Preflight checklist for helicopters
Mark Fadely [[email protected]]
It is good to be back with another helicopter column. Spring is almost here and we can look forward to some outdoor flying.
Now is a great time to thoroughly check all of your equipment before the season gets going. Both electric- and nitro-powered helicopters need close attention. Following is a good list of inspections to perform.
- Take off the canopy and check the wiring for chafed areas or loose wires.
- Pull ball links off and see if there is slop; replace if too loose.
- Use oil to wipe away rust on steel parts.
- Examine bellcranks for slop.
- Use Goop glue to secure wiring into the receiver.
- Inspect blades for cracks or other structural problems; replace if damaged.
- Annually replace all fuel tubing on nitro-powered models.
- Check all batteries for capacity and keep charged at “store” charge when dormant.
- Move the receiver switch around to make sure that there are no intermittent connections.
- Remove the backplate from a nitro engine and check inside for corrosion.
- If you use a fuel magnet, replace the foam pickup and clean the filter.
- Check all linkages for binding.
- Ensure that all screws are tight.
- Examine the engine area for black paste, which indicates vibration problems.
After you finish checking your machine, you could pack it up in the car and head to one of the biggest gatherings in the nation: the Central Alabama Helicopter Fly-In, which the Birmingham Helicopter Modelers puts on. I have attended this event many times, and it is all about fun.
This year it starts on Friday, March 17 and runs through Sunday, March 19. Because the venue is in the South, the early spring weather is usually great. It warms up quickly down there.
David Harkey, a longtime RCer, is the club president. He and the other event organizers know how to run a show, and pilots comment on how much fun they have.
The fly-in is laid-back, with many good pilots. It’s kind of an RC helicopter “who’s who.” There are roughly 200 attendees each year; I mentioned that it is big!
Another cool aspect of the Central Alabama Helicopter Fly-In is the “ditch”: a shallow drainage swale that runs along the field a few yards out and parallel to the flightline. Many helicopters have been lost in it throughout the years. The idea is to fly your aircraft into the ditch area and spray a little water with the rotor blades. Of course this is done from a safe distance. It is fun to see top pilots taking turns flying in the trench and hopefully surviving to claim the “King of the Ditch” honor.
New Design
Kerry Muncy, who is a friend of mine, has finished a new project. He is the founder of Indy Helis, which manufactures a special large-scale RC version of the AH-1 Apache. It has been popular worldwide and has won several Scale contests.
Kerry has always wanted to produce something different, and he has with an unusual-looking new machine he named the Sunami. Kerry wrote:
“Special retracts that we made ourselves are all mechanical self-designed. The drop-down hatch in the back can lower to drop parachutes or candy for kids, etc.
“This helicopter was really designed to be used at RC shows. It is multifunctional in that several show stunts can be performed during a flight without landing. It can take off, make a pass to drop candy for kids, then drop some mini parachutes ...
“Guidance is controlled by a Futaba 12-channel 2.4 GHz radio and stability is enhanced with a Helicomm and Rigid autopilot system. The head is the same as the four-bladed Apache from Indy.
“The concept for the machine is a melding of components from a few various aircraft. The fuselage planform is BD-5 jet-like with a helicopter's tail extension. It has F-4 Phantom-style wings minus the anhedral, and the exterior finish is like an F-86 Sabrejet complete with rivet details.
“A RAM lighting package was installed so the model could have a full complement of NAV lights, landing lights, strobes, etc. The RAM lighting can be plugged into a spare outlet in your receiver for power and switching. It is a nice setup.”
The Sunami is not designed for an inexperienced flier. If there is sufficient interest in the project, Kerry will begin producing kits.
Congratulations on developing another unique helicopter, Kerry.
Learning the Rolling Circle
It has been a while since I've covered a maneuver in this column, so this month I'll go through something complex that has all the challenges of a sophisticated maneuver.
Please do not get discouraged if you have trouble performing this. It can take years before some pilots feel comfortable with it.
Many corrections go into making a good rolling circle. The proper inputs include all of the stick positions available on your transmitter. Before you attempt the maneuver, it is best to have mastered the following:
- Upright hover in all orientations.
- Inverted hover in all orientations.
- Forward flight, both upright and inverted.
Go higher so you can make a mistake or two and still have time to save your helicopter. The best way to initiate the rolling circle is to fly parallel to the flightline and then roll as you fly past yourself.
Some fliers roll to the left and some roll to the right. I will describe the right-rolling version with a flight path that goes right to left. The necessary inputs are small, so it is easy to overcontrol the model and make the maneuver look bad.
As the machine rolls inverted, you will need to pull back slightly on the cyclic stick and give it a bit of up-elevator. That keeps the nose pointed down, which is one of the most important things to keep your momentum going.
When the aircraft rolls around upright, there will need to be a slight blip of forward elevator to maintain forward speed. Following is the list of control inputs you need to execute to perform the rolling circle.
- Fly straight and level, and then initiate roll to the right.
- While rolling, pull a small amount of back-elevator when the helicopter is knife edge and pull collective to neutral.
- As the machine goes inverted, pull slight left rudder to initiate the turning process while continuing to move the collective to negative pitch.
- While the machine goes from inverted to left-side knife-edge, push slight forward elevator and neutralize the collective.
- As the helicopter comes around for its first full roll, add a small amount of right rudder and coordinate positive collective.
It looks fairly easy, doesn't it? It's not! Many minute corrections are needed for this maneuver.
While you are at a fun-fly, ask some of the better pilots to perform rolling circles for you and you will see what I mean. When this trick is done well, it is a work of art that is pleasing to watch.
When you try to learn it, take small steps by completing one or two rolls first. When you get to the point of doing a quarter of a rolling circle, put four of those sections together and you will have it.
Good luck with the maneuver. I hope this helps everyone who wants to learn how to perform it.
Thanks for tuning in to the helicopter column this month. I will anxiously await our next get-together. MF
Sources:
- Central Alabama Fly-In
(205) 991-2049 http://bit.ly/h5vi6h
- Indy Helis
(317) 831-1665 http://indyhelis.com
- International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
