THUNDER TIGER eHawk 1500 User manual

JE6926
Warranty
This kit is guaranteed to be free from defects in material and workmanship at the date of purchase.
It does not cover any damage caused by use or modification. The warranty does not extend beyond
the product itself and is limited only to the original cost of the kit. By the act of building this user-
assembled kit, the user accepts all resulting in liability for damage caused by the final product. If the
buyer is not prepared to accept this liability, it can be returned new and unused to the place of
purchase for a refund. Neither your dealer nor Thunder Tiger Distributors, can accept kits for return if
construction has begun.
Notice: Adult Super Vision Required
This is not a toy. Assembly and flying of this product requires adult supervision.
Read through this book completely and become familiar with the assembly and flight of this airplane.
Inspect all parts for completeness and damage. Browse www. thundertiger. com for customer service
if you encounter any problems.
No.4344
Specifications
Wing Span:59.84" (1520mm)
Length: 36.42" (925mm) 2
Wing Area:341sq. in.(22dm )
Weight: 1.3 lbs.(600g)
Motor: OBL29/09-07A
Airfoil: RG-15
12 1
Assembly Manual
MEMO
THUNDER TIGERCORP. www.thundertiger.com

PARTS DRAWINGS
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Introduction.................................................................................................................................2
Parts Drawings............................................................................................................................3
Wing…………………...........................................................................................…….…...………...4
Tail...........................................................................................................................................5-6
Prop………............................................................................................………….....………........7-8
Balance………................................................................................................………….....………..9
Safety precautions………............................................................................................................11
TABLEOF CONTENTS
Achecklist isprovided asbelow whichwill makeshopping forthese itemseasier.
OTHER ITEMSREQUIRED FORASSEMBLY
Adhesives: Youwill needtwo
types of adhesives for the
eHawk -Epoxy and Instant
(cyanoacrylate) adhesives.
Thank youfor yourpurchase ofthe ThunderTiger eHawk 1500. This newgeneration ofa 1.5M glider is
going to lift for those who are eager for the thrill of soaring. Standard equips efficient outrunner OBL29/09-
07A and performance folding prop that make eHawk 1500 an outstanding 1.5M EP glider in the market.
Advanced from its brother eHawk 1400, the new 1500 combines proven RG15 airfoil plus convenient
removable winghalves andV taildesign foreasy transportation.
The eHawk1500 is designed for intermediate pilot minded.Before beginningthe assemblyread the
instructions thoroughly to give an understanding of the sequence of steps and a general awareness of the
recommended assembly procedures. Check the entire contents of your kit against the parts drawing and
photos to make sure that no parts are missing or damaged. This will also help you to become familiar with
each component of your plane. If you find that any of the parts are either missing or damaged, please
contact ThunderTigerDistributors forCustomer Service.
Radio: A 4-channel radio with
3 micro servos isrequired.
Battery: Recommend the use
of a ACE Power Lipo battery
3S1P 1100mAh(No.2804)
Brushless Motor: Recommend
OBL29/09-07A motor ( No.2354)
Open thebox and check that you have all theparts as shown below.
