Am I ready to fly...really?!

Hi Everyone -

I was watching a YouTube video this morning while enjoying my coffee from a fellow whose channel is called Ground Control RC, I encourage you to check out his channel here.  He does great work with micro RC planes and quads and has designed his own micro F-22 Raptor which I think I might need to give a go with in the future😊  Also, he has some great RC tips in general that are educational across the electric RC hobby, so please consider having a look around his channel, he puts a lot of work and passion into what he does and creates some great content.  Here is the video I watched this morning.

So this video and my second cup of "jet fuel" got me thinking that I certainly have been complacent in doing pre and post flight checks of my planes and my flight box in recent months.  Once I'm at the field I certainly look my planes over between flights, but more than once I have taken a plane to the field that wasn't quite ready to fly, perhaps I couldn't repair it there and I have had to cut a flying session short.  Or I have used something in my flight box and forgotten to replace it and couldn't do field repairs and again had a "drive of shame" back home cutting my flight session short.  So time to stop relying on luck and taking the time to give things a once over before and after going to the field.

I know some of this might set off some "nerd alerts", but as you might know if you read my intro post, I spent a lot of my life in the Air Force where we had checklists for just about every thing.  Of course we were dealing with very complex and expensive equipment and people's lives were at stake, but having a process for my park jet flying is also helpful to avoid being disappointed and not get to do what I love and that is fly.

Weather and what planes to bring

Of course we always take a bit of a chance with the weather forecast, just a part of life in the aviation world either real or RC, but I like to have a pretty good idea of what the weather is going to do for the duration of my flight session as it helps me select the right planes.  In my "hangar" I have planes that are pretty stable in the wind and others not so much.

Of the two planes above, the NAMC Mig-35B on the left is definitely a very stable plane in winds up to about 15 mph.  The RC Powers F-22 V5 on the right is OK up to winds between 5-10 mph, beyond that and it can be a bit of a handful.  One of the main reasons for this is angle of the tail fins.  You note on the Mig-35B they are perpendicular to the wing plate, on the F-22 they are angled which with the Raptor causes quite a bit of "bobble" and instability in the yaw axis if the wind gets up a bit.

So if I know it is going to be a windier day, taking at least one good "wind plane" is always a good idea.  If it is going to be dead calm, I have a lot more options and can take just about any plane in my hangar and I'll have fun.  

I should also mention, I almost always take two planes to the field for every flying session.  This serves a couple purposes as it helps me from getting bored or if I crash one or something happens that makes it unsuitable to fly, I have a backup and can keep going til my batteries are all used up.  

So once I make the choice of which planes are in the lineup for that day, here are some things I like to check and will be checking more often now that I have been reminded how important it is to do so.  These are all areas where I have been "caught" in the past, so time to get more diligent with the pre flight checks before loading up the car.

1. General inspection of the airframe.  Checking the integrity of glue joints and the airframe itself, any cracks, weak points, wing OK? etc;
2. Control surfaces and hinges.  Are the hinges all good?  Nothing coming loose?  No cracks in the surfaces where they might fail?;
3. Linkages.  Are the servos secure?  Are the pushrods intact and secure at the servo and the control horn?  Are the control horns secure, no issues with the glue joint there?
4. Motor, prop and motor mount.  Is the motor spinning smoothly, no debris inside?  Is the prop in good shape, no major knicks or imbalance issues?  Sometimes the aluminum shaft on the prop collet as shown below where the screwdriver is pointing can be bent causing the prop to not run true and should be replaced.  Is the motor secure on the wooden mount and is the wooden mount secure on the plane?  Also, is the foam around where the motor is mounted in good shape?  Sometimes cracks can form in the wing plate close to the motor mount from stress, prop strike or a hard landing.  Hopefully you get the idea of what I mean in the second picture, this glue was added as a preventative measure, but strengthens the area I see cracked most often on my planes.  I used expanding Gorilla Glue for this which is why it looks like "the blob" slimed my plane😄
    
5. Electronics bay.  Is the antenna still securely connected to the receiver if it has one? Are all the servo and ESC leads secure in the receiver?  Are the three wires connecting the motor and the ESC still connected and in good shape?  The main point of failure I have experience regarding the ESC is the two leads and connector that go to the battery.  These get a lot of tugging, bending and general "abuse" connecting and disconnecting the battery, so sometimes solder joints can break or the leads can come loose where they go into the ESC.
   
6. Batteries.  Are the batteries charged?  Are they physically in good shape, no major dents or dings?  Is the velcro secure where they will be attached to the plane?  Are the connectors and battery leads in good shape and secure?

Flight box

I shot this video last year which goes over in detail what I carry in my flight box for a flying session.  I know it seems like a lot of stuff, but everything I have in that box is because I have needed to use it to keep a flying session going.  I won't go over every single thing before each trip to the field, but will try to remember if I used anything the last time out that needs to be replaced.

Park Jet Flight box video  ( I couldn't seem to get it to upload to this post directly from YouTube)

Part of my flight box check also includes my transmitter.  I have an older Turnigy 9X upgraded with the Smartie Parts circuit board and flashed with er9x firmware.  It is probably the last transmitter I will ever need or buy as it does everything I need it to do and then some and it is simple and robust.

I check to make sure the battery has sufficient juice to last the flight session, the antenna and all the switches, sticks and everything else are in good shape.

Of course I also shoot a lot of flight video, so I also ensure that my head cam is charged and that I have removed any old files from the SD card so that it won't fill up or cause me issues.  I have been using this Contour Roam for about 5 yrs now.

Post flight

I essentially repeat my pre flight on my planes to again ensure they are ready to go the next time I want to take them flying or if a little "maintenance" is required before they action again.  One thing I always check is this area just ahead of the electronics bay door where my finger is pointing.  Occasionally when I'm getting my battery in and out, my big sausage fingers might break this seam.  The plane will still fly with this cracked, but I don't want the crack to go any further and cause the nose/fuselage to start to come apart.

If I remember, I will resupply anything I might have used from my flight box and if need be, charge the battery in my transmitter.  I use an 1800 3S LiFe pack in my transmitter, so it lasts quite awhile, but especially when the weather is cold it does need to be checked and charged more often.

So I know this seems like a really comprehensive list and you are thinking, goodness, that would take forever, I just want to go flying!  Well, once you have a good routine, it does not take very long, it took me much, much longer to write this than it does to get ready to go to the field.  But the few extra minutes makes all the difference in getting me flying right away and keeping me flying as long as I want to.  As I often need to remind myself, "I don't plan to fail, I just sometimes fail to plan!😒"

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom!

Cheers,

Scott