What would you guys do to a plane you want to fly if you havn't flown it in a couple of years?

What preparations, precautions, inspections??? would you do before flying this plane?

I have a plane that I've not flown for, as I said, about two years, and I want to fly it as soon as the weather improves.

One thing I think I would do is remove the tank and fuel lines and either replace the lines or really check them out. Probably replace them. Then maybe open up the tank and check the internal fuel lines, clunk, and so on, to make sure the are ok to fly with. All this would take an hour or so to do.

Then, I would remove the battery (batteries in this situation) and cycle them a few times.

Other than that, what would you guys do?

CGr.

check clevis's, that they're still good and that the fuel line "holders" are still good, motor mount bolts are still tight, hinges are still tight, balance in case some fuzzy critter made a home in it, servo linkeage, wheels still spin ???

ground run the engine for a tank to get the credi credi (pronounced creedee) out of it and check the tuning. test the integrity of the hinges, control horns, and reseat all the servo leads to the receiver. make sure all the servo mechanical connections are secure, servo mounting screws, servo arms. if it is on a not normally used transmitter, I would definitely cycle those batteries also, and check the antenna security. basically, treat it like it is going to maiden again. I hate finding loose fasteners, but I hate finding them worse in flight....

Well, I haven't let any of my planes sit that long yet, but I have bought several used planes that had set for a while, heres some of what I did.

Remove tank and lines as you said, check bung seal and metal tubing for corrosion, replace clunk line whether it needs it or not.
Open the needle valve and back flush it.
Check firewall and former joints for cracks while the tank is out.
Run out at least one tank of fuel on the ground, periodically holding the plane vertical.
Check wing joiner,stab joints, and control surface hinges.
Clean with contact cleaner and plug and unplug the servos and all other connections several times just in case they have some corrosion you cant see. (I crashed a PT-40 from not doing this, the elevator servo quit responding cause the pins on the rx were corroded)
inspect landing gear mounting and linkages.

I looked over the airframe tonite. The darned rudder is bent halfway (the top half goes left while the bottom half goes right) so, somehow, somewhere, I broke the rudder. Soooo... sloppy storage, I imagine, but, being a human, I guess that sort of thing happens. So, fix the rudder is right at the top of the list. Jeech.. now I have to pick up some CA. And, that means an hour drive to the LHS. So, before I do that, I'll need more fodder to spend my hard earned money on.

Ok. In addition to what was already recommended.. and as I said, fix the rudder is on the top of the list. Then remove the tank, and the engine and check servo leads at the Rx. Cycle batteries (as I said, two). I already checked out hinges and clevis connections, all are fine. And, there are no critters making a home in the airframe.. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Next.. well, keep the recommendations coming. I'm certiain that more RC'ers are looking at this and can gain some insight as to what to do in this situation.

CGr.

I would get off my old butt and start flying You have been in it long anough WELL may be not long enough Good post anyway.
I can not believe there are this many people that let planes set around this long[:@]
Larry K

Old butt.. who are you talking about? ME?? Jeech, how dare you!! [X(] Just kidding... yeah, I know, I know. I'm sort of a fair weather flyer this season. It's been cold, windy, and snowy. And the field is a mess.

More excuses? Well, the cat pee'd on my transmitter, the dog ate my instruction manual, and the girlfriend wants more attention. My boss wants me to work late every night, AND, I have not done my taxes....

There ya go!! But, I did check my rudder...

CGr

Any loose covering?

One thing Id check after you overhaul the fuel tank is let it sit for a couple hours and then pressure test the tank/stopper.

Is there an engine in question? 2 or 4 cycle? Depending on what you have it may be worthwhile to pull the engine and give it thorough inspection.
Head bolts, rockers, springs, valves, back plate bolts, any and all seals not cracked or broken, gaskets, smooth carb action, bearings, etc.
Its not new so maybe pretend you found it at a swap meet and dont trust it.

might want to check for a loose nut behind the controls too how about landing gear mounts and any blind nuts, if the plane has them or dowel pins on the wings

I would replace the on / off switch and inspect all the wiring for black or green wire disease.

Test the control surfaces against some manual pressure, noting that the servo output shafts and everything else is slop free.

Fuel creep can make the firewall connection to the rest of the plane questionable, I'd give it a tug after the engine is mounted.