23
Mixing Stick forEpoxy
Medium GritSand Paper
Rubbing Alcohol
Paper Towel
Hobby Knife
Ruler
Pen, Pencilor Marker
Phillips&Flat Head ScrewDrivers
Scissors
Nose Plier
Drill Bit 9/64"(3.5mm)
TOOLSAND SUPPLIESNEEDED
AS6586 Fuselage Set
V Tail(1)
AS6587 Main Wing Set (T. Magenta)
AS6588 Tail Set (T. Magenta)
AS6591 Decal
Decal (1)
AS6590 Pushrod Set
AS6592 Tail MOUNT
Clevis (4)
Aileron Pushrod (2)
No.2354 OBL 29/09-07A
AS6589 10x6 Folding Prop Set
Elevator Pushrod (2)
Fuselage (1)
Tail Boom (1)
Blade (2) Spinner(1) Back Plate(1) 3x6mm
Setscrew (2)
Tail Mounting
Strip (1)
2x8mm Washer
Screw (2) 3x6mm
Setscrew (1)
AS6243 Control Horn
Backplate (2) Control Horn Base(2)
2x22mm Screw (2) Nylon Horn (2)
Eyelet (4)
3x20mm Screw (4)
Carbon Tube(2)
TorqueRod (2)
2x6mm Self-
tapping Screw(1) 2.6x16mm Socket
Cap Screw (2)
Outrunner BrushlessMotor 29/09-07A(1)
M1.5 Hex Wrench(1)
Tail Mount (1)
AS6593 Canopy
AS6594 Tail Boom
M2 Hex Wrench(1)
M2.5 Locknut (2)
2X5 mm
Wood Screw (3)
Canopy (1)
AS6587L Main Wing Set (T. Blue)
AS6587Y Main Wing Set (T. Yellow)
AS6588L Tail Set (T. Blue)
AS6588Y Tail Set (T. Yellow)
JE6927
AS6587X Main Wing Set ( Any Color)
AS6588X Tail Set (Any Color)
Main Wing (L/,R/1)
Blind Nut (4)
3x5mm Screw (2)
Standoff (1)
Controller: ACE BLC12A
(No. 8026)is aperfect controller
that controlling OBL motor
efficiently.
Wing Mount A(2)Servo Tray (1) Wing Mount B (2) Velcro (2)

WING TAIL
7. Installthe blindnut onthe wingmounts asshown.
9. Gluethe servostandoff onthe servotray asshown.
10. Securethe servowith thegrommet, eyeletsand wood
screws which comewith the servoas photo shown. Note
the orientation ofthe servos.
12. Locateand installelevator controlhorn thenthread
the connectoras shown.
45
40mm
11.Glue the servo tray in fuselage. Note: do not pushin
too much as it might brake the fiberglass. Recommend
the servo tray edge is 1-1/2" (40mm) to the fuselage
wing leading edge.
1. Remove aileron then center all CA hinges in place.
Apply tiny epoxy in the torque rod hole then install the
aileron. Secure allhinges with thinCA glue. After cures,
make sureaileron movesfreely.
4. Join twowing halves withcarbon joiner installed.Apply
tape on thewing joint, makesure two winghalves contact
each other closely.
2. Locate the torque rod connector then thread the
connector onthe ailerontorque rod. 5. Place the main wing on fuselage, make drill mark
when itcentered.
3. Use hobby knife to cut away the covering onthe hole.
Next install theeyelet in place,apply CAglue to secure
the eyeleton thewing.
6. Locate the wing mount as the drilling guide to make
sure that mark you drew are correctly. Adjust to
accommodate the wing mount holes if necessary. Next
drill 3.5mm holeon the marks.
8. Glue wing mounts in place. Youmay need to sand the
glue area to enhance the adhesion. Make sure there is
no glue inthe blind nut.

TAIL
13. Cut away themounting hole coveringwith hobby knife.
Iron the centermounting area ifnecessary. 16.Thread the clevison the pushrod,note the orientation
of Z-bend endand clevis.
17. Insert the Z-bendend of thepushrod to theexit hole as
shown. Do notsnap on theclevis at thismoment.
67
PR PO
21.Adjust the clevisand snap onthe elevator controlhorn.
AA
A=A
14. Locate the tail boom and the tail mount. Secure the
tail mount in place with 3x6mm set screw as shown.
Note that thepushrod exit holesare level withthe mount.
15. Bend the horizontal tailthen place the tailon the mount
next secure the tail on the tail mount with mounting strip
and 2X8mm washer screws.
18. Locate the servo horn, insert the Z-bend end at the
second hole. Trim awaythe excess portionof the servo
horn asit willcontact thefuselage.
