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MiG-15

0102

TCongratulations on purchasing this semi scale model, depicting the famous MiG-15 fighter, the first of the series-built swept-wing jet fighters designed by the A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Guryevich design bureau.
This Soviet fighter aeroplane was among the first mass-built jet aircraft. The construction of its first prototype, designated S-01, was begun in the spring of 1947. The British Rolls-Royce Nene I was chosen to power it. It is known that, like other victorious powers of the WWII, the Soviets utilised the results of the work of German aerodynamicists in the realm of the swept-wing aerodynamics, developing them further in the Central Institute of Aero and Hydrodynamics (TsAGI), and the results of this work told on the shapes of the new generation of Soviet jet aircraft. The aeroplane, after some modifications redesignated as the I-310, flew for the first time on 30th December 1947. At that time the second prototype (S-02) was already under construction, slated to be powered by the Nene II engine of 22,3 kN of thrust. The third prototype (S-03) was already the pre-series article. It differed by the shape of empennage, by installation of the aerodynamic brakes and by other modifications. The series-built machines had the RD-45F engine, a Soviet-built copy of the Nene II. A major modification was brought about by the MiG-15bis, fitted with the Klimov VK-1 of 26,5 kN. These machines were introduced to service since 1951. The fixed armament consisted of a single 37mm and a pair of 23mm cannon. Besides that the machines could be fitted with some air-ground weapons (bombs, unguided rockets etc.) on two wing pylons. while the Soviet-built machines could carry further two unguided rockets on another pair of underwing pylons. A very important version was the two-place MiG-15UTI (or UTI MiG-15) for conversion/transition and fast jet/weapons training, manufactured from 1950.
The main purpose of the MiG-15's was to combat the high-altitude bombers of the opponent. It therefore had a relatively lower wing loading and a high thrust of the engine - giving them their excellent climb rate and ability to manoeuvre at altitude; a single hit with the high-explosive shell from the huge 37mm N-37 cannon was enough to sever a wing from a four-engined bomber or to destroy completely a fighter.
The MiG-15 were built not only in the USSR, but also in Czechoslovakia, where the standardised manufacturing documentation was put together for the first time, China and Poland. The total number of MiG-15s manufactured is not known - it is estimated at somewhere between 7000 and 7500 machines.

The decal set enables you to build one of the MiG-15bis' of the Soviet Air Force (VVS) (as shown on the box cover), or one of the trio of Czechoslovak Air Force aerobatic display team of the late fifties (sporting the numbers 3213, 3233 and 3234). The colour schemes for these machines is shown in the drawings. The Czechoslovak national insignia are always with the blue segment forward, red segment toward the centreline; on both sides of the vertical surfaces the blue segment faces forward, red segment down.

The model is not intended for complete beginners. But it is an ideal model for modellers starting to play with electric ducted fan-powered models. Thanks to the ratio of the model's weight and the ducted fan's thrust any catapult is unnecessary - the model is hand-launched. The models powered by the AC motor even permits "belly" take-offs from short-cropped grass! A major advantage is the absence of any torque effects from the model propeller, making this model even simpler to control than many other "conventional" propeller ones. It also glides very well and its characteristics are similar to other models. Any modeller with enough experience in controlling models by elevator and rudder, e.g. slow-flyers, shall easily handle this model by ailerons and elevator.

The MiG-15 model you have bought is noteworthy by several features:

It is almost ready to fly. After finishing its assembly you only need to apply decals, install the ducted fan and your RC equipment.
The model is made of polystyrene foam with tougher external layer, less prone to surface damage. In addition to that the exposed places are protected by plastic sheathing. Thanks to the ratio of the in-flight weight and building material's strength the model is rather sturdy and the risk of its damage in normal operation is minimal.
During the design of the model a maximum attention was devoted to the aerodynamic layout ensuring high aerodynamic lift/drag ratio, and providing thusly for a surprising range of speeds as well as for a pleasant flight behaviour, typical of much larger models.
To control the MiG-15 model a normal RC set for controlling slow-flyers is sufficient - it is possible to fly most of the aerobatics figures (with exception of those needing rudder control to execute).

Assembling the model
It is quite an easy affair, easily done by an average modeller. We nevertheless ask you to read the following text carefully. Keep in mind all the time that even minor increase in weight shall affect the flight performance of the fan-powered models, much more so than with the conventional propeller-powered ones. Therefore - save every gram of weight!!!

