10
Limited W
arranty
Your First Powered Flight
18
Your First Powered Flight
We recommend that you always launch your Air Strike
®
by hand.
Although capable of taking off from the ground, there are several
disadvantages to attempting this. First, the Air Strike’s nose gear
is fi xed (not steerable), making the aircraft diffi cult to control
on the ground. Second, ground take offs provide no margin for
error. After breaking ground, you simply do not have enough time
to react to sudden changes in pitch or altitude. With a hand launch,
the Air Strike
®
will basically “fl y out of your hands,” providing
several feet of altitude for the airplane to stabilize prior to needing
any control inputs. This gives you a few precious seconds to catch
your breath and begin controlling the aircraft. Third, the battery
power required to take off from the ground makes fl ight time
substantially shorter. We strongly recommend using only hand-
launch take offs when fl ying the Air Strike
®
.
Launching By Hand
1)
Face directly into the wind.
2)
Turn on the transmitter fi rst, and then the receiver.
3)
Grip the aircraft underneath the fuselage and slightly
behind the wing. Press the red safety start button.
4)
Move the throttle stick up to full power.
5)
Step forward quickly four or fi ve steps, keeping the wings
as level as possible with the aircraft pointed into the wind.
You’ll feel the airplane actually try to rise up out of your
hand.
Give the plane a fi rm, level push forward as you walk (in a smooth
motion).
Do not throw the
airplane!
Release the airplane straight and
level with the ground.
Do not
release it with the nose pointed upward. The
plane will begin to climb upon release. See
Figure 16
.
Figure 16 - Hand Launch
