rva1945

I have this question:

Does the salty breeze from the sea affect the electronics, not only in the plane but also in the transmitter?

Thanks,
Robvert

da Rock

Unfortunately, most RC flyers will not know a good answer to that question for a number of reasons.
RC electrical equipment changes often and without pattern. Also, each of us encounters different environments and may or may not be using equipment that is affected.

The good thing is that you appear to have experience with boats. If you're using the same RX/TX/servos in your planes as you used in your boats, you're the best person to answer your own question.

good luck

rva1945

I never ran my boats in sea water so I can't answer my own question about salty breeze from the sea.

PopeyeCharlotte

Disclaimer: I'm not a chemist.

I suspect the short exposure windows will not have an adverse effect. (Meaning, if you fly one hour per week, and the rest of the time the electronics are stored in a non-salt environment, the total exposure to the "harsh" environment is low.)

Doing a quick google search on the mechanism for airborne salt shows: spray from the ocean evaporates, changing from liquid salt water to water vapor plus granular (solid) salt. The salty environment causes rust when the salt particles re-combine with water and then react (corrode). If your equipment is dry, the salt particles shouldl not do much damage.

pval3

Hey there
welcome to beach flying!
spent most of my college years bopping up and down the dunes of central Florida... old days of rc gliding using standard parts and pieces. Mainly using gentle ladies, wanderer 72 and drifters and later a lot of early house of balsa 2x6 2t and then bob martin *****cat, bobcat and talons. I had a hiflight mirage 144” sailplane the was my go to thermal/slopes.. 10-20 minute flights were normal..several times a year we would get good winds that would allow you to fly for over an hour. Battery life was more of a limitation on those days than lift.
The better and heavier lead sleds are better suited to the cliff dwellers. I live in Raleigh and we slope off of the dam and a trash mountain when conditions are ripe. The dam has water threat but fresh water is a whole different world than sea water and seaside slope sand.
I used all standard equipment and installation with 2 exceptions.
when running anywhere near water you need to place your receiver in a suitable latex balloon. If it is a 72 MHz receiver, use a rubber band around the end to seal it with a little food safe silicone around the wires. This stuff won’t attack the latex or the wires from the receiver and battery pack.
use the same silicone around the servo rubber gasket and outlet guide to make sure it doesn’t leak.
I have flown out off the outer banks over the last 10 years with my McClain wings and rite wings and modern equipment..Slope soaring with a lot of power to assist.
Before you go, use the silicon trick and balloon if you can. If you can’t get Access to your radio gear, wipe down the airplane before and after every flight with a cheap micro fiber rag.
if you have a powered sailplane try to land in the dry sand and have an air can like the computer folks use to clean their keyboards.. hit the motor after every flight to make sure you don’t have sand in the motor. Wipe down the airplane with a rag between flights.
when you get home I highly recommend a hit of marvel mystery oil on the shaft and bearings. Wd40 evaporates, marvel doesn’t.. but they both displace moisture.
do not clean you gear with it though, it attacks many types plastic gears and some forms of foam.
I use cheap radio gear in my stuff I’m flying at the beach.. it completely removes the fear of loss and opens up a huge facet of the hobby once you figure out how to core inland and dune based light lift conditions,

jaymen

See my post and photos of the Hobie Hawk.. My answer to the salt corrosion from flying on ocean slopes is that I will tell you my Hobie Hawk has been flown excursively at ocean flying sites in California since 1980 using the Airtronics XL AM system shown in the second photo. I still fly it using the original Tx, Rx and switch harness. The servos were replaced about 10 years ago after thousands of flight hours as they finally got sloppy, but were otherwise OK. The Tx and Rx are fine and the only thing that has needed replacement are the airborne and Tx NiCads which have been lasting about 5-7 years. From 1982 to 1995, I lived 1 block from the beach in San Clemente and since that time I reside in Mission Viejo. We used to fly at Dana Point during the winter storm weather and often got rained on, but it never had any other effect than slight oxidation of the wing pins, presumably from when they got wet while disassembling the plane.

That said, if you go into the drink, your radio will be ruined and you have to replace everything in the plane or risk a failure later on. Unless you put the plane in a sauna bath, always fly in rainy weather, or have extremely high humidity of over 70%, it is doubtful that you will have corrosion issues.

MarkHenderson

My Feedback: (12)

I've been flying a Phoenix 2000 from the beaches in SoCal on and off for about 10 years, and all the exposed metal bits are showing significant rust and corrosion! Including the screws on horns and clevis, motor mount plate, prop collet etc.etc. The outrunner motor shows corrosion on some of the windings, and the bearings are tight - although it still runs (I'm sure not at full efficiency?!!). I'm not aware of any corrosion or effects on the radio gear, though?

I'm currently lightly refurbishing the plane and replacing the motor and expect it to last another 10 years plus!