March 2006 47
by Donald Brooks
Models are lined up at the edge of a typical pit area awaiting preparation for flight.
This provides many opportunities to practice safety and courtesy.
LAST MONTH, in the first article of this
safety series, I wrote about shop safety
and the five levels of defense we must
practice to keep ourselves and others free
from injury during model construction:
proper attitude, prechecks, backup,
isolation, and barriers. I’ll refer to those in
this month’s discussion of model-aircraft
flight-preparation safety and flying-field
etiquette.
As far as attitude is concerned, I will
assume that you have achieved that first
level of safety defense; you are not
hurried, stressed out, tired, distracted, or
afflicted with unjustified overconfidence
when you arrive at the flying field. You
are well rested and ready for the
interesting process of preparing your
aircraft for a safe flight.
I will also assume that if you are a
beginner you have made arrangements for
flight instruction. I’ll go into detail about
that next month when I review safety in
flight operations.
This discussion will center on the
precheck level of defense, which in this
case is the preflight check of your aircraft.
I will cover completing a thorough
preflight check, getting the engine
running, and taking the aircraft to the
taxiway.
Most organized flying fields have six
physical areas dedicated to model-related
activities. Arriving at the field and starting
from the outside these are the parking
area, spectator area, flight-preparation area
(also referred to as the “pit”), taxiways,
runway, and overflight area.
A boundary—a fence, railroad ties, or
other marking—that clearly separates the
various activities normally identifies the
first three areas. The taxiways and runway
are apparent. The overflight area for RC
operations will not be marked, but it must
be understood and used by all RC fliers.
AMA defines the overflight area as an
imaginary box with a ground-level
footprint that is roughly 2,000 feet long
and approximately 600 feet across, with
the runway centered at the edge of one of
the long sides. This box is surrounded by a
safety zone that extends 250 feet beyond
both ends and beyond the side opposite the
runway. All flight operations are to be
conducted in this imaginary box.
This flight-operations box is usually
considered to be 400 feet high to avoid
any interference with full-scale aircraft.
There can be no people, buildings, major
roadways, or full-scale aircraft operating
within the RC flight-operations box.
This kind of layout for a model flying
field physically isolates the overflight area
from areas containing people. This lowers
the safety risk from aircraft control failures.
If control of a model is lost for some reason,
it will likely crash in an area away from
pilots and spectators.
If the various sections are not clearly
identified at the flying field where you
intend to fly, ask a modeler who is familiar
with the field what defines the various
areas.
The first point of field etiquette is that if
you are unfamiliar with the flying field, ask
if there are any restrictions or special rules
for flying there.
Flying at any model airdrome chartered
under the auspices of AMA requires you to
have an AMA membership, to establish that
you have met the insurance requirements
for flying at the field.
Most sites have specific rules such as
restrictions on sound levels from operating
engines, starting and taxiing restrictions
for certain aircraft, or prohibition of
alcoholic beverages. You should learn
what the rules are before flying rather than
be told, in no uncertain way, after you
violate one of them.
The second point of flying-field etiquette is
ensuring that you have authorization to turn
on your radio transmitter. However, this is
more than etiquette; it is an essential point
of safety for control of RC aircraft at every
AMA chartered flying field.
Each site has some method of
controlling radio-frequency usage. Only one
model at a time can be flown on a specific
frequency. Energizing a second radio
transmitter on the same frequency will jam
the operating signal for the flying aircraft,
causing it to be uncontrollable and crash.
Photos by the author
Frequency control boards appear in many
variations. This one has paddles clipped to
steel rods, with Plexiglas pockets behind
each for the AMA card.
Some of the many devices available for
hearing protection. Most provide roughly
a 20-decibel depression in sound level.
A preflight safety-check regimen is vital. A hearty tug on the aileron verifies that the
hinge is tightly secured.
