Pre-flight
 

Getting ready for my first flight have some pre-flight questions.

when you set your Tx. throttle to minimum should it shut the engine off or to idle, if idle how do you stop it?

Do I need to unscrew my hatch cover and remove fuel tank cap to fuel the plane each time.

Do I start the engine at full throttle.

Do I need to let it warm up before I fly?

Anything else I might be forgetting, I know how to check the radio and setup the engine needle valves.

RE: Pre-flight
 

Throttle stick all the way down, the engine should run at idle. Bringing the trim all the way down should kill it.

Fill the tank by using a pump. Remove the fuel line from the carb and pump the fuel in there, then replace the fuel line to the carb.

Start the engine at about 3 clicks above idle.

Get help from someone who knows what they are doing!

RE: Pre-flight
 

I completly agree with Minnflyer, go to the AMA web site, find a local club and get some help. Good Luck, Dave

RE: Pre-flight
 

Good questions!

Presuming we're talking about a glow engine here (and not large gasoline engines), I always set mine so that the engine idles at 0 throttle with throttle trim in the middle. Shutting the engine off is then done by running the throttle TRIM all the way down.

Clearly you have a bit of room to play. For example, maybe it takes 1-2 clicks of throttle trim above "middle" to get it to idle...that's fine. The point is to configure linkage, travel adjustment in the radio, etc, so that the engine will idle with the throttle stick at 0 and enough trim left to trim it down to engine shutoff.

Depends on the fuel system and airplane, but typically, no. Remove the pressure line from the muffler, and then either install a filler into the feed line (mounted on the outside of the plane) or just unhook the feedline from the carb. Fill through that, when fuel runs out of the vent line it's full. :)

No. The engine should start fine at idle, or if cold, perhaps just a small amount of throttle above idle. If it requires full throttle to start, there's probably a fuel flow or mixture issue somewhere. I prefer to and recommend to students that they start the engine at the lowest throttle setting that gives consistent results. While an idling .40 can still obviously cause injury, you stand a better chance of keeping fingers than one turning 7000+ rpm.

Eh...depends on a great many things. However, I always run the engine up and down through its throttle range 2-3 times before going to fly, just to make sure it's happy with life. Some engines need to idle for a while before they'll do that, others are ready to go as soon as they start. If you simply remind yourself to do a "run up" like the full-scale guys do as a late part of your preflight, the engine will tell you when it's ready to go.

Only thing I'll toss out...and this isn't some 'requirement" or anything, just a method I've found that works for many folks...is to do your preflight in the same manner as we do on full scale planes:

1) Exterior. Pick a point, and work around the plane from there. Don't go "Engine, tail, wings, etc", but rather start at, say, the left wing. Check the wing, the aileron servo, the aileron...then start moving to the back of the plane...check the left side of the fuse for cracks/etc, work toward the left stabilizer, left elevator half, rudder and vert stab, etc. Basically, think of it as a clock...start at an "hour" of your choosing, and then work your way around in a circle.

Again...doesn't HAVE to be that way, it just seems to be a method that works for many folks, and gives them an easily remembered "pattern" to go by.

2) "Interior-Instruments" - Obviously, you won't have instruments on your RC model..but in our case, the radio is our "cockpit", so i treat it as the cockpit pre-start portion of my preflight. I look to see that it's on, that it's on the right model, that the control sticks move freely, switches are where they belong, etc etc.

3) Starting : Just like in a real one...make sure the fuel is good...do I have enough, is it "on" (have I hooked the lines back up after fueling)...turn on the electrical system, prime if needed, check to make sure the area's clear, and start.

4) "Taxi" - I think of setting the airplane down off its stand as part of "taxiing" in the RC world, plus, of course, actually taxiing out to the runway if needed. Before doing this, again just like in the full-scale world, I "get clearance" (anyone else flying? if so, do they know my plane is taxiing out and I'm going up to fly?), I make sure the area's clear (no kids, dogs, etc). I usually do a final 'run up" before letting go of the plane, either on the ground or on the stand, where I test all control surfaces while at full throttle, making sure engine vibration isn't causing any issues.

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Probably more than you were after...and as I say, certainly not a requirement or the only 'right" way to do things...it just happens to work for me and many others.

