checklist

	Checklist
Back to Main Page	1. Pre-flight checklist 2. Test-flight checklist

Pre-flight checklist
<under construction>
1. Pull on the link at the back of the tail control rod and the throttle link. If they come off easily then it is time to change them. If you change the link and the new one is loose then you have to change the ball also.
2. Check the tape holding the gyro.
3. If you are at a flying field make sure you have the frequency pin for your channel so you are clear to turn on your radio.
4. Make sure you are in the correct model of the radio. Especially if you have more then one heli that you use with one radio or use the radio with a simulator.
5. Check that the switches are in the correct direction and the throttle stick is all the way down.
6.

Test-flight checklist

1. Unsnap all links from the servo arms, then turn on the radio and receiver and check servo directions. When you move the throttle stick up, the throttle arm on the engine needs to rotate counter-clockwise and the thick side of the main blades should move up. When you move the rudder stick right the tail link needs to be pulled toward the front. Move the elevator stick forward (toward the top of the radio) and the front of the swashplate needs to tilt down. When you move the aileron stick to the right the right side of the swashplate should tilt down.
2. Next check all links, the Thunder Tiger label needs to face out. If the link does not have a label, then with the link off, hold it against the ball, rotate it to the other side and hold that side against the ball. The side that goes on further is the correct direction.
3. Check if the balls are installed backwards. One side of the ball has a shoulder. The NON-shoulder side goes against the head of the bolt.
4. Center all trims. Check that the aileron servo arm is straight, use sub-trim if not. And that the elevator servo arm is pointed straight up.
5. At this point you should still have all the links disconnected from the servos. Move the link to the collective servo up and down. If there is much resistance then take off the four links to the bottom part of the swashplate. Feel of the collective link still has resistance. If it does then check the loops at the back of the pitch arm. Often times the loops are forced against the frameset so use a flat blade screwdriver to push it out away from the frame. Also check that the two bolts at the pivot point in the side of the collective arm are not too tight. Normally the sleeves on these screws will keep them from going in too far but sometimes people tighten it so much that the sleeve imbeds in the plastic. Next move the swashplate up/down. There will be some resistance with a new helicopter. The links on the head will wear in quick. But if there is a lot of resistance then areas to suspect are the bolts being too tight into the flybar control levers (pg 7, step 5, item 7), mixing levers (pg 11, step 11, item 22), or the pins (pg 11, step 11, item 28) are too tight going into the washout base. Basically you can isolate any section of the head by taking the link off to figure out if the resistance is coming from that part. You can use this technique to check all the other controls also. You want to have a control system that moves freely, otherwise it makes life hard on the servos and uses more power from the batteries.
6. After you get everything moving freely then you need to check the servo end points (aka ATV's, travel limits). Start by setting the top and bottom of the throttle and pitch to 100% and 0%, also set the d/r (dual rate) to 100%. At this point you should still have all the links disconnected from the servos. For each control move the stick all the way to one side and see if you can hold the link over the ball (for more detail on setting end points, go to Radio Setup How-to). Note: when checking the throttle at low stick make sure the trim is all the way down or if using a throttle kill switch/button have it engaged. Once you verify there is no binding then snap all the links back on. NOTE: <this> is a quick check for this step.
7. Check the direction of the gyro. Move the rudder stick to the right, the control rod for the tail should be pulled toward the front of the helicopter. Next pick up the helicopter by the rotor head. Grab the tail boom and quickly rotate the helicopter so the nose goes to the left. Watch the control rod, it needs to move forward. If it does not then the gyro is reversed. There will be a reverse switch or jumper located on the gyro, this is not done in the radio.
8. Check direction of main and tail blades and of the grips.
9. Spin the main blades counter-clockwise and verify the tail rotor spins clockwise (as viewed from the right side of the helicopter). If the tail spins counter-clockwise then the belt was installed wrong. Note: in flight the main and tail spins opposite of this, the reason you do the check backwards is because if you spun the main rotor clockwise, the autorotation hub would not spin the tail.
10. Check the belt tension. It's common for a new pilot to not get this right. Even if they do, then it might be different once it's outside of the house and at the flying field. A temperature difference will stretch or shrink the aluminum tail boom. If it is too tight then the auto hub will not be free. You can see this by spinning the main gear. If you feel resistance then the belt is too tight, the bottom main shaft bolt is too tight, or if using the white constant tail drive gear (R50) then it could be draggin on the sides of the auto hub.
11. Ask if they put loctite on the set screws that go into the tail hub. I use blue loctite. I don't soak them in it, I just use a drop as you should do when applying all loctite.
12. Check the position of the tail boom rod guide that is by the tail control wire coupler. With the control wire back as far as it will go position the guide so that it is a half inch behind the coupler. I have seen many installed too far away from the coupler, this can allow the coupler to vibrate against the tail boom. Also by having the guide close to the coupler it provide much needed support caused by the bend in the forward section of the control wire.
13. Align all the tail rod guides then put a small amount of thin CA or epoxy to hold them in place. You don't need much, just put a couple of drops on the top edge of the guide.
14. Next pull in/out on the tail shaft to check if they assembled the belt pulley the right direction. If you can pull the shaft in/out a 1/4" then the flange on the red pulley in the tail case is on backwards. One side of this pulley comes off and has a long and a short side, the long side needs to stick out.
15. Most of the ones I've checked out followed the instructions on mounting the battery and receiver, unfortunately the instructions just say to stick them on with a single layer of double sided tape. Vibration is a bad thing on electronics and these are critical components of the helicopter! I use foam weather strip that I get from the local automotive store. You can read more about this <Here>
16. Check the antenna routing. Make sure the wire does not have a sharp bend anywhere, especially where it enters the tube that goes through the skids. It will break if there are any, vibration will get to it and if not a crash will. I use fuel tubing on mine to protect the wire. Check the New Pilot Mistakes to see how I recommend routing the wire. Scroll down to the 'Antenna routing' section to see some pictures.
17. Do a range check with the engine at idle. At idle engine vibration can help expose any potential intermittent connections.

Quick check for proper servo end point setting

First look at the servo end point settings in the radio (aka E.Point/EPA/ATV/Travel Adjust). There are two values for each servo and each side should have a value within 5% of the value on the other side.

<Aileron> - Hold the stick full right then turn off the receiver. If you see the servo move then it was binding meaning that it was trying to push the link further then it can go. If you do not see the servo move then try to move the servo arm further (in the same direction the servo rotated when you moved the stick). If you cannot move the servo any further then the end point is properly set. Do the same for the opposite direction.
The <Elevator> is checked the same way.
The <Collective> is a little different because the pitch curve is not usually set for full servo range in normal flight mode. However a typical flight mode is, so make sure the radio is in a mode so that the collective pitch is 0% at bottom stick and 100% at the top. Throttle hold should have 100% at the top so you can check that side with a simple flip of a switch.
For <Throttle> the same applies as with collective but this is easier since nearly all normal flight modes has 100% at the top. Now remember when checking the bottom end on a radio with a digital throttle trim then make sure you flip the throttle kill switch to check the bottom end point.
For the <Rudder> just move the stick to each side and flip the power switch off just as you did when checking the Aileron and Elevator.