User Manual

2
INTRODUCTION
In the late 1930’s the Grumman engineers were looking at
ways to improve the performance of the F4F Wildcat. They
realized the Wildcat could not be developed any farther
and a new, larger plane would need to be designed. The
F6F Hellcat was born. It had a larger engine, higher speed,
greater rate of climb, increased range and more  repower. We
had many requests for a F6F Hellcat so Top Flite developed
the Giant F6F Hellcat ARF to get you in the air quickly with
a great looking model, without the sanding and covering
required to build a kit.
For the latest technical updates or manual corrections to the
Giant F6F Hellcat ARF visit the Top Flite web site at www.
top- ite.com. Open the “Airplanes” link, then select the
Giant F6F Hellcat ARF. If there is new technical information
or changes to this model a “tech notice” box will appear in
the upper left corner of the page.
Academy of Model Aeronautics
If you are not already a member of the AMA, please join! The
AMA is the governing body of model aviation and membership
provides liability insurance coverage, protects modelers’
rights and interests and is required to  y at most R/C sites.
Academy of Model Aeronautics
5151 East Memorial Drive
Muncie, IN 47302-9252
Tele. [phone]
Fax [phone]
Or via the Internet at: http://www.modelaircraft.org
IMPORTANT!!! Two of the most important things you can
do to preserve the radio controlled aircraft hobby are to
avoid  ying near full-scale aircraft and avoid  ying near or
over groups of people.
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Academy of Model Aeronautics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
SCALE COMPETITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
ENGINE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
ELECTRIC MOTOR SAFETY PRECAUTIONS . . . . . . . . 3
LITHIUM BATTERY WARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
DECISIONS YOU MUST MAKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Gas Engine Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Electric Motor Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Radio Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Gasoline Set-up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Electric Motor Set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Basic Radio Set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Advanced Radio Set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S.Bus System Set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S.Bus System Set-Up (Standard Servos) . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S.Bus System Set-Up (S.Bus Servos). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Retractable Landing Gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pneumatic Retracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Electric Retracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ADDITIONAL ITEMS REQUIRED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Required Hardware and Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Adhesives and Building Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Covering Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Optional Supplies and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
IMPORTANT BUILDING NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MODEL INSPECTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ORDERING REPLACEMENT PARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
ASSEMBLE THE WINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Install the Wing Tip Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Install the Flap Servo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Install the Aileron Servo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Install the Aileron and Flap Pushrods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Mount the Retracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Join the Wing Panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
ASSEMBLE THE FUSELAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Install the Stabilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Install the Tail Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Mount the Retractable Tail Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
INSTALL THE ELEVATOR AND RUDDER SERVOS . . . 22
ELECTRIC MOTOR INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
GAS ENGINE INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
INSTALL THE PNEUMATIC AIR VALVE CONTROLS. . 33
ASSEMBLE AND INSTALL THE FUEL TANK . . . . . . . . 34
INSTALL THE COWL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
FINISH THE WING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Installing the Wing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Install the Belly Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
APPLY THE FINAL DETAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Install the Cockpit Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Apply the Decals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Install the Antenna Mast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
GET THE MODEL READY TO FLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Install the Propeller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Balance the Model Laterally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Check the Control Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Set the Control Throws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Balance the Model (C.G.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
CHECK LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
PREFLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Identify Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Charge the Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Ground Check and Range Check. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
FLYING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Fuel Mixture Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Takeoff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
SERVO SETUP DIAGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53–56
TABLE OF CONTENTS