Recently, a few problems occurred at the field, which brought to mind some ideas that could enhance your flying enjoyment. First, battery problems. I was asked the other day if cycling batteries was a good idea. "Well," said I, trying to be definitive, "it all depends." If your batteries are new, and you’ve been flying regularly (and you haven’t cycled them before), cycling isn’t really necessary—YET. If, on the other hand, you’ve been flying sporadically and your batteries are old (more than two years (!)), cycling is a NECESSITY to determine just how good those batteries really are. In fact, even if you’ve been flying regularly but your batteries are old, you should cycle them to determine their air-worthiness. Loss of a delightful flying airplane is a crying matter—ask Norm!

"But cyclers are expensive! Are there any other alternatives?", you ask. "Well," sez I… You’ve probably read about cycling batteries and noted that the authors advocate doing this on a regular basis, keeping careful records, plotting curves, etc., etc., etc. This seems like a lot of work, and it is. Is it worth it? "Well,"…

Then there’s the other extreme—keep flying regularly, and accept the inevitable. Probably not what you want to do, is it? It does make the first alternative more palatable, however…

But there is another choice, and it works for me. (Your mileage may differ…) Buy an ESV (Expanded Scale Voltmeter), one that can measure ALL your packs (both receiver(s) and transmitter(s)), and use it every time (or nearly every time) you fly. Simply measure your voltages before your first flight of the day, and then after the last flight, and note the differences. Fresh batteries (for the same flight regimen) will not drop a whole lot, assuming we’re talking about your typical sport plane. Typically, you’ll probably be starting with voltage levels of 5.6-5.4 V, and this will drop to 5.1-4.9 V after your (typical) five flights or so. When (not IF!) your measurements show a more rapid discharge, it’s time to consider replacement. The bottom safe voltage is 4.7 V, by the way, and of course we’re talking about a four-cell pack. Adjust accordingly for more or fewer cells. Don’t forget about that transmitter, either!

Second, those insidious engine mixture changes. Things worked fine for your first flight; but when you start your engine for the next one, it won’t idle, or it won’t transition, or… So you fiddle with it, and seemingly make it better, so you take off. Sometimes, you get in a pretty good flight, but you have to come in dead stick, or… More often than not, that flight is less than perfect. (Face it, optimist! That’s what happens, right?!) What happened? Well, I’ll tell you what DIDN’T happen—those carburetor needles didn’t jump out of adjustment, so don’t tweak ‘em! Instead, carefully examine the REST of the carburetor for problems. I’ve seen missing air bleed screws, barrels that were about to come out of the housing, filters that were leaking air, pin holes in the fuel line, pressure lines that weren’t attached, throttle arms that were loose, and yes, even needles that were loose. (Yeah, I know what I said, but that’s not the point.) When something changes abruptly, most likely something mechanical changed. Check those things first, before adjustments!

Third, engines that won’t run reliably, either on the ground, or (horrors!) in the air. (This is different from the fiddling problem discussed above.) If you have an engine that used to run well, but doesn’t now, and/or if you haven’t been flying on a regular basis, then you’re probably a victim of forgetfulness. (I know, I know—I should talk! I’m forgetfulness personified, right?!) That is, you forgot the date of your last outing, you forgot when you bought that fuel, you forgot when you last changed that glow plug. Well, let me tell you that NEW fuel and a NEW glow plug will do wonders for instilling new life into that engine of yours! Ask Larry! Ask Phil!

One way of helping this situation is to start and maintain a logbook of your outings at the field. Notice that I didn’t say "…ELIMINATE the problem…"! This can be as simple as recording the date, the airplane and the number of flights; or it could be as elaborate as you wish—time of arrival/departure at the field, weather conditions, battery voltages, changes made to the airframe and/or engine(s), who else was there, what they were flying, what you had for a snack, etc., etc., etc. It works for me!

Fourth, radio failures. Now, this one is a toughie. There are a lot of factors at work here, but here are three pieces of advice I will give you that will go a long way towards assuring you that you have a reliable setup. First, see above about batteries. Second, always replace the crystal after that unscheduled landing ("crash"!). Third, always do a range check before you begin a flying session. The reason that this topic is so tough is that the last bit doesn’t always work—ask Irvo!

Here’s what happened: Irv came to the field with two airplanes, each on the same frequency, each controlled with the same transmitter. (It’s programmable, and was set up for these two different aircraft.) A range check with the antenna collapsed showed that the transmitter was working, albeit at a somewhat shorter distance than I would have liked—but that’s radio/installation dependent. Irv took off the first aircraft, and it promptly stalled and augured in. Post flight analysis seemed to indicate that perhaps Irv had stalled it, and this caused the crash (it was pretty low, like right after takeoff that it happened). So, he fueled up the second aircraft—and the same thing happened (crash), only this time there was NO chance of a stall. We found that his transmitter had the SAME range (low) with the antenna collapsed OR fully extended—in other words, a faulty transmitter. This problem couldn’t be detected with just an antenna-collapsed range check—about the only way would be what we did: extend the antenna and continue walking. Perhaps for miles (!). Few of us would do that (but maybe more of us will, especially after getting that new or repaired radio rig, at least once). I guess the best that can be said is "Caveat Flieger!"—Let the Flyer beware!

Finally, though it’s not a problem per se, "…cleanliness makes for more carefree flights"…or something like that. If you take the time to clean off your airplane after every flight, not only will it fly better, not only will you feel better, but you will be able to examine it, albeit casually, for loose/broken connections, etc. For instance, you might have noticed a funny noise, briefly, during your last flight. If you just land, do other things, then refuel, start and takeoff, you might not catch that broken hinge which is now causing that aileron to flutter, which in turn is now fluttering so badly as to tear itself off your wing, which in turn is causing that death spiral…!

OK, there you have them—some provoking things to think about. Fly safely, and enjoy!