Vmar EASY 3D FUN Sport Assembly And Operation Manual
VMAR - EASY 3D
FUN SPORT MODEL
Assembly
and
Operations Manual
Please review this manual throughly
Before assembling or Operating
the
VMAR-EASY 3D
FUN SPORT MODEL
VMAR - EASY 3D
Before proceeding please check for additional information
related to this model at www.richmondrc.com
16 Assembly and Operations Manual VIMAR - EASY 3D FUN SPORT MODEL
their thumb/finger prefer not to have so much Expo. It’s all in how it
feels to you, the pilot.
Power. The general rule of thumb is that you need a 2:1 power-
to-weight ratio. This gives you the ability to hover at a throttle setting
of less than full power and leaves you with reserve to get out of
those bad situations. Generally when I am hovering it is at 1/4 to 1/3
throttle. When hovering down low, there isn’t much room for error, so
having the ability to punch out of a bad situation is a must. This extra
power also allows for variances in the type of hovering you do.
Focus. There are 2 things I focus on when hovering, one is visu-
al visual and the other is mental. The visual portion is just that,
where are my eyes looking? I personally look at the canopy area of
the plane when hovering. This way I can see the whole airplane. I
also know that if the rear of the canopy is below my eye level, I am
about to touch the rudder to the ground. But generally I try to see the
whole plane, this gives me the best idea of the actual attitude of the
plane and the control inputs I need to give it. The mental aspect of
hovering is to think ahead of what the airplane is going to do. While
torque rolling, I try to think at least 1/2 rotation ahead of the plane.
So if I am looking at the bottom of the plane, I visualize, in advance,
what is going to happen when the plane rotates to the point that I can
see the top side—and I begin to make any needed corrections while
still looking at the bottom. Good luck to all who choose to explore
this exciting maneuver!
Jason Shulman, among the
top RC aerobatic and 3D
pilots in the world, has been
flying since he was three
and competing since 1981.
Jason has won several
top-5 finishes at the
Tournament of Champions
(TOC) and has taken 4th at
the FAI World’s competition. For more detail on
Jason’s life as a top RC
pilot, checkout a fascinating
interview with Jason at
RCUniverse.com.
Jason flies his Exhila 3D electric, available from Jason’s Model
Concepts (JMC). JMC offers innovative aircraft optimized for aerobatics and 3D flying. For more information,
visit: www.jasonshulman.com/jasonsmodelconcepts.
Note
Reprinted courtesy of FLY RC magazine. Copyright 2004 by Maplegate Media Group. All rights reserved.
FLY RC published monthly for RC Aircraft enthusiasts. FLY RC is available at your local Hobby Retailer or Magazine Store.
2 Assembly and Operations Manual VIMAR - EASY 3D FUN SPORT MODEL
Model airplanes, model engines, model engine fuel,
propellers and products such as the EASY 3D semi scale
sport model can be hazardous if improperly used. Be
cautious and follow all safety recommendations when
using your Model . Keep hands, tools, clothing and all
foreign objects well clear of engines when they are
operating. Take particular care to safeguard and protect
your eyes and fingers and the eyes and fingers of other
persons who may be nearby. Use only a good quality
propeller that has no cracks or flaws . Stay clear of the
propeller and stay clear of the plane of rotation defined by
the propeller.
The Manufacturer, Distributor, Retailer and/or other
suppliers of this product expressly disclaim any
warranties or representations, either expressed or
implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of
fitness for the purposes of achieving and sustaining
remotely controlled flight.
In no event will the Manufacturer, Distributor, Retailer
and/or other suppliers of this product have any obligation
arising from contract or tort, or for loss of revenue or
profit, or for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or
other damages arising from the use of this product.
In purchasing and/or using this product, the user accepts
all responsibility for its use and accepts all liability
associated with such use.
Liability Disclaimer
It is important that the following liability disclaimer be
READ BEFORE ASSEMBLING OR USING THIS PRODUCT.
A Remote Control Model Aircraft is not a toy. It is a
flying model that functions much like a full size airplane.
If you do not assemble and operate this product
properly you can cause injury to yourself and others
and damage property. DO NOT FLY this model if you
are not qualified.
You are solely responsible for the mechanical, aeronautical and electrical integrity of this model and it’s structure,
control surfaces, hinges, linkages, covering, engine,
radio, wiring, battery and all other components check all
components before and after each flight. Do not fly until
it’s right!
Proceeding with assembly and use of this product Indicates
Agreement With and Acceptance of the Liability Disclaimer .
CAUTION.
- This model is designed and constructed to be very
light for 3D maneuvers at low to moderate speed
and light to moderate stress.
- This model is not designed or manufactured for
high speed flight.
