Advice Can be a Vice: Know Your Audience

I broke a propeller the other day. Surprised? I didn’t think so. Actually the real shock was that this propeller lasted seven years before breaking it became noteworthy.

Now had I been doggedly flying all those years, this Master Airscrew might have been enshrined on my wall. Such as it is, I will not be keeping it. You see as my propeller broke, so did my airplane. And, just like my first flight lifting off the runway in June 2000, I won’t forget my beloved first airplane cartwheeling in the grass.

I will admit to pilot error, but not to dumb thumbs—at least not on this crash. My transmitter chirped a low-voltage warning shortly after rotation and just as I was turning downwind. I killed the engine, called the emergency and attempted to land, but I had lost power and control.

Thursday night and Friday morning I began to cycle my flight batteries. I planned to bring only three airplanes and transmitters. Had I stuck to the plan, charging at 1/2C and discharging at 1C, I would not be ready to fly. In an 11th hour fit, I thought of buying an additional cycler.

I didn’t have much cash so while I looked for a deal I got free advice. Honestly, it was sound, good advice. “There’s no need to cycle your NiHM batteries. Just charge them before use.” Originally I protested, but choose to follow since I had lots of batteries and could swap if needed. And, as it turned out, a swap was made.

My first flight with the Eagle 2 ended abruptly as my transmitter voltage dropped slowly away. So I made my second flight after replacing my transmitter batteries, but with an equally bad pack. No—let me say it was a worse pack. Worse because the power curve on this pack wasn’t going to tail off slowly. This pack’s discharge dove over a cliff.

While I was collecting advice there was one detail that was left unspoken—a detail that might have saved my airplane and propeller.

I don’t fly as much as I’d like to and, as a result, my packs were an unknown quantity. Would these batteries hold, or deliver, a charge? No one could know, but cycling would have clued me.

Years ago I remember working in my camera store and a very nice, older lady needed advice. I questioned her at length about her needs. Finally, now frustrated, she asked me why I kept questioning her. Answers! She wanted answers! Not more questions. My response: I want to be sure I’m giving good advice.

Advisees are often told to “consider the source.” Shall we too add: Advisers consider the audience. Q