PLEASE READ ME FIRST

BEFORE PROCEEDING TO ASSEMBLE OR OPERATE THIS PRODUCT

 

LIABILITY DISCLAIMER

The authors and/or suppliers and/or disseminaters of this information and/or product expressly disclaim any warranties or representations, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of fitness, accuracy, timeliness or applicability of the information and/or product provided here. In no event will the authors and/or suppliers and/or disseminaters of this information and/or product have any obligation arising from contract or tort, for loss of revenue or profit, or for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or other damages of any sort arising from this information and/or product. In using this information and/or product, the user accepts all responsibility for and all liability associated with such use.

CAUTION

A Remote Control (RC) 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 model aircraft properly you can cause injury to yourself and others and damage property. DO NOT FLY a model aircraft unless you are qualified.

You are ultimately responsible for the mechanical, aeronautical and electrical integrity of any model you fly and all of the components that make up the model including but not limited to the airframe itself, control surfaces, hinges, linkages, covering, engine, motor, radio, servos, switches, wiring, battery and parts. Check all components before and after each flight. It is essential that you act with the clear understanding that you are solely responsible for all aspects of the model at all times. DO NOT FLY until it is right.  

AVOIDING 90% of PROBLEMS that can arise:  

1. READ THE CAUTION ABOVE & READ THE LIABILITY DISCLAIMER.You are responsible for all aspects of any model you fly. You're It!
2. READ ALL DOCUMENTATION before doing anything else! 
3. INSPECT CAREFULLY immediately upon arrival!.
4. RETAIN ALL PACKAGING until the checkout is complete! If you need to return anything you must have all of the original packaging.
5. READ & LOOK! At everything! Do it once & then do it again.
6. REMEMBER WHAT "ARF" STANDS FOR. ARF means ALMOST Ready to Fly with an emphasis on ALMOST! Some assembly and modeling skills are required.
7. ALLOW ENOUGH TIME to enjoy the assembly process! Rushing into a 6 hour job with 3 hours to spare simply will not work. This is a Hobby... take your time.
8. DRY FIT & TEST ASSEMBLE EVERYTHING before you glue anything!
9. USE 30 MINUTE EPOXY when joining wings & installing stabilizers and other structural components but only after you have dry fitted and test assembled the components without glue! Once parts are glued together they cannot be unglued and they cannot be returned or replaced without charge.
10. PLAN AHEAD! BE CAREFUL! If you get into trouble, DON'T PANIC. Review everything again, talk it over with an experienced modeler and if still in difficulty consult our Support Services.
11. TEST TEST!!! TUG TUG TUG!!! EVERYTHING... BEFORE & AFTER EACH FLIGHT! Your model may have been largely pre-constructed and may have pre-installed control rods, hinges, control surfaces and many other essential components. Hinges may have been pinned after they have been installed. However, you must double check every control surface and component before and after each flight. You and only you are responsible for the integrity of all components and the integrity of the model itself. Check everything before and after each flight. Tug on control surfaces, control rods, mounting bolts, T-nuts, mounting plates... tug on everything!
12. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN WING BOLTS or other fasteners. You want bolts and nuts snugly tight and if metal you can use a medium grade thread locker such as Pacer Z42 to help them stay tight. Fasteners must be snug and secure. However a model airplane is not a farm tractor or a garbage compactor. You do not need a pipe wrench or an electric drill to tighten up wing bolts or any other fastener. Leave your plumbing and power tools at home.. hand tools only and go easy on the torque... snug and secure... not stripped or torqued until they squeak or break.  Wing bolts can take tremendous torque before breaking... but when you over tighten them or use an electric screw driver on a set of wing bolts, long before the bolts break you can fracture the fuselage, crack the mounting blocks or pull the heads of the bolts through the wing... these problems have a nasty habit of revealing themselves when you least expect the wing to fall off!
13. DO NOT OVERPOWER ANY MODEL! Stay within the recommended power range for the model. If you overpower the model you run a high risk of structural failure that will lead to loss of control and a subsequent crash that will destroy the model and may cause injury and/or property damage.
14. ASSUME NOTHING! Remember the old yarn about what happens when you ASS-U-ME something. Check everything repeatedly and frequently and DO NOT FLY any model unless you are satisfied that everything is in good working order.

