Top Flite TOPA1010 - Manual (Page 17)

CHECKLIST
❏
1.
Mak
e sure areas e
xposed to fuel or e
xhaust
residue ha
v
e
been fuel proof
ed.
❏
2.
Chec
k the C
.G.
according to the measurements
and procedure pro
v
ided in the man
ual.
❏
3.
Use thread-loc
king compound on the set scre
ws
in the wheel collars that hold on the wheels
.
❏
4.
Add a drop of oil to the axles so the wheels will
tur
n freely
.
❏
5.
Mak
e sure all hinges are securely glued in place
.
❏
6
.
Use thin CA to harden all scre
w holes
throughout the air
p
lane
.
❏
7.
Confir
m that the flaps and ele
vators oper
ate
freely and smoothly b
y
pulling on the lead-outs
.
❏
8.
Mak
e sure the fuel lines are connected and
are not kink
ed.
❏
9.
Balance y
our propeller and spare propellers
.
❏
10.
Tighten the propeller n
ut and spinner
.
❏
11.
Place y
our name
, address
, AMA n
u
mber and
telephone n
umber on y
our model.
❏
12.
If y
ou wish to photog
raph y
our model, do so
bef
ore the first flight.
FL
YING
Preflight N
OT
E
:
The
T
op Flite
T
utor II ARF is not a beginner’
s
model.
It is intended f
or beginning to adv
anced stunt
pilots who ha
v
e
had some pre
vious control line
e
xper
ience
.
If y
ou are an ine
x
per
ienced pilot, seek
the assistance of a kno
wledgeab
le control line pilot
who can help y
ou with y
our first flights
.
Beginning stunt pilots should mak
e their first flights in
calm or lo
w wind conditions
.
S
tronger winds ma
y
b
lo
w
the model inw
ard which will decrease line
tension resulting in loss of control.
If the lines e
v
er do
go slac
k, quic
kly step bac
k to tighten the lines and
regain control.
Of course
, this is most lik
ely to
happen, and should be e
xpected, as the model
approaches the upwind half of the circle
.
Place the model and star
ting equipment where the wind
will be behind the model when it is released f
or tak
eoff
.
F
or the first half-circle (dur
ing the br
ief per
iod when
the pilot has the least control bef
ore the model is
“up
to speed”) the wind will push the model outw
ard to
maintain line tension. Mar
k the center of the flying circle with paint, chalk or
a suitab
le object (such as a shop to
w
el) so y
ou w
on’t
w
ander
.
This is especially impor
tant if the flying area
is limited. With y
our assistant holding the model, w
a
lk from the
model to
w
ard the handle in the center of the circle
while using y
our fingers to k
eep the lines separ
ated.
This will ensure that the lines are not twisted and are free to oper
ate the controls
.
While the pilot is holding the lines
, the assistant should
w
a
lk the model once around the circle to be cer
tain
the flight path is clear and to doub
le-chec
k that there
are no obstr
uctions that could snag the lines
.
The pilot should doub
le-chec
k the oper
ation of the
controls b
y
pulling and pushing on the handle and
ha
ving the assistant signal what the controls are doing (“up”
and “do
wn”).
T
akeoff
When both the pilot and assistant are ready
, the model
ma
y be fueled and star
ted.
Once the engine is r
unning
and the model is ready to be released, the assistant should point the nose of the model slightly a
w
a
y
from
the inside of the circle
.This will help k
eep the lines taut
fo
r the first f
e
w f
eet until the model gets going.
Upon the pilot’
s signal, the assistant ma
y release the
model–ne
v
er push the model f
o
rw
ard as doing so
ma
y result in a cr
ash.
The pilot should be ready–especially dur
ing tak
eoff–to
br
iefly step bac
k to maintain line tension until the
model has gained enough air speed to achie
v
e line
tension on its o
wn.
Allo
w the model to roll out and gain
enough speed to become airbor
ne
.
When enough
speed has been gained, the pilot ma
y r
aise his ar
m
slightly
, giving
“up”
ele
v
a
tor command, thus allo
wing
the model to lea
v
e the g
round.
Once the model has lifted, maintain a slo
w
and steady
climb until a comf
or
tab
le altitude has been reached
(usually betw
een
“e
y
e-le
v
e
l”
and appro
x
imately ten
feet in the air).
The lines m
ust remain taut throughout
the entire flight.
If the lines e
v
er do go slac
k, the pilot
will not ha
v
e
control of the model.
Dur
ing most
situations the model’
s f
actor
y b
u
ilt-in f
eatures will allo
w
it to maintain good line tension, b
ut on occasions
when the wind b
lo
ws the model inw
a
rd or the model
becomes too slo
w the modeler m
ust anticipate or
notice a decrease in
“pull”
and quic
kly step bac
kw
ard
to tighten the lines and regain control. T
o
climb
, the pilot will slo
wly r
aise his ar
m.
T
o
descend,
the pilot will slo
wly lo
w
e
r his ar
m.
T
o
maintain le
v
e
l
flight the pilot will hold his ar
m hor
iz
ontally
.
Beginning
Wind
Direction
T
a
k
eoff
Spot
Pilot
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