Top Flite TOPA0300 - Manual (Page 53)

to slo
w
do
wn f
or landing. Mo
ving the balance
aft
mak
es the model more agile
, giv
es it a lighter
“f
eel” and often impro
v
es landing. In an
y case
,
please star
t at the location we recommend
and do not at an
y time balance y
our model
outside the recommended rang
e
.
❏
2. With the wing attached to the fuselage
, all
par
ts of the model installed (ready to fly) and an
empty
fuel tank, suppor
t the model at the
balance point.
❏
3. Lift the model at the balance point. If the tail
drops when y
ou lift, the model is “tail hea
vy” and
you m
ust add w
e
ight
*
to the nose to balance
. If the
nose drops
, it is “nose hea
vy” and y
ou m
ust add
w
e
ight* to the tail to balance
.
NO
TE:
Nose w
e
ight
ma
y be easily installed b
y
using a spinner w
eight or
gluing lead w
eights into the engine compar
tment.
T
ail w
eight ma
y be added b
y
using Great Planes
(GPMQ4485) “stic
k-on” lead w
eights and, later
, if
the balance pro
v
es to be OK y
ou can open the
fuse bottom and glue these in per
manently
.
*If possib
le
, attempt to balance the model b
y
changing the position of the receiv
er batter
y and
receiv
er first. If y
ou are unab
le to obtain good
balance b
y
doing so
,
then
it will be necessar
y to
add w
eight to the nose or tail to achie
v
e
the
proper balance point. F
o
llo
w the batter
y charging procedures in y
o
ur
radio instr
uction man
ual. Y
ou should
al
wa
ys
charge y
our tr
ansmitter and receiv
er batter
ies
the night bef
ore y
ou go flying and at other times
as recommended b
y
the r
adio man
u
fa
cturer
.
The best place to fly y
our R/C model is an AMA
(Academ
y of Model Aeronautics) char
tered club
field. Ask y
our hob
b
y
shop dealer if there is such
a club in y
our area and join. Club fields are set
up f
or R/C flying and that mak
es y
our outing
saf
er and more enjo
y
a
b
le
. The AMA also can tell
y
ou the name of a club in y
our area. W
e
recommend that y
ou join AMA and a local club
so y
ou can ha
v
e
a saf
e place to fly and ha
v
e
insur
ance to co
v
e
r y
ou in case of a flying
accident. (The AMA address is listed on page
3
of this instr
uction book).
If a club and flying site are not a
v
ailab
le
,
y
ou’ll need to find a large
, g
rassy area at least 6
miles a
w
a
y
from b
uildings
, streets and other R/C
activities
. A schooly
ard ma
y look in
viting b
ut it is
too close to people
, po
w
er lines and possib
le
radio interf
erence
.
If y
ou are not thoroughly f
amiliar with the oper
ation
of R/C models
, ask an e
xper
ienced modeler to
chec
k y
our r
adio installation and control surf
ace
set-up
. Engine oper
ation m
ust also be chec
k
e
d
and the engine “brok
en-in” on the g
round b
y
running at least tw
o tanks of fuel through the
engine
.
Follo
w the engine man
ufacturer’
s
recommendations f
or break-in.
Chec
k to mak
e
sure all scre
ws remain tight, that the hinges are
secure
, and that the prop is on tight.
Mak
e it a habit: Chec
k the oper
ation of y
our
radio
bef
ore
y
ou fly
,
e
ver
y time
y
ou fly
. With the
tr
ansmitter antenna collapsed and the receiv
e
r
and tr
ansmitter on, y
ou should be ab
le to w
alk at
least 100 f
eet a
w
a
y
from the model and still ha
v
e
control. Ha
v
e
someone help y
ou. Ha
v
e
them
stand b
y
y
our model and, while y
ou w
o
rk
the
controls
, tell y
ou what the v
a
rious control
surf
aces are doing. Repeat this test
with the engine running
at
v
a
rious speeds with an assistant holding the
model, using hand signals to sho
w y
ou what is
happening. If the control surf
aces are not alw
a
y
s
acting correctly
,
do not fl
y!
Find and correct the
prob
lem first.
NO
TE: F
ailure to f
ollo
w these saf
ety
precautions ma
y result in se
vere injur
y to
y
our
self and other
s.
K
eep all engine fuel in a saf
e place
, a
w
a
y
from high heat, spar
ks or flames
, as fuel is v
e
ry
flammab
le
. Do not smok
e near the engine or
fuel; and remember that the engine e
xhaust
giv
es off a g
reat deal of deadly carbon
mono
xide
. Theref
ore
,
do not run the engine in
a c
losed r
oom or gara
g
e
.
Get help from an e
xper
ienced pilot when
lear
ning to oper
ate engines
.
Use saf
ety glasses when star
ting or r
unning
engines
.
Do not r
un the engine in an area of loose
g
ra
v
el or sand; as the propeller ma
y thro
w such
mater
ial in y
our f
ace or e
y
e
s
.
K
eep y
our f
ace and body
, as w
ell as all
spectators
, a
w
a
y
from the plane of rotation of the
propeller as y
ou star
t and r
un the engine
.
K
eep items such as these a
w
a
y
from the
prop: loose clothing, shir
t slee
v
e
s
, ties
, scarfs
,
long hair or loose objects (pencils
, scre
wdr
iv
ers)
that ma
y f
all out of shir
t or jac
k
e
t poc
k
ets into
the prop
.
Engine saf
ety precautions
Rang
e c
hec
k y
our radio
Gr
ound c
hec
k the model
Find a saf
e place to fl
y
Char
g
e
the batteries
PRE-FLIGHT
53