The decals
The model is finished in the aluminium paint, providing the most common colour scheme, as used by the majority of the MiG-15s. The tactical markings and the national insignia are of waterslide decals. Their primary advantage is the negligible weight and a minimum risk of damaging the model during application. They require, however, an attention and care. Therefore we recommend that you follow the following instructions:

You may substantially increase the adhesion of the dried decal to model substantially by applying wallpaper glue to the area where the decal will be placed. Dissolve the glue (in the enclosed pouch) in about 20ccm of lukewarm water, stirring constantly; leave alone for a half of an hour. If need be, dilute with water to the thickness of honey.
The larger decals that are to fit to a double-curvature surface need to be cut radially at several places around the circumference (such as the black anti-glare panels on the Czechoslovak versions.
The large decals, such as the wing stripes, lightning bolts on the fin etc., could be also cut into several pieces to ease handling and enabling sequential application. The wing stripes could be cut at the wing fences. Whether you apply the wing stripes as one piece or in several separated ones, always apply them before gluing the wing fences in place. Cut the red stripes for the fences from the solid red decal rectangles on the decal sheet, using the fences as a guide, or paint the red stripes on the fences with a suitable paint (that would not attack the polystyrene). Carry out this surface finishing before you glue the fences to the required places on the wing.
Dip the decal cut-out from the sheet with its backing paper into a lukewarm water briefly (for about 5 seconds), then leave it to soak through on a flat non-absorbent surface (glass plate, plastic sheet etc.).
Once the backing paper is sufficiently soaked (i.e. the decal moves easily on it), slide the decal over the edge of the backing paper about 5 mm, keep it with your finger in required place on the part to be decorated and pull the paper from beneath the decal. If the decal does not slide easily enough, apply some more water around it with a paintbrush; it would help you to loosen and replace the wrongly-applied decal, too.
Using a soft cloth, carefully smooth out the decal, gently squeezing the excess glue and any air bubbles from the centre to its outer edges. Do not squeeze out all of the glue! Do not force the decal to follow every detail when still wet - once the glue dries, i.e. in a few hours, the decals would shrink somewhat and adhere snugly to the surface.
The model could be oversprayed with a thin layer of transparent gloss or semi-matte (avoid spraying the transparent cockpit canopy with the latter) acrylic or synthetic varnish to suit your ideas regarding the surface finish of the real aeroplane. It is absolutely necessary to check beforehand on a scrap piece of polystyrene from the kit that the varnish does not attack the polystyrene foam. To keep the weight down, spray varnish very sparingly.

A) Assembling the power unit
The model is propelled by the Alfa Model EDF 60/15 Mk. 2 ducted fan. This fan is designed to be powered by a Speed 300/6V DC motor or by AC motors of similar power (e.g. AC MPJ 25-25/26 Mk.2/Mk.3, MM1215/12 or Hacker B2022S). The batteries and controllers are listed in the survey of the recommended powerplants. The model flies well even with the Speed 300/6V motor, but count with a limited life of this motor, as it has to run at currents around 9 Amperes. Using the alternating current (AC) motor the life-expectancy issues virtually disappear, while the higher thrust of the fan markedly improves the performance of the model.

The motor is centred in the fan core by its (motor's) circumference. Inside the core tube there are wide and narrow ribs. The narrow ones are there to support the Speed 300 motor, the wider ones are for the MPJ motor. To install the MPJ 25-25/26 motor, it is necessary to cut short the narrow ribs, using a knife, a chisel or a sandpaper (sanding block), without damaging the wide ones. If need be to use a motor of even smaller diameter (such as the Hacker B20 22S), it would be necessary to install taller longerons, gluing them to the inside of the fan core walls.

The duraluminium plug of the fan is either pressed (Speed 300 with the splined shaft end) or glued onto the motor shaft. The correct relative position of the plug and the motor's drive shaft is one of the deciding factors affecting the correct operation of the fan. If the plug would wobble, it would vibrate the fan rotor, too, leading to a pronounced decrease of rpm and therefore to a big loss of thrust. Also the front bearing of the motor would suffer a failure soon, indeed. Therefore ensure that the plug and the shaft would be exactly coaxial when pressing them together, also providing that all the forces would be supported by the shaft itself and the plug, not by the motor body. It is prudent to oil lightly the shaft and the plug before pressing, too. Conversely, when gluing the plug to the shaft, remove any trace of grease from the shaft and the plug; some roughening of the shaft with a very fine sandpaper would not do any harm, either. If the diameter of the shaft of the motor you are going to use is greater than the diameter of the hole in the plug, it is necessary to drill (ream) the plug hole. Using a series of drill bits with diameters growing in 0,1 mm increments, and a fair measure of patience and care, it is possible to do it by hand; without a lathe. Once reamed, the plug could be also glued to the splined shaft of the Speed 300/6V motor. For the eventual disassembly this method is better than pressing the plug on.

