User's Manual

Congratulations on your purchase of one of the
most unique remote controlled flying machines
ever! There is nothing like the feeling you get
when you fly a radio controlled aircraft, and with
Plantraco’s Microblimp you can do it all indoors -
in the comfort of your own home! Miniature
micromotors, micro electronics and ultralight
state of the art construction, make this Dream
Machine a Reality! We are certain that your
Microblimp will provide you with many hours of
enjoyment. You are about to enter a whole new
w o rld of indoor radio controlled flying!
P
ACKING
L
IST
• One metalized nylon balloon (Blimp Shape or Saucer Shape)
• One HFX900 Proportional R/C Transmitter/Charger
(900Mhz-USA, 868Mhz-EU)
• One Microblimp Gondola (Circuit Board with 3 motors and propellers)
• One Lightweight plastic gondola cover.
• One small plastic bag with small parts - special sticker “pockets”
to attach the gondola plastic dome to the balloon, a metal washer
with round sticker to attach to balloon, and several small magnets
that will stick to the washer to be used for ballast adjustment.
• One Instruction Manual (you are holding this now!)
F
INE
P
RINT
Battery discharging, charging, electric motors, spinning propellers,
and flying models all have the potential for serious injury to persons
and damage to property. In purchasing these products, the user
agrees to accept responsibility for all such risks, and not to hold the
manufacturer, distributors, or retailers responsible for any accident,
injury to persons, or damage to property.
Q
UICK
S
TART
- F
OR
T
HOSE
W
HO
D
ON
’
T
R
EAD
M
ANUALS
There are a lot of new concepts that you’ll need to learn in order to
operate this lighter than air radio controlled blimp. It’s pretty easy
to set up, once you know what you are doing. Below is a summary
of what you will need to do if the kids want you to set up your
Microblimp immediately. : )
1. Add 4 Alkaline AA cells to the Transmitter and inflate the includ-
ed mylar balloon with helium. Make sure you insert the batter-
ies with proper polarity “+” and “-”
2. Switch ON the transmitter, and attach the small rechargeable
blimp battery to the Microblimp gondola. You’ll hear several
tones as the Microblimp sync's with the transmitter, then the
propellers will start to spin. You now need to adjust your trim
using the trimmer wheels on the transmitter. Adjust the wheels
until you have stopped all rotation of the 3 propellers. (note that
your default transmitter mixing mode is airplane style blimp
mixing). Stop here and read the whole manual if you found it
tricky to trim out the propellers.
3. Attach the Microblimp gondola receiver to the center of the bal-
loon using the supplied velcro hooks to the center of the bal-
loon, and the fuzzy part of the velcro to the top of the Microb-
limp Gondola. The plastic gondola dome can be added later.
4. Add the included ballast weights to achieve neutral buoyancy
with the receiver battery installed. The Ballast weights consist of
a metal washer or a coin that is taped onto the balloon, then a
series of included ballast magnets can be added until the
Microblimp neither rises nor falls - it will just float there in mid-
air.
5. You are Ready to Fly! Take a short test flight, and recharge your
battery. Now you can take your time and read the rest of these
instructions.
P
L A N R I T E
T
R A D I N G
C
O M P A N Y
• 1105 8
T H
S
T R E E T
E
A S T
• S
A S K A T O O N
, SK • C
A N A D A
• S7H 0S3
Web Page www.plantraco.com www.microblimp.com Email [e-mail] Orderline 306-955-1836 Fax [phone]
P
L A N T R A C O
.
C O M
20 Inches Diameter
900 Mhz Proportional R/C
Rechargeable Battery
Challenging and Relaxing
4. When I push the left stick forwards (in airplane mixing
mode), the blimp goes straight ahead for a while, then it
starts to turn! Is one of the motors defective? I was expect-
ing the saucer to fly in a straight line.
• This is completely normal. Variations in the air surrounding the
airship will alter the intended course, and this requires modulation
of the controls by the pilot! It is certainly possible to fly a straight
course with the Microblimp, however we cannot always expect the
craft to fly as if it were on rails. When flying the saucer, you will
have to pretend that you are on board the saucer looking out, and
manipulate the joysticks according to how you want the Microb-
limp to fly. In general pushing the Left stick forwards will result in
forward motion of the saucer, but to fly in a perfectly straight line
will often require the pilot to make continuous small adjustments of
thrust by using the transmitter joysticks.
• If you want to dampen the Microblimp steering a little bit and
increase stability in turns, you can add a vertical stabilizer fin (5” X
3” is a good size to start with), by taping a small sheet of styro-
foam or even paper.
5. When I power up my Microblimp gondola, all it does is
beep beep.... beep beep forever!
• There are a few situations which can cause this:
• Check to make sure that your Transmitter is turned ON by pushing
the switch all the way to the right - the main LED of the transmitter
should be glowing RED. Check to make sure you have good bat-
teries in the Transmitter. Replace them and try again.
• Try powering the transmitter OFF and ON again, and do the same
with the receiver. It should sync up -if not call Plantraco.
6. It seems to be taking forever to charge my Microblimp
Lithium Polymer Battery
• Replace the 4 AA cells in the transmitter - they are probably low
and we have to have greater than 4.4 Volts left in the 4 cells in
order to charge up the Lithium Polymer Microblimp Bahoma cell.
A normal Charge will take about 40 - 60 minutes
7. My Microblimp seems to be very noisy all of the sudden
• If the propellers have been bent or damaged, it can sometimes
cause a vibration that will make a loud motor sound. You can fix
this by trying to straighten out the propeller a little bit. Try to find
out which propeller is making the noise and then pull the propeller
off and try to make it “true” again. If you cannot straighten it out
enough, you can order replacement propellers from your dealer or
www.microblimp.com
8. My saucer balloon is leaking!
• You can patch a small hole in the balloon with cellophane (scotch)
tape.
• If you have a gaping hole in the balloon, you may require a
replacement balloon.
• If you have damaged the self sealing valve of the balloon by
improperly inflating the balloon, you can roll up the tail end of the
balloon and seal it temporarily with cellophane tape.
To Re-Order Spare Balloons etc. Call your
Local Dealer or Plantraco Direct at:
1-306-955-1836
World Wide Web at:
w w w. p l a n t r a c o. c o m
w w w. m i c ro b l i m p. c o m
Email us at:
u f o m a n @ p l a n t r a c o. c o m
8
Microblimp Manual v 0.98 Copyright 2004 All Rights Reserved