More misc newbie questions
 

Murphy is alive and well in my house, I swear. Everything that can go wrong regarding building an airplane does. With experience, I hope to get better.

First off, I installed my power switch on the exhaust side. Geez. Finally corrected that. I reinstalled the switch and went to charge my battery pack and realized it would only charge in the "ON" position. That didn't make much sense to me. Hmmmm?? Ok, I must have put of the label plate on backwards. I fixed that and now all seems well.....

Except that when the switch is ON, it is forward. It takes a good bit of force to turn that switch off. Is there any need to set the switch so that OFF is downwind? Will the prop blast and airspeed on an LT-40 be enough to push that switch into the downwind (OFF) position?

I forgot how to route the fuel lines. From the clunk line to the needle valve, right? Then from the needle valve to the carb. Then from the fuel tank vent line to the vent port on the muffler. Did I get that right? If a fuel line is too close to the cylinder, could that cause problems with the heat?

Battery charging - They say to charge a battery for 12-15 hours. Can I just leave the charger hooked up all day and not worry? Will most of these chargers stop charging at the right time or must I time the charge to be present at the end of the period to disconnect it.

Receivers - should I "safety wire" the servos into the receiver to avoid them vibrating out? I already tied down the battery to switch connection with a rubber band. How often to these servo connectors pop out of the receiver in flight causing problems?

Thanks!

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

The only reason the switch direction matters is that a glancing blow will turn you off with the "ON" position forward. This can happen when someone unfamiliar with your model helps hold and launch it at take-off and it bumps his hand when he lets go. You'll know right away. Airflow cannot trip the switch. There is also a boundry effect on the flat fuselage side and the airflow is further "confused". I wouldn't sweat the switch unless it confuses you or others who handle the model.

You are correct in the fuel route. No, it won't (shouldn't!) get hot enough to bother the fuel. In fact - the pre-heat might help with the fuel diffusion/atomization at the carb jet and give you added performance! (Well, it could.)

Some charges switch to trickle. Most "wall wart" variety don't - but it is low amperage and not an issue.

I have never had a servo pull out in flight - except once in a mid-air and with the wing gone it wouldn't have helped much. [:@]

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

I would concure with everything said above

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Put the switch however you want but I'd recomend doing it the same on every airplane. If you have one that is different there is a higher likelihood that you will leave it on one day and kill the battery.

You are correct

I like to be present when charging if possible just in case something goes wrong. Still you can't be there watching it all the time. Throw it on the charger in the late afternoon or early evening the day before you go flying and unplug it the next morning. It will be fine.

Unless something is somehow putting tension on the wiring and making it come unplugged there should be no problems. I've had them stay connected even after violent crashes. sometimes I do secure the wire to the airframe near the receiver though so I don't accidentally pull one out while working on the airplane.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

All good answers. Don't feel bad about the little mistakes. Finding them before you fly is what will keep your planes flying for a long time.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Murphy is alive and well in my house, I swear. Everything that can go wrong regarding building an airplane does. With experience, I hope to get better.

Consider yourself lucky I felt I had the whole Murphy family camping in my building room!

First off, I installed my power switch on the exhaust side. Geez. Finally corrected that. I reinstalled the switch and went to charge my battery pack and realized it would only charge in the "ON" position. That didn't make much sense to me. Hmmmm?? Ok, I must have put of the label plate on backwards. I fixed that and now all seems well.....

Except that when the switch is ON, it is forward. It takes a good bit of force to turn that switch off. Is there any need to set the switch so that OFF is downwind? Will the prop blast and airspeed on an LT-40 be enough to push that switch into the downwind (OFF) position?

No but as everyone else says do it the same way on all your models. I like back for on myself.

I forgot how to route the fuel lines. From the clunk line to the needle valve, right? Then from the needle valve to the carb. Then from the fuel tank vent line to the vent port on the muffler. Did I get that right?

Yup that is right.

If a fuel line is too close to the cylinder, could that cause problems with the heat?

No

Battery charging - They say to charge a battery for 12-15 hours. Can I just leave the charger hooked up all day and not worry? Will most of these chargers stop charging at the right time or must I time the charge to be present at the end of the period to disconnect it.

No they keep pumping out the same charge. Here is a solution.

Buy a 24hr timer from Walmart. $6 Set it to come on for one hour a day. Plug the WallWart cherger in to it. When you come in from flying set the overide to give any desired charge. I usually go for a minimum of 6 hours. Leave everything plugged in to the next time you go flying. It will charge then top up for 1 hour daily. You KNOW your batteries are charged.

Receivers - should I "safety wire" the servos into the receiver to avoid them vibrating out? I already tied down the battery to switch connection with a rubber band. How often to these servo connectors pop out of the receiver in flight causing problems?