The gap between the motor outer shell and the rotor should be about 0,5 to 1 millimetre. If screws are used to attach the motor to the core, it is mandatory to check that the rotor does not bind on their heads. Even if the recessed-head screws would be used, the distance between the plug and the motor front plate must not be less than 3,5 mm. To set the distance (gap) properly, it is advisable to use a scrap of balsa plank or of a polystyrene sheet of suitable thickness (about 1,8 mm, depending on the size of the bearing box, it has to be checked); slide on the motor shaft once the "tight" hole in the backplate is drilled. This "gap gauge" ensures a proper position of the plug on the shaft during the gluing, also preventing glue from eventual getting into the front bearing. Apply a small amount of the glue included in the kit both into the plug hole and to the end of the shaft. Insert the shaft into the plug. Turning it, spread the glue on the whole inside surface of the hole and leave the whole assembly aside in a vertical position to dry for a minimum of 30 minutes. Once the glue dries, remove (gouge out) the "gap gauge" shim between the motor and the plug. At the low motor rpm, you can check both mechanically and (or) optically, whether the plug wobbles or not. During the optical check, observe how much the reflection of the light oscillates on the rotating plug. During the mechanical check, touch the rotating plug very lightly by the ball of finger or a fingernail - do not push! Eventual vibration could be felt. If the vibration seems to be substantial, it is advisable to remove the plug (heat it with a soldering iron and pull it off the shaft), clean thoroughly the shaft and hole in the plug and repeat the procedure again. Little vibration could be either tolerated or removed by careful sanding of the rotating plug with a sanding block; ensure that the motor is well fixed. It is necessary to assess one's own manual abilities squarely, as an indelicate action could worsen the state considerably.

Tighten the motor screws lightly, as they serve only the purpose of preventing the motor from turning or sliding backwards. Secure the screws from loosening by vibrations, using a drop of glue (PU, Epoxy). The motors that could not be secured by screws have to be tack-glued to the ribs inside the fan core, using the PU or Epoxy glue. Solder the power cables and the noise-suppressing capacitors in such position that it would not prevent the motor from sliding inside the fan core.

The fan rotor is manufactured with a minimum clearance (gap) between the blades and the inner surface of the fan casing. Once the rotor is fitted to the plug and the securing screw is screwed in place (the hole in the plug has to be clean, with no glue inside!), check and ensure that the rotor spins freely. If the rotor binds (this could be caused by offset (out of axis) position of the engine, by adverse matching of the manufacturing tolerances during the assembly of the fan, etc.), look down the air duct of the fan and find where the fan blades touch the inside of the fan casing. Mark that spot, and, once you disassemble the fan again, carefully sand away the rib(s) on the opposite side of the core, to move the motor to a position where the blade would not touch the inner wall of the casing. Another cure is to shorten the blades by sanding - place a piece of 400-grit sandpaper inside the fan casing and slowly turn the fan to sand the circumference of the blades. This method is quicker than the previous, but, increasing the gap between blades and casing, it lowers the efficiency of the propulsion unit.

The rotor spinner is snap-fitted onto the rotor, and it is not necessary to secure it in any other way. Ensure that the snap-fit is good, that the spinner is seated fully in place. It is advisable to secure the rear cone (bullet) by tack-gluing it with PU or Epoxy glue to the fan core body. The streamlined sheath for the power cables is directly downstream of the stator vane, located in the middle between two holes of the attachment flange.

