Winterize your (competition) ride

[kevgofly]

We've got a few request about taking care of your plane for winter storage, so I thought I'd throw a few thoughts down on how I store my planes for the winter (or deployments as the case often is).

So the season is over, time to build some and fly less. Of course after a long season it's a good idea to go over the plane now and identify any issues so you can plan the time to take care of them before the weather breaks and you end up kicking yourself and missing that fist "perfect day" to practice the new sequence. So let's get started.

Pick an end, any end! You should have a starting point, spinner, tailwheel, wing tip, whatever you decide, just keep it the same always and forever. Full scale pilots do this, they usually start at the left side a/c entry point and work all the way around the plane in a counter clock wise direction. I start with the spinner and work aft. For a major inspection, I'll remove the spinner, prop and cowl. Inspect every nut bolt and screw forward of the firewall, make sure they are tight! Clean everything! I usually take my cowl into the kitchen and use the dish detergent on the inside with a scrub brush, the wife loves this ! Check your baffels in the cowl, do they need some love? Look for cracks in the hub, this can be tuff to see, it may just look like a scratch in the aluminum, try using a black marker on it, then wipe away with alchohol, you will then be able to see the ink penetrate into the crack, bright light also helps. Is the front seal of the motor leaking (black greasy residue around the front of the motor)? If so, now's the time to send the motor in and get it taken care of. Make sure your throttle linkage is in good shape and the ball links are not worn to the point of needing replacing, if so, start your list for the hobby shop run (you may want to go ahead and throw fuel tubing and filters on there as well). Also consider your muffelers. The cannisters we are running can become built up with carbon adding weight and restricition to the exhaust. a lot of the carbon build up can be cleaned out using some comercially avaliable products, just poor it into the can, allow to soak, slosh around a bit and empty it out. Make sure and allow them plenty of time to air out before re-installing. Replace all your fuel lines and filters including the screen filer in the carb. Replacing the screen in the carb is easy, you only need to remove the back cover from the carb. This serves an added purpose, it will allow the excess fuel to empty from the carb so that it doesn't turn to varnish over the winter. If your running a felt clunk replace it as well as the lines inside the tank (don't get lazy here, the lines inside the tank are the most critical to replace). So obviously your inside the plane now for the fuel tank, is the tank in good shape? Does it need replaced? How about the rubber stopper for the tank? Are the velcro straps for the tank worn? If so, add them to the list. Now the throttle servo, how old is it? Is it getting slop in it? Are the mounting screws tight? How about the servo arm screw and the ball link on this end? If it's worn, add it to the list. Now look at the cannister mounts in the plane (you may have to remove a floor for this, depending on your set up). If your using silicon tubing in your can mount, it may be burned and brittle by now, if so, you guessed it, add it to the list.

Now go back to the prop and spinner. Inspect them, look for cracks, chips and such. If you have small chips, use a little dab of epoxy (common sense is called for here, never try to salvage a questionable prop) and sand it to shape once dry. Now, check the balance of your prop, this is especially critical if your using a wooden prop. I use an old High Point balancer that works very well.

So at this point, you probably have the front of the plane all torn apart and need some parts, so round them up and we'll move on to the next part of the process.

Kev

[Biff]

Sweet Kev! Thanks buddy!

[SUPERFLYJAY]

KEV IF ALL THAT CRAP NEEDS REPLACING I JUST GET A NEW PLANE !!!!

[kevgofly]

Ok, the turkey is down for the count, the shop is ankle deep in balsa dust, so lets get back to this.

