FLYING YOUR FLEXJET
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. 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 on the runway centerline, with the nose
pointed into the wind. Select Mode 2, 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
should lift of smoothly once flying speed is attained. Fly in Flight
Mode 2 until the FlexJet 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 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'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 Mode 1, land, and troubleshoot the issue. (Mode 1 turns
the sensor inputs off with default programming)
Trimming
The first several flights on your FlexJet should be dedicated to
trimming and setup. Fly the airplane at 2/3 power in Flight Mode 2
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)
digital (non-PWM) receiver users can utilize the
"Quick Trim" procedure below.
Trimming the Ailerons
Due to the FlexJet'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)
digital (non-PWM) receiver users can utilize the "Quick
Trim" procedure below.
Please reference
page 11
to adjust the flying stabilizers.
Pilots using a 'digital' receiver connection 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 2 and using 0 - 1/4 throttle
slow the FlexJet 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 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 2. 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.
20
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
NOTE:
QUICK TRIM IS
NOT
AVAILABLE TO PWM
CONNECTION USERS. IF YOU ARE USING A PWM
CONNECTION, YOU WILL NEED TO
MECHANICALLY
TRIM THE MODEL
or
use the Subtrim in the Servo Ports
of the Aura Config Tool.
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