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In an incident last year the rotor blades of an IC helicopter were allowed to turn in the pit area. This was not intentional but came about due to two failings on the pilots part, fortunately his quick thinking and help of others a avoided a nasty incident turning into a nasty accident. When starting any model it goes without saying that the radio must be switched on? Follow the simple rules in the BMFA guidelines (applicable to any type of model):Check your frequency is clear and peg on/off (depending on system used). Transmitter on first, check correct model selected, then the receiver on, with many modern gyro systems you have to wait until it has performed it’s own calibration sequence before you check function and position of all controls. Our club rules say all model should be restrained while starting. Helicopters are no exception but staking them to the ground is not really of any practical use. While it will meet this rule it still allows the rotors to turn.An IC helicopter must be restrained by firmly holding the rotor head at the hub during starting, warming up and carrying the model to the flying area. The head must not be released until the model is placed on the ground from where you intend to fly it. If you have to swap hands once the engine is running then grasp the other side of the rotor head firmly with your free hand before letting go the other. Make sure you can remove the glow lead single handed, and that the transmitter is within easy reach. Carrying the helicopter out to the strip keep a firm hold of the rotor head and allow the tail boom to swing against your leg. Hold the transmitter firmly with your thumb holding the throttle shut to avoid the dreaded swing neck strap knocking it open. Most helicopter flyers myself included prefer to start unaided, this maybe because learning to fly a heli is often a solitary experience and one gets into a routine that you feel comfortable with. While there is no reason why you should not have a helper they need to be very familiar with what is going on and how helicopters operate. If they don’t then they can be as much of a danger as they are of use. So, you’ve got the peg, gone through all your “pre-flight checks” while chatting with fellow flyers. You then finishing your cup of coffee pick up and apply the starter, the motor fires up races away. You check the TX, the throttle is closed and moving the trim back has no effect.
The BMFA book unfortunately stops at this point!! Then stop the engine. The quickest way to stop a glow motor in a helicopter is to block the exhaust outlet, the backpressure in the exhaust will instantly suffocate the engine as it eats it’s own exhaust. You won’t burn your finger if the engine has only just started as the exhaust will still be cold and probably full of old oil and unburned fuel. Pinching or removing of a fuel line will stop the engine but the carburettor will empty first causing the engine to lean out before it stops. Do
not try to turn the radio on as it’s a 50/50 chance
that under pressure you’ll turn the working bit off
then you’ll have to turn it all back on again
hopefully in the right order. Once the engine has stopped relax then work out where you went wrong. It
will happen quicker than you can read the above, it will
happen, I’ve done and anybody who has been flying
heli’s for any time will also have done it, if they
say the haven’t there lying. Get to know your helicopter, get into a good practical routine for starting and don’t let others distract you. If you don’t fly heli’s then please don’t distract somebody while they are starting up, if you see something wrong then say something but keep the questions for latter.
Gloucester Model Flying Club |
