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SECTION 25: FLYING THE DRAGON LADY 60 ARF
The Dragon Lady 60 ARF is designed for those pilots who are experienced at flying sport models. It is not a trainer. If you
do not feel comfortable about test-flying the airplane, don't hesitate to ask someone more experienced for help.
When set up for test-flying, the Dragon Lady 60 is much like flying any other sport aerobatic airplane. It's a nimble flyer that
has a low wing loading. This makes it predictable during slow flight and landing. For general sport flying, we recommend
you use the "Test-Flying" control throws. For doing aerobatics we suggest using the "Aerobatic Flying" control throws.
WARNING
If you've chosen to use one of the larger, more powerful engines, your Dragon Lady 60 will have a very high power-to-
weight ratio. This high power-to-weight ratio can result in control surface flutter if you are not careful. To prevent any
chance of control surface flutter, always reduce engine power during down-leg maneuvers. Never fly the airplane at full
throttle in a downward attitude. Doing so can over-speed the airplane and cause control surface flutter, which can
quickly lead to airframe damage and/or failure.
TAKE-OFF
First, it's important to let the airplane get up to flying speed before lifting off the ground. Lifting the airplane off the ground
too fast will cause the airplane to stall and crash. You should allow the airplane to roll out until the tail is completely off the
ground and flying, and then gently pull the airplane off the ground and into a shallow climb.
Because of the torque of the engine, the airplane will have a natural tendency to pull to the left when it is accelerating down
the runway. You will need to compensate for this by applying and holding right rudder during the takeoff roll. Once the
airplane lifts off the ground, you can release the right rudder. Because of the wide landing gear stance and long tail
moment you will find the ground handling of the Dragon Lady 60 very smooth and predictable.
IN THE AIR
In the air the Dragon Lady 60 is as smooth and docile or as wild and aerobatic as you want it to be. With the control throws
set to the "Test-Flying" settings, the airplane is smooth throughout the entire flight envelope. Most flyers interested in
sport-flying will probably want to keep the control throws set to the "Test-Flying" settings for most maneuvers.
Setting the control throws to the "Aerobatic Flying" settings opens up a whole new dimension to the airplane. With these
settings and a powerful engine the airplane becomes extremely responsive in all attitudes, and is capable of nearly flying
out of sight vertically. We suggest that if you use the "Aerobatic Flying" settings, you make these your "high rates" and
make the "Test-Flying" settings your "low rates." This way, for take-off, general flying and landing you can use low rates,
and for aerobatic flying you can use high rates. If you use a computer-style radio system, you might want to consider
adding exponential on the rudder, aileron and elevator controls while using the "Aerobatic Flying" control throws. This will
make the airplane less "twitchy" while using the higher control throws.
LANDING
We've designed the Dragon Lady 60 so it will slow down nicely for landing and still be responsive to control inputs. Because
of this design, landings are quite slow and predictable. There is no tendency to tip stall, but we do recommend that you
land with a small amount of power. It's not good practice to just chop the power and dive the airplane to the runway.
On your initial upwind leg, reduce power and allow the airplane to begin slowing down. Follow your normal landing
procedure, allowing the airplane to gradually lose altitude and speed. When turning onto final approach the airplane
should have a slightly nose-up attitude and you should be carrying a small amount of power to control your descent rate.
Just before touch-down, reduce power to idle and let the airplane settle onto the main gear. If you flair too much or try for
a three point landing, the airplane will have a tendency to balloon up and possibly stall if it's too slow. As always, when
landing be careful not to over-control. Over-controlling leads to excessive oscillations which don't make for good landings.
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