Pre Flight Checklist

by kjohnson
Note
This pre flight checklist applies to the Piccolo. With some minor changes it can be used for other micro helis too.
  1. Landing gear intact with all 8 joints secure.
  2. Battery securely attached with rubber bands, with correct center-of-gravity, unplugged.
  3. Bottom shaft bearing fully inserted in chassis. Top shaft bearing fully inserted, and rubber grommet tight against the top bearing.
  4. Motor securely fastened. Pinion in correct position on motor shaft. Good mesh between pinion and main gear.
  5. Check tail boom for cracks.
  6. Tail skid and fin in place.
  7. Tail rotor intact. Bearings and silicon sleeves on both ends of tail shaft tight.
  8. Tail motor securely attached. Good mesh between tail motor pinion and tail rotor gear.
  9. Both tail motor leads connected securely at both ends.
  10. Main motor leads connected at both ends.
  11. Piccoboard and receiver mounted securely.
  12. Both servos intact and mounted securely.
  13. Both servo push-rods connected to servo arm and swashplate ball.
  14. Swashplate anti-rotation pin in slot.
  15. Hub intact, securely fastened to main shaft with pin, with both bearings attached.
  16. Anti-rotation link intact, connected to both sides of hub and to swashplate ball.
  17. Rotor head securely snapped onto both hub bearings.
  18. Flybar paddles and flybar control arms aligned and securely fastened.
  19. Both flybar control links securely fastened to swashplate balls and flybar arms.
  20. Rotor blades fastened to rotor head, with proper tightness. Tug the rotor tips in opposite directions to ensure they are straight.
  21. Make sure nobody is on your frequency!
  22. Turn on transmitter. Verify battery charge. Move throttle to off position. Center throttle and rudder trim.
  23. Connect battery to Piccoboard. Wait for LED to stay illuminated.
  24. Move the cyclic in circles to verify both servos are operating correctly.
  25. Gently flick the rudder to the right a few times to verify that the tail spins.
  26. Apply enough throttle to start the tail and main rotors spinning, but not enough to make the heli light on the skids. Check cyclic again, verifying that the rotor disk tilts as expected. Apply a slight bit of yaw to left and right to verify that the tail is responding.
  27. Look around. Note positions of obstacles, people, and animals. Note altitudes of ceilings and overhangs. Identify safe flight paths and hazardous areas. Give appropriate instructions/warnings to onlookers.
  28. Watch for vibrations as throttle is increased. Lift off a couple of feet and hover for a few seconds. Yaw left and right. If trim adjustments are necessary, land to make them.
  29. Have fun!