19. Attach the tail boom then reach two pushrods on the
servo. Make sure the pushrod should be cross toeach
other. That is to say the left elevator servo controls the
right elevator. Secure the servo horn with servo screw
when servois inneutral position.
22. Remove the mainwing, install theaileron servo horn
and pushrod. Thread theclevis onthe pushrod.
20. Temporally install main wing on fuselage with four
3x20mm screws. Adjust the tailboom makesure V tail is
at the same angle to the main wing next glue the tail
boom inplace.
23. Install the mainwing again, adjust the clevis andsnap
it onto thecontrol horn whenservo is inneutral position.
24. Secure the motor ( recommend Thunder Tiger
OBL29/09-07A) with 3x5mm screw. Make sure the wires
do not contact to the motor can. Tape the wires if
necessary.Locatethe Folding Propaccessories as shown.

BALANCE
27. Install thespinner with2x6mm self-tappingscrew
as shown.
89
PR PO
29. Threadthe antennathrough theaileron exithole then
tape iton theboom tothe tail.
30. Trim thecanopy alonewith themolded line.Cut away
the airinlet forcooling.
Make sure thedirection of servomoves correctly. Ifnot,
switch the reversing switch on the transmitter. Adjust
the controlthrows asfollowing suggested.
3/8",9mm
3/8",9mm
Elevator/Rudder-Low Rate 1/4”,6mm
1/4”,6mm
Aileron-High Rate 5/8",15mm
3/8",9mm
Aileron-Low Rate 3/8”,9mm
1/4",6mm
Balancing Your Plane
Pick up modelat arrows.
Balance
FIRST FLGHTS
Checks You ShouldMake
Flying eHawk1500
First of all, if you are flying with other flyers, check to
make sure theyare not operatingon the samefrequency
as you. If they are, do not turn on your radio until they
have safely landedand have turnedtheir radio off.
1.Fully charge your radio and flight batteries following
the manufactures instructions.
2.Check thedirection oftravel ofyour controlsurfaces
and the operation of the motor controller per the
manufacturers instructions.
3.Range check your radio system per the
manufacturers instructions.
4.Double check that you have installed the screws in
the servo control arms and that the clevises are
snapped tightlyonthe controlhorns.
We strongly recommend that you get help from an
experienced R/C pilot if you are just beginning. You
should be able to find help at your local dealer or
club field.
IMPORTANT-Do not fly your model before completing
this very important section. A model that is not
properly balanced will be unstable could cause
serious damage and/or injury.
1.Turn the wing(and plane if assembled) up side down
and measure about2-1/8"(53mm) from theLeading Edge
of the wing root then make a mark with your felt-tip pen.
This is thebalance point.
2.With your modelfully assembled turnthe model upright
and pick itup with onefinger at eachof the balancemarks
you made earlier. If balancedproperly the planewill
hang horizontally.
Balancing your model is very important and must not be
overlooked. Thecenter of gravity(CG) is 2-1/8” behind
the leading edge of the wing near the wing root, parallel
with the fuselage. You can adjust the battery pack
forward or backwardto reach theright CG.
2-1/8"(53mm)
Elevator/Rudder-High Rate
25. Install the blade holderon the motorwith two 3x6mm
set screws. Make sure the holder does not contact the
screw butas closeas possibleto thefuselage.
28. Locate Velcro and cut it into two pieces. Attach the
Velcro to battery pack and attach the other halves of
Velcro tothe fuselage. Referto manufacturer's Receiver
and ESC manual then connect all connectors properly
and setup V-tail function. The ESC and RX are located
as shown.
26. Install the folding prop with the 2.6x16mm socket
screws and M2.6 locknut. Do not over tighten the screw
make sureit canfold backfreely.
31. Position the canopy inplace. You may use tape totape
the canopy in place. Oryou may drill three 1/16” ( 1.5mm)
holes then secure the canopy with furnished 2x5mm
wood screws.
