Great Planes Spectra ARF - GPMA1050 - Manual (Page 13)

Find a BIG, OPEN field for your first flights. The bigger the
better as you won’t have to worry about where you need to
land. Ground based objects (trees, poles, buildings, etc.)
seem to attract model airplanes like a magnet. Again, we
would like to recommend that you find an experienced
pilot to help you with these first flights.
Note: You need to remember that your radio control
responds as if you were sitting in the cockpit. When you
push the transmitter stick to the right, the rudder moves
to the plane’s right! This means that when the plane is
flying towards you it may seem like the rudder controls
are reversed (when you give “right” rudder the plane
turns to your left–which is the plane’s “right”). It is
sometimes easier to learn to fly the plane if you always face
your body in the direction the plane is flying and look over
your shoulder to watch the model.
Turn on your transmitter and then your receiver and hold the
model as you did for the hand launched test flights. Hold it
firmly and move the throttle stick up to test the motor
operation. When satisfied that everything is responding as it
should, launch the model straight into the wind just as you
did without the motor running. It is important that you do not
throw the airplane up or it may stall and hit the ground. If you
launch it level or slightly down the airplane will accelerate
and start climbing on its own.
Don’t worry about accomplishing very much on your first
flights. Use these flights to get the “feel” of the controls and
the SPECTRA ARF’s flying characteristics. For the first few
seconds of the flight allow the airplane to gently climb
straight ahead. Try to keep the plane upwind and just
perform some gentle “S-turns” (always turning into the wind)
until it is time to set up for landing. Have a helper adjust the
trims on your transmitter (a little at a time) until it has
reached a comfortable soaring altitude (200' - 300' [60 - 90m]).
Turn the motor off and allow the SPECTRA ARF to soar
around, keeping the airplane upwind of yourself. When you
feel its getting too low, turn the motor back on and climb
back to altitude. It can be very hard for a beginner to fly a
plane straight towards him as he would have to do if the
plane were downwind. While the SPECTRA ARF is gliding
have a helper to adjust the trims on your transmitter (a little
at a time) until the plane will fly straight and level with the
transmitter sticks in their neutral position.
When you can hear the motor starting to die off and/or the
plane does not want to climb anymore it is time to shut off
the motor for the last time (especially if you have BEC.) It is
important to remember that you no longer have enough
power to climb out again, so you only get one chance at
landing. When it is time to land, just continue performing the
gentle “S-turns” upwind and let the plane glide onto the
ground. Don’t worry about where the plane lands–just miss
any trees, etc. If you need to “stretch” a landing you can
switch the motor back on but do not expect it to be able to
carry you very far. When NiCd Batteries start going dead,
they really go dead in a hurry. An alternative to allowing the
battery to become weak before shutting the motor off for
good is to time the motor runs so you can leave enough
“juice” in the battery for a couple of “go arounds” if needed.
Practice flying directly into the wind (upwind of yourself)
without letting the plane get off course, and then turn and
come downwind until the plane is even with you and try it
again. When you are comfortable with flying directly into the
wind, start letting the plane go behind you (downwind) a
little before you start back upwind. Continue this until you
can fly directly towards you from downwind without getting
disoriented. At this point you can start to establish a “landing
pattern” and bring the sailplane in for a landing from
downwind. Always land into the wind. This enables the
plane to be flown as slowly (ground speed) as possible for
accurate and damage free landings.
It is probably not a good idea to try and fly around at a low
altitude with the motor on during your first flights. This will
cause the airplane’s speed to increase and make the
controls more responsive which is just what a beginner does
not need.
The SPECTRA ARF will climb to altitude several times on a
single charge allowing you to have flights well over ten
minutes without finding any “lift”. You should be able to get
two full climbs above 500' [150m] on a single charge
although there are many factors that figure into this.
Thermal soaring is one of the most intriguing of all aspects
of flying and the SPECTRA ARF was designed to excel at
thermal soaring even in the hands of a novice. It can be hard
for the average person to understand how a plane can fly for
a long time and gain altitude without a motor!
Thermal Flying
Note: BEC is a system offered by most modern speed
controls that allow you to get rid of the radio battery and
use the motor battery as the means for supplying power
to the radio. The BEC will cut power to the motor when
the motor battery is low on charge but it will still give the
modeler enough power to use the radio normally for a
short time until landing. Keep in mind that while there is
still enough charge to use the radio when the motor
battery is low, so you should land within 10 to 15 minutes
of motor cut out time.
First Flights
13