A pit-area starting stand is at the right. The model is placed behind the cushioned vertical
risers with its nose extending forward of the risers. This provides a secure way to hold the
aircraft while starting and adjusting the engine.
There are 50 discrete radio frequencies
in the most-used 72 MHz radio broadcast
band for control of model aircraft. Each
broadcast frequency is referred to as a
“channel.” The channel number appears on
a label on the back of your radio
transmitter.
The use of these frequencies is
controlled by the employment of frequency
paddles you obtain and clip onto your
transmitter antenna. The first step in
preparing your model for flight when you
arrive at the flying field is to obtain the
appropriate frequency paddle.
Go to the staging area for the
frequency paddles and place your AMA
card in the slot when you take one. Only
turn on your transmitter if you have the
frequency paddle for that frequency
attached to your antenna.
A secondary benefit of placing your
AMA card in the slot comes into play if
someone else would like to use the
frequency you are on. He or she can look
at your card to see who has the use of the
frequency.
Be thoughtful. After your flight, turn
off your radio and store the transmitter,
return the paddle to the frequency control
board, and retrieve your AMA card.
Most modelers will hold you
responsible for equipment replacement or
repair costs if you cause a crash by
operating your radio transmitter without
authorization. Even worse, doing so places
everyone at the flying field and in the
vicinity at risk by interfering with the
control of an airborne aircraft. All our
safety precautions based on attitude,
precheck, and backup would be voided
with one simple flip of the transmitter
switch. Please make sure you have
authorization—the frequency paddle—
before turning on your radio transmitter.
Once you have the paddle for your
channel and have placed it on your radio
antenna, turn on your transmitter and then
the receiver in your model. You are ready
for the preflight inspection of your aircraft.
There are four necessary checks for a
radio-controlled model before flight: a
bolts-tight and visual inspection of the
48 MODEL AVIATION
model’s exterior, a control-function check,
a battery check, and a radio-reception
check. It is better to perform these before
you fuel the aircraft. You may need to turn
it upside down for some of the checks, and
if it’s fueled there may be a spill.
The types of prechecks are detailed in
the following.
1) Mechanical and Visual: The first
precheck is mechanical. Thoroughly
inspect the exterior of the aircraft; look for
loose, damaged, or torn covering or
structural damage. Pull-test the wheel
collars to make sure they are secure.
Ensure that the wheels roll freely.
If you find any damage, forget about
flying. Take the model back to the shop
and complete any needed repairs. You will
be happier for doing so. Several times I
chose to fly an aircraft with a known
deficiency. The results were seldom good.
It costs much more time and money to
completely rebuild a crashed model than to
make a minor repair.
Make sure that all bolts and screws—
engine bolts, muffler bolts, wheel collars,
wing-mounting bolts, screws holding the
landing gear, and servo mounting
screws—are tight. Torque the propeller nut
as tight as you can get it with a 6-inch
wrench or one of the four-way wrenches to
keep the propeller from spinning off
during the starting process.
2) Control: Do the controls for the
aircraft move easily, without binding? Do
they go the correct direction when you
move the control stick?
Pay particular attention to the ailerons
since they are easily reversed with modern
radios. Stand behind the aircraft. If you
move the aileron control stick for a right
turn, the right aileron should travel in the
upward direction and the left aileron
should travel in the downward direction.
Pull on the control surfaces to check
the hinges’ integrity. Sometimes a hinge
will break or pull out of the slot where it
was glued because of vibration or rough
treatment.
3) Battery: Inspecting the battery can
be done two ways. You can measure its
voltage with a voltmeter that places a load
on your receiver’s power circuit and
confirm that the power indicator on your
transmitter registers more than 80%. The
other way is to verify that the transmitter
and receiver are charged for 12 hours the
night before you fly.
4) Radio: Item 1 of the AMA Safety
Code for RC flight (which you can find
elsewhere in this magazine) states, “I will
have completed a successful radio
equipment ground range check before the
first flight of a new or repaired model
aircraft.”
