Provided by Graham Gooch – Norwich MAC
Background
In an effort to make monthly Club Meetings Interesting, Educational as well as Enjoyable, I carried out the following which went down very well with those attending.
Scenario
I took along the Fuselage only of a Four Channel Trainer Aircraft and invited members to have a “Thorough” look over the aircraft prior to the meeting and asked the question:-
“Would you be prepared to Fly this model?”
I had previously carried out the following:-
Fitted an Electric Prop onto an IC engine but the same Diameter and Pitch
Slightly Loosened an Exhaust Bolt (very subtle) but enough to see that the exhaust was loose if tugged at
Completely removed an Engine bolt but under the Exhaust making it less obvious to see
Completely removed a Servo Mounting Screw
Completely removed a Servo Horn screw
Removed a piece of Fuel Tubing used to keep a Clevis fitted to a control horn from opening
Loosened a Lock Nut fitted against a Clevis on a Control Torque rod linkage
Tightened up one of the Wheels on the main undercarriage so as not to run freely
Changed the direction of the Satellite Rx to the Main Rx so that all Aerials faced the same direction
Altered the position of the fuel inlet on the Carburettor Barrel such that it was almost upright as opposed to facing the engine mounting lug
The ensuing discussions lasted in excess on 90 minutes but sadly no one person correctly identified all 10 alterations/omissions.
Additionally, to my surprise, what triggered “MUCH” discussion was the position of the On/Off switch which I had not tampered with. Do you have On going forward or On going backwards, there laid an interesting topic for discussion with no obvious right or wrong. Of course with Digi electronic switches it doesn’t matter.
Summary
A very simple Cost Free exercise that made for an enjoyable monthly Club Meeting but most importantly made many “Sit Up” and as a result conduct more thorough Pre-Flight checks so all in all very worthwhile and something that will be repeated again next year, albeit maybe even more subtle.