When checking the operation of the fan, hold it so that its casing would not be deformed - such deformation could cause a potentially damaging contact between the casing and the blades of the running fan. By the "trial and error" method adjust the relative position of rotor and the plug and the position of the spinner and the rotor, so that the fan would run with minimal vibration. It is essential to mark the initial relative position of both the rotor and the plug, as well as of the spinner and the fan - otherwise you would soon "get lost" in the balancing process. This procedure requires a considerable dose of patience, but the thorough balancing pays off substantially by increasing the thrust and life of the power unit. As every rotary system also the fan has its so called "critical rpm" range, that makes itself felt by a sudden increase of vibrations. Therefore pass these rpm ranges swiftly, both when spooling the fan up or down.

B) RC equipment
The general layout of the electrical connection is on the fig. B. We recommend that you test assemble and connect the RC equipment outside the model and check its function. When soldering the controller, check that the sense of rotation of the ducted fan is correct and insulate all the cable connections. Observe the recommendations of manufacturers as listed in the directions of use for the respective components. Check the compatibility of the receiver with the crystal used - the over-the-land range test of the transmitter, albeit it may seem unnecessary nowadays, may later save you much more than it would cost…

C) Fuselage
The front 1 and rear 2 fuselage sections are joined with screws, screwed into the rear section's bulkhead. Their heads, inserted into the holes in the forward fuselage section bulkhead and turned to slide over the grooves in the front bulkhead, hold together both fuselage sections. The bottom screw has to be adjusted precisely, as it is no longer accessible once in place. The upper screws could be set looser, as, once the fuselage is assembled, they could be tightened by a long screwdriver, inserted through the cockpit, and loosened again for the disassembly. Do not overtighten the screws! If the thread in the plywood bulkhead would become stripped, impregnate the wood with the CA glue, let thoroughly (!!) cure and then re-thread the hole with a steel screw. In extreme case some plastic M4 nuts should be glued to the rear of the bulkhead. Check the relative position of both fuselage sections, keeping the longitudinal joints on the top and bottom aligned. If need be, carefully file the grooves in the front section's bulkhead so that the joints would become aligned. The fan air intake duct is glued into the front fuselage section only, not to the bulkhead! Its correct position in the model is set by the built-in fan, which is inserted into the duct.
Sand the cross bars 3 and 4 so that they would fit easily into the fuselage 1 (they must not spread the fuselage, however) and glue them (PU, Epoxy) to the fuselage sides and to the air duct, so that they would be perpendicular to the vertical axis of the fuselage. At the places of contact, roughen the polystyrene foam gently, using a fine sandpaper, as the glue may otherwise separate from the smooth foam surface.

D) Attachment of wings
Both wing halves 5, 6 are butt-jointed to the fuselage 1. To check the correct position of the wing relative to the fuselage, it is mandatory to have the fuselage sections 1 and 2 joined for this operation. Use the UHU Por, PU or eventually the Epoxy glue. When using the the PU or Epoxy, it is advisable to increase the strength of the joint by thickly perforating the contact area of the fuselage, using a pin. The bending moment is carried by a steel joiner 7, glued to wing halves by Epoxy. There are two possible methods how to attach the wing halves. Using the first, both wing halves are glued in a single working step, requiring to use the Epoxy with sufficiently long curing time. The other method requires to attach (glue) one wing half first, then, after the glue cures, attach the other half, which, however, has to be attached to the fuselage in a correct position until the first one cures.
The following description presumes gluing of both wing halves in one step and using the UHU Por contact glue.
The right location of the wing on the fuselage is helped by the seat surface, moulded oversized. Before commencion of gluing, check that both wing halves, once placed in the centre of the moulded seat surfaces (the free excess border of the seat surface being the same around the whole root rib of the wing half) have the identical angle of incidence. This check is necessary because of the manufacturing tolerances and the influence of the eventual different angles of incidence on the flying qualities of the model. Mark the eventual necessary corrections on the fuselage. The wing/fuselage joint shall be covered by the root fillet, therefore you need not to be afraid of using pins. We recommend that you do a "dry run" test of the assembly process (without any glue).