To perform this inspection, have
someone watch the aircraft while you
stand 30 paces—roughly 100 feet—from it
with the transmitter antenna collapsed.
Hold the transmitter in a horizontal
position with both hands so the control
sticks point straight up and the antenna
stub is pointing directly at the model. This
configuration will give the worst signal
reception, which is what you want for this
test.
If the radio system functions properly
in this configuration it will function
properly with the antenna extended while
the model is airborne. Move the controls to
activate the servos while your observer
verifies their proper operation. The
controls should move freely, smoothly,
and with no jitter.
You can also do the range check if you
are alone. Place the transmitter on the
ground with the antenna collapsed and
pointed straight up. Carry your model 30
paces from the transmitter. If the servos
jitter or make noise before you reach 30
paces, you have a problem with the radio
link and an unsatisfactory range check.
I recommend that you perform a radio
range check before the first flight of every
session. I also recommend that you
reperform the radio reception check with
someone holding the model off the ground,
with the engine running at full throttle.
Why? With the engine running, the aircraft
components will be exposed to the inflight
vibration that was absent for the
quiet range check.
I have seen many routine preflight
range checks reveal equipment failures.batteries the night before. Maybe the pilot
thought he or she charged the battery but
connected the charger to a switchcontrolled
receptacle and turned off the
receptacle when leaving the shop. Perhaps
one cell in a four-cell battery has failed.
Maybe something is wrong with the
antenna installation in the model.
Vibration caused by the running engine
may cause connection failures. Poor
connections may cause the control surfaces
to jitter when exposed to vibration. Seek
experienced help to assist you in
troubleshooting if you find a malfunction.
At a recent contest I had planned to fly
a glider in one of the events, but the range
check indicated that the receiver battery
was dead. Therefore, I substituted another
aircraft to fly in the competition.
Fueling and Start-up: There are three
barriers you should consider for starting an
internal-combustion-engine-powered
model, the first of which is for sound.
Most model engines generate a noise
level of 90 decibels at a distance of 10 feet
when operated at full throttle. This level is
even higher when you are in a position to
adjust the throttle. If you enjoy listening to
good music and want to conserve your
hearing, wear an appropriate barrier: a set
of earplugs, a hearing-protection headset,
or both.
We gradually lose our hearing as we
age, and exposure to sounds at high
decibel levels accelerates that loss. I have
been told by medical personnel that the
loss process is cumulative and irreversible.
Protect your hearing while you still have it.
The second barrier is wearing a pair of
gloves if you intend to hand-start the
engine. Using a “chicken stick” is even
better.
A chicken stick is a piece of broom or
mop handle measuring roughly 8 inches
long that you use to flip the propeller. You
should install a piece of insulating foam
over the stick; that way, if the propeller
strikes the stick on a backfire, the stick
won’t break the propeller.
The third barrier is for your feet; wear
substantial shoes—not flip-flops—if you
intend to prepare and fly a model. An
unprotected foot placed inadvertently in
the arc of a spinning propeller would not
be a pretty sight.
The third point of field etiquette is to use
an overflow bottle on the vent line from
the fuel tank when fueling your model.
This will allow you to collect that excess
fuel for later use and prevents grass-killing
spills. Many flying sites have grassed pit
areas, and the owners would not like
yellow splotches in their green carpet.
During the fueling process no one in
the vicinity of the aircraft being fueled
should smoke. In addition, the methyl
alcohol used in our models is poisonous to
humans; don’t try to clear a clogged fuel
line by sucking on the fuel hose.
The fourth point of field etiquette is to
consider where the propeller blast from
your aircraft will go. Orient your model for
starting so that the propeller blast will not
send methyl alcohol or stirred dust in the
direction of other models, vehicles, people,
or pets. I usually start my aircraft with the
tail pointed toward the runway edge of the
pit area so that any blast is directed to the
edge of the area between the runway and
the pit area, where no one is.
