Charge The Batteries; Balance The Propellers; Ground Check; Range Check - GREAT PLANES Jancair ES EP ARF Instruction Manual

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 and motor batteries the night
before you go flying, and at other times as recommended by
the radio manufacturer.
The included 1800mAh NiMH battery pack should be
charged by a NiMH-compatible charger at no more than
1.5A. Compatible chargers available are listed on page 4 of
this manual.
At the 1.5A charge rate, the battery pack should take a little
more than one hour to charge when fully depleted. Rates
less than 1.5A will take longer to completely charge the
pack. The fully charged battery pack voltage should not
exceed 12V.
Always monitor the battery pack during a charge. The
pack may get warm during charging but should not get
hotter than 125°F. If the pack gets too hot, disconnect it
from the charger and allow it to cool.
CAUTION: Unless the instructions that came with your
radio system state differently, the initial charge on a new
transmitter battery should be done for 15 hours using the
slow-charger that came with the radio system. This will
"condition" the battery 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 flying with
batteries that are only partially charged.

Balance the Propellers

Carefully balance your propeller and spare propellers before
you fly. An unbalanced prop can be the single most
significant cause of vibration that can damage your model.
Not only will engine mounting screws and bolts loosen,
possibly with disastrous effect, but vibration may also
damage your radio receiver and battery.
We use a Top Flite Precision Magnetic Prop Balancer
(TOPQ5700) in the workshop and keep a Great Planes
Fingertip Prop Balancer (GPMQ5000) in our flight box.
After you test the operation of the motor on the model,
inspect the model closely to make sure all screws remained
tight, the hinges are secure, the prop is secure and all
pushrods and connectors are secure.
Ground check the operational range of your radio before the
first flight of the day. With the transmitter antenna collapsed
and the ESC and transmitter on, you should be able to walk
at least 100 feet [30 m] 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 fly! Find and
correct the problem first. Look for loose servo connections or
broken wires, corroded wires on old servo connectors, poor
solder joints in your battery pack or a defective cell, or a
damaged receiver crystal from a previous crash.

MOTOR SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Failure to follow these safety precautions may result
in severe injury to yourself and others.
Use safety glasses when running motors.
Do not run the motor in an area of loose gravel or sand; the
propeller may throw such material in your face or eyes.
Keep your face and body as well as all spectators away from
the plane of rotation of the propeller as you run the motor.
Keep these items away from the prop: loose clothing, shirt
sleeves, ties, scarfs, long hair or loose objects such as
pencils or screwdrivers that may fall out of shirt or jacket
pockets into the prop.
The motor gets hot! Do not touch it during or right
after operation.
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Ground Check

Range Check