Maintenance Question

[BubbaJoeLouis]

A large helicopter owner is required to perform tons of maintenance at very regular hours of operation. I have not seen anything about this for RC sized helicopters. Are we supposed to rebuild the head, engine or other critical parts at regular intervals? Or do we usually wait until failure in flight??

Thanks!
BJL;)

[tdswan]

As for maintenance on my Raptor, I usually give it the once-over every week or so(during my flying season, not all winter ;) ) Just taking a screwdriver to all the screws, making sure nothing has come loose, checking ball-links for wear. Looking over any slack in the bearings, making sure the clutch is in working order. When I find something that should either be replaced or monitored, I do one or the other. I don't think anyone's made up the difinitive guide to maintenance. Just keep up with the pre-flight inspection.

I put a lot of hours on my Raptor, so I do this weekly, someone who doesn't fly as much could probably stretch this out a little more. All I've needed to replace so far is my pinion and the support bearings for the pinion because they wore out. While I had it torn down, I also replaced the mainshaft bearings. Once winter came, I tore it down and gave it a REAL thorough checkup...all was well.