me being a real aircraft mechanic i have learned there are 2 kinds of maintenance. There is corrective maintenance, which is fixing it or replacing it when it breaks, and there is preventative maintence, which is maintenance you do to your aircraft to keep it from breaking. I try to keep all my RC maintenance at the preventative level. I also go over and inspect EVERYTHING the night before a day of flying. I check all screws, nuts, bolts, wire connections, linkages, whatever, the night before i go out.

sean