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Preflight identify your model, Charge the batteries, Balance propellers – Great Planes Citabria EP ARF - GPMA1127 User Manual

Page 16: Ground check and range check, Motor and battery safety precautions

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16

These are the recommended control surface throws:

ELEVATOR

LOW RATE

1-1/4"

[32 mm]

25 deg

Up & Down

RUDDER

1"

[25mm]

17 deg

Right & Left

AILERONS

3/4"

[19 mm]

14 deg

Up & Down

HIGH RATE

1-5/8"

[41mm]

33 deg

Up & Down

1-5/8"

[41mm]

29 deg

Right & Left

1-3/8"

[35mm]

27 deg

Up & Down

3D RATE

2-1/8"

[54mm]

45 deg

Up & Down

2"

[51mm]

36 deg

Right & Left

2-3/8"

[60mm]

52 deg

Up & Down

PREFLIGHT

Identify Your Model

No matter if you fl y at an AMA sanctioned R/C club site or
if you fl y somewhere on your own, you should always have
your name, address, telephone number and AMA number on
or inside your model. It is

required

at all AMA R/C club fl ying

sites and AMA sanctioned fl ying events (except when fl own
indoors). Fill out the identifi cation tag on page 19 and place
it on or inside your model.

Charge the Batteries

Follow the battery charging instructions that came with your
radio control system to charge the batteries. You should
always charge your transmitter batteries the night before
you go fl ying, and at other times as recommended by the
radio manufacturer.

CAUTION:

Unless the instructions that came with your

radio system state differently, the

initial

charge on

new

transmitter batteries should be done for 15 hours

using

the slow-charger that came with the radio system

.

This will “condition” the batteries so that the next charge
may be done using the fast-charger of your choice. If the
initial charge is done with a fast-charger the batteries may
not reach their full capacity and you may be fl ying with
batteries that are only partially charged.

Balance Propellers

Carefully balance your propeller and spare propellers before
you fl y. An unbalanced prop can be the single most signifi cant

cause of vibration that can damage your model. Vibration of
props on small models can cause a loss of power, but vibration
may also damage your radio receiver, battery and possibly
the motor bearings.

We use a Top Flite

®

Precision Magnetic Prop Balancer

(TOPQ5700) in the workshop and keep a Great Planes

Fingertip Prop Balancer (GPMQ5000) in our fl ight box.

Ground Check and Range Check

Always ground check the operational range of your radio

before the fi rst fl ight of the day following the manufacturer’s
instructions that came with your radio. This should be done
once with the motor off and once with the motor running
at various speeds. If the control surfaces do not respond
correctly,

do not fl y!

Find and correct the problem fi rst. Look

for loose servo connections or broken wires, corroded wires
on old servo connectors, poor solder joints in your battery
pack or a defective cell, or a damaged receiver crystal from
a previous crash.

MOTOR AND BATTERY

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Failure to follow these safety precautions may result in
severe injury to yourself and others.

Do not run the motor in an area of loose gravel or sand; the
propeller may throw such material in your face or eyes.

Keep your face and body as well as all spectators away
from the plane of rotation of the propeller as you start and
run the motor.

Keep these items away from the prop: loose clothing, shirt
sleeves, ties, scarfs, long hair or loose objects such as pencils
or screwdrivers that may fall out of shirt or jacket pockets into
the prop.

The motor can get hot! Do not touch it right after operation.

Once the motor battery is plugged in to the ESC, stay clear
of the propeller. The motor could start at any time.