Your First RC Model Airplane Part III

RC Model Airplane Flight - What You Need To Know:

By this time, you are probably excited to go out and fly your new RC model airplane. Before you read further, please make sure that you understand the information presented in part I and part II of this article. It is important to understand the basics of RC model airplane flight before going any further.

This article will show you what you can expect when you first fly your model, and will provide some checklists you can use to ensure that your RC model airplane is ready to fly. From now on, it is assumed that you have chosen Vortex Extreme as your first RC model airplane, but this information should still be useful when using other similar RC model airplanes. A good example would be the Multiplex Easystar RC model airplane.

Pre Flight Check List for Your RC Model Airplane:

After you assemble your RC aircraft using the included instructions, follow this checklist carefully. It will make any problems with the RC aircraft apparent before you fly.

Perform A Visual Inspection of your RC model airplane:

Inspect the airplane for any signs of damage. Check the RC model airplane’s wing and all foam parts for cracks, and make sure that the fuselage and tail boom are attached securely. Make sure that the wing and tail section are straight relative to the fuselage.
Check the rudder and elevator. Are they attached to their respective pushrods (the silver wires coming from the rear end of the tail boom)? Do they move freely?
Center the trim tabs on the transmitter (highlighted in blue), and push the elevator (vertical) trim tab several clicks down.
Make sure that the RC model airplane’s main landing gear (wheels) and tail wheel (the smaller wheel on the back) are attached securely. Does the airplane sit flat on the ground? If it doesn’t, bend the main wheels gently to correct this.

Test The Radio of Your RC model airplane:

Place a fully charged flight battery in the RC model airplane.
Place eight new AA batteries or 8 fully charged NiCd Batteries in the transmitter
Turn on the transmitter by moving the switch to the right. The two LEDs on the transmitter should light up. If they don’t, replace the batteries in the transmitter.
Move the stick on the transmitter in several full circles. Do the rudder and elevator move in the right direction? Test this by moving the stick to the upper right. The elevator should move down and the rudder should move to the right (when viewed from behind). If they don’t move in the right direction, use the reverse switches found near the bottom centre of your transmitter.
Collapse the antenna, and walk away from the aircraft while moving the control surfaces. If you can still control the elevator and rudder effectively at a distance of about 30 ft with the antenna collapsed, the radio is functioning correctly.

Test the Motor of Your RC Model Airplane:

If the propeller is installed on the RC model airplane, remove it.
Press the red arming switch on the side of the fuselage.
Increase the speed of the motor using the throttle control.
As long as the motor shaft spins relatively fast, you have a properly working motor.

Understanding Your RC Model Airplane Radio:

Vortex Extreme RC Transmitter In order to fly your RC model airplane, you will need to be familiar with the different controls and features of your radio system. This color coded diagram shows all the different control functions, and where they are located on the transmitter.

Red - Elevator and rudder control. Left and right motion controls the rudder, while up and down motion controls the elevator
Green - Power switch. Moving the power switch to the right turns the transmitter on.
Blue - Trim tabs. Move these to the centre before your first flight. They are used to make small adjustments to the elevator and rudder, so that the RC model airplane flies straight and level without additional control inputs.
Yellow - Antenna. Make sure that it is fully extended before flying your RC model airplane, and collapse it for storage. You can do this by grasping the top part, and pushing or pulling it from the transmitter case.
Pink - Servo Reversing switches. These will reverse the motion of the aircrafts control surfaces. They can be moved either up or down. Use these only if the default motion of the control surfaces on your RC Model Airplane is incorrect (I.E the elevator moves up when the stick is moved up.)
White - Indicator lights. The red light is the power indicator, and turns on whenever the power switch is on. The green one is the battery indicator. It remains on as long as the batteries are full. As soon as it turns off the batteries will need to be replaced. Check that both are lit before flying your RC model airplane.
The throttle is a small lever found on the back of the transmitter, on the opposite side of the main control stick.

Before you fly your RC Model Airplane

The RC model airplane flight battery will need to be properly cycled before flying. All of the NiMh batteries that we sell are new, so they will need to be “broken in” before they can be used to their full capacity. This can be accomplished via this procedure:

Charge the NiMh battery fully.
Plug the NiMh battery into your aircraft, and turn on the aircraft and the transmitter.
Remove the propeller, if it is already attached to the motor shaft.
Apply full throttle, until the aircraft runs out of power.
Repeat this procedure until the motor runs continuously 8 to 15 minutes.

This procedure will normally need to be repeated 3 to 5 times, and will need to be done once for each new battery that you use.

Your First RC Model Airplane Flight - How to Make It A Success

The first step to flying is to choose a suitable flying field. Football and soccer fields are ideal, especially ones with few surrounding trees. The Vortex Extreme RC model airplane is quiet enough to be flown inside cities, so you can find a park near you and go fly there. Get all of the batteries, spare parts and repair materials you will need, and go to the centre of the field. This will make it easier to keep the airplane away from trees and other obstacles. Follow this procedure to make your first flight a success.

Takeoff - This is actually the easiest part of flying RC model airplanes. Turn on the aircraft and transmitter, and then press the red arming switch on the side of the fuselage. Increase the throttle to full and throw the RC model airplane into the wind. It should fly itself upwards, and in a relatively straight direction. Correct any small deviations in the flight path of the RC model airplane using the elevator and rudder, but leave the throttle at full for now.
Straight and Level Flight - Level off from your ascent by very slightly pushing the control stick upwards. Keep the wings level using the rudder, and decrease the throttle to about 75%. Decreasing the throttle will slow the airplane and make it easier to control.
Turning Back - Turn the aircraft around by very slightly pushing the control stick to one side. If the aircraft is flying away from you, it will turn in the same direction as the control stick is moved. If it is coming towards you, then you will need to move the stick in the opposite direction of the desired turn. Don’t think to hard about this while flying, just move the stick and turn the airplane.
Flying - Try experimenting with some more turns, and use the elevator to climb and descend as needed.
Landing - This is the most difficult part. Line the aircraft up with the field and reduce the throttle to idle. Use the elevator to slow your descent, and correct any side to side movements caused by the wind with the rudder. As you approach the ground, slow the descent even more, and then gradually let the plane land. Any large control movements at this point are likely to cause a crash, so be careful not to issue commands too abruptly.

Congratulations, you have just succeeded in flying your first RC model airplane! Go recharge the batteries, and fly some more. Part IV of this article will cover crashes, and how to repair damage from them.