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DLG Build Guide: Hawk Pro

DLG Build Guide: Hawk Pro

Hawk Pro is a very new DLG, released in 2022.

This is a 1-meter DLG, that has nothing similar to the original Hawk DLG, except for the size 😉

This glider features advanced airfoils, Rohacel wing, and tail feather cores, increased wing area, and a new experience in the 1-meter class.

In addition, Hawk Pro also offers an enlarged pod to give you more space for servos, Rx, and battery.

In this article, you’ll learn how to build a Hawk Pro DLG kit, but the techniques used for this build can be transferred to the other DLG builds as well.

Hawk Pro DLG Build

Since Hawk Pro as well as the other molded DLG gliders ships almost-ready-to-fly (or ARF), usually, you won’t need to do much.

The build mostly comes down to installing servos, control horns, pushrods, and pull-cables.

If you aren’t up for a job like this, consider getting an RTF RC Glider instead and skip straight to the model setup stage 🙂

However, if you prefer to build it your own way, you can use this article to guide you through the process.

Now, let’s dive in!

Install The Control Horns

Let’s start with tails and then cover the ailerons.

The process is very simple.

Note: Use a regular CA, if the foam core inside is Rohacel (Hawk Pro & Falcon F3K), and a foam-safe CA or epoxy (recommended) if the latter is XPS or other not CA-friendly foam (Hawk 2, Falcon F5K, Joy F5J)

Apply some masking tape on the spots where control horns will go
Draw a center line and mark the future slot
Do the same for a rudder horn
Cut the skin with a sharp hobby knife and remove the foam inside the slot. Keep the other side of the skin untouched
I’m planning to make a removable fin for this build so modified a control horn slightly in order to let me remove the pull cable if needed
Scrub the part of the horn that will insert into the control surface and glue the horns in with CA or Epoxy Resin
Prepare the torsion springs
Insert one leg of the spring alongside the control horn twist it and insert the other leg into a body of a fin and tailplane
Apply some masking tape where your slots will be
Mark where your future slots will be, cut the skin with a sharp knife and remove the foam. Keep the other side of the skin untouched. Scrub the control horns for better adhesion
Glue the control horns in with CA or Epoxy Resin

Servo Installation

Hawk Pro is designed to keep all 4 servos in the pod of the fuselage.

So, usually, it’s beneficial to create a so-called “servo brick” stacking servos in 2×2, 3×1, or 4-in-a-row configuration.

The choice of the configuration usually depends on the servos you use.

Thin servos like KST X06, A08, CHAServo LV06, DS06, Hitec HS-40, Dymond D47, Emax ES9051, or similar, will fit in as 2×2 or 3×1 brick.

Thicker servos should go in a single row on the bottom of the pod instead.

Also, in this build, I’ve made the servo brick removable. It comes in handy during the installation process and allows for easier servo replacement if needed.

But it is not necessary and you can simply glue your servos in permanently.

Install your vertical fin, making sure it’s perpendicular with a tailplane. Fix it with CA or with a tape in case you are doing a removable fin install, like I do here
Next, assemble your glider, and roughly put all your electronics inside. Check the CG, and change your pod layup if needed to be as close to your desired CG position as possible.
Prepare your servos. Get them w/o mounting tabs or remove them.
Wrap them with a masking tape and a kevlar thread for better adhesion and easy disassembly
Glue your servos into a “brick”. Medium CA works best for this task
Glue your brick on the servo plate
Trim the servo arms to a desired size
Center your servos and find the closest to perpendicular position of the servo arms. Fix them in place with provided bolts
(Optional) Drill two 2mm holes in a servo plate and glue the M2 nuts on top of them
Trim the unneded servo plate
(Optional) Apply some masking tape inside the pod
(Optional) Position the servo brick inside
(Optional) Mark a spot where the front mounting hole should be
(Optional) Drill a hole with a 2mm bit
(Optional) Apply some masking tape on the outside bottom of the fuze
(Optional) Fix your servo brick outside with a single front bolt
(Optional) Find and mark the spot for a rear mounting hole
(Optional) Drill the hole with a 2mm bit
(Optional) Apply some thick/medium CA around the front mounting hole
(Optional) Open the mounting holes with a bigger drill bit to create a space for the mounting bolts to hide inside flush with the bottom of he fuse
(Optional) Fix your servo brick inside and make sure it’s secured in a single position. DO NOT GLUE IT IN YET, in case you are doing a permanent instllation
(Optional) Pay close attention to the front mounting bolt, as the nose cone should freely slide over it

Fuselage Openings

Now, it’s time to prepare the openings in the fuselage for the aileron pushrods and tail pull-cables.

Apply some masking tape over the sides of the fuselage where your aileron pushrods will come out from the fuse
Install the wing in place and mark the future slots over the masking tape
Cut the slots with a diamond rotary disc and trim it with a diamond file
(For removable fin) apply some masking tape over the side of the fuse where the fuselage mount is located
(For removable fin) Cut the slot with a diamond disc
For permanent (and most common) fin installation, make a 0.5mm hole right where the fuse ends with a rounding

Install Aileron Pushrods & Tail Pull-Cables

This is the most complicated part of the build since you need to trim your pushrods and pull-cables the best way.

The accuracy of this work will define how your glider will perform in flight.

