Great Planes Cirrus SR22 Turbo ARF - GPMA1166 - Manual (Page 19)

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to minimize or eliminate any additional ballast required. If
additional weight is required, nose weight may be easily
added by using a “spinner weight” (GPMQ4645 for the 1 oz.
[28g] weight, or GPMQ4646 for the 2 oz. [57g] weight). If
spinner weight is not practical or is not enough, use Great
Planes (GPMQ4485) “stick-on” lead. A good place to add
stick-on nose weight is to the fi rewall (don’t attach weight
to the cowl—it is not intended to support weight). Begin by
placing incrementally increasing amounts of weight on the
bottom of the fuse over the fi rewall until the model balances.
Once you have determined the amount of weight required, it
can be permanently attached. If required, tail weight may be
added by cutting open the bottom of the fuse and gluing it
permanently inside.
Note: Do not rely upon the adhesive on the back of the
lead weight to permanently hold it in place. Over time, the
adhesive may fail and cause the weight to fall off. Use #2
sheet metal screws, RTV silicone or epoxy to permanently
hold the weight in place.
❏
4. IMPORTANT: If you found it necessary to add any
weight, recheck the C.G. after the weight has been installed.
Balance the Model Laterally
❏
1. With the wing level, have an assistant help you lift the
model by the motor propeller shaft and the bottom of the
fuse under the TE of the fi n. Do this several times.
❏
2. If one wing always drops when you lift the model, it
means that side is heavy. Balance the airplane by adding
weight to the other wing tip. An airplane that has been
laterally balanced will track better in loops and other
maneuvers.
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. Fill out the identifi cation
tag on page 21 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 battery 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.
Not only will motor mounting screws loosen, possibly with
disastrous effect, but vibration may also damage your radio
receiver and battery.
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.
Range Check
Ground check the operational range of your radio before the
fi rst fl ight of the day. With the transmitter antenna collapsed
and the receiver and transmitter on, you should be able to
walk at least 100 feet away from the model and still have
control (follow the instructions that came with your radio if
you are using a 2.4GHz system). Have an assistant stand by
your model and, while you work the controls, tell you what the
control surfaces are doing. Repeat this test with the motor
running at various speeds with an assistant holding the
model, using hand signals to show you what is happening. 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.