Glenluce and Galloway Flyers
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 con-
necting your flight battery you’ve already checked all the control sur-
face 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 pet-
rol powered models, there are extra safety issues to be
considered.Always make sure your ignition is switched off until just be-
fore 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 fuel-
ling, 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 fly-
ing 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 en-
suring that your valuable days at the field are fun and trouble free.
Ally Young
Pre flight checks