Top Flite TOPA1020 - Manual (Page 17)

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
alk 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
Note:
A fully co
wled engine ma
y r
un at a higher
temper
ature than an un-co
wled engine
.
Theref
ore
,
the fuel mixture should be r
ichened so the engine
runs at least 200 RPM belo
w peak speed.
By r
unning
the engine slightly r
ich, y
ou will help pre
v
ent dead-
stic
k landings caused b
y
o
v
erheating.
T
raditionally
,
control line pilots intentionally set their engines r
ich
so that dur
ing v
e
rtical maneuv
ers
, the engine will not
“o
v
e
r lean,
”
thus causing o
v
erheating.
Fur
ther
, full
RPM is usually not desired f
or stunt flying.
When both the pilot and assistant are ready
, the
model ma
y be fueled and star
ted.
Once the engine is
running and the model is ready to be released, the assistant should point the nose of the model slightly a
w
a
y
from 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
e
r 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
raise his ar
m slightly giving
“up”
ele
v
ator 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
ye-le
vel”
and
appro
ximately ten f
eet
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.
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