When starting the aircraft you should
have a backup holder—the third level of
safety. Either have someone hold the
model or install some kind of restraint.
This is the backup for your ability to
control the airplane’s movement and
operate the radio controls simultaneously.
When you start the aircraft engine, be
aware of anything that could fall into the
propeller arc. The wires from the field box
to the glow warmer and the wires from the
field box to the electric starter need to be
arranged so that they will never come in
contact with the propeller arc.
Some fliers like to wear a neck strap to
support the transmitter’s weight when they
are flying. If you use such a device, leave
it attached to the transmitter. Do not hang your extended antenna enter; it makes
a great antenna shortener.
I catch the transmitter handle with two
fingers of my left hand and grab the left
wing’s LE. This keeps my transmitter and
my hand off of the slippery-with-fuel right
wing. Then I reach around and grab the
bottom of the fuselage with my right hand.
This configuration gives me good control
of the aircraft.
On your journey to the taxiway, watch
for tripping hazards such as low fences
that may surround the pit area. Stepping
over one of these obstacles with a model
that has the engine running is an awful
idea. Think of the consequences. Where
will your face be with respect to that
spinning propeller when you hit the
ground?
You have reached the taxiway. I hope this
article has given you new insights about
hazards and appropriate safety actions to
protect yourself and others from injury
during this important preparation task. The
next two articles in this series will cover
safety in model flight operations.
Be safe and good flying! MA
Donald W. Brooks
[email protected] the strap around your neck when you start
and adjust the engine.
During one of our club safety
discussions I asked, “Where do you think
the snap of the transmitter support strap
would end up if it got into the propeller arc
while you were starting the aircraft?”
The response was immediate and
intense: “Smack-dab in your left ear!”
That sounded like firsthand experience
to me. He was lucky that the only damage
was that his ear smarted for a while.
Once the engine is started, the propeller
arc becomes a lethal slicing zone. Anything
entering that arc will be rearranged, and the
propeller itself can be easily damaged.
Propeller tip speeds at full throttle are
between Mach 0.3 and 0.5—250-350
mph—not a good time to be hurried, tired,
stressed out, distracted, or overconfident.
Move to the rear of the aircraft to remove
the glow warmer and to make any
adjustments.
Engine fuel-mixture adjustment has its
own dangers. I have seen experienced
modelers succumb to the Commodore
Syndrome (overconfidence, described in
last month’s installment) while trying to
adjust their engines. While still in front of
the aircraft, they reach around the propeller
to make the mixture adjustment.
I cringe every time I see that. Those
fliers think they are invincible and are
unreceptive to safe-practice improvement.
A slight miscalculation or a momentary
distraction is all it would take to place the
modeler’s wrist and arm at major risk of
injury.
Objects in the grass, such as rocks or
sticks, should be cleared from the area
before you start your engine. Anything in
the propeller arc could be slung up and into
an innocent bystander.
Similar concerns about pieces being
thrown from the propeller arise following a
hard landing in which the propeller may
have been splintered or nicked. A flaw in
the propeller can weaken it enough to cause
it to fly apart if raised again to a high rpm.
Inspect the propeller thoroughly for damage
after a hard landing if you plan to continue
using it.
To the Taxiway: The club I belong to
chose to disallow taxiing aircraft in the pit
preparation area; the board of directors
decided this was an inherently dangerous
practice. A large number of pilots may be in
that location at any time. If control of a
model is lost while it’s taxiing in the pit
area, someone may be seriously injured by
a propeller.
Most pilots carry their models to the
taxiway or to the runway. Larger models
that are hard to carry are pushed or pulled
to the taxiway or to the runway by their
vertical fins. The pilots’ flying stations at
our field are protected from out-of-control
aircraft by fences that outline the taxiways.