Never had a problem with servos BUT have seen crashes where it was suspected that the CRYSTAL came out in flight. This is less likely to happen in the US as you guys don't change crystals much, unlike the UK where it is commonplace. I used to tape mine in.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

The info above is good, and I'll add a couple of answers you didn't ask for. First, fuel lines: Make sure there are no kinks in your fuel line. Make sure than a sudden forward jolt won't make your clunk go forward and get stuck in the front of the tank. Add a piece of tubing in the middle if it does. While you're at it, make sure your clunk moves freely around the tank. If it doesn't, add weight. Second, servos: If you have any servo extensions tie them together so they can't work loose. Check your aileron extension regularly and replace both connectors when the plating wears off the contacts. Third, charging: Time your charging to finish as close to your flying time as possible. 1/2 a day is close enough. And get a loaded meter to test your battery. A failing battery will look good at resting voltage but will not supply enough current to fly the plane. When you can afford to, getting a charger that cycles your batteries is a great investment that will let you use batteries longer without the worry of losing an airplane.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

I don't think you are doing so bad, you are having the half of mistakes I made with my second plane! and it was a ARF!!! hahahaha you are on the good way!

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

The one hour per day timer works great. I've been doing it for several years now.

On the fuel lines, keep them short as possible.

In the tank, make sure that the clunk is at least 1/4" short of touching the rear wall of the tank. The fuel lines tend to grow slightly when exposed to fuel. Mount the tank so that the center of the tank is only 1/4 to 3/8" below the spray bar in the carburator for best results.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

I'm not sure what kind of radio equipment you have so this may not apply. All of my stuff is 72 mhz so the receivers are wrapped with foam. I got several Hitec "Flight Preservers" ( http://www.servocity.com/html/flight_preserver.html ) which are receiver wrappers that have a fabric backing on one side and foam on the other. When they are wrapped around the receiver, and secured with a plastic zip-tie, they cover the area where the servos are plugged in. I doubt that a servo plug would vibrate out but the foam over them adds a security blanket.

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I'm still using 72 mhz. I bought a 7CAP and plan on wearing it out. I hope that technology doesn't "force" me to switch to the 2.4Ghz stuff before I voluntarily make the switch.

Channel 58 is my channel.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

I made the same mistake on the switch as you did. I was told to flip the switch around. There is a very very small chance of a bug of some kind flying by and hitting the switch, turning the plane OFF. I dont know if a bug would be enough to do that. I flew with the switch in the wrong way until I change the switch to a Dubro charging switch. But I dont think its that big of a deal.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

The one issue with the switch is that if you find a tree the switch will likely be turned off. If you have trouble finding your plane wiggling the sticks often helps if it's still on.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Hi!
Best place for the switch is inside the fuselage! Controlled by a 0.75mm piano wire.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Strange.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

What is strange???

Ken

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

I've never heard of putting the switch inside, is all. :) Probably one of the safest places, I guess.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Not really; it was very common even 35 years ago. I still do it today.

mk

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

It's not uncommon at all. Many pilots still do it that way. However, just like a slide switch on the side of the plane, it's still possible to bump the wire and turn the switch off. All mounting types have good points and weak points.

I use two different types of switch mounts.

Du-Bro switch/chargeing jack mount
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...LXD665&P=7


Great Planes switch/charging jack mount
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...LXJ778&P=7

Both of these locate the switch inside of the fuselage and have a pushrod connected to it to activate the switch. Both also locate the charging jack on the side of the plane so that you can recharge the plane without removing the wing in order to access the charging jack. Also, the charging jack allows quick access to checking the voltage level between flights with a voltmeter. I use both of these types of jacks, but of the two I prefer to use the Great Planes mount simply because it's a little bit more compact and takes up a little bit less space than the Du-Bro mount. But either are good and work well.

Ken

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Remember the servo trays Futaba used to supply that had a location for the switch, those were nice to have a lot of times. Saved having to build any type of servo tray or switch mount.

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On planes where I don't want the switch showing I will mount it inside then paint the wire sticking out the same color as the plane. The small wire plus the paint color make it less obvious.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

My only comment is that the more complex you make it ends up adding more points of failure. The best option is to make it as simple as possible and as foolproof as possible. A simple switch, in my opinion, is the way to go, with the slide to "on" to the rear.

CGr.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

My preference is mounting the switch inside. If I'm lazy I'll mount it on the outside - I'm not saying lazy people mount on the outside of the fuse lol, I'm just saying I prefer the switch inside. I've had two On/Off switches go bad, one was mounted on the outside, one on the inside and so time and vibration takes its toll regardless. I like the look of the Great Planes switch Ken linked to. I assume Ken, you've never had one of these fail? I've had both a Futaba and a JR fail.

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

I have never lost a plane due to switch failure.

Ken

RE: More misc newbie questions
 

Definitely on a simple trainer or basic sport plane there is not need to do anything but put it right in the side of the fuselage away from the exhaust spray. Simple always works best. I only try to hide them on stuff like warbirds and even then not always.