mikes68charger

My Feedback: (34)

So consider my self somewhat new 7 years or so, but I have been gone for a year deployment so little nervous.

I'm going through all my jets and warbirds to get ready to start flying soon I hope.

Besides checking for damage, or lose servos/control surfaces, very stiff fuel lines in tank. What do you do to make sure all is good before that first flight of the year?

I only use 6.6 life batteries [2 per jet + turbine battery] , so right now I'm charging them full, then discharge to see how many mah I get vs batteries size and see if big difference between each battery capacity.

What do you do?
Anything you change out ever year or so?
When to replace life batteries?
Do you replace recivers because you have been flying same jet for 6 years?

Thanks

I did just download a rc tracker app to make repair notes for each plane as my wife keeos me at a 15 plane limit

Dansy

My Feedback: (53)

I go through the jets one at the time during winter….I don’t fly for about 5 months winter….like you I do check for everything that’s could be loose or line getting hard….ect.

i don’t ever change receiver unless there’s a need, I sometimes redo the inside of mine a little to refresh stuff….or to add like r3 900….

I store them in my shop so they are heated, battery wise I charged then store then charge….on full charge I look at what I have % wise, using Li-Ion some are from 2015 and still going strong, 2x 2s per jet, a lot of them are share between jets….life I tend to replace those pretty often…..which I could used Lipo/li-ion for the turbine…

Before I load them in the trailer for the summer, …re-teach the Gyro and do re-learn on the motor…..then I run them and make sure the gyro is correct…..

David Jackson

My Feedback: (15)

Generally flush the UAT, check servo extensions for damage, check screws in servos, and double check my credit card balance.

Len Todd

To find weak batteries, I check each cell's internal resistance. You can load test them. But I have never seen a really good and handy device to do that for multiple cell packs. I baseline all my batterys' IRs when I get them. I add a label with that data right on the battery. Then before I use them for first time each year, I test for IR looking for one or more cell(s) to significantly increase in IR. If one cell is increasing significantly, that battery is recycled to the trash. I put my LiFe's and LiPos at storage voltages in the winter. And, ... It is never too late to start doing this. For me, weak LiFEs have proven to be more difficult to weed out because the nominal voltage remains typically flat, but just drops off more rapidly than normal during use.

I have found that typical battery testers are not very reliable for testing LiFes. I have found that a weak LiFe may initially have good voltage on the voltage tester. But the duration for supplying that voltage drops significantly. For me, during the flying season, the first sign of weakness in a LiFe is; it takes longer than normal too charge/balance. If you miss that symptom during charging, in my view, risks to the aircraft increase significantly. That is why I set a tight time limit on the charging time. If I see the timeout on the charger, it is time to get the IR meter back out.

Over the years I have pretty much replaced all my LiFes with LiPos. I have found that running HV gear at 7 - 8 volts increases servo and other gear longevity and provides the torque I like to have in my planes. LiFe voltage does not give me the torque w/o going to 3s and using a VR. While many folks claim that running LV gear at 6.6 VDC is just fine, I have never been able to get a servo manufacturer's rep to tell me that is O.K. I have asked several reps! Also, I never charge LiPo or LiFes in the planes. Even though LiFes are less prone to burning, that does not preclude a fire caused by improperly setting the charger wrong. I have seen two planes with LiFes burn down in our Pitts due to chargers being set wrong. With that risk ever present, why charge in the plane? To me the above issues take away any benefit to using LiFe when building a new plane. But you have what you have and a souse for an auditor. So, ...

Check fuel tank rubber stoppers and clunk lines. Check tanks, fuel lines and inside your fueling pump's tank for any signs of Algee, dried fuel deposits or any other debris. Check fuel filters. Check your UAT for debris and if a bag UAT, check the bag for excessive stiffness (i.e. compare the old one to a new one, etc.) If you are using JetCat RXI, don't forget the filter in the turbine. Then start the turbine up, run it up to full power and look for air in-leakage, especially near connectors. Check your control surface hinges. Live and pin hinges can fail! Check air systems for leakage. Check brakes for even braking. Cycle gear several times. If the planes are stored where significant temperature changes or high humidity is encountered, I would use contact cleaner on electrical connections. Moisture = potential poor contact. Do a range check. If you have an old transmitter, do a long range range-check. (e.g. get 1/4" mile away and check all controls in all aircraft positions, etc.) I send my Txers in every couple year to have them tested. These two are the only ways to really test your Txer because typically a TXer uses different circuitry for the normal range check and you are really only checking the Rxer. After flying it once, check your batteries again.

The other thing I would do is get out your least expensive and easy to fly plane and put in a couple flights before breaking out the "good stuff." I do this with the same transmitter I use on the good stuff. Or at the very least, break out the Realflight and put in some time on that. I do these two preps every year after our long cold winters.