To carry the model safely I leave the
transmitter antenna collapsed. I have
learned that the propeller arc is a bad place
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 47,48,50,52,55
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 47,48,50,52,55
March 2006 47
by Donald Brooks
Models are lined up at the edge of a typical pit area awaiting preparation for flight.
This provides many opportunities to practice safety and courtesy.
LAST MONTH, in the first article of this
safety series, I wrote about shop safety
and the five levels of defense we must
practice to keep ourselves and others free
from injury during model construction:
proper attitude, prechecks, backup,
isolation, and barriers. I’ll refer to those in
this month’s discussion of model-aircraft
flight-preparation safety and flying-field
etiquette.
As far as attitude is concerned, I will
assume that you have achieved that first
level of safety defense; you are not
hurried, stressed out, tired, distracted, or
afflicted with unjustified overconfidence
when you arrive at the flying field. You
are well rested and ready for the
interesting process of preparing your
aircraft for a safe flight.
I will also assume that if you are a
beginner you have made arrangements for
flight instruction. I’ll go into detail about
that next month when I review safety in
flight operations.
This discussion will center on the
precheck level of defense, which in this
case is the preflight check of your aircraft.
I will cover completing a thorough
preflight check, getting the engine
running, and taking the aircraft to the
taxiway.
Most organized flying fields have six
physical areas dedicated to model-related
activities. Arriving at the field and starting
from the outside these are the parking
area, spectator area, flight-preparation area
(also referred to as the “pit”), taxiways,
runway, and overflight area.
A boundary—a fence, railroad ties, or
other marking—that clearly separates the
various activities normally identifies the
first three areas. The taxiways and runway
are apparent. The overflight area for RC
operations will not be marked, but it must
be understood and used by all RC fliers.
AMA defines the overflight area as an
imaginary box with a ground-level
footprint that is roughly 2,000 feet long
and approximately 600 feet across, with
the runway centered at the edge of one of
the long sides. This box is surrounded by a
safety zone that extends 250 feet beyond
both ends and beyond the side opposite the
runway. All flight operations are to be
conducted in this imaginary box.
This flight-operations box is usually
considered to be 400 feet high to avoid
any interference with full-scale aircraft.
There can be no people, buildings, major
roadways, or full-scale aircraft operating
within the RC flight-operations box.
This kind of layout for a model flying
field physically isolates the overflight area
from areas containing people. This lowers
the safety risk from aircraft control failures.
If control of a model is lost for some reason,
it will likely crash in an area away from
pilots and spectators.
If the various sections are not clearly
identified at the flying field where you
intend to fly, ask a modeler who is familiar
with the field what defines the various
areas.
The first point of field etiquette is that if
you are unfamiliar with the flying field, ask
if there are any restrictions or special rules
for flying there.
Flying at any model airdrome chartered
under the auspices of AMA requires you to
have an AMA membership, to establish that
you have met the insurance requirements
for flying at the field.
Most sites have specific rules such as
restrictions on sound levels from operating
engines, starting and taxiing restrictions
for certain aircraft, or prohibition of
alcoholic beverages. You should learn
what the rules are before flying rather than
be told, in no uncertain way, after you
violate one of them.
The second point of flying-field etiquette is
ensuring that you have authorization to turn
on your radio transmitter. However, this is
more than etiquette; it is an essential point
of safety for control of RC aircraft at every
AMA chartered flying field.
Each site has some method of
controlling radio-frequency usage. Only one
model at a time can be flown on a specific
frequency. Energizing a second radio
transmitter on the same frequency will jam
the operating signal for the flying aircraft,
causing it to be uncontrollable and crash.
Photos by the author
Frequency control boards appear in many
variations. This one has paddles clipped to
steel rods, with Plexiglas pockets behind
each for the AMA card.
Some of the many devices available for
hearing protection. Most provide roughly
a 20-decibel depression in sound level.
A preflight safety-check regimen is vital. A hearty tug on the aileron verifies that the
hinge is tightly secured.