• One (1) power pylon for the fuselage, consisting of:
  • Laser cut wood fuselage power module firewall assembly (a component of #VMA-J210XPMV),
  • Brushless Motor (#VMM-111B18VM),
  • Pre-installed motor mounting fasteners,
  • Propellor mounting hardware,
  • Electronic Speed Control (ESC) (#VMC-120B15VC),
  • Wiring between the Motor and the ESC,
  • Wiring leads from the ESC to provide Positive (+) power, Negative (-) power and throttle control
• Two (2) power assemblies for the wings, each consisting of:
  • Laser cut wood motor mounting plate (a component of #VMA-J210XPMV),
  • Brushless motor (#VMM-111B18VM),
  • Semi-installed motor mounting fasteners,  
  • Propellor mounting hardware,
  • Electronic Speed Control (ESC) (#VMC-120B15VC) with mounting block secured by a zip strap,
  • Wire extension set (3 wires) for each motor to provide electrical power between each wing motor and it's respective ESC,
  • Wiring leads from the ESC to provide Positive (+) power, Negative (-) power and throttle control
  • Crimp on bullet connectors (female) for the ESC power feeds  (3 Red, 3 Black),
• All components have been factory connected & tested.
• Documentation

 

a) Review the Read Me First documentation and the Assembly & Operations Manual that came with your model.

 

b) Not Applicable

 

c)  Complete Stage 1 from the Assembly & Operations Manual.

 

d) Complete Stage 2 from the Assembly & Operations Manual. Note that in some markets the power pylons have been pre-attached to the wing by the factory.

 

e) Once you completed Stage 2 from the Assembly & Operations Manual you will have an assembled wing with power pylons attached to the wing.

 

f) Complete Stages 3 to 8 from the Assembly & Operations Manual.

 

g) Review Stage 9 of the Assembly & Operations Manual. Skip step 9.1 and replace steps 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4 with the following procedure.  

 

h) Look carefully at the wing power assemblies provided with this Power Module set. Consult figures 9C, 9E and 9F in the Assembly and Operations Manual provided with your model.

 

For each wing motor in turn,

 

i) Remove the four loosely fitted nut, bolt and washer sets from the wood motor mounting plate.

 

j) Remove the long black tapered head screws from the back of the wood motor mounting plate.

 

k) Fit the motor mounting plate (with motor) to the power pylon using the two long black taper head screws as shown in Figure 9E of the Assembly and Operations Manual. Leave slightly loose for now. Orient the mounting plate so that the motor wires will pass through the slot in the power pylon as shown in figure 9B, 9F and 9G of the Assembly and Operations Manual.

 

l) Insert the four nut, bolt and washer sets through the wood motor mounting plate and through the power pylon as depicted in Figure 9F of the Assembly and Operations Manual. We suggest having the nuts at the back of the pylon (opposite to that shown in Figure 9F).

 

m) Tighten the two long black taper head screws and the four nut and bolt sets and ensure the motor mounting plate is securely attached to the power pylon.

 

n) Apply medium strength (blue) thread locker such as Pacer Z42 to the nuts to prevent them from vibrating loose.

 

o) Repeat steps i) through n) for the second wing motor.

 

p) Install three (3) motor extension wires for each wing motor per Figures 9G and 9H of the Assembly and Operations Manual. Note that although the wires may appear to be the same color, there are labels near the female (motor) ends of each wire that direct which wire is to be attached to the red, black and white ESC wires respectively. WORK WITH ONE WIRE AT A TIME. Feed each wire separately from the motor pylon access holes in the upper surface of the wing. Feed the male end of each wire down through the access hole and into the wire guide tube until it exits the tube and enters the large access cavity at the center of the wing. Connect each motor extension wire to the appropriate speed control wire for each wing motor per Figure 9I of the Assembly and Operations Manual and per the label attached to the motor end of each extension wire. It is important to work with one wire at a time and to follow the intent of the labels. 

 

In summary:

• The red ESC wire connects to the red motor wire.
• The black ESC wire connects to the white motor wire.
• The white ESC wire connects to the black motor wire.

 

r) Review Stage 9, Figures 9K, 9L and 9M and then secure the pre-assembled fuselage engine pylon to the fuselage.  

 

a) Review the Read Me First documentation and the Assembly & Operations Manual that came with your model.

 

b) Not Applicable

 

c)  Complete Stage 1 from the Assembly & Operations Manual.

 

d) Complete Stage 2 from the Assembly & Operations Manual. Note that in some markets the power pylons have been pre-attached to the wing by the factory.

 

e) Once you completed Stage 2 from the Assembly & Operations Manual you will have an assembled wing with power pylons attached to the wing.

 

f) Complete Stages 3 to 8 from the Assembly & Operations Manual.

 

g) Review Stage 9 of the Assembly & Operations Manual. In particular consult figure 9I of Assembly and Operations Manual. We suggest that in lieu of Figure 9I that you instead arrange the two wing ESC's as follows:

 

h) See Figure 2A. Note the orientation and position of the two speed controls. In particular note that the ends of the ESC with the motor power wires are partially positioned into the wing bay cavity adjacent to the large open cavity at the center of the wing.

