Airframe Maintenance
The airframe should be inspected before each flight during the Preflight Inspection. Additional maintenance procedures are performed according to the Maintenance Schedule or as needed.
Airframe Inspection
The Airframe inspection is performed to evaluate the overall health and status of the major structural components of the aircraft including the fuselage, wings, booms, tail, and control surfaces. This procedure also includes inspecting the electrical harnesses, and antennas.
Control Surfaces
The control surfaces on Sapphire are the ailerons, rudders, and elevators. Check for tears or separation along the hinge line, delamination on the bottom surface and trailing edge, and for proper adhesion of the control surface wiper. Ensure the wipers do not hinder the control surfaces from hinging. Confirm that the control horns are securely anchored without signs of loosening or cracking.
The control surface should move freely with the only resistance being from the servo gear train. If a servo movement skips, binds, or does not move at all, the servo may need to be replaced.
Composite Structure
Check for damage to the composite airframe. Look for cracking and buckling on the outer skin of the airframe. Check for delamination, particularly at the trailing edge of the wing. Chipping paint is acceptable, although it may be indicative of further damage beneath the paint.
Inspect the cup joints between the fuselage and booms, booms and wings, and booms and tail pieces. Ensure the cup joints are securely bonded to the airfame itself with no wiggle or play between the two. The cup joints must not be cracked or show any other signs of damage. Ensure the D-sub connectors on each cup joint are securely fastened with their mounting hardware.
Inspect the security of VPS battery bays, pitot tube and pilot camera mount, payload mount, and avionics mounts. Ensure the rubber vibration mounts used for the avionics tray are not degraded or sheared.
Damage detection in composites is difficult due to the pattern of the fabrics and the fact that much of the damage often occurs beneath the top surface of the laminate or paint.
Fasteners
Confirm all fasteners are fully tightened. Many critical fasteners have torque stripe applied to the screw head. Ensure that the torque stripe is not broken.
Wiring
Check wiring for any visible chaffing, kinks, or cuts. Where applicable, ensure the wiring is properly routed and secured to the zip tie mounts. The zip tie mounts should not show any signs of peeling. The protective braided cable sleeve should be secured with a lacing cord knot. Check all connectors for bent or partially seated pins. Ensure all Nicomatic connectors on the avionics and spar board are secured with their quarter-turn fasteners.
Antennas
Verify that all antennas (IP radio, GPS, transponder) are securely mounted and that all RF connections are fastened.