Get your pushrods and PVC sleeves from the accessories pack
Measure the length of the sleeves you need for each pushrod. It should be ~45mm shorter than a total length of each pushrod. Also cut two short sleeves for tail cables organising
Make L-Bends on one side of each pushrod
Install these pushrods into the fuse, connect bent sides with the corresponding servo arms, and fix your servo brick in place
Fix both Ailerons to the max desired up position. Balsa stick works best for this task
Use servo tester to set both Aileron servos to the max up position as well. Leave some “space for an error” by leaving ~100 units till the edge of a range on the servo tester
Mark the length of the pushrod where you will need to make a second bend
Remove the pushrods from the fuse, leave the sleeves on, and make a second L-Bend on each pushrod
Trim the unneeded wire
Now you can install them into the fuse, but DO NOT GLUE THE SLEEVES just yet. It will make further manipulations with your servo brick way eaier
Next, put the cable through the opening for a rudder. Strat from the tail side and push it through to the front
Prepare a metal crimp tube and a PVC sleeve in case you will need to guide the cable out of the way of the aileron pushrod
Crimp the cable onto the servo arm
Install the servo brick into place and set your rudder servo to a central position
Make a loop on the other end if you are setting up a removable fin or pass the cable through the crimp tube > rudder horn > back intoto a crimp tube in case you do a permanent install
Keep the servo tester active to hold the servo position and pull the cable gently to set the rudder to a 0° position
Holding the tension on the cable, crimp the tube with pliers and put a drop of thin CA on both sides of the crimp tube for security
Take the cable again and make 2 loops from both sides of the crimp tube
Adjust the size of the loops and crimp the tube with pliers. The loop should freely hook on and off the Elevator control horn
Install the tailplane in place and connect the loop on the cable to the control horn
Set the Elevator to a position when it’s touching the boom and fix it in place with a masking tape
Glue the PVC sleeve to the side of the fuse to keep the cable away from the aileron pushrod
Set the Elevator servo to the Max Up position
Apply a gentle tension on the cable and mark the length where the servo arm hole is located
Release the cable from the Elevator horn
Fix the end of the Elevator cable with a masking tape
Now you can pull the cable a little further forward to make your work easier
Keeping the servo tested attached, connect the cable to the servo arm, trim the length and crimp it with pliers
Finally, fix your servo brick in place, either with the mounting bolts or just a medium CA for permanent installs
Lastly, install the wing, connect aileron pushrods to the control horns and fix the PVC sleeves with a medium CA

Install The Launch Peg

Depending on the pilot’s preference, most of the modern DLGs can build for left or right-hand launch.

So the launch peg can go for the left or right wing tip respectively.

Launch T-Peg

Hawk Pro as well as the Hawk 2 ships with a universal symmetrical T-peg that can install on both left and right wing tip.

Apply some masking tape on the wingtip you wish to install the T-peg into
Mark how the space you need to make for a launch peg
Cut a slot in a wingtip, around 8mm deep into the wing, measured closer to the hinge line
Remove the foam with a long & thin drill bit or a L-Shaped music wire
Rub the joint with a sandpaper, and make small cuts on the sides of the joint for better adhesion. Use a diamond file or rotary tool for this task
Dry fit the launch peg in place, make sure that it doesn’t bump the skin of the wing neither on the top or bottom of the wing
Finally, glue in your launch peg in place with Epoxy Resin or CA depending on the model and your personal preference. Let it sit, remove the masking tape and it’s all done!

Hawk Pro DLG Setup

So, that’s it.

Now you have all the hardware completed and can move to install your Rx, battery, and program your transmitter.

Keep in mind, the nose pod and nose cone of the Hawk Pro, Hawk 2, and Falcon DLGs are 2.4GHz-friendly and allow for running Rx antennas internally.

TBS Tracer 2.4GHz antenna positioned inside the pod

There is a variety of receivers that will hit into a pod of Hawk Pro.

So, you can easily choose one that works with your Tx.

The most common choices are:

For the battery, the best option is Tattu 3.7V 380mAh 1S LiPo or a similar-sized pack.

As soon as you connect and pack your electronics, check the CG.

For Hawk Pro, make sure that the glider balances at 58mm from the leading edge, measured at the wing root.

Next, set up the throws and flight modes as recommended for this glider.

Hawk Pro DLG Control Throws and Camber Settings
CG 58-60 mm from wing leading edge
Rudder +/- 12mm
Elevator “Touch-the-boom” up & max down
Ailerons 7mm up & 7mm down (optional negative differential)
Brakes 16-22mm down
Speed/Zoom 0mm (aligned with the root)
Cruise 1-1.5mm down
Min Thermal 3mm down
Max Thermal 6mm down

And head to the field for a maiden flight!

How To Maiden

  1. Do a pre-flight routine, making sure your battery is fully charged, and all control surfaces are moving in the right direction.
  2. Toggle a Cruise flight mode.
  3. Give it a gentle leveled toss into an area with soft grass to make sure that the basic settings are spot on.
  4. Grab a glider by a launch peg, and gently send it with a half-turn to an altitude of 5-10 meters. Check how it responds to the transmitter inputs and land.
  5. Now you can give it a proper launch with a full spin, just be careful before you verify all your settings and flight modes.

And lastly, have fun and invite your friends to join you at a flying field.

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