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 degrees
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 po-
sition) TARA will fly with the wings level in a nice glide with her nose po-
inting slightly down. If the model glides straight down to the earth a few
paces in front of you, check the CG position 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.
Once satisfied, bend the rudder
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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 would force your
TARA right - resulting in straight flight.
Once trimmed out you can try your first hi-start with your TARA using 25-
50 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 walking into the wind keeping is slightly
stretched. The launch position of the model: wings level, nose very slight-
ly 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 tow-
line tension increases and the model violently turns to a side, you have
to slow down and wait until the model returns to the original straight
path. Hi-start requires some skills; especially on a windy day running too
fast might even end in destruction of your model. Once the mode climbs
almost over your head, it should start turning slightly left – this is the
moment to stop. Let the model fly in front of you and release the towline.
For the initial high start, set the towhook to the forward position. Based
on the TARA´s behaviour you can move it back/adjust later. If your model
hesitates to climb, move it back; if pitches the nose up and veers to side,
move it forward. Adjust the rudder to achieve large flat left turns; tight
banked turns kill the altitude! Usually, just 2 mm left offset is OK. Contest
flyers would want to install the dethermalizer with a timer that kicks the
horizontal tailplane up (about 45°) once the set time has elapsed; the mo-
del will land in large „hoops“ then.
Have a ball, enjoy your TARA!
KAVAN Team
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You can cover the tail boom as well (apply 4 slightly overlapping strips
to the bottom both sides and finally to the top of the boom) to add some
extra strength; there is no need to cover the nose.
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 tissue
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 thinned dope to the entire model (use the top gloss dope for the
fuselage and the last coat for the wing and horizontal 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 horizontal tailplane. If that happens, you have to
lay the wing and/or tailplane down to a flat surface protected with a plas-
tic 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
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to the left side of the fuselage using two
screws
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– 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.
Use the tip of a pointy modeller’s knife to cut slots for the brass tin rudder
hinges
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into the fin
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and rudder
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. Cyano the hinges into the rudder
and then into the fin leaving a slight gap between the fin and rudder.
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!
Drill 5 mm access hole into the additional ballast compartment in the
fuselage (refer to the building plan). Support the wing of the model with
your fingertips in the centre of gravity position (the point marked by an
arrow on the fuselage plan). The fuselage should be level - if the nose
pitches up put in as much of additional ballast (not supplied in the kit) as
necessary (you can use pellets, small screws etc.) Once satisfied, cover the
hole with a strip of clear sticky tape.
The correct balancing is essential; incorrectly balanced model will be di-
fficult to set up or unable to fly at all!
