I wanted to share some of my experiences with some of the new pilots out there with regard to pre-flight checks of your planes. I am have been flying for a couple of years now, the snow is now gone, the fields have dried up and it is now time to fly again. I have about 10 flights so far this year, I am pretty good about pre-flighting, maybe not as careful as I should be. I was out yesterday at my club, everything checked out fine, my 46 FX was tuned very well, and the plane was running great. On my third flight of the day the engine stopped, I thought it was because it was at idle for too long, no big deal, refueled, retuned and took it up again. The flight the plane was making some strange rattling noises, I felt something was not right, I asked one of the more experienced guys on the flight line if the sound was problem, he said, no, just a typical trainer - no big deal.

That was my last flight of the day, taking the plane apart, I noticed that my throttle servo had 3 of the 4 screws out, that is why I was having some problems, also the rattle was caused by the loose servo. Not a big deal, but a lesson that when something seems wrong - it is!

I did not check the servo screws before flying, if I did I would have found the problem. Losing a bit of control on the throttle is not that big a deal, but if it had been another servo, I would have lost the plane. Last year I had my elevator come loose and managed to land the plane, again, I heard a little buzz flying a couple of days before and did not do anything about it, should have checked all of the control surfaces better, do it now every few flights.

I have been very lucky, I could have lost my plane a couple of times because I was not careful enough checking out the plane - just thought I would share my experiences with you guys.

Checking your plane carefully will help keep you from rekitting your airplanes!

As an instructor I really emphasize the fact that pre-flight checks are not just something pilots do with new aircraft but are ongoing procedures that are followed throughout the life of the airplane. I once got a student irritated after I wouldn't take his airplane up until I metered the battery. He didn't want to, so I told him I absolutely wouldn't fly the airplane until I was sure beyond a doubt that it was airworthy. He reluctantly removed the wing (probably grumbling the whole time), and I checked it. Let's just say he ended up happy that I insisted on the check (it was well below nominal voltage). I took out a spare battery of mine and installed it so we could fly. The next week he admitted that he had plugged the charger into a socket that was controlled by a switch. The battery was only charged a couple of minutes until the light was turned off. The next morning he flipped the light back on and came in the room. It appeared that the charger had been on the whole night but hadn't. I may get an eye roll from time to time, but no student of mine is going to have his airplane crash under my watch because of something preventable like a battery or linkage. The moral of the story: just when you think everything is perfect, expect something to be out of place. Don't just look at everything but inspect it with a critical eye.

I actually came up with a little game I play with myself from my full scale background. I call it "today's the day." I line up for takeoff and say something at random like "today's the day your engine quits before you turn crosswind." It only takes a second but prepares you for anything. After all, one second gained from being mentally prepared for an emergency can be the difference between a box of splinters and a near miss. The difference between somebody needing to change their pants and somebody needing to go to the emergency room.

Good point.

I pride myself on being able to spot problems quickly. After two years, I've only had two incidents that should have been caught in a good pre-flight. The first was when I only had 10 or so flights and had repluged a servo and one pin had pushed back. My instructor read me the riot act. The second was just this week. I got to the field a little later than usual and as the wind starts kicking in around 9am, I was kind of in a hurry to get in the air. I had a couple club things I needed to address with the guys and then I was off and flying. Man, there was a lot of roll in the plane, must have kind of warped a wing leaving in in the car for a couple days. Man, the elevator is really touchy. What is going on, HOLLY S(*RT, I forgot to tighten down the wing bolts. I eased it back and got it down to a smooth landing. One bolt was out about 1/8" and the other almost 3/8".

The moral of the story is that a good check list is only good if it is followed every time. I lucked out, but the story could have had quite a different ending. Even the plane you flew yesterday can go sour today without a good check out prior to flying. Especially if you get destracted from your routine before flying.

Don

Wops, double post.

Don

I lost my SE becuase i was goofing around right before my last flight
I was having too much fun. I didn't inspect my model after the third flight.
She flew perfect without any problems.lol
Then i decide to do donuts becuase no one around. testing out my extended rudder.lol
The sun was setting , beautiful sky. Plus i had neon stips on my leading edge
Put her put ..toss her around for a few minutes, the next thing I knew , she had a mind of her own.lol
I saw something came off.
I had to go back the next morning to retrieve the parts becuase it got too dark .
I found my battery pack a hunred yards from where she embeded herself.
It broke the muffuler even. The shaft still looks good from eye site.lmao
The screws from my hatch had came loose...me doing donuts didn't help.

I lost my 4* .60 after it fluttered. I forgot to inspect the aileron rods. After that flight.
I back off of the throttle and forgot about it after the flight.
She did good kniftedge becuase I removed the dihedral and extended the rudder and made the vertical stab a little bigger.
So i had it OWT
The aileron broke in half becuase the rod bent more during flight. It cuased a major drag.lol

Yeap, preflight check and inspections before every flight.

Nathan,
I have never seen someone take a stand like that and I applaud you for it.

I am one of those guys that hears snickers behind my back and has the eyes rolling at them, all because I take pre and postflighting too seriously. To me it is about safety first, then fun. I will spend a lot of time preflighting before EVERY flight, not just the first one of the day. I was once asked why I did that and I responded because I just did not have enough experience to know on which flight of the day I would have a failure and lose control. These planes can kill and I would feel awful if I could have avoided it by simply taking off the wing and looking inside.

I have been in clubs where some of the officers of the club will show a newby the field safety rules but yet they don't follow the rules themselves. The best you can hope for is that you pass this on to the next person and they keep it going.

No, you are absolutely correct. Stick with that attitude. You will find that those that snicker are probably crashing them left and right, while you fly the same plane year after year.

There is a string going on now, about instructors. A pretty good read, I think, and in it, I emphasize the role of the instructor as well as what some of the characteristics of a good instructor, including how to do a good pre-flight.

Stick to your guns. You are right on!!!

CGr.