PREPARATION FOR THAT FIRST FLIGHT

The most essential part of learning to fly an RC model aircraft involves finding a local expert to be your pilot instructor. That person should be someone who has prior RC flight-training experience and patience. As a suggestion, you should be able to locate a pilot instructor with the help of your local hobby dealer or by asking local RC club members.

One of the first things your instructor will do is check out your new aircraft. If it is an RTF type it should be nearly perfect and ready for that first flight. Even so, a preflight series of checks is important. Never take a chance on everything being okay at the start. A good point to start is to pull on the flight control surfaces such as the rudder and elevator to make sure the hinges are secure. If you can pull off a surface because it wasn’t cemented in place properly, it’s better to find that out before taking to the air.

Check where the control rod attaches to the control horn at the control surface. Most use a mechanical attachment device called a clevis. The clevis may employ a locking device such as a small rubber band or spring. If so, make sure it is in place so that the clevis can’t work loose in flight. Check the same control-rod attachment at the servo end. There are several ways to attach the control rod to the servo output arm. Whatever method employed, make sure the attachment is positive and secured properly. Your instructor can explain all of these detailed points.

Another important item to check is the wing’s attachment to the fuselage. Many model wings are designed to be removable from the fuselage, making it easier to transport the aircraft in your vehicle. Wings can be held in place with rubber bands. Make sure that at least six rubber bands have been used and that they are of a reasonable size. Your instructor can advise you on this. Wings can also be held in place with nylon or metal bolts. If they are, make sure the bolts have been tightened so that the wing makes solid contact with the fuselage.

Let your instructor verify that the center of gravity or balance point of the aircraft is as specified. You should have your instruction booklet always with you while at the flying field. We already discussed balancing the model, but let your instructor makes sure it is correct. You instructor would never fly your aircraft until satisfied that it was properly balanced.

Now we get to the part where the RC system needs to be turned on to verify that it is working properly. Before turning on your radio system make sure you follow the frequency (channel) control system in effect at your local flying field. Should you turn on your RC system while someone else is using that same channel, you could likely cause that aircraft to crash. If that happened you would be responsible for the damage incurred and possible bodily injury. So think about this every time before you turn on.

Your instructor will provide detailed frequency-control information that applies to your local flying field. If your local club employs a frequency scanner or checker, all the better.

With your RC system now turned on, try operating the controls using the control sticks on the transmitter. Make sure the rudder and elevator move when the appropriate sticks are moved.

Make sure that the direction of control is correct. Your left rudder control stick should move your rudder to the left.

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Up elevator should result when you pull the elevator control stick toward your body. Moving the stick away or forward should produce down elevator on the aircraft. Make sure that the throttle is operating properly. High speed should be with the control stick up or forward. Low speed or idle should be with the control stick toward the bottom of the case. If any controls appear reversed, it is an easy job to use the servo-reversing switches found on most transmitters. If you don’t have these switches, your instructor will know what to do to correct the situation.

Another point is to observe the amount of control throw (movement) you get when applying full rudder or full aileron control. Most aircraft instruction manuals may tell you that you need approximately one inch of rudder movement on either side of the neutral position. You may actually observe more or less.

This can get a little complicated in the beginning so let your instructor observe the movement and make any necessary control-throw adjustments. This is important because too little or too much control movement can make for difficult flying. Generally all of these details have been worked out for you at the factory when you buy an RTF model aircraft.

The next item in your preparation list is to verify that your radio system has sufficient range to control your aircraft up to the limits of your eyesight. That might equate to 1,000-2,000 feet separation between the RC transmitter and the receiver located in the aircraft. The AMA Safety Code clearly indicates that a radio range check must be made before the first flight and after any repairs have been made. It is probably also a good idea to perform a range check on a periodic basis such as once a month during your regular flying season.

Range checking is described in every RC system operation manual. Basically you can stand holding your transmitter and operate continually one control function such as the elevator. While doing this a helper walks away from your location while holding the aircraft .The idea is to see how far you can separate the transmitter and receiver while still maintaining smooth and positive control. The problem with this approach is that it takes time and eventually as you get farther separated it will be difficult to see if that control surface is still moving smoothly.

To simplify the process, retract the transmitter antenna as much as possible. This greatly reduces the radiated energy of the signal and essentially simulates the range at extended distances. With the transmitter antenna collapsed, begin operating a single control. Let your helper walk away holding your aircraft or do the reverse and leave your aircraft on the ground while holding and operating the transmitter and walk away from the aircraft. You can perform the range check yourself. The idea is to keep walking away until that elevator control becomes “jittery” or erratic. At that point you have reached the maximum range of your radio.

Your RC system instruction manual will advise you of the approximate amount of separation (distance) you should obtain. Usually it will be roughly 50-100 feet of separation. That amount would simulate a true range of several thousand feet when the transmitter antenna is fully extended. It isn’t an exact figure, but if you only obtain 10 feet or less, you have a potential problem and it must be looked into.

Often a problem will result because of the way the RC equipment is mounted in your aircraft. If that is the case, relocating the position of the receiver antenna may help the problem. In the worst case, your radio has a real internal problem and your only recourse is to return it to the factory for servicing.

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The last item to talk about is the trim levers on your RC transmitter. Each control channel function has its own trim lever. That’s one for aileron, elevator, rudder, and throttle. Normally these trim levers are placed in their middle positions (except for the throttle). Moving a trim lever will change the neutral position of the particular channel by approximately plus or minus 15% of normal control.

If you are flying and your aircraft wants to turn slightly to the left while in level flight and no control is being issued, add a little right trim to make it fly straight. The same can be done with elevator trim to make the airplane fly level. With your hands off the controls the airplane should be flying straight and level. With the throttle stick at the idle position, the throttle trim lever is normally set at the upper position. Then moving the throttle trim lever all the way down will kill the fueled engine or turn off the electric motor.

So far the emphasis of this guide is having a pilot instructor lead you through the entire preparation process before making that first flight.

What can you hope to do and accomplish if no instructor is available to you? It won’t be easy, but it can be done. Hopefully we have put enough details into this guide so that you can get through this preparation phase. The people from whom you bought your trainer aircraft are set up to answer your questions. Many offer videotapes of the entire preparation and first flight process. This would be worth having. Make sure you read carefully the instructions that came with your aircraft and your radio system. Beyond that and your own resourcefulness, you will be on your own. We will talk more about this in the next chapter on flying.

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