First smear a thin layer of the UHU Por glue on the contact surfaces of the wing halves and of the fuselage, and let dry as per the instructions included with the glue.
Insert the joiner 7 into the openings in the fuselage. Apply glue to the opening for the joiner in either right or left wing half, to the end of the joiner and into the mating hole in the fuselage. The glue must be a sufficiently slowly-curing epoxy - you have to have time for attachment of the second wing half.
Slide the wing half onto the joiner. Insert the aileron control bowden into the rear fuselage opening.
Glue the wing half to the fuselage. Work as precisely as possible! We recommend to attach the wing half to the fuselage first at the leading edge and then in a pivoting movement place the wing to the fuselage. Place the wing root against the fuselage side only lightly and check its position, as, once firmly pressed to the fuselage the glued joint is firm to hold the wing and any correction would be very difficult. If you would fail to attach the wing precisely in place, then release the wing half by solving the UHU Por joint by petrol (always check beforehand that your particular kind of this solvent does not attack the polystyrene). Glue again.
Glue the other wing half in the same way - you have to make it before the glue holding the joiner of the first wing half cures hard.
By viewing the airframe head-on, ascertain that both wing halves have the same angle of incidence and anhedral ("negative dihedral" or "V") relative to the fuselage (fig. D).
If you use the PU or Epoxy glue, then the position of the wing halves could be easily corrected, on the other hand you have to ensure the correct position of the wing until the glue cures completely.
Slide the wing root fillets 8, 9 to the wing and glue them (Epoxy, CA, UHU Por) in place, both to the wing and to the fuselage. The glued joint should end some 40 mm forward of the rear fuselage end 1. The free rear parts of the fillets enable to assemble and disassemble the rear fuselage.
Cut carefully through the harder top layer of the wing upper surface below the locating tongues of the aerodynamic fences 10, 11. If need be, sand the lower contour of the fences to follow the curvature of the wing surface exactly and glue (CA, Epoxy) the fences along their full length to the pre-moulded grooves in the wing upper surface.
Glue (UHU Por, CA) the longerons 12 inside the cockpit to strengthen it.

E) Aileron control
The aileron control is provided by a single servo , located in the fuselage. Provided the installation is executed carefully enough, this arrangement of control suits perfectly the requirements on the normal use of the model. The aileron servo should be powerful enough to overcome the friction in the control circuit - we recommend to use a servo of not less than 15 Ncm torque. It is possible to reduce the friction in the control circuit by removing the push-pull rods and lubricating them with a thin oil such as the WD-40.

Place the connector 13 to the opening of the single arm of the servo, into the hole some 10 mm distant from the axis of rotation (see fig.E2). If the hole in the arm is too large, it is better to drill new one of 1 mm diameter rather than to try to bush the existing hole. Cut away the end of the arm protruding beyond the connector.
Insert 10 mm long piece of tubing 14 to the opening in the connector.
Slide the connector together with the arm to the control rods and then place the arm onto the servo so that the arm is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage.
Hold the servo in the fuselage horizontally so that the push-pull rod tubes would fit roughly in the middle of the grooves in the fuselage, while therew would be a minimum gap between the arm and the air duct. This way you could find the position of the cross-bar 15 that would hold the servo glued on. Sand the cross-bar to the proper length and glue (PU, Epoxy) to the fuselage and to the air duct.
Glue (CA is the best here) the servo to the cross-bar 15 so that the control arm would be at the centre of the cross-bar.
By moving the control rod tubes in the fuselage cut-outs find the position where they move with a minimum of friction. In that position glue (Epoxy, PU) the tubes to the fuselage grooves.
Tighten gently the screw 16 so that the aileron trailing edges would be level with the wing trailing edges or slightly above them.
Check that with the maximum servo throw the maximum deflection of the aileron is about 15 mm (fig.E3). Note - watch for the correct sense of deflection of ailerons related to the deflection of the control stick! If they are not moving correctly, and you cold not get the proper sense of servo throw by programming the RC set, change either the position of the control rods in the control circuit arms or of the connector on the servo arm, as necessary. Only then secure the connector 13 against dropping out by the spring washer 17, slid from under onto the connector stems. The servo arm is at the moment removed from the model, the optimum tool is a thin tube such as a ball point pen refill. Secure the servo arm on the spindle by tightening the screw 18. Adjust again the correct position of the ailerons and tighten the set-screw 16. Secure the control rods by gluing (CA) a piece of thin tubing onto them (fig.E4).
Instead of the spring washer 17 the connector could be secured by gluing a piece of the tubing onto it. If the tubing is well glued, this securing is fully satisfactory, yet it permits a substantially simpler disassembly - if need be the tubing could be simply cut off.

