How to preflight check a RC airplane.

This article will tell you how to perform a preflight check on a RC airplane to ensure your airplane will takeoff, fly and land safely. A preflight check should be performed before every flight to avoid crashing a $200 airplane due to a simple problem like a loose screw.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• RC airplane
• Radio system for airplane
• Various tools for airplane
• Volt meter

1. Check the club's frequency board to make sure no one else is on your channel. Place your card, cloths pin or whatever your club uses to designate that your channel is in use on the frequency board.

2. Turn on your transmitter. Verify that the voltage of your transmitter battery is over the rated voltage of the battery pack. If it is a 9.6v battery pack, make sure the voltage is over 9.6v. Some transmitters show this as a bar graph or analog meter. If the meter or graph is below half way, charge the transmitter battery before flight.

3. Check the voltage of the receiver battery. Using a volt meter, verify that the voltage is over the rated voltage of the battery pack. If it is below the rated voltage, charge the battery before flight.

4. Verify that all screws and linkages are tight.

5. Verify that all clevis are closed, and that they have retainers or fuel tubing over them to prevent them from opening.

6. Verify that the propeller is on the engine/motor shaft tight.

7. Turn on the airplane.

8. Move the aileron stick to the right. Standing behind the airplane, verify that the right aileron should go up and the left aileron should go down.

9. Move the aileron stick to the left. Verify that the left aileron should go up and the right aileron should go down.

10. Move the elevator stick down. Verify that the elevator goes down.

11. Move the elevator stick up. Verify that the elevator goes up.

12. Move the rudder stick right. Verify that the rudder goes right. If the airplane has tricycle landing gear, verify that the front of the nose wheel goes to the right.

13. Move the rudder stick left. Verify that the rudder goes left. If the airplane has tricycle landing gear, verify that the front of the nose wheel goes to the left.

14. If your plane has a fuel engine, move the throttle stick forward. Verify that the carburetor opens up. If your plane has an electric motor, hold onto the airplane and move the throttle stick forward. Verify that the motor turns the right direction and goes to full throttle.

15. Move the throttle stick back to low. Verify that the carburetor closes or the motor stops turning.

16. Check the range of your radio system. If the transmitter has a collapsible antenna, collapse the antenna as much as possible. Walk 100ft minimum away from the airplane. Move the ailerons and/or elevator sticks and verify that the surfaces move. If the transmitter does not have a collapsible antenna, follow the directions provided by the transmitter manufacturer.

17. If the plane has a fuel engine, fill the fuel tank with fuel and verify that it does not leak.

18. Check the voltage of the transmitter and receiver battery packs one more time. If either are low, the battery pack may not have the capacity for a lengthy flight. Do not use the battery pack. Replace with a new, fully charged pack.

19. Go fly and have some fun!

Tips & Warnings

• Always perform a flight check on each airplane before flight.
• If the plane doesn't meet any step, correct the problem or do not fly that plane.