IMAC

IMAC - In the Box

I hope everyone was able to make at least a couple contests this year. Some hopefully were even lucky enough to make more. But, whatever your situation, let’s look forward to next year! It’s gonna be great. Nats and World’s in the US. It don’t get better than that!

But before we can begin next year, we must get through the wintertime. This means it will be time to do some annual maintenance, so that your airframe and components will be reliable for you the next season and for many years to come. Here in the Deep South, we have weather that allows for flying just about year-round. That’s great, but sometimes it makes for putting off that annual maintenance, because there isn’t that natural break. We have to make ourselves do this. We can get away with it for a while, but eventually something will bite us, that we could have caught in a maintenance review.

In IMAC we do not see as many electricpowered aircraft, due to the typical sizes of the aircraft we fly. There are some and they do benefit from the reduction in vibration from a good electric. That helps a lot. Not only with longevity, but with building techniques that allow the airframe to be lighter. So, most of our airframes are gas powered. Plenty of vibration throughout the entire airframe. The engines are usually hard mounted to the frame. So twin and quad powered engines become desirable to help reduce that vibration.

So, on a gas-powered airplane I would suggest that you start at the front on the outside and work your way back. Check the cowling for cracks. You don’t have to replace it, but you should get out some epoxy and cloth and support it on the inside to prevent it from getting worse. Also, do the same with the canopy. Look at the any alignment items, locking items, and wood structure that may be coming loose. One thing I have learned over the years is that the Canopy can be an indication of other issues on an airframe. The canopy is a relatively delicate item that does not have a whole lot of strength. So, if there are some loose braces and the fuselage begins to twist, then the canopy can take the brunt of the noticeable damage. It can also create alignment issues with the canopy screws and mechanisms. So, note that when you continue your inspections.

Next, look at the remaining areas of the fuselage for covering issues. Also, use your hands to put some pressure on the structure and look for loose glue joints. If you find something, you must determine if you can make the repair from the inside or if you need to remove some covering. Just make sure you get a good fix on the joint. I also take this time to remove any tape fixes that I have applied through the season and fix with covering.

Now we want to move to the inside of the fuselage. Look at all the glue joint and put your hands on anything you can reach. Look for loose joints and cracks. Fix them. This is not an area for “good enough” maintenance. This is why we see videos of tail sections braking off and twisting in high-G maneuvers. It’s worth your time. Don’t forget your blind thread nuts. Make sure they are all still secure. Nothing like trying to remove a screw and the blind nut turns with it! Check your wings. Still straight? Covering still good? Servos secured? Ailerons still straight? All need to come back to original shape!

Also, Some year I will send off my engine to DA for a service. Some years I will just change the plugs. Inspect your fuel tubing. If it is getting hard, change it. Nothing worse than getting a small crack and dripping fuel on the foam inside these planes. Speaking of which, if you find some fuel-soaked wood, cut it out and replace it. Long-term you will be happy you did.

Lastly, look at all the little stuff. Had your flight batteries a while…change them. Servos fluttering a little, fix them or change them.

All the little stuff you do will pay back dividends over the year. Just Do It! (credit Nike)

Next article will probably be in two months. Looks like with my schedule, every two months will be as much as I can get out. (I still have to get out the IMAC Newsletter) https://www.mini-iac.org/ downloads. I want to talk about the IMAC Organization. We are just in elections, so this will be a good time to do that.

I hope you found this information at least useful, if not interesting.

Rich Whitlow IMAC SC Regional Director.