Hey everyone. I normally don't post much in the beginner forum due to the wealth of info already available, but I decided to share an experience with some of the new guys. About a year ago I got a Tower Hobbies Trainer .40 Size. My son is getting older and I wanted to have something to fly with him and for my friends that are non flyers to use on a buddy box. After getting it I realized that flying a trainer can be fun! It is almost always with me when i go to the field along with my GP Reactor. I have modified it quite a bit from stock adding heavier gear, quick discoonect bomb-bay system and larger throws for all surfaces. It has been a very reliable addition to my hangar and is a very tough airframe.

My experience today though was very good reminder why I am always so careful checking my planes over before and after flying. I took the Trainer and reactor out to the field today for me and my son to fly. Now to be fair I fly my trainer far harder than it was ever designed for so some of the wear and tear I get is fairly extreme. We put 4-5 flight on both planes then decided to pack it up and head home. While pulling the wing rubber bands off I was holding the plane by the nose and i noticed the firewall moving in my hand. The glue had worked loose and the engine was able to move about 1/8" forward and back. Ok, no big deal. i loaded up and headed home. When i get home I like to clean and give my planes a once over. When I picked up the fues of my trainer I heard something rattle around in the tail. I tipped it up and gave it a shake and out dropped one of the quick link connector that hold my pushrods onto the servos. Check out the pic. That would have been easy to miss and could have been a major disaster next time out. Once I started cleaning I found a broken glue joint on the vertical stab as well. Add it to the list.

The moral of the story? It is very easy to forget that the planes we enjoy so much are far from cheap toys. Most gas and glow powered planes are large and powerful. They can be dangerous to spectaters and nearby homes. Make sure to take the time to always give your plane a good once over before and after each day of flying to find the small things that could cause the loss of your aircraft. Or worse hurt someone.

As always remember to have fun!

Thanks for sending out this reminder. Not only can this hobby be expensive overall....but dangerous should something happen. By the way...I hate those quick connectors. I like the swivel ball joint connectors or the dubro quick link connectors which have a slide lock. Not fail-proof...but better than those connectors.

I agree with you about the connectors. This is the only plane I have them in and I think they just wore out their welcome. As per my original post it has become apparent that my faithful trainer is in need of some TLC. The one thing about this plane that sucks is the radio compartment. It is quite small so getting in and work on the linkages is difficult at best. I am going to be upgrading servos soon so I am also going to need to change out the linkages as well. I need to look around and find something better that is for sure.

Yeah, we always preach pre-flight inspections, and in your case, a post flight inspection proved to be a good idea. I would presume that it's a good idea for everyone.

I normally get brutal "under the hood" before flying... yanking on things, poking, pushing, and trying to break things. If it's loose, it will show up by being rough with them. I yank on the control surfaces (checking hinges), and flex rods, just about anything you can imagine (yeah, within reason.. but I'm sure you get the idea).

So, point well taken.

CGr.

As I was taught- there are Five 5-like your fingers - functioning things/controls to check before take off:

1) elevator
2) ailerons
3) rudder
4) throttle
5) Open antenna

The closed antenna was a harsh lesson I saw somebody else learned on his plane when there was signal enough for checking 4 controls.
take off.
then the signal was too weak and no time to understand what's wrong.

Tru I think this is a very approriate post - thank you.

When I had my first plane (Ultra Stick 40) I never did a pre or post flight with it. The only things I checked was that my control surfaces moves in the right direction before take off. Then when I built my Edge I started with proper pre and post flight inspections. I check hinges, screws, bolts, everything and have found a couple of times things that were wrong and would have been disasterous in flight. Then I learned - inspection is one of the most important aspects of this hobby. it can save you a lot of money.

Thanks for the insight guys! I just wanted to give a good piece of advice to the new guys to the hobby. I have to remind myself from time to time to slow down and check the plane for airworthiness before flight. I still get excited to get in the air when I get to the field so I have to make a concious effort to make sure my planes are safe for flight. I have been involved with full scale flight and aircraft maintenance for the past 8 1/2 year as an Air Force C130 engine mechanic. The Air Force has taught me a great deal about safety and proper care of aircraft. I have far fewer mishaps with my RC aircraft due to the safety mindset instilled in me by the Air Force.

Another point regarding pre flight checks. Many of today's transmitters can support 10 planes. In the case of those with multiple planes on the single transmitter, it can be easily forgotten what plane was last flown. The last plane could have the ailerons programmed opposite of the one you're about to fly, for example. Always check; I've seen very experienced flyers "put one in" because the ailerons were reversed. Check, check, and recheck with a buddy!

DaveB

DaveB,
This is definitely a good point to bring up. When I only had a couple planes I never bothered to label them in my transmitter. Once I started adding more and more I realized it was easy to mix them up. I am already in the habit of checking Tx voltage when I turn it on and now I also see which model I am on because each one is labeled as such in the transmitter menu.

That's one nice thing about the Spektrum radios, they have "Model Match" so you'll never be able to fly your plane on the wrong model setting.

Your title could also read: Why we use z-bend pliers.