There’s nothing more frustrating than getting to the field, fuelling up, after your standard safety checks of course, then finding the heli won't start! Without a doubt, the best way to get the glo hot is to apply the current directly to the plug, but in helis with forward facing engines like the Raptor series, this means taking the canopy off every time you want to start it.

The answer is to use a remote glo adaptor. These devices are cheap to buy, about a fiver over here in the UK and SOMETIMES work well. But they also produce another layer of complication to add to your frustration. The most common sort consists of a “mock” glo plug that’s attached somewhere convenient to the air frame. There’s a couple of wires, one that’s attached to an engine mounting bolt and the other usually comes with a clip that you attach permanently to the glo plug in the engine.

The number of times I’ve seen this arrangement fail to work is beyond belief! I don’t know why, maybe is to do with vibration breaking finely soldered joints in the wiring. My solution, or should I say the one I was shown by Beav, right at the start of my flying, couldn’t be simpler and works every time!

Find yourself three small alligator clips and a piece of wire about six inches long. The quality of the wire is not important, you could strip it out of a piece of mains flex if you like. Get your soldering iron and you’re ready.

First, find the “glo driver” adaptor and lead you plug into your flight box. Cut the adaptor off and solder an alligator clip onto the end of each wire.

Second, remove the remote glo from your heli. Take a single strand piece of wire about six inches long and solder a small alligator clip to one end. (If you can find one of the insulated types all the better but not essential). Pull back about half an inch of insulation from the other end and with your iron, tin the bare wire so it won’t fray.

Finally, take the short wire and attach the alligator clip to the glo plug in the engine. Route the wire back out of the canopy and attach it with a cable tie to the front undercarriage leg with the tinned end visible and you’re done!

To start the engine, take the starting lead, plug it into your power panel, attach one alligator clip to an engine mounting bolt and the other to the tinned wire. (Polarity is not important).

Result, a direct connection that you can SEE is intact!