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RESTRAINTS

Consistent with long-standing SSSFA Field Safety Rule C2 (which all Members have signed as having read, understood and agreed to comply with, aircraft MUST be restrained at start-up. NO RESTRAINT = NO FLY

2.4 Ghz

Recently we had an interesting incident at Garrawarra involving a Spectrum 2.4Ghz radio.

Wayne Baker was test flying a new member’s World star 40, this Aircraft had flown on two previous occasions with no problems.

Wayne had completed 2 circuits and was down wind in front of the flight line about 50 to 60 feet out and starting a left-hand turn, the model rolled to about 30deg and appeared to go into failsafe. Wayne had no control whatsoever.

It continued to do a 270deg turn, during this turn it overflew the end of the pit area and continued over the flight line before crashing in the bush, this took about 15 seconds.

The model and all parts were recovered from the bush and Zane Geary immediately checked the batteries on his high tech charger, they were fully charged (5cell 1100Mah).

The model was reassembled, and the radio worked perfectly.

Despite much checking and re-checking no fault could be found.

The radio was taken to Hstore, where it was purchased, Ian checked it, everything was OK including the batteries, It has since been sent to the distributor for checking.

I'll be interested to hear the results.

I am concerned about a couple of things here assuming that it did go into failsafe,

It would appear that the failsafe low throttle position was NOT set.

As I understand it there is provision to set a fail safe lock out time in these radios, say .5 to 5 seconds (I'm not sure of the actual time) but this locked out for about 15 seconds!

Regardless of what happened, instructors, and anybody test flying aircraft, must ensure that failsafe settings, (usually low throttle all others neutral) are not overlooked by the owner of the radio/aircraft, this includes 36Mhz PCM.

This is as easy as running up the aircraft to full throttle while it's restrained and turning the TX OFF, the engine will go to the failsafe position setting.

If the radio has a failsafe lockout time I would recommend bringing it to the lower end of the scale, 0.5 second, as from what I have seen 2.4Ghz radios take a little while to re-establish the link.

2.4 Ghz radios appear to be the way of the future, and going by what we have seen with the development of radios over the years, should be fault free. However we still have the human element and we need to assure that people using this equipment understand it, the best radios are useless if the setup is not carried out properly.

Ian Boyd is writing an article about issues he has found with Spectrum radios, (all appear to be operator related) for the newsletter.

Howard Cooper,   (Chief Flying Instructor)

MAAA

2.4 GHz EQUIPMENT POLICY

© M.A.A.A. Page 1 of 5 08/07/2007

Please have a look at this information below if you are thinking of importing a 2.4Ghz radio.

N.B. This is an extract of MOP 058. Iif you use 2.4Ghz equipment please take time to read this extract. Heaven knows you may learn something. (I did!!) .

For further information click on the link below

http://www.maaa.asn.au/mop.html

Happy reading,

Howard.

1. INTRODUCTION

This frequency band specified for this application in Australia covers the frequency range 2.4000 GHz to 2.4835 GHz. The use of the 2.4 GHz band for model aircraft is a developing technology and as such this document provides the current M.A.A.A. Policy and Guidance. However it is

to be expected that as development continues and experience is gained that it will be subject both to refinement and possibly significant changes.

**Below are updates Extracts relating to the importation of 2.4Ghz

3.2. These standards and the Class Licence are specific to Australia. For the user, the fact that an item of equipment has a C-Tick compliance mark applied indicates that the importer or manufacturer has made a declaration of conformity that the equipment complies with the mandatory obligations under the regulatory requirements, holding the appropriate test reports to the applicable standards. Without this compliance mark the Radio communications Act places the responsibility on the user to ensure that the equipment complies with the applicable standards. There are severe penalties for operation of equipment that does not comply with the applicable Australian Standards.

3.3. The fact that similar equipment may be sold with a compliance sticker in the Australian market does not guarantee that all equipment of that type or brand complies. The 2.4 GHz specifications vary through most countries of the world and there may be internal hardware or software changes without this being indicated externally. These may change with time. The only reliable source for an individual to obtain information on the compliance status of equipment without an Australian C-Tick compliance sticker is likely to be the original equipment manufacturer. See also

3.4.   The operation of equipment that does NOT conform to the requirements of this Policy may result in the Affiliate Member having a liability in the event of a claim on the M.A.A.A. insurance policies.

Section 4 - Guidance.

4.2. Unlike the 36 MHz band used for model aircraft, which is almost unique to Australia, 2.4 GHz is used extensively through the world. Unfortunately the standards are not the same in each country and the Australian Standards are, in many cases, more onerous than those that apply in other countries. These standards cover not only the specific frequency band but also power output, spurious signal levels, EMR, EMC, environmental conditions and other technical parameters which are not usually specified in model radio control datasheets and for which it is impossible to the average user to determine.

4.3. The ACMA in its “Bring communications equipment into Australia fact sheet”, updated 29th March 2007, states that “As the Australian market for radio communications equipment is relatively small compared to the European, US and Asian markets all of which have different equipment standards and frequency usage regimes, it is not surprising that the majority of equipment for sale overseas is unsuitable for use in Australia. The process of having a single piece of radio communications equipment tested for compliance standards is time consuming and expensive. It is generally uneconomic for one off imports to be tested for compliance.” Also in the fact sheet the ACMA advise that serious penalties apply for the use of radio communications equipment that does not comply with the Australian Standards.

4.4.** Anyone considering the use of equipment that does NOT have a C-Tick compliance sticker should very carefully take into account whether they have sufficient supporting documentation, and the quality of that documentation, to show that the Australian standards for their specific piece of equipment are met. Users are advised that the legislation is comprehensive but complex, and it is possible to take individual sections out of context and make incorrect judgments on the requirements. If further information is required then it can be obtained from the Local ACMA Offices.

Howard Cooper,   (Chief Flying Instructor)

FUN FLYS (Planned)

Sept 14th 2008

SSSFA Club Monthly Flying competition

This competition has now been cancelled for the rest of the year due to lack of sufficient entries