The MAJOR thing is, whatever you decide on, have a preflight plan and follow it. I'll promise you, doing so WILL save you an airplane some day. :)

RE: Pre-flight
 

I've got to agree with the above advice. These are the types of questions that need to be answered by an instructor. The hands on stuff like this is very difficult for us to answer, you really need to get somebody to help you.

Ken

RE: Pre-flight
 

Sage advice, sir. This is what full scale pilots do, and also happens to be exactly how I preflight my models.

Here's a page from the checklist of a full scale aircraft. Whenever I fly the Bonanza, I perform the walkaround check. It starts in the cockpit and ends at the trailing edge of the right wing:

http://members.cox.net/artificialhor...WalkAround.jpg

RE: Pre-flight
 

Just to add one or two things to this very complete list.

If glow, you will probably, most likely, come with the plane in two or three parts (Fuselage and wing.. wing may be in two parts, thus three parts).

BEFORE you assemble, check all interior components: All servos, solid and secure battery connection to the switch, and to the receiver. Make sure the receiver has all of the servo connections and that they are all pushed in all the way. Make sure the servo mounting screws and the servo arm screw are all tight. Check the control rod connections, making sure that the clevis' are all attached and secure, and if using rubber tubing to hold the clevis closed, that it is in fact on the clevis where it belongs, and not an inch or two down the tube where it does NOT belong. Check the receiver antenna to make sure it didn't vibrate down back in the fuselage tube and is in a tangled ball somewhere in the fuselage. Check the throttle to make sure there is no binding (do so by turning on the TX and move the throttle first slowly to full then slowly to closed, then quickly to full and quickly to full closed. Make sure the battery is secuired and won't move, and that the receiver is also secure and won't move.

Ok, now attach the aileron servo (or servos if dual setup) and put the wing on, and securely bolt it or, if using rubber bands, band it down to the fuselage with GOOD QUALITY and, even better NEW rubber bands (they are cheap, so don't reuse them. They get stretched and fuel soaked).

Then, make sure that all controlled components (ailerons, elevator, rudder, throttle, flaps, anything with a servo attached to it, moves in the CORRECT direction (aileron, stand behind the aircraft.. right aileron should go up with right stick movement). If not, immediately correct this situation, do not even attempt to fly it like that. Instant crash results.

Enough.. you've got the idea. You can get a lot from what we've posted, so take from it what you need, and get religious about your pre-flight. You'll never believe how many potential accidents are prevented by a good and thorough pre-flight.

CGr.

RE: Pre-flight
 

It is a really good idea to write down all the things to do before take off on a written checklist and keep it with you and use it before each flight.

Also learn a memory prompt [ACRONYM] to use immediatly before take off. In the UK we use S.M.A.R.T.

Switch on
Meter in the green
Aerial extended
Rates set to take off
Trims in correct places

I have seen crashes caused by failures in each of the above.

ALSO don't do as the old farts like me seem to do which is drag it out of the vehicle. kick the tyres light the fires and take off some do fail to do the checks others do them but you do not see it as they just scan the box. BUT I have seen a senior examiner crash because he did not extend the aerial duh.

RE: Pre-flight
 

Good stuff, Nathan. And indeed, the similarities to full scale were, obviously, intentional.

It doesn't change much from one plane to the next, ime. Obviously WHAT gets checked might changed, but the idea of "start at X, work AROUND the airplane back to X" seems to be fairly consistent for any full scale I've flown. I suspect there's a fairly simple reason for that : it works for the most people the largest amount of the time.

So yeah, why not apply it to our models?

Like i say...I don't think it's the "only" way to pre-flight a model...or even a fullscale. It just happens to be a proven and effective one.

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Must agree with j.duncker's point about "kick the tires and light the fires" too. Ok, I'll admit...I don't do an obsessive preflight every time I toss a $100 .40-sized ARF I've had for 3 years in the air. SHOULD I? Yeah, probably...it's still potentially dangerous, and there's no reason to risk a perfectly good airplane (even a beater bird) out of sheer laziness. But hey...we do it.

I've learned two lessons from doing it however :

Lesson one : A VAST majority of airplanes I've lost would still be in my hangar if I'd done thorough pre-flights. Loose bolts, failed glue joints, cracked structural components, loose connections, low batteries...the works.

Lesson two : No preflight in the world will magically give correct rudder in a knife edge despite your fingers' insistence on driving it into the ground. :D