pre flight checks

Ally Young gives us a heads up on Pre Flight Checks: When you arrive at the field, there are a number of things you need to think about in preparation for a successful day’s flying. Firstly, what about the weather? Is the wind speed and direction suitable for your site and your model? Strong or gusty winds don’t go well with lightly loaded foam or smaller electric models. In such cases, keep the model in the car and live to fly another day! If the weather conditions are suitable, then you can begin to assemble your model. If anyone is still on the 35 mhz, whatever you do, don’t forget to get the peg for your frequency BEFORE switching on your transmitter. When assembling your model, make sure you connect everything carefully:Wing bolts, aileron servo connections with retaining clips and check that they are operating in the correct sense. No I mean REALLY check this bit…..! Sticking them together and wiggling the stick isn’t going to cut it! The photos shows what happens when you forget the wing bolt!!!Make sure electric battery packs are connected in the right polarity with the throttle set at low. Always do this from behind the model making sure it is held firmly just in case. Ofcourse, before connecting your flight battery you’ve already checked all the control surface hinges, control horns, control rods and clevises and have made sure you have the correct model selected on your transmitter!Before you start or fly your model, stand behind it once more for a final check that all surfaces are operating correctly and freely and in the correct sense. If I had a pound for every time someone has missed something here I’d have enough to buy a nice new model!Assume nothing, check everything!Make sure the patch is clear before taxiing out. If you need to carry your model out, don’t do it on your own. Always get someone to help you. It is never a good idea to carry a model and your Tx out to the patch on your own. There is too much potential for something to go wrong like the throttle getting stuck on your clothing and opening up for example. Combine this with a slippery I.C powered model and you have a recipe for disaster. Pre- Flight & Large Scale Models With the increased power, weight and momentum present in large petrol powered models, there are extra safety issues to be considered.Always make sure your ignition is switched off until just before you go to start the model. Never lean over the prop of a petrol model to switch on the ignition, it could potentially fire up. When fuelling, be careful not to let petrol come into contact with a hot engine or any potential sources of heat or ignition. Don’t smoke! On the subject of smoke, if you have a smoke system fitted be careful not to mis-fuel. Make sure your smoke oil goes into the smoke tank and your petrol oil mixed at the correct ratio for your engine, goes into the petrol tank. I try to use different filling nozzles to try to make sure I get this bit right! Always get a helper to hold the model and avoid long periods of full power engine runs on the ground. This will quickly overheat the engine and will put enormous extra stress on the engine bulkhead. I am regularly surprised by experienced modellers with large petrol models who miss some of these basic pre-flight checks. Don’t ever get complacent and don’t assume that because everything was OK the last time you flew, that everything will be OK the next time! Always spend time back at home checking over your model after a flying session to make sure that nothing is starting to go wrong that you do may not have noticed at the field. It’s very frustrating to discover a problem as you unpack the model at the start of a flying session. If you follow these few basic guidelines you should go a long way to ensuring that your valuable days at the field are fun and trouble free. Ally Young