Just some thoughts. Welcome back home. Thank you for your service!

Auburn02

My Feedback: (1)

I just fly year-round instead.

CARS II

My Feedback: (7)

Ditto

CARS II

My Feedback: (7)

One thing that I do now and then, is to refresh the O rings everywhere ( retract valve, break valve, retracts themselves, break O rings, clean and lube.

David Gladwin

For battery evaluation might I suggest the Graupner Polaron. It is an extremely competent device for checking and charging all aspects of all types of batteries we use in RC.including internal resistances of individual cells when using the balancing lead. Its pretty safe , too, as it also has temperature monitoring. Not cheap , but a very good charger indeed.

Last evening I watched the National Geographic programme about the UPS 747 lost near Dubai due to a lithium fire. Anyone using lipos would, perhaps ,take lipos even more seriously after watching this very sad and sobering programme about this truly tragic accident which resulted in massive changes to the handling and transport of such batteries in many forms of transport, air transport in particular.

Personally, I am steadily moving away from lips to LIions ( Jeti packs and PowerBox are excellent with internal charging electronics) and Lifes, much safer.

Dansy

My Feedback: (53)

‘Jeti Li-Ion don’t have internal charging electronics……They are my main battery’s and love them….PowerBox only if I need more weight….

David Gladwin

I have never disassembled a Jeti battery but I do believe, from the manufacturer’s description, they have internal electronics which protect against overcharging, 5 v and short circuit protection. No balancer cable, not needed.

JSF-TC

My Feedback: (2)

David,

I have disassembled a crash damaged Jeit Li-Ion pack and I have found no trace of any internal electronics, even though I was under the same impression as you that there was some.


A cable short due to an insulation cut just outside of the pack resulted in a very nasty experience and a quick run outside to dump it onto the concrete driveway as the wiring melted away due to the short circuit current draw.


This, copied directly from the Esprit website.



Paul

Txmustangflyer

Over the course of the winter I remove fuel systemsc checking for leaks, wear, test all servos using voltmeter to, clean and storage oil engines, fix hanger rash, and reassemble, replacing or rebuilding anything that is heading towards worn out, then do full system checks. Then I work on whatever is next...

wildnloose

First, I spend time watching people crash their nice planes, throwing their hands up, wondering what happened. Not realizing that their flying skills, wherewithal, knowledge, and so on have all been diminished (or missing) from the winter layoff.

Oh, how I love to watch the comedy show. Now I know some of you think that I'm being evil for enjoying such demise. But these things will happen whether or not I witness them. You just cannot tell some people some things, they have to experience it for themselves.I cannot count how many times that I have heard "it ran fine the last time I flew it (this past November)."

Oh, then I do what other comments above do, check everything on every plane (wood joints, foam joints, electronics, fuel systems, exhaust systems, etc..
One will be surprised what is found during these checks. Loose glue joints, clogged fuel systems. One seasoned pilot even found that, last season, he somehow used the wrong fuel tubing in his fuel tank and it had stiffened up. And he definitely knows better, luckily he found it before it became a problem.
I have never been a fan of our current, widely used servo connector. But I don't rock the boat either. More of a "plug in and pray" kind of guy.

Now, I will admit that with most of the Jet pilots that I know. Their skill levels are at the point that they do not make these "Rookie" mistakes I mentioned in my first paragraph. And I have learned most, if not all, that I know from them.

David Gladwin

Thanks Paul,
Then I have no idea how they provide the protection they state !
That said, I have had, and continue to have, great success with these packs, including quite amazing charge retention !
Using them in about 6 jets and my new Sea Fury including ignition for its Moki.

Txmustangflyer

I use these. Not expensive, but effective. Work great. Only JR plugs that don't have them are at the reciever

https://alofthobbies.com/servo-exten...ety-locks.html

Dansy

My Feedback: (53)

There’s nothing in those….and don’t get me wrong I love these…

wildnloose

I'm not talking about that part, but it does add to it. I don't like the fact that some of these servos have an extraordinary amount of torque, yet a 3-4 amp connector feeding them. Just cannot wrap my head around that.
Now look what you did, done got me started. I will stop now.

scoeroo

My Feedback: (9)

To start my flying season -
I ensure there is a full carton of cold beer , open the trailer , evaluate , have a beer , evaluate , have a beer , close the trailer an go flying
I do look at the planes for a little bit also ....

David Gladwin

A couple of weeks ago a flying friend had two flameouts with a Wren which had never flamed out over many years
With the EGT showing exactly 100 at shutdown.I became
suspicious of a thermocouple problem. I traced the connection and found the plug was loose, only halfway home in he socket of the ECU causing an intermittent connection.

pushing it fully home solved the problem . Sadly the model was damaged after the second flameout.


So, check those connectors !