Flying The Blade Sr - E-flight Blade SR RTF Airframe Instruction Manual

Flying the Blade SR

Having followed the proper 2-in-1 control unit arming and gyro initialization procedures, confirmed proper control of the
servos and motors, and found a suitable flying area, your Blade SR is ready for flight.
• Slowly raise the throttle stick, increasing the speed of the main rotor blades until the model begins to lift off.
Do not raise the throttle stick too quickly as the model could climb too fast causing you to lose control or
make contact with objects above.
• Lift the model off the ground just a few inches and concentrate on balancing the left-hand (throttle) stick
position so that the model holds a steady hover altitude. In some cases it may be best to make a few short
"hops" to an altitude of just a few inches until you become familiar with the control inputs and trim settings
required to maintain a steady hover and altitude.
As you will find, the Blade SR requires minor throttle/collective pitch adjustments to maintain its altitude in
hover. Remember to keep these adjustments as minimal as possible as large adjustments could result in a
loss of control and/or a possible crash.
• While attempting to establish a low-level hover, you can also check to see if any trim adjustments are required
to help keep the Blade SR from constantly drifting in various directions. If you find the helicopter constantly
drifts without any directional control input, it will be best to land the model before making any adjustments to
the trim levers. Additional details regarding the locations and functions of the trim lever can be found in the
"Understanding the Primary Flight Controls" section of this manual.
If the nose of the helicopter is drifting to the left or right, you will need to adjust the rudder trim. You can also adjust
the tail rotor proportional mix if you experience any difficulties in trimming nose drift with the rudder trim lever only. See
the "Tail Rotor Proportional Mix Trimmer Pot Adjustment" section of this manual for more information.
If the helicopter is drifting forward or backward, you will need to adjust the elevator trim.
If the helicopter is drifting to the left or right, you will need to adjust the aileron trim.
Continue to make trim adjustments until the helicopter can hover at a low altitude with very little drifting and directional
control input. If the Blade SR is your first single-rotor and/or collective pitch helicopter model, it may be best to have an
experienced helicopter pilot trim the model for you before making your first flight.
Note: You can use the throttle trim to adjust the throttle and collective pitch values for a given throttle stick
position. For example, raising the throttle trim will allow the model to hover at a lower throttle stick
position.
• Once you have the Blade SR properly trimmed and maintaining a stable low-level hover, practice using
the rudder, elevator and aileron controls to get a feel for how the helicopter responds to control inputs.
Remember to keep the control inputs as minimal as possible to prevent over-controlling the helicopter,
especially when in hover.
• When comfortable with hovering the Blade SR at low-levels of altitude just a few inches off the ground, you
can transition to hovering and flying the helicopter at higher altitudes of approximately three to four feet. At
these higher altitudes you will be able to get a feel for the flight characteristics of the helicopter when it is
flying out of "ground effect."
• Don't be afraid to set the helicopter down on the ground quickly by lowering the throttle when approaching
obstacles to help prevent main rotor blade strikes. Also, the optional training gear set will help to further
prevent damage to the helicopter in the event that you must make an abrupt landing to avoid walls or other
obstacles when it is installed.
• If at any time during flight you feel like the helicopter is drifting out of control, it is best to return all controls
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to neutral and to lower the throttle stick and trim completely or to activate throttle hold. This will help to
reduce the amount of damage that may be caused in the event of a crash.
• IN THE UNFORTUNATE EVENT OF A CRASH OR ROTOR BLADE STRIKE, NO MATTER HOW MINOR
OR MAJOR, YOU MUST LOWER BOTH THE THROTTLE (LEFT-HAND) STICK AND THROTTLE TRIM
TO THEIR LOWEST POSSIBLE POSITION (WHEN IN THE NORMAL FLIGHT MODE) AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO THE ESCs OF THE 2-IN-1 UNIT. YOU CAN ALSO ACTIVATE
THROTTLE HOLD IN ANY FLIGHT MODE, REGARDLESS OF THROTTLE STICK POSITION.
Failure to lower both the throttle stick and throttle trim to their lowest possible positions (in the normal flight mode only)
or to activate throttle hold (in any flight mode) in the event of a crash could result in damage to the ESCs in the 2-in-1
unit, which may require replacement of the 2-in-1 unit.
While the 2-in-1 control unit main motor and tail motor ESCs are readily capable of handling all in-flight power loads,
and even brief momentary bursts beyond these typical loads, they can be damaged if excessive amounts of current are
pulled through them for an extended period of time. This period of time may vary depending on many conditions, so it
is best to keep any momentary overloads as short as possible in order to prevent damage to the 2-in-1 ESCs.
Note: Crash damage is not covered under warranty.
• It is extremely important when hovering and flying the Blade SR to be aware of the power level of the Li-Po
battery pack. If at any time the helicopter begins to require more throttle than typical to maintain hover or
flight, or has lost the ability to maintain hover or flight due to significant loss of power, land the helicopter and
power the motors down IMMEDIATELY to prevent over-discharge of the Li-Po battery pack.
If you continue to run the motors after noticing a loss in power it is possible to discharge the Li-Po battery
pack too far, causing permanent damage to the pack. Over-discharge of the Li-Po battery pack can result in
shortened flight times, loss of power output or failure of the pack entirely.
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