- Do NOT fly at high speeds under full throttle. The
model may break up suddenly if flown at high
speeds under full throttle.
- Do NOT fly on horizontal straight line at full
throttle as sudden brake up during flight is
possible.
- Full throttle should only be used for climbing
vertically, loops and rolls or in the case of an
emergency where power is needed.
- When descending, reduce your power setting
immediately. Do not allow the model to accelerate
to high speeds in a dive.
- Do NOT overpower this model. Normal operation
requires only half throttle.
- Careful use of the throttle is required to prevent
breakup of this model in flight. Do not overpower
or overstress this model.
- This model is for intermediate and advanced RC
model pilots. It is NOT suitable for beginners.
- This model has been flight tested with snap-rolls
and other aerobatic maneuvers. Do NOT overstress the airframe with repetitive, violent, extreme
or high speed maneuvers.
- Inspect this model thoroughly before and after
each and every flight. Watch for stress cracks,
loose joints or other abnormalities. Repair any
defects before flying.
- Be alert for unexpected and/or irregular responses
during flight. Slow down, reduce stress on the
airframe and land immediately if flight response is
compromised in any way.
- Check all linkages, hinges, components and
control surfaces before and after each flight.
Although this model may be partially
pre-assembled you are solely responsible for the
integrity and flight worthiness.
- Do NOT overpower this model. This model is
designed for 2 stroke .46-.52 sized glow fueled
engines OR similar power four stroke engines or
similar output electric motors. Overpowering this
model will result in airframe failure.
WWAARRNNIINNG
G
Assembly and Operations Manual VIMAR - EASY 3D FUN SPORT MODEL 15
THRUST TO WEIGHT RATIO
The engine must be able to lift the plane vertically, which is a combination of propeller selection and fuel. You need a power to weight
ratio of at least 1.5 to 1. We do not want to hover at full throttle, we
want to ideally hover at half throttle. We need the reserve power
because we are vectoring propwash off the ailerons to generate the
high degree of roll, and this robs lift and requires the increase in
throttle. A high speed torque roll requires the most power, in the
order of 2:1 just to maintain altitude! Suffice to say that this is a very
advanced hovering maneuver! You need a very reliable engine.
Hovering is great until the noise stops!
Do not use an engine that has a history of running hot or lean. On
the average .40 powered ship, look to configure your plane with a
“heli-like” setup. By this I mean, choose a prop with the biggest
diameter and lowest pitch which will function with the landing gear
and flight envelope of your plane. I have found that the 11x4 prop is
outstanding for hovering with most .40 powered planes. The engines
swing it easily, (you do not want to over heat), and the four inch pitch
generates gobs of thrust at lower flight speeds.
Fuel selection is important. Since we are trying to hover at half of
our available throttle, consider using a higher nitro fuel. The more
nitro, the cooler the engine runs. This is because the nitro brings
more oxygen into the engine and this is where the power boost and
substantial cooling takes place. High Nitro causes harm when you
are at high throttle settings and at rpm’s that overcome the cooling
effects of the nitromethane.
FLYING
You might think that heli experience is helpful, but there are conflicts
with that logic. When you stand your plane on its tail, the yaw axis is
controlled by your ailerons, not the rudder. The rudder, (left stick) controls the roll axis! Heli pilots need to teach their fingers some new
tricks or they will find themselves in trouble!
The throttle, of course, is no longer fast and slow, it is now for rising and decending. There is no “chopping the throttle” when you get
in trouble here! Try that, and you will find that tail first impacts break
things on your plane that you have never seen broken before.
Start with transitioning to hover by practicing holding higher and
higher angles of attack and learning how much throttle to add to
compensate for the lost lift, no longer generated by the wings. As
you pass through the 45 degree angle point, you will find that your
speed drops almost to zero very quickly. You’ll need the most right
rudder at around 45 degrees. As you approach vertical, you’ll find
that most planes still want some right rudder, even when hanging
vertically. I believe this has more to do with countering torque than
any other factor, whereas the rudder compensation at the 45 degree
angle is almost all due to “P” factor. (more on “P” factor in a future
column).
If your plane needs too much throttle to make the transition and
you constantly end up gaining altitude in order to get the plane into
the vertical position, this suggests that you are nose heavy, or lacking in elevator authority needed to swing the tail under the plane.
Running the CG aft of the recommended area is tricky business, but
it can make all the difference in a stable transition. Practice is the
key, but keep a careful eye on the fuel tank and the air/fuel mixture
feeding the engine. You can’t afford for the engine to go lean now!