After you've gone through the motor and everything associated with it, start looking at the fuse structure itself, firewall, motor box, all the critical joints in the front of the plane, work your way down to the gear plate. Now look over the gear, flip the plane over, check the pants for cracks, are the tires in good shape, do the wheels still fit the axles? If so, yep, add it to the list. I like to pull the wheel pants off and wash them in the sink (just to watch the wife get that crazed look in her eyes again). This is also a good time to touch up the scratches that have been accumulated over a season of dragging the plane around. Back up to the fuse and into the radio compartment, again, look at all the structure, wing attachment points, battery mounts and such. Look over the rudder servos and linkages, check the wires to make sure nothing is chaffing, do the servos have excessive slop? Check the rudder cables, are they tight? It's a good idea to hook up the amp meter and check the current draw to make sure nothign has changed and the matchbox is working correctly (if your using one). Check the receivers, is the crystal taped in? Look over the antennas closely and make sure there are no breaks in the insulation on them. How about the foam the receivers are mounted with, is it still in good shape? Also the velcro for the receivers and batteries, make sure it's not cutting through at any corners. Check all the extensions, especially the ones for the ailerons as they get used so much. Check all the hard points for mounting the hatch (one of mine was broken loose, see photo) and if there are pins at the front of the hatch make sure they are not worn. Use thin CA to harden the dowel pins or put aluminum tubing over the dowels and open the holes the go in to fit the O.D. of the dowel.

Look back into the fuse, reach into the turtle deck as far as you can and check all the cross braces, make sure nothing is broken loose. Are the rudder cable and antenna tubes all still secure? Use a flash light and look for anything loose or broken in the back of the fuse, especially around the tailwheel plate and stab tube area.

Ok, so at this point you should have inspected the motor everything that goes to it (forgot to mention ignition module before, but I'm sure you caught that) all your switches, every wire inside the fuse and the structure of the fuse itself. We still need to go over the hatch and canopy and start working on the outside of the fuse. Believe me, this takes much longer to read than to do.

Kev

[kevgofly]

First pictures shows the broken hard point for the hatch mount. Second shows the radio area, obviously, lots to look over here. Third is the front part (obviously this is prior to replacing the fuel lines) you can see the cowl ring mounts, ignition module switch and regulator on the right side, also the front tabs for the hatch mount.

Kev

[kevgofly]

Ok, time for a quick tip. If your going to leave your plane put away for a while, you want to keep the motor in good shape. One of the worst enemies of the bearings in our motors is moisture. So here's an easy way to minimize moisture entering your engine (fpr MTW cans). You need two tops from CA "kicker" bottles and three small packs of desicant, you know the stuff that comes packed in electronic equipment (provided you didn't eat it) a small plastic bag (sanwich bag will work) and a rubber band. Slip the desicant packs into the exhaust exit (one in each side) being carefull to leave a little sticking out. Now place the kicker caps over the exhaust. Drop the last desicant pack into the plastic bag and slip it over the carb. Rubeber band it in place to get the best seal you can. And there you have it, no more rusty bearings!

I added remove before flight flgs to my caps and use them all the time, no more black circles on my shirt sleeves from bumping the exhaust!

[tobytorkn]

hey kevin, its toby. been a long time since i seen you at the nats a couple years ago. i see on your avatar your living in marysville. that is where i grew up when i was a little kid. good memories! the biggest thing i remember about life in marysville is rain,rain, rain, and when it get dones raining, it rains again!lol. every time it rains for more than 2 days here in ohio it feels like i just went home . i really like the article you are writing here. here is a couple of tips i do when i put the planes up for the winter.

1. if you keep your plane in the shop you build in, then cover the front of the plane with a trash bag to prevent dust getting in the exhaust/carb. before i did this i found a 1" piece of balsa shavings move 40' across my shop from my work benches to the carb of my da!

2. unconnect all batteries. it will help prevent the dreaded black wire disease.

3. replace all fuel tubing at the beginning of the year. this will help prevent the lines from getting hard or cracking.

again, these are things if you are putting planes up for a couple of months when the weather is too bad to fly. again kevin, great article!

toby....
www.silhavyaerosports.net

[rc4flying]

Kevin,
Great topic. Been doing this kind of thing to my planes for years and have found it to help with having a trouble free spring flying season when winter is over. Also, it keeps the planes in tip-top shape.

Keep the tips coming. Now....back to my building.