The servo rails and wing hold down points should be tested against some manual pressure.

Might as well press and pull on anything else that could pop loose.

Check the plane for straightness, too.

CG,


Redo plumbing of all fuel lines, new battery,
new switch and a new 2.4 Rx. Then check all
nuts,bolts and screws. Now check the clevisis,
servo arms,pushrods. Next, check landing gear,
hinges and firewall. Range test add fuel and start
the engine and range check again.

Confirm all control surfaces move appropriatley,
taxi out and Enjoy.



Bob

Why a new 2.4 GHz RX?

I already tightened the lose nut behind the conrols, there RGM... [:-]

The engine is an OS 1.20 AX and I am using 2.4 GHz Spektrum. In this case, it's their AR7000 receiver. The plane has a couple of 1100 mah NiMh packs (two switches and one voltwatch)... but I might have already said that.

Good recommendation.. green wire syndrome. I forgot about that. I looked the plane over last night and, other than the broken rudder, all looks pretty solid.. on first examination that is. I'm gonna spend some time on the fuel system for sure, and check the covering, iron it where needed, since it's been sitting around for this long.

The wing looks fine. The covering is ok as are the servo connections. But, I have to yank out the servos and check the connections. It does have a 12 inch extension on each side so there is a junction that needs to be inspected. Again, thanks for that recommendation, combatpigg and Hugger.

This plane flys like it's on rails and is one of the most pleasing planes to watch fly. Landing it is a dream.. always makes my flying look good.

By the way, it's a Venus II pattern plane.

CGr.

I haven't been flying as much this last year as I would have liked, and have several planes that have been sitting long term on the plane rack, our club also lost its field and needed to move so the planes just sat for a while collecting dust, it happens when you have several planes some just get neglected, and there are favorites of course.

this is a good thread for outlining the basics for making sure there planes are sound and ready for flight after sitting for a while,some good tips so far I will try to post some pics of my check through procedures, the wheather is improving around here I want to get back to the flying field now that we have a new facility,its better than the old one thanks to our outgoing club pres he did a awesome job making it happen.

that reminds me I need some fuel line

Being a retired Coastie, I might have some water line I can spare... I keep it right there with the prop wash.

CGr

CGR,

The force that broke the rudder may have affected the servo gears and linkages and clevis.

Check the operation under load, as combatpigg has suggested.

The needle valves are like a bottle neck, where junk likes to become solid when it has been dry for so long.
Soaking them in fuel for several hours may also prevent tuning head aches, and that is a good opportunity to check the o-rings out.

Best luck!

If you have anything wrapped in foam, check to see if the foam has become brittle and is no longer effective.

LNEWQBAN: thanks for that. I checked the rudder but not the servo. Good reminder. I'll do that tonite.

SafeTwire: My RX and battery packs are on a "shock mount" arrangement that I sort of made up. They are held on a strip of 1/8" light ply that is reinforced with 1/4 hardwood along the length on the bottom. Anyway, I mount the batteries as well as the RX with velcro and wrap it with velcro strap so they don't move. That way, they are secure, shock mounted, and visible. I'll have to take a picture of what I've done. It works pretty well.. at least, I've not had a problem with that with any of my planes.

CGr.

Make sure the prop is tight before you start the engine.

That's sort of routine, but I'll heed to that advice.

CGr.

CG...Sounds like a good mounting setup!

Don't forget a drop of oil to make sure the wheels roll. Check alignment of gear/wheels too. If they are way out of whack, the plane won't be happy on takeoff !

I'm not being critical here, but I've seen some planes that, when you look in the under/over the wing compartment, it's a ball of foam with everything stuffed in there. You can't see anything, can't see the connections on the receiver, can't see the battery pack, can't see anything. I like things visible and clearly accessable. I secure everything in there, but make it clean and, as I said, visible and accessable.

I even route the DC power on one side and the servo leads on the other side... which is odd because the servo leads have power included with signal.. just something that followed on from my tech days, I guess.. But it does look nice and organized in there... very much UNLIKE my desk at work.. but as I always say, a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind.. [X(]

Snow tomorrow up through Saturday. Yuk. Predictions for over a foot in So. New Jersey. Double yuk.

CGr.