BEFORE YOU FLY

Well, you're almost there; you've built and prepared your model and you've found a great place to fly it close to home. Is there anything left to do before that first flight? Yes; you should be aware of a few details that can make the difference between your having a great flight and a bad one. Let's see what's left.

• Balance. Did you balance your model? Did you check to see whether the model's center of gravity (CG) is in the proper location? Every airplane kit instruction booklet should explain where the balance point should be. For a straight wing, this point will usually fall somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the chord back from the leading edge (LE). With a sweptback wing, the CG will be farther rearward; again, check the instructions.

To check the model's balance point, install the receiver (RX) and the battery pack and attach the wing to the fuselage. Support the wing with your fingertips—near the fuselage sides—and test the model's balance; move the receiver and battery until it balances level or slightly nose down. This is the balance point, and it should match that specified on the instructions. If it doesn't, try moving the RX and battery again; if that doesn't work, add a little weight to the nose or the tail until the model balances where it should. This is vital. A nose-heavy model will probably fly satisfactorily, but a tail-heavy one might not be controllable.

• Control direction. One of the most common causes of a first-flight crash is that a model has its controls hooked up backward. Test your controls to make sure that they don't bind and that they move the control surfaces (rudder, ailerons, etc.) in the proper directions. Turn the transmitter (TX) on first and then turn on your model's RX. Make sure the TX's trim levers are centered, and check the control surfaces to make sure that they are straight and in their neutral positions. While facing in the same direction as your model, move the control stick to the right; the rudder should also move to the right. If your plane has ailerons, when you move the stick to the right, the right aileron should move up and the left aileron should move down. When you pull the elevator stick back toward you, the elevator should move upward; it should move downward when you push the stick away from you.

This is also a good time to check the throttle and to make sure that the motor is turning in the correct direction. When the throttle is pulled all the way back, the prop should not move. As you push the throttle stick forward, the prop should respond proportionally and should blow air back over the model. If your airplane has only an arming switch (no throttle), make sure the prop spins in the right direction (counterclockwise when looked at from the nose of the plane).