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Avionic Gremlins
13 Jun 2013 10:30 #1
by Mossie
Avionic Gremlins was created by Mossie
Avionic gremlins
When we talk about avionics in an aircraft we are talking about all the electrics that is situated in the fuselage and the wings.
The avionics will vary depending on the aircraft, Some aircraft will have the basics i.e. ailerons, elevator, rudder throttle so as usual one servo will be fitted to each and maybe a four or five cell battery, but some can be very complicated indeed by having two or three batteries working different components plus an on board ignition and even battery monitors, all this adds to the mind boggling world or RC avionics.
With all the electrics that are in the aircraft surely you would think occasionally something may go wrong and yes occasionally it does. Only yesterday I was down at the field preparing my aircraft to fly with a couple of guys when the gremlins turned up to play, we were doing the usual checks ailerons, elevator, rudder that sort of thing and everything seemed fine, but when we fired up the engine things started to happen, the throttle arm on the servo started jumping back forth. We quickly aborted the flight in the hope we can rectify the problem, we checked the usual things linkages, battery connections but they all seemed fine so was the problem more severe? So we then checked the battery to see if it was low on power but no that was fine.
At this point heads were starting to be scratched. Then we noticed the receiver started to click in and out of failsafe, which seemed very strange. That explained why the throttle servo was moving on its own. After a period of time we found the problem, and it boiled down to the receiver antennas being buried in a whole bunch of electric wiring, so after some minor alterations we repositioned the receiver and the problem seemed to stop.
So to sum up, even though you fully charge up your batteries and check your working surfaces before leaving for the flying field, make sure all your electrics are checked. And make sure you check them again down at the field before flight and if they don’t seem like they function for any reason do not fly until the problem is sorted.
When we talk about avionics in an aircraft we are talking about all the electrics that is situated in the fuselage and the wings.
The avionics will vary depending on the aircraft, Some aircraft will have the basics i.e. ailerons, elevator, rudder throttle so as usual one servo will be fitted to each and maybe a four or five cell battery, but some can be very complicated indeed by having two or three batteries working different components plus an on board ignition and even battery monitors, all this adds to the mind boggling world or RC avionics.
With all the electrics that are in the aircraft surely you would think occasionally something may go wrong and yes occasionally it does. Only yesterday I was down at the field preparing my aircraft to fly with a couple of guys when the gremlins turned up to play, we were doing the usual checks ailerons, elevator, rudder that sort of thing and everything seemed fine, but when we fired up the engine things started to happen, the throttle arm on the servo started jumping back forth. We quickly aborted the flight in the hope we can rectify the problem, we checked the usual things linkages, battery connections but they all seemed fine so was the problem more severe? So we then checked the battery to see if it was low on power but no that was fine.
At this point heads were starting to be scratched. Then we noticed the receiver started to click in and out of failsafe, which seemed very strange. That explained why the throttle servo was moving on its own. After a period of time we found the problem, and it boiled down to the receiver antennas being buried in a whole bunch of electric wiring, so after some minor alterations we repositioned the receiver and the problem seemed to stop.
So to sum up, even though you fully charge up your batteries and check your working surfaces before leaving for the flying field, make sure all your electrics are checked. And make sure you check them again down at the field before flight and if they don’t seem like they function for any reason do not fly until the problem is sorted.
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14 Jun 2013 01:37 #4
by The Beard
Replied by The Beard on topic Avionic Gremlins
Easily done I try and ensure my wires arent crossed 
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