 

 

i) You will find a wooden block with a slot, zip strapped to each wing ESC. AFTER installing all wiring and before flying your model, use ZAP-A-GAP or ZEPOXY to attach the blocks to the floor of the large cavity at the center of the wing, oriented and positioned as shown in Figure 2A. If you need to remove the ESC's at a later date you can cut the zip strap to remove the ESC and then re-install the ESC using a new zip strap.

 

a) Review the Read Me First documentation and the Assembly and Operations Manual that came with your model. Continue with the assembly procedures provided therein.

 

b) When you are ready to complete Stage 9 of the Assembly and Operations Manual pause and review Figure 9N and these notes carefully.

 

c) Stage 9 of the Assembly and Operations Manual covers the installation of the electric motors and speed controls. In effect by purchasing a VMAX Power Module you have avoided much of this work and in earlier stages of these instructions pertaining to this VMAX Power Module you have installed the factory assembled power pylons to the wing and the fuselage and extended the wiring from the wing motors to their respective speed controls in the center section of the wing.

 

d) You will need to complete the wiring.

• If you have purchased the VMAR Wiring Harness Set for this model (VMA-J210XWHS) please see the detailed wiring instructions provided therein.
• If you do NOT have the VMAR Wiring Harness Set for this model you will need to use your own wiring setup. Make sure whatever you do is compatible with your radio system, your servos, your battery and the speed controls.
  • Note: Modelers who are not experienced with multi-motor electric flight systems are strongly encouraged to use the VMAR Wiring Harness Set applicable to their VMAR multi-motor model. Scratch building and installing a reliable wiring harness set for a multi-motor electric model requires approximately 8 hours of work & considerable knowledge and experience.    
• Figure 9N of the Assembly and Operations Manual shows a generic wiring schematic that may be helpful. Be particularly careful with the thin red wires coming from the Electronic Speed Controls (ESC).  Figure 9M shows only the Negative (-) and Signal  wires from each speed control connecting to the throttle channel of the receiver. This may or MAY not be suitable for your receiver. You will need to nail this down before connecting anything. The most common setup today is to NOT hook the thin red wires from the ESC to themselves or anything else. Just work with the Negative (-) and Signal wires from the ESC's all the way to the throttle channel on your receiver.
• To add some complexity to the ESC wiring, there is no standard color schema used by all radio manufacturers. Caution is a must. To help you design and connect your wiring please see the generic wiring information provided in the Read Me First information that came with your model and reprinted below for your convenience. This should be considered a guideline only.
  • Note: There are some risks here and if you are not electronically inclined you should get help and consider purchasing the VMAR Wiring Harness Set for this model.  

a) Use three idential Brushless Motors and three identical Electronic Speed Controls (ESC). Each motor should have its own speed control. (see footnote below)

 

b) Connect each ESC to a Brushless Motor using the color coded wire as a guide. Test and ensure that the motor turns in the direction expected and that thrust is aft of the motor.

 

c) Make a power Y3-connector to feed power from your LiPo battery to the power input leads on both of your ESC's. 

 

d) Use the power Y3-connector to connect the power input to the ESC's to a common (1) LiPO battery source.

 

e) Make a throttle Y3-connector (you can serially gang up two Y connectors). This is necessary for Triple ESC operation which assumes that you are using three motors and three ESC's.

 

For TRIPLE ESC operation use ONLY the NEGATIVE (-) Power (usually black or brown) & SIGNAL lines
(see table below) between the receiver throttle channel and the ESC's.

 

Do NOT use the POSITIVE (+) Power (usually Red) wires.  

The following table serves as a guide to common radio systems and their wiring schema and color usage. Use this table with caution. If in doubt, please defer to information provided by your radio supplier.  

 

RADIO BRAND	NEGATIVE (-)	SIGNAL
VRS & Futaba	Black	White
Airtronics Z	Black	Blue
JR	Brown	Orange
HiTec	Black	Yellow

f) Plug the ESC throttle control wires into the ends of the throttle Y3-connector

 

g) Plug the remaining single end of the throttle Y3 connector into your receiver throttle channel.  

 

h) Use the airborne battery pack from your radio system to power your receiver. Do NOT attempt to use power from either BEC to power your receiver. You may wish to consider using a stand alone BEC such as that from Western Robotics to power your radio system but do NOT use the BEC's that are a part of many ESC's. They will not work in a triple power configuration.

 

i) Select suitable propellers for your motors and your speed controllers. The three props should be identical. Prop selection is vital with brushless motors. Overloading the motors and ESC by using the wrong prop can get very very expensive in a big hurry.

 

j) Verify that you can control the RPM of the motors via the receiver and that they produce similar RPM and thrust throughout the throttle range.  

 

a) See the Warning label on the firewall and/or attached to the motor shaft at time of shipping. Do NOT exceed the maximum propeller size noted.

 

b) With power disconnected, double check the propeller to make sure it is not damaged or nicked in any way and that it is securely and safely mounted. Check before and after each flight.