F) Attaching the horizontal tail, elevator control

Glue (CA, Epoxy) the horizontal tail joiner 19 into the hole in the vertical tail. The joiner has to be perpendicular both to the longitudinal and vertical axis of the fuselage.
The position of the both horizontal tail halves 20, 21 on the vertical tail is given by the pre-moulded contour of the horizontal tail section. Glue each of the horizontal tail halves separately - when gluing the second one, devote maximum attention to give it the identical angle of incidence. The elevator control arms have to be on the undersides.
For gluing the horizontal tail halves is UHU Por the best, eventually the Epoxy glue could be used. For gluing the joiner inside the vertical tail is the PU glue the best (it fills the gaps), or Epoxy. Apply the glue to the top and bottom of the joiner 19. Slide the horizontal tail half on the joiner in the correct direction, but turned 90 deg. Turn it to the right position only immediately before touching and seating on the vertical surface. That way you ensure that the glue would be spread evenly and the joiner 19 would be glued to the horizontal tail by its full length.

For the elevator control a servo of at least a 7 Ncm torque would be suitable. Due to the limited space for the installation it is mandatory to use as narrow a servo as possible - maximum width is 11 mm (fig.F1).

Insert the control rods into the elevator control arms - use the holes on the longer arm.
Insert the connector 13 into the hole placed some 8 mm from the rotation axis of the servo's single-arm (Fig.F2). Drill a new hole if the need be. Cut away the end of the arm protruding beyond the connector. Secure the connector by a spring washer 17 or by gluing a piece of tubing.
Insert a piece of tube 22 about 10 mm long into the hole in the connector. Put the arm to the servo so that the arm's axis would be roughly perpendicular to the servo longitudinal axis, servo in the neutral position; check the correct orientation of the arm and secure by the set screw 23. Slide the assembly to the control push-pull rods.
Glue (Epoxy, PU) the servo plate 24 to the inside fuselage wall, roughened by careful sanding with sandpaper. The forward edge of the servo is about 10 mm from the bulkhead (fig.F1) and the connector opening lies in the fuselage's vertical plane of symmetry (fig.F2).
As there is virtually no access to the servo when attached to the servo plate, it is advisable to do the functional tests with the servo attached to the plate by small pieces of the double-faced self-adhesive tape only. Glue (Epoxy, PU) the control rod tubes to the fuselage at the fin leading edge (fig.F1). To have the access to the connector set screw 16, it is necessary to puncture the fuselage for the Philips screwdriver. Find first the right position of this hole by probing with a pin. It is also possible to tighten the set screw by pliers or to replace the original screw by a screw with a hex head, or by an Allen screw, and to use the proper spanner. Tighten lightly the connector set screw 16 - the elevator is in neutral. Check whether the maximum elevator throw of about 10 mm (Fig.F3) corresponds with the maximum deflection of the control stick. Attention - ensure that the deflection of the elevator follows in the proper sense the control stick movement! If everything is all right, glue (CA) the servo to its plate permanently. If there's a problem and you cannot change the sense of movement by programming the RC set, either take apart the setup, and change as necessary the position of the control rod in the control arm or of the connector in the servo arm.
Then secure the connector against accidental disconnection by gluing (CA) on it a small piece of tubing (Fig.F4).

G) Propulsion unit installation, assembly of the model
Thread the controller by the left (wider) opening in the bulkhead into the forward fuselage. Insert the propulsion unit into the air duct and attach to the bulkhead in the forward fuselage 1 by three screws 25. The power cables are led upward left. Once the screws are tightened, check that no distortion of the fan casing took place and that the fan blades do not bind inside the casing. Slide the exhaust tube 26 onto the fan casing and secure it with pieces of the self adhesive tape. Carefully slide on the rear fuselage 2, gently bending away the wing root fillets 8, 9. Thread the elevator servo cable (if need be with the splice cable) through the starboard (smaller) opening in the bulkhead. Connect the both fuselage sections, set to a proper position and tighten the upper joining screws.
Put the batteries into the fuselage and check the position of the centre of gravity. The prescribed CG position is marked by two moulded lines on the bottom surface of the wing (Fig.G). The model supported in that place on fingers (avoid using sharp objects, as they might damage the wing surface), should remain in level or slightly nose-down position. If necessary, modify the battery support plate 27 and glue it (Epoxy) to the cross braces 3, 4. At the same time glue (Epoxy) the wing joiner 7 to the air duct and the battery plate 27. In case the machine is too tail-heavy (when using the LiPol batteries), and the suction section of the air duct prevents further forward movement of the battery plate, it is possible to raise the battery plate by gluing underneath a pair of balsa strips of sufficient thickness. This would permit to move the battery plate further forward. It is necessary, however, to check and ensure that the fuselage top decking could be still closed. It is also necessary to use shims at the wing joiner 7 to glue together the joiner, the air duct and the battery plate.

