Learn to balance life and hobby
by Mark Fadely [email protected]
Hello and welcome. I hope this is not your first visit to MA's little helipad. Writing this column throughout the last few years has been a rewarding experience for me. It is great hearing kind words when I see many of you at events. Helicopter fliers are a good group—the kind that you miss when they are gone. We are encouraging and persistent. We have to be; otherwise, flying RC helicopters would be a short-term adventure.
That brings to light the question of how long pilots stick with this hobby. If you spend a few years involved with RC helicopters, it will become evident that many pilots come and go. Helicopter enthusiasts seem to average roughly a two-year stint before leaving the hobby. Continuing to fly helis may be too much work for most people. It is fun in the beginning, but after a while the newness wears off and enthusiasm fades.
Sometimes burnout may be to blame, because the competitive urge causes us to focus on keeping up with the Joneses. Most pilots want to learn quickly, rather than just relax and enjoy a steady progression of his or her skills. We want to be good pilots now!
Imagine if you could integrate the RC hobby into your life as more of a lifestyle that blends in. It might provide more years of enjoyment without disrupting other aspects of your life.
Helicopters are fun to fly, which causes some people to become obsessed with them. Then the dangerous cycle begins: too much time and too many resources are used to feed the heli obsession at the expense of other important parts of one’s life (kids, spouse, job, etc.). This situation can spiral out of control until a cease-and-desist order is issued (a business term meaning an operation is legally forced to shut down).
There are good online discussions about the problems of balancing life, jobs, relationships, and helicopters. I have been there, done that, and now realize that balance is key.
Idle Helicopters
It is time to move on to some other important things. Spring is around the corner and many of us have outdoor helis that are sitting around collecting dust. Although we are in the midst of the indoor season, I thought it would be good to write about preparations for the upcoming outdoor activities.
When your outdoor helicopters are resting, it is smart to inspect them and make any needed modifications or adjustments. Nitro helis are popular for outdoor flying, but they need more care with their fuel systems and have particular storage requirements. Fuel left in motors during the off-season can gum up, causing issues when they are restarted in the spring. When you know that your nitro-powered helicopter will be idle for more than a few weeks, run all of the fuel out of the motor and fuel tank. Flow some after-run oil through the motor to help prevent corrosion. If corrosion is present during the first start-up, the engine likely is damaged. The cylinder sleeve and piston ring can be worn as the corrosion is burned in the fuel mixture.
Fuel System Setups
Many pilots ask, "What is the best way to set up the fuel tank on my nitro model?" There are several options available to deliver fuel to your motor with good consistency. When a helicopter is in 3-D flight, G-forces cause the fuel inside the tank to move in all directions. Imagine that you are mixing lemonade: you put the top on the pitcher and shake it for a few seconds. Think about your helicopter doing the same thing with its fuel tank. As pilots, we ask our fuel systems to perform flawlessly while our helis fly in all orientations and at all speeds—no easy task. Let’s take a look at some examples of fuel system setups.
The oldest and most common type is the muffler-pressure setup. In this system, a line is run from the muffler to a tap on the fuel tank. When the motor is running it forces pressure into the tank, which helps feed fuel to the carburetor.
The second type of fuel delivery system is pumped. With this, a pump with a regulator is located in the fuel line. Generally, the pump is more consistent in metering fuel as the tank empties.
The fuel clunk inside the tank is one of the most important parts of the system. For many years, clunks have been made out of weighted metal designed to flop to any part of the tank following the application of G-forces. That works well, but there is a newer and better clunk.
The Fuel Magnet clunk does a wonderful job of getting every drop of fuel out of the tank, and it holds a reserve of fuel so that the engine will never quit, even if the clunk is not drawing fuel.
James O'Neal, of O'Neals Manufacturing, Inc. (OMI), developed the Fuel Magnet. It is an aluminum insert with an inlet hole that slips inside a small foam doughnut. The foam soaks up fuel and becomes saturated and heavy, so it moves around inside the tank with G-forces similar to a traditional metal clunk.
The Fuel Magnet is great, but there is one thing to watch for: the foam is sensitive to exhaust gas. If you are using muffler pressure in the tank, you have to be careful not to leave the Fuel Magnet exposed to the hot gases after a flight. The remedy is simple: refuel your tank after a flight. The foam magnet will stay submerged and won't be affected by the exhaust gases.
There is the old-fashioned main/header tank setup as well. I still use this on some of my helicopters. It is a proven system and never goes out of style. Several top pilots still use it.
The idea behind a header tank is to use the larger main tank to feed a small auxiliary tank that feeds the carburetor. The header tank will retain enough fuel, even when the main tank takes in a little air. It is difficult to set up a tank so that the clunk will always draw fuel.
There will be certain positions the heli can get into that will cause the fuel system to momentarily run dry. This does not create a problem for the header tank approach or the Fuel Magnet. Although the Fuel Magnet has no header tank, the foam-sponge clunk retains fuel and continues to feed the system in the event that it draws air. It is an invention that works.
Give your fuel system a careful inspection, and change it if it caused you problems during the previous season.
Change of Seasons
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the indoor flying season. Don't neglect your outdoor models sitting on the shelf. Preparing them for the new season will pay dividends as the weather breaks. See you here again next month.
SOURCES:
- International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association
- O'Neals Manufacturing, Inc. (OMI Fuel Magnet)
(256) 776-0879 www.oneals.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