Control Throws
Before youattempt tofly your model youshould perform
some finalchecks:

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
10 11
FIRST FLIGHT
Secondly,even though the eHawk 1500 is very easy to
fly, if you are a novice modeler/pilot, we highly
recommend that you seek the help of an experienced
modeler foryour first few flights. He can save you a lot
of timeand possibledisappointment byhelping youget
your model in the air safely and getting it trimmed out
for you.
Important: Theradio controlsystem isset upto operate
the control surfaces just lick a real airplanes as if the
pilot(you) aresitting in cockpit controlling the airplane.
When youwant theplane to dive, youpush theelevator
stick forward (up), to climb you pull the stick back
(down), toturn right, you move the aileronstick toright
with elevatorup andvise versa.When youwant toturn
the motor on you push the throttle stick forward and
when you want to turn the motor off you pull the stick
back. It is the turning that causes the most problems
with novice pilots because when the plane is flying
towards you a right turn command on the transmitter
cause theplane toturn toyour left (which is the planes
right). Get the picture? Fortunately the up and down
commands donot change. The easiestway to conquer
this problem is to try and always face your body near
the directionthe planesare flying. This meansthat you
will haveto look over your shoulder at times, butmany
modelers findthis aneasy wayto learn.
THE FIRSTFLIGHTS
You should always use the first few flights to get
accustomed to your new airplane and its flying
characteristics. Keep the model upwind and climb to a
good comfortable altitude to cut off the motor and trim
your eHawk 1500 for a glide. At altitude cut the motor
and start your glide. Have an experienced modeler
adjust thetrims ofthe transmitterfor youuntil theplane
will glide straight and level without any other control
input. Once the trims are set practice making smooth
turns inboth directions while losing as little altitude as
possible. When the eHawk 1500 starts to get too low
for comfortturn themotor backon and climb backup to
altitude. Practice this climbing and gliding until you
are comfortablewith theairplane.
Depending onthe battery you use the eHawk 1500 will
make 5to 6 good climbsup toa nice thermal searching
altitude from single battery charge. Once the ESC
shuts offthe power to the motor you will needto setup
for your landing. Continue to make smooth gently
turns whilelining up the eHawk 1500 with your landing
strip. Once you are set up to land keep the wings level
and let the model settle in for an nice gentle landing
while addingup elevatorto keepthe noseup slightlyas
the planeslows down. Make severalflights like this to
really familiarize yourself with the characteristics of
your modeland tolearn theglide anddistance covering
abilities of the eHawk 1500. Onceyou have mastered
a good"comfort level"you areready tostart searching
for thermalswhich willreally increaseyour flighttimes.
THERMALS
high, lastingfor several hours, and covering dozens of
miles. The following paragraphs will help explain how
to take advantage of natures energy sources
called thermals.
"Thermal" is the term applied to columns of rising air.
This air is rising because it is warmer than the
surrounding air. A dust devil is simply a thermal which
ahs picked up some dust. Even a tornado is very
similar toa thermal,but ofcourse muchstronger.
Thermals occur when the sun, or other heat source,
heat the air in one location faster and/or warmer than
the surrounding air. Darker surfaces (plowed fields,
asphalt parking lots, etc.) absorb the sun's energy
faster than lighter colored and are generally good
thermal generators. This warmer air is lighter (less
dense) thanthe coolerair andthus rises. The risingair
naturally startsto rotate,much likewater goingdown a
drain, and forms an inverted funnel shaped column
that usually gets larger with altitude. This warmer air
often contains water vapor which condenses as it
reaches thecooler airhigh abovethe earthforming big
puffy Cumulusclouds thatexperienced sailplaneflyers
will watchto determinewhere thethermals areforming.
Thermals vary in strength, but often contain air that is
rising at speeds over 1200 feet per minute. Some
thermals are so strong they can even rip a sailplane
apart, especially if the plane is flying fast when it
passes throughthe thermal.