Flying into and out of a stable hover requires power. If your plane
does not have a low wing loading, you may find that it belly flops
when you go to exit the hover. This is due to the rapid transition back
to “wing-borne” flight—this transition may leave you at such a low
airspeed that the wings won’t to hold the plane up. Expect that the
plane will need a boost of power to get it back to “horizontal” flying
speed! Give it this boost just as it starts to pitch over.
Like your first landings, a quality performance takes practice. Start
a bit on the high side to see how your plane behaves and stick with
it. Soon you will be hanging in space. One thing that hovering teaches you is to be a master of your left hand!
Good Luck-Dave Baron
Editor’s note: we asked noted TOC pilot Jason Shulman whether
hovering smaller models was different from hovering large TOC-size
aircraft, and also for his views on the basics of hovering, from setup
to pilot focus.
Jason Shulman: I recently had a great opportunity to judge this first
hand at the Joe-Nall giant scale fly-in. I was hovering my Exhila (one
pound all up weight) on both calm days and windy days. I was also
hovering a few 30% and larger planes during these same conditions.
The first thing I noticed is that in calm conditions, there was really no
difference. Everything was smooth and predictable. But the windy
conditions posed a few differences. The small plane was very sensitive to the wind in hover. Not so much in terms of drift, because
even the large planes drifted. But the slight variances in the wind
would throw the Exhila around, while not really bothering the larger
planes.
I also noticed that the smaller plane would hover, at times, at a 45degree angle (leaning into the wind), whereas the larger planes
would hover at about a 15-20 degree angle in the same winds. This
made the smaller plane much harder to hover. Once you start pushing to a 45-degree angle, you are entering a kind of forward flight
with the associated flight characteristics. So not only are you trying
to balance the plane on its tail, but you are also trying to keep it from
flying forward.
Although both large and small hovering planes will drift in the wind,
one of the most apparent differences is the speed of the drift. When
I hovered the large planes, drift was relatively slow, and smooth
looking. The Exhila was a different story: it scooted across the field
like it was flying level at 1/3 power.
SETUP
When setting up a plane to hover, regardless of size, you follow the
same principles.
Center of Gravity (CG). The CG should be slightly aft so that
the plane is slightly tail heavy as compared to the normal, or recommended, flying CG position. The larger the plane, the larger the CG
range is. On my Exhila, moving the CG back 1 inch can cause it to
be very unstable and almost impossible to fly. On my TOC planes, I
can move the CG back 3-4 inches and they will still be controllable.
Generally, I move the CG back 1/2 in. at a time on the larger planes,
and 1/8 in. on the smaller planes. There is also a point where you
can have the CG back too far and hovering becomes harder to perform.
Control Throws. I have found it best to fly with dual-rates. I set
a low rate, which is good for general or pattern flying and then max
out all of the surfaces for a high rate of roughly 45-degrees of deflection for hovering. I fly thumbs, so I like a little bite of Exponential on
my low rates and a much higher setting on my high rates. My set-up
on Expo is for a “soft-center” feel on both rates. Pilots that fly with
HOVERING TIPS FROM
THE MASTER
by Jason Shulman
The closer you are to the
ground, the faster you
detect, and can react to,
which way you are drifting.
Note that the tail feathers
and the servo gears that
push them are a bit fragile
and not used to contacting
the ground before more
rugged parts of the plane
do!
Assembly and Operations Manual VIMAR - EASY 3D FUN SPORT MODEL 3
INDEX
Step No. Page No.
Warning, Liability Disclaimer and Caution 2
Introduction 3
Review Packing List, gather your tools & shop materials 3 - 4
Installing the wing 1 5
Fitting aileron servo 2-3 5-6
Installing the horizontal & vertical stabilizer 4-11 7-9
Installing the main landing gear 12 9-10
Installing the tail wheel 13 10
Installing the fuel tank 14 10
Installing the engine 15 11
Fitting rudder and elevator control horns 16 11
Connecting the pushrod to the elevator 17 11
Connecting the pushrod to the rudder 18 12
Connecting the throttle control 19 12
Adjust control surface throw limits 20 12
Final RC setup 21 12
Installing radio equipment 22-25 12-13
Balancing the aircraft 26 13
Confirm mechanical integrity 27 13
CG and throw specifications 28 14
Thank you for purchasing a VMAR product. VMAR
Manufacturing is committed to delivering superior value
to the RC modeler. Your new EASY 3D is the
market leader in features, ease of use and flexibility.
Please review these instructions before beginning the
simple assembly procedure.
We’ve used metric measurements throughout these
instructions. We know that some of you like metric while
others think that furlongs per fortnight makes a nifty velocity
indicator. If you are in the furlong camp, bear with us….