The batteries are attached to their plate by a piece of the self-adhesive Velcro tape. Also the receiver is attached with the self-adhesive Velcro to the rear of the plate. The receiver antenna is led out of the fuselage belly at the edge of the bottom reinforcement and held by pieces of the adhesive tape in a groove at the edge of the reinforcement. We do not recommend to put the antenna into the fuselage, as the metallic pigment in the paint would interfere with its function. Attach the controller to the fuselage inner wall by the double-sided self-adhesive tape.
It is recommended to test prior to test flying whether the running motor (especially at the full rpm), does not cause any interference with your receiver - the interference demonstrates itself by oscillation of the servos. If this happens, move your receiver further away from the motor, battery, power cables and controller - we suggest the space between the air duct and the fuselage.

The motor in the ducted fan installation is almost without cooling, which does not make any problems when flying at normal regimes up to about 10 minutes. It is necessary to let the motor cool down between flights, this applies especially to the Speed 600/6V.
Do not expose the model and its power unit to the sunlight for long periods of time, especially behind a window of a car.

H) Test flying the model
Balance the complete assembled model by shifting the position of the battery on the plate. It is possible to shift the centre of gravity position by 5 mm forward, but note: no rearward shift of the centre of gravity position is allowed! Mark the correct position of the battery on its plate. It is best done without hurry and stress at home, as is the RC set functional check, i.e. the test of correctness of the sense and magnitude of the deflection (throw) of the ailerons and elevator and the operation of the controller.
Before launch, hold the model beneath the wing at the bulkheads. It is important that the launched model would fly straight, without additional pitching or yawing. If you can use the advice and help of an experienced modeller (at least for the first flights) do not hesitate to ask him!
First, glide - launch the model over higher grass to cushion its eventual falls and check its reaction to controls. The glide testing is very important, as, besides the above-mentioned advantages, you get acquainted with the model's behaviour without the risk of fatal consequences. It also helps you to get rid of eventual psychical blocks. It is convenient if somebody more experienced would launch the model for you, at least for the few starts at the beginning, but going all alone is also perfectly possible, if you have some model test-flying experience.
Launch the model horizontally, without bank, with a velocity of at least 5 m/s. It is important to test the model's reactions to the elevator - the angle of incidence is given by the accuracy of assembly and it may differ from machine to machine. You may feel the reactions of the model are somewhat more sluggish than with the other models you have flown, but do not forget - at the higher speeds in the powered flight its reactions will become much more lively. It may surprise you how far the model will glide, especially once you master the bleeding off of speed in a glide. This feature will come to you handy later during the landing approach calculations.
For the first powered flight give the full throttle and launch the model exactly the same as in the glide tests. The model trimmed for glide will behave under power like somewhat tail-heavy one, so be ready to push immediately. It is necessary to consider the thrust characteristics of the ducted fan that differ absolutely from the propeller ones. Especially at low velocities the propeller driven models have substantially higher acceleration than the ducted fan-driven ones. Therefore, before you get acquainted with the model's behaviour, climb slowly, as an effort to climb steeply at low speed may easily lead to a stall.
If the requirements for adjustment and weight of the model are complied with, your model of the MiG-15 shall have a fine flight behaviour even when compared to the models of a "classic" layout and propulsion. The MiG-15 handles without problems all aerobatic figures with the possible exception of those requiring rudder control. There is no need to be afraid of inverted flight, stalls and spins - for the recovery it suffices to push the elevator. The speed range is surprisingly large. Flying is without problems to the wind strength of 5 m/s. If you have your model powered by one of the AC motors, and if you have available an even, shortly cropped grass strip, you may attempt to do a " belly take-off" from it. It is important to let the model accelerate enough - it should take-off by itself, without elevator input. Directional control with ailerons is no problem on the ground - they either push the wingtip down or lift it up, the change of friction does the turning. Bear in mind when landing, that the landing speed is much lower than the maximum one. You have to start bleeding the speed soon enough, otherwise your strip may become pretty short to you…

We wish you many happy landings.

Alfa Model Ltd.