THERMAL SOARING
It takes lots of practice and concentration to thermal
soar like the Hawks and Eagles. Since the pilot is not
sitting inside an model sailplane, he cannot feel the
thermal, hecan onlysee his sailplane's reaction to the
thermal. Therefore,the majorityof thetime, unlessthe
pilot is paying careful attention to the plane, he may
not even realize that plane is near a thermal. Since
most thermalsare relativelysmall, lessthan ahundred
feet in diameter near the ground, the sailplane will
rarely fly directly into the thermal and start rising.
More likely, it will fly near a thermal and the wing
closest to the thermal will rise turning the plane away
from thethermal. Soas youcan see,an inexperienced
pilot may bounce around between the thermals with
ever knowingthat heis encounteringrising air.
In orderto take advantage of thermals, you need to fly
smoothly withas fewcontrol inputsas possible. Watch
the sailplane carefully and it will tell you what the air
around itis doing.
When a sailplane does fly directly into a thermal it will
either start rising or stop sinking at its normal rate.
Either case is reason enough to explore further.
Continue flyingstraight aheaduntil youhave obviously
passed through the area of strongest lift. Now start
circling in fairly tight, but smooth circles. Because of
the thermals inverted funnel shape, the lower the
planes altitude, the tighter the circles need to be. As
the planegains altitude,the diameterof thecircles can
be increased. If you see the plane falling off on one
side of the turn, move the circle over into the stronger
lift. Thermalsare sweptalong bythe windso allow
your circle to drift downwind with the thermal. Be
careful when following a thermal downwind though as
you stillhave tobe ableto makeit backto thefield!
If thesailplane is flying along and all of a sudden turns
by itself,it has probably flown near a thermal. Keep in
mind that thermal will have tendency to turn the plane
away, so make a 180 degree turn and fly back towards
the thermal. If you don't quickly encounter lift start
searching around that area. If you find the thermal,
follow the procedure outlined above to take advantage
of it.
Thermals can be generated at any time of the day, but
the strangest thermals are usually produced when the
sun is directly overhead 10:00am to 2:00pm seems to
be thebest timeto findthe strongestthermals.
If you find yourself getting too high or you're having
trouble getting out of a strong thermal. DO NOT dive
the plane to lose altitude. This will very quickly over-
stress the airframe and blow the wings off the plane.
The easiestand safest way toquickly losealtitude isto
apply fullrudder (eitherright orleft) andfull upelevator.
This willput theplane intoa tight spin thatwill normally
not over-stressthe airframe. This isespecially usefulif
the sailplane gets sucked into a cloud or gets too high
to see. The spinning action will give the sun a better
chance of reflecting off of the wing and catching
your attention.
As you might expect, with all this rising air, there must
also besome sinkingair. This sinkingair isthe
Safety Precautions
You as the pilot of this radio controlled model are
responsible forany accidentsthat mayoccur duringits
use. Werecommend thatyou flyyour modelat amodel
club fieldwhich isspecially setup for model flying. But
always besure thatyou operatethe modelin asafe and
careful manner and read the Safety Cautions which
enclosed inthe kitas following.
Congratulations
Now that you have completed the assembly of your
eHawk 1500 model we feel that have a very capable
and good looking 2-meter electric sailplane. We hope
that you will enjoy this model and get many hours of
flying pleasure from its use. Thank you for purchasing
this eHawk 1500 from Thunder Tiger and we look
forward to providing you with other great R/C products
in thefuture.
Thermal soaring is one of the most interesting and
challenging types of flying there is. Believe it or not,
your eHawk1500 iscapable offlights thousandsof feet
sailplane pilotsenemy andone of the factorsthat really
make eHawk 1500 challenging. "Sink" as it is referred
to, is usually not as strong as the nearby thermals, but
is canquickly puta sailplaneon theground. Sinkin one
of the reasons, you have to be very careful when
chasing a thermal downwind. If you encounter sink,
immediately turn and fly 90 degrees to the direction of
the wind. Apply a little down elevator to pick up some
speed andget outof thebad airas quicklyas possible.