementary!
Once trimmed out you can try your first hi-start with
your DINGO using 25 m towline (a fishing line). You can
purchase a towline set in your local model hobby shop
or you can make your own from scratch. Get a towline
(any fishing line strong enough to hold 5 kg fish is OK),
tie a key ring to one end (bowline knot is the best) and
a flag (a piece of red cloth) 20-30 cm from the end. The
flag makes the towline visible in the air as well as on
the ground. Find a suitable spool to keep the towline
on.
Hook the ring at the towhook and ask a friend to hold
(and launch later) your model. Unwind the towline wal-
king into the wind keeping is slightly stretched. The
launch position of the model: wings level, nose very
slightly up, directly into the wind.
Give a signal to your friend holding your model; both
of you will start running into the wind, the assistant will
launch the model after a few paces. Continue running
into the wind paying attention to the tension of the
towline and checking the model over your shoulder.
Run as fast as necessary to achieve steady climbing
rate of your model – the model should climb straight
forward, at steady rate, in a nice arc. The stronger the
wind, the slower you might run. If the towline tension
decreases, your model climbs slowly (and yaws to a
side) you should run faster. If the towline tension in-
creases and the model violently turns to a side, you
5
There is no need to cover the fuselage.
Now you can apply several coats of thinned shrinking
dope in order to shrink the tissue and protect it from
moisture. Once the tissue is nice and smooth without
wrinkles (after 1-2 coats) you can apply the colour ti-
ssue trim – and continue in applying the shrinking
dope.
Only apply the dope in a dry and well ventilated area at
room temperature (over 20°C; low temperature/high
humidity may cause „fogging“ of some dopes turning
them milky white instead of clear – if that happens you
can usually cure it by taking the model to a dry and
warm place and applying just the fresh thinner with a
brush to the „fogged“ part). Apply 3 to 5 coats of thi-
nned dope to the entire model (use the top gloss dope
for the fuselage and the last coat for the wing and ho-
rizontal tailplane). Lightly sand all doped surfaces with
fine sandpaper between each coat.
Apply the colour tissue trim to the fuselage before the
last coat of dope (use the top gloss dope for the final
coat). The stickers are to be applied only after the final
coat!
Let the model dry thoroughly after each coat (2-3
days). Check for any warping of the wing or horizon-
tal tailplane. If that happens, you have to lay the wing
and/or tailplane down to a flat surface protected with
a plastic film and weigh it down (a couple of magazines
in a plastic bag to the rescue again) after each coat. Let
it dry thoroughly.
Final Assembly, Centre of Gravity (CG)
Secure the side towhook
36
to the left side of the fuse-
lage using two screws 37 – refer to the building plan.
The towhook is adjustable – you can move it forward
on a windy day or backward on a calm day in order to
achieve nice and steady climbing during the hi-start.
Tie the wing and horizontal tailplane to the dowels on
the fuselage using several loops of the supplied rubber
thread. Please note – one loop is never enough!
Mark the position of the centre of gravity (refer to the
building plan, marked with a dart) to the bottom of the
wing seat on both sides of the fuselage using a perma-
nent marker or a thin strip of colour sticky tape. Sup-
port the wing of the model with your fingertips in the
centre of gravity position. The fuselage should be level
- if the nose pitches up put in as much of additional
ballast (not supplied in the kit) to the nose as necessary
(you can use small screws, modelling clay etc.).
The correct balancing is essential; incorrectly balanced
model will be difficult to set up or unable to fly at all!