 

c) Ensure the propeller turns true (no wobble) and that it is balanced and that all propeller fasteners are tight.

USING THE WRONG PROPELLER &/or OPERATING WITH EXCESSIVE VIBRATION WILL DESTROY THE MOTOR.

d) Ensure that your propeller is rotating clockwise when viewed from behind (looking forward as if you were in the cockpit) and that the prop is blowing air from the front of the model to the back.

 

f) If the propeller is rotating clockwise when viewed from behind but air is flowing from the back to the front of the model, the propeller is mounted on the motor backwards. Check and reinstall the propeller correctly. In general the brand logo and other writing on propellers should face forwards.

 

g) If the propeller is rotating backwards, reverse the black and white wire connections between the motor and the electronic speed control.

 

a) Move your throttle stick all the way down to 0 (no power).

 

b) Turn on your transmitter

 

c) Turn on your receiver.

 

d) Ensure the model is held securely in order to test the motor system. Tie it down or hold the fuselage at the back.

 

STAY WELL CLEAR OF THE PROPELLER AND PLUG IN YOUR BATTERY.

 

e) Advance the throttle on your transmitter

 

f) The Electronic Speed Control (ESC) will apply power to the motor and the prop will begin to rotate. Very briefly advance the power to full throttle to ensure the motor spools up to full power. Do this for no more than 2-3 seconds at a time.

 

g) If the ESC beeps rather than makes the motor turn it is because the ESC is being powered up with the throttle stick at a non-zero position. This is a safety feature to prevent rotation of the prop unless you begin from a zero throttle position after each power up.

Question: Are there any No No's that I should be careful to stay clear of when running my Brushless Motor?

Answer: We have sold many many brushless motors.  From the questions and service requests we get we can pretty well sum up the No No's and Must Do's as follows:

a) Read Everything First! Every instruction! Every Warning Label! Browse our Knowledge Base while you are at it. About 90% of problems can be avoided by Reading First.

b) Do NOT screw up the electrical connections! Polarity is important. If you are not sure, figure it out first... trial and error testing can get expensive!

c) Do NOT exceed the maximum electrical specifications!  Pay attention to the maximum allowable Voltage, Current and Wattage (Volts x Amps).

d) Do NOT use a propeller that is bigger in diameter and/or bigger in pitch than the specifications provided! Use the recommended propeller.

 

e) Do NOT overheat. Ensure adequate cooling by exposing the motor and entire ESC to moving air.

f) Do NOT operate the motor if the prop appears to wobble when you turn it by hand! Look at the back of the hub as you rotate the propeller over by hand. The back of the hub should remain in one plane throughout the rotation, not wobble.

g) Do NOT operate if the motor appears to vibrate! Look at the prop shaft when it first gets going. If it looks blurry to the eyes or sounds strange it is vibrating. Excessive vibration will destroy your motor and possibly hurt your servos as well. Stop and check all bolts for tightness and make sure the prop is turning true (no wobble) and that the prop is balanced.

h) Do NOT operate with loose fasteners! Check bolts, nuts, screws etc for snug tightness. Do not over tighten but keep them snug. Check periodically, particularly after the first few times you use the motor. Use blue thread locker such as Pacer Z42 to help keep fasteners from loosening up. If you find that fasteners are continously loosening up even after the motor has been used many times, you have a vibration issue. Check for sources of vibration. Excessive vibration will destroy your motor.

i) Do NOT operate at High Throttle on the ground or test bench for longer than 10 seconds! High Throttle static operation such as this where the airplane is not moving, induces maximum load on the motor while not providing proper air flow to help cool it. Heat will build up quickly, particularly if the motor is cowled. Heat is bad news. Heat can melt the windings down and quickly destroy the motor.

j) Do NOT operate without a safety fuse system!

k) Do NOT assume an electric motor is the same as a glow or gas engine! An electric motor is very different. Electric motors will attempt to overcome any load they encounter, even to the point of destroying themselves.

l) Do NOT use your plumbing tools or hammer! A brushless motor is not a farm tractor. Small hand tools only. Snugly tight does not mean you tighten things to the point they strip.

m) Do NOT get dirt, water or metal objects into the motor! If you drop a small screw or nut when working on your model, find it first before turning on your motor. Electric motors have strong magnets. Chances are that if you drop something small and metal into your model and can't find it... that it will be inside the motor. Turn the motor over by hand and pay attention to any unusual resistance, grinding or other odd sounds or feel. Find the missing metal item before operating your motor!

 

 

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Check Frequently for Updates

In general "Additional" Information is:

• In addition to that found in other documentation related to this product,
• Often reflects feedback &/or questions from users of the product.

Subject to the Conditions of Use, please review the attachments and related articles listed below.