Great Planes Nieuport XI EP ARF - GPMA1146 - Manual (Page 19)

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4. If the tail drops, the model is “tail heavy” and the battery
pack must be shifted forward or weight must be added to the
nose to balance. If the nose drops, the model is “nose heavy”
and the battery pack must be shifted aft or weight must be
added to the tail to balance.
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5. Using a felt-tip pen, mark the position of the battery
pack in the battery compartment. This will help eliminate trim
changes or unwanted surprises each time that you change
the battery. When using different capacity batteries, you may
have to re-balance your plane and place an additional mark
in the battery compartment.
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6. If additional weight is required, use Great Planes
(GPMQ4485) “stick-on” lead. A good place to add stick-
on nose weight is to the fi rewall (don’t attach weight to the
cowl—it is not intended to support weight). Begin by placing
increasing amounts of weight on the top of the fuse over the
fi rewall until the model balances. Once you have determined
the amount of weight required, it can be permanently
attached. If required, tail weight may be added by cutting open
the bottom of the fuse and gluing it permanently inside.
IMPORTANT: If you found it necessary to add any weight,
recheck the C.G. after the weight has been installed.
Balance the Model Laterally
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1. With the wing level, lift the model by the motor propeller
shaft and the bottom of the fuse under the TE of the fuse. Do
this several times.
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2. If one wing always drops when you lift the model,
it means that side is heavy. Balance the airplane by
adding weight to the other wing tip. An airplane that
has been laterally balanced will track better in loops
and other maneuvers.
PREFLIGHT
Identify Your Model
No matter if you fly at an AMA sanctioned R/C club site
or if you fly somewhere on your own, you should always
have your name, address, telephone number and AMA
number on or inside your model. It is required at all
AMA R/C club flying sites and AMA sanctioned flying
events. Fill out the identification tag on page 23 and
place it on or inside your model.
Charge the Batteries
Follow the battery charging instructions that came with your
radio control system to charge the batteries. You should
always charge your transmitter batteries the night before
you go fl ying, and at other times as recommended by the
radio manufacturer.
CAUTION: Unless the instructions that came with your
radio system state differently, the initial charge on new
transmitter and receiver batteries should be done for 15
hours using the slow-charger that came with the radio
system. This will “condition” the batteries so that the
next charge may be done using the fast-charger of your
choice. If the initial charge is done with a fast-charger, the
batteries may not reach their full capacity and you may be
fl ying with batteries that are only partially charged.
Balance Propellers
Carefully balance your propeller and spare propellers before
you fl y. An unbalanced prop can be the single most signifi cant
cause of vibration that can damage your model. Not only
will motor mounting screws and bolts loosen, possibly with
disastrous effect, but vibration may also damage your radio
receiver and radio gear.
We use a Top Flite Precision Magnetic Prop Balancer
(TOPQ5700) in the workshop and keep a Great Planes
Fingertip Prop Balancer (GPMQ5000) in our fl ight box.
Range Check
When you get to your fl ying site ground check the operational
range of the radio before the fi rst fl ight of the day. With
the transmitter antenna collapsed and the receiver and
transmitter on, you should be able to walk at least 100 feet
[30m] away from the model and still have control. Have
an assistant stand by your model and, while you work the
controls, tell you what the control surfaces are doing. Repeat
this test with the motor running at various speeds with an
assistant holding the model, using hand signals to show you
what is happening. If the control surfaces do not respond
correctly, do not fl y! Find and correct the problem fi rst. Look
for loose servo or battery connections, damaged wires or a
damaged receiver crystal from a previous crash in another
model. One other possible source of radio “noise” that could
cause interference is the arrangement and relative location
of the receiver, receiver antenna and motor wires. If possible,
re- mount the receiver in a different location or re route some
of the wires then try the range check again.