MitchD
Senior Heliman
Location: Antioch TN USA
| Because this applies to all of us that fly these fun dangerous machines,experienced,and entry level,Ill repost this.
I hate hearing about friends that get wounded having fun,and about innocent bystanders that became victims.
To those who taught me very early in the game about this,thanks.
Ill try to pass on what you taught me.
Books and forums usually dont stress safety and precautions.Its a important part of heli setup.
Even if we do laugh at the misspelled interpretations (in the front of a heli assy manual from overseas usually),the warnings are there.Just a few of the many that should be.
If someone benefits from this post,or learns something, thats my reward!
Thanks and have fun!
Some things to check and think about before you strap on some training gear or fire your machine up without it
1.get someone who knows RC helis to help you by checking your machine out to make sure everything is tight and correct,and to help you with that first flight.If theres no one around the corner drive to where the heli guys fly and ask for help.
http://p-locate.rc-helipad.com/ easy help finder
2 batteries: are they charged? radio and receiver?using a battery tester that puts a load on the batteries at your rcvr,check em before you fly,no matter how long they charged the night before.
Invest in a battery checker,they last long, may save your heli, and someones life.35 bucks is cheap insurance.
3 Radio. are the batteries charged?are the servos working properly?
are the servos reversed where they shouldnt be???Did you set up your failsafe?throttle hold?? dont be afraid to ask for help on this it is important.
4 Range check: with your antenna in the non extended mode,place your heli about 75 feet away from you.have a friend stay near the heli
(engine off) and observe that the heli responds to all the commands you give it w your radio.If it doesnt you have a problem,dont fly till you fix it.Make sure no one is on your frequency,use a dsc cord or wait till you get the "pin"if you need to turn your radio on when others are flying.
Radio garbage 101.
Theres lots of "trash" flying thru the airwaves.Pager signals,HAM radio,and repeaters to name a few.
Flying at a designated RC field is highly recommended.Guys dont fly there because theres frequency problems,They will know what channel may have problems.Not just heli guys, but airplane guys as well
The soccer field or mall lot wont do.Unless you have the proper equipment and training to find out whats in the airwavesAny place but "the flyin field" can be a risk.Trust me on this.I do random surveys at the fields I fly at,and youd be very surprised at what I find,both at home in TN,and all over the US.
Even at the NATS,and a few other events a scanner is on all day to check for stray signals and interference.You cant see radio waves,but they can find your receiver easily.If youre not sure,do a range check.
5 Tight and ready. are your mainblades and tail blades tight enough?
did you go thru the machine and check all your fasteners?
nuts/bolts/screws,if it says to use loctite in your assy manual,or your not sure use loctite.
Blades: unless your using prebuilt blades, follow the blade manufacturers instructions on how to build or finish blades.Use the reccommended adhesive to glue grips, and use the hardened bolts that came with your kit to bolt the blades to the grips.If you loose or bend blade bolts in a crash,or for whatever reason use hardened replacement bolts in the blade grips.
Wal Mart/Home Depot/Lowes etc do not sell these.Blades that come off in flight can kill or maim someone.It has happened,its ugly,and it can be prevented.
Parts coming off the rotorhead of a rc heli are travelling @ up to 300 mph( so I've been told) when they leave the machine ,If its not from the rotor head, its just as bad,you ought to dsee what happens when a loose muffler goes thru a set of mainblades,Its more tha scary,nuff said.
6 Hovering/Flying too close to yourself:
Keeping all the above in mind,If something goes wrong,falls or flies off ,heli locks out and chases you,who will absorb the impact?
PLEASE keep your heli at least 25 feet away from yourself.
I cant stress this enough.A Heli thats out of control or is throwing parts can kill you or someone/something else.
Crashes throw parts too,at 25 feet you have a good chance of not being injured.
With the machine 25 feet away, if you all of a sudden have a uncontrollable machine, you can run, if all else fails.This may sound funny but it may save your ass.
Any closer your just a bigger target.
7 Spectators: Almost everyone loves to watch RC Helis fly.
Let them watch from behind the flight line,keep an eye out for children and animals,they can sneak right up on you,or the heli.The end result can be fatal.
I put this basic, rough list together, after reading a post that refferred to an incident that could have been real ugly.It took me more tha 5 minutes.
It doesnt cover it all but some of the basics to being safe and enjoying the hobby without injury to yourself or innocent bystanders.
Thanks! |
