A few steps to becoming a better pilot

Every R/C Pilot, no matter how long they have been flying has made an error that has cost them an aircraft or time to repair an aircraft.

Having been in this hobby for over 40 years I have seen many a plane hit the dirt, including my own. Most times the cause is evident, PILOT ERROR! Usually the pilot is so happy to be at the field flying that they get sloppy and this causes them to make simple mistakes. Those mistakes can cause them an airplane.

At an R/C Air show I attended, the midday demonstration was a Giant Scale aerobatic plane. The pilot had flown in front of crowds many times and was an excellent pilot. He taxied out, made his take off run and as the plane lifted off he realized that something was not right. His plane went into the dirt! After he checked out the pieces, he realized that he had forgotten to plug in the aileron servos and thus had no aileron control. The excitement of the show evidently helped him to make a simple error. A better preflight check prior to takeoff would have prevented this from happening. Fortunately the damage was minimal and he was able to fly this plane again within

a week.

All pilots, new and experienced should be careful of this error. You go to the field, get everything set up for flight, test the radio, gas it up and taxi out. Apply power and the plane gracefully lifts off the ground. Then you go for a turn and realize that the plane is not responding as it should to your commands. When you go to investigate the issue you realize that you had the wrong plane selected on your multi-channel radio and the aileron servo is opposite from the model you had selected.

A good friend of mine who is a pilot for one of our major airlines likes to fly turbine powered jet aircraft. He is one of the most meticulous individuals I know when it comes to preflight checks on an aircraft. Prior to flying his jet, he will spend a good 45-60 minutes in preparation. He checks linkages, every single electrical connection, hoses for the retracts, radio range checks, etc. When he applies power to that jet, he knows that he has checked all the items that could bring his airplane down.
At a recent R/C Air show, I watched him check and recheck, go thru his range checks, and get everything ready for a flight. He taxied his plane out, applied power and it lifted off just as smoothly as I have ever seen before. He then entered a banked left turn and the jet remained in that turn and just went right into the ground. The final cause is yet to be determined, but the suspicion is that the receiver failed and that causes the systems to go to a fail safe mode, which are evident when the pictures show the landing gear extended.
No matter how good you are, and how well you check, things beyond your control can cause you to have a failure. Don’t let your error cause the crash, make sure you do everything you can to ensure proper operation.

Common mistakes a pilot can make are:

Extra care can help you not make a simple error and cost you a plane such as:
 

• Make sure you check the direction that a surface moves, not just see it move

• Perform a range check, even though you just flew the plane last week.

• Check your linkages to ensure they are all secure and not showing signs of wear.

• Make sure your landing gear are secure. I have seen many a wheel fly off a plane during a flight and the pilot have to land hoping for minimum damage.

Even if you purchased a RTF plane, you should check the manufacturers settings before you put that plane into the air.

If you found this helpful, I am happy, and please take a minute to write the webmaster and let him know. I will be putting up some more articles that I think may be helpful to the R/C Community. 

• Make sure you check the direction that a surface moves, not just see it move

• Perform a range check, even though you just flew the plane last week.

• Check your linkages to ensure they are all secure and not showing signs of wear.

• Make sure your landing gear are secure. I have seen many a wheel fly off a plane during a flight and the pilot have to land hoping for minimum damage.

Even if you purchased a RTF plane, you should check the manufacturers settings before you put that plane into the air.