FMA Direct
– 21 –
Co-Pilot™ user’s guide
Flying a helicopter
Flying an electric flying wing
To take off:
1. Set full up elevator trim.
2. Launch according to instructions for your plane.
3. When the plane is airborne, re-center elevator
trim.
To make a turn:
1. Hold aileron in the direction of the turn.
2. Apply a little up elevator to maintain altitude.
3. Center the stick to return to level flight.
To fly straight and level:
Center the stick. You may
need to adjust elevator trim to maintain level flight.
Pitch angle changes with speed, so adjust elevator
trim when you vary the throttle.
To recover from errors such as dives and unintended
rolls:
Center the stick. Co-Pilot™ takes over and
levels the plane.
Electric planes tend to stall easily. Trim enough
down elevator to maintain air speed.
Don’t attempt inverted flight with Co-Pilot™ until
you gain experience. Co-Pilot™ reacts to inverted
flight by applying full up elevator, which puts the
plane into a descending loop until it is upright.
Unless there is plenty of altitude, the plane may
have an untimely meeting with the ground. For in-
verted flight, set the Throw control to the intermedi-
ate or expert level (see page 10).
If the motor stops during flight, apply down elevator
to maintain airspeed and prevent a stall. Flying
wings tend to snap roll when stalled, so it’s
important to keep the plane moving above stall
speed.
To land:
Reduce throttle and add up elevator trim.
The plane will gently glide in.
Flying with Co-Pilot™ when the wind is calm will
“feel” different—it will seem like a breeze is
moving the helicopter around. Co-Pilot™ senses
variations in the horizon and tilts the helicopter a
few degrees, but the helicopter won’t roll and crash.
When you can keep the helicopter in one place,
you’ll realize that Co-Pilot™ is doing most of the
work. Flying on windy days takes little effort.
The hardest part of flying a helicopter is getting it
trimmed. After calibration is complete, remember to
add in a little right roll trim for clockwise blade ro-
tation. Once the helicopter is properly trimmed, it is
very easy to hover with Co-Pilot™.
If you fly over asphalt (a parking lot, for example),
heat from the asphalt may cause the helicopter to
oscillate. Flying higher will stop the oscillation.
However, the best solution is to reduce Co-Pilot’s
sensitivity (see “If you notice the aircraft shaking or
oscillating...” in the left column on page 20).
To take off:
1. Check trims.
2. Increase throttle.
Co-Pilot™ will keep the helicopter level.
To hover:
Center the stick.
To recover from unusual attitudes:
Center the stick.
Co-Pilot™ will return the helicopter to level.
To fly forward:
Apply forward cyclic. When you
center the stick, the helicopter will stop and hover.
Terrain angle will affect the ability to perfectly
hover. If you are flying in a valley or at a sloping
field, try calibrating with the helicopter diagonal to
the ridge.
continued
CAUTION:
Co-Pilot™ may give you a false
sense of security. Do not fly close to yourself
or other people. Any mechanical malfunction
could result in loss of control. If the helicopter
flies toward you or another person, stop the
engine immediately. Never fly near houses,
cars, trees or other objects which could inter-
fere with operation and cause damage.