It’s not a big deal…3 millimeters is stated as 3mm and
3mm is about 1/8 of an inch. Fire up your calculator and
you will find that 25.4 mm makes an inch. In places where
you have to actually set up something according to a
recommended measurement, we’ve listed an
approximate imperial measurement in inches in brackets.
Whenever we’ve used the directional terms left or right ,
they are with respect to the model when viewed as you
would when sitting in the cockpit…that is when viewed
from the back looking forward.
INTRODUCTION
You’ve taken the lid off the box and grabbed the instruction
booklet…you are about 6-8 hours away being ready to go
flying! Now is the time to look over what’s in the box.
Please see the included Packing List and review the
contents and make sure nothing has been damaged in
shipping. Damage or missing components must be
reported to your vendor BEFORE any assembly begins.
Please DO NOT START if something is damaged or
missing. As you can imagine, once you join the wing halves
attach the stabilizers or install your radio or engine your
options for returns are very limited. Your vendor will not be
able to provide you with exchanges or replacements of
parts that have been assembled. DO NOT START
UNLESS IT’S RIGHT!
REVIEW PACKING LIST, GATHER YOUR TOOLS & SHOP MATERIALS.
CHECK OFF OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES.
- These items are not included and are not required but
make the operation of your EASY 3D and most
other remote control aircraft easier & more enjoyable.
- Power Tote Deluxe field box # VMA-PT109D
- Fuel pump and connecting tubing
- Fueling valve
- Chicken stick or electric starter
- Stick on weights
- Battery to power electric starter
- Battery charger
- Power Panel to manage starter and pump if electric.
- Extra propellers
- Extra Glow Plugs
- Misc Tools
- Engine test stand # VMA – ETS120
14 Assembly and Operations Manual VIMAR - EASY 3D FUN SPORT MODEL
40mm
1 9/16"
40mm
1 9/16"
35mm
1 3/8"
35mm
1 3/8"
Elevator Aileron
40mm
1 9/16"
40mm
1 9/16"
Rudder
Control Surface Movement
ELEVATOR 40mm (1-9/16") up
40mm (1-9/16") down
RUDDER 40 mm (1-9/16”) right
40 mm (1-9/16”) left
AILERON 35 mm (1-3/8”) up
35 mm (1-3/8”) down
C.G. AND THROW SPECIFICATION
Step 28
REPLACEMENT PARTS & ACCESSORIES:
In the event that you require replacement parts or accessories for this model please contact your retailer or order OnLine at www.richmondrc.com
MORE INFORMATION:
For other information related to this product please see
www.richmondrc.com
Hovering explained!
I am really glad to be writing this new column and especially to be
a contributor to Fly RC Magazine! This magazine is going to be the
place to discover and learn about the best and coolest gear, and this
column is where you will learn to sharpen your piloting skills! It is a
special interest group within the AMA that is dedicated to hyper
maneuverable flight and pitting you and your plane against the topwatch! If you have ever considered yourself a hot pilot, show up at
one of their contests and prepare to be amazed. Check them out at
www.ncffafunfly.org
HOVERING
What is the attraction to hanging your plane on its nose and holding it otionless and in full control? Simple answer, it’s cool! I am going
to explore the phenomenon, the kinds of planes that hover best and
what you need to know to teach yourself this great flying skill.
PLANES, ENGINES AND PROPS
The most important aspect of your selecting a plane to hover is its
weight. Your plane must be light. Secondly, you need to have substantial control surfaces on the rudder, elevator and ailerons that are
in the prop blast of the engine. Planes that have ailerons
only on the outboard section of the wing are unsuitable,
because with no airflow over the ailerons, there is no control in hover no matter how far you deflect them!
I have found that planes with longer fuselages, while
more stable in pitch, are not necessarily good for hovering. This is because the rudder and elevator are too far
from the slipstream of the prop. You need a strong slipstream over the tail feathers for control.
There are several ways to improve an airplane’s ability to
hover. One is to move the CG aft incrementally—a little at
time so that you can test the result. An aft CG helps a lot in
the transition from normal flight to hover and back, but use
care, as you do not want to go so far that you give up your
stability in normal flight! Another concern is flaperons that
are coupled to the elevator. While this gives the tightest
loops on most fun-fly planes, it does not help in hovering.
In hover, flap deflection on most models sends the plane in
the opposite direction (in pitch) than you desire. I advise
that you turn off this function, or turn it down so less than
10 percent of flap throw is mixed into elevator throw.
FREESTYLE
by Dave Baron daveb@flyrcmag.com
My Minus is a great hovering plane that transitions easily to
hover without gaining altitude. It is light, with an aft center of
gravity that is at 35% of the wing chord (from wing leading
edge to aileron trailing edge). The Minus is a Skipp Turner
design. You can reach Skipp at airworthy@aol.com.
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