A pit-area starting stand is at the right. The model is placed behind the cushioned vertical
risers with its nose extending forward of the risers. This provides a secure way to hold the
aircraft while starting and adjusting the engine.
There are 50 discrete radio frequencies
in the most-used 72 MHz radio broadcast
band for control of model aircraft. Each
broadcast frequency is referred to as a
“channel.” The channel number appears on
a label on the back of your radio
transmitter.
The use of these frequencies is
controlled by the employment of frequency
paddles you obtain and clip onto your
transmitter antenna. The first step in
preparing your model for flight when you
arrive at the flying field is to obtain the
appropriate frequency paddle.
Go to the staging area for the
frequency paddles and place your AMA
card in the slot when you take one. Only
turn on your transmitter if you have the
frequency paddle for that frequency
attached to your antenna.
A secondary benefit of placing your
AMA card in the slot comes into play if
someone else would like to use the
frequency you are on. He or she can look
at your card to see who has the use of the
frequency.
Be thoughtful. After your flight, turn
off your radio and store the transmitter,
return the paddle to the frequency control
board, and retrieve your AMA card.
Most modelers will hold you
responsible for equipment replacement or
repair costs if you cause a crash by
operating your radio transmitter without
authorization. Even worse, doing so places
everyone at the flying field and in the
vicinity at risk by interfering with the
control of an airborne aircraft. All our
safety precautions based on attitude,
precheck, and backup would be voided
with one simple flip of the transmitter
switch. Please make sure you have
authorization—the frequency paddle—
before turning on your radio transmitter.
Once you have the paddle for your
channel and have placed it on your radio
antenna, turn on your transmitter and then
the receiver in your model. You are ready
for the preflight inspection of your aircraft.
There are four necessary checks for a
radio-controlled model before flight: a
bolts-tight and visual inspection of the
48 MODEL AVIATION
model’s exterior, a control-function check,
a battery check, and a radio-reception
check. It is better to perform these before
you fuel the aircraft. You may need to turn
it upside down for some of the checks, and
if it’s fueled there may be a spill.
The types of prechecks are detailed in
the following.
1) Mechanical and Visual: The first
precheck is mechanical. Thoroughly
inspect the exterior of the aircraft; look for
loose, damaged, or torn covering or
structural damage. Pull-test the wheel
collars to make sure they are secure.
Ensure that the wheels roll freely.
If you find any damage, forget about
flying. Take the model back to the shop
and complete any needed repairs. You will
be happier for doing so. Several times I
chose to fly an aircraft with a known
deficiency. The results were seldom good.
It costs much more time and money to
completely rebuild a crashed model than to
make a minor repair.
Make sure that all bolts and screws—
engine bolts, muffler bolts, wheel collars,
wing-mounting bolts, screws holding the
landing gear, and servo mounting
screws—are tight. Torque the propeller nut
as tight as you can get it with a 6-inch
wrench or one of the four-way wrenches to
keep the propeller from spinning off
during the starting process.
2) Control: Do the controls for the
aircraft move easily, without binding? Do
they go the correct direction when you
move the control stick?
Pay particular attention to the ailerons
since they are easily reversed with modern
radios. Stand behind the aircraft. If you
move the aileron control stick for a right
turn, the right aileron should travel in the
upward direction and the left aileron
should travel in the downward direction.
Pull on the control surfaces to check
the hinges’ integrity. Sometimes a hinge
will break or pull out of the slot where it
was glued because of vibration or rough
treatment.
3) Battery: Inspecting the battery can
be done two ways. You can measure its
voltage with a voltmeter that places a load
on your receiver’s power circuit and
confirm that the power indicator on your
transmitter registers more than 80%. The
other way is to verify that the transmitter
and receiver are charged for 12 hours the
night before you fly.
4) Radio: Item 1 of the AMA Safety
Code for RC flight (which you can find
elsewhere in this magazine) states, “I will
have completed a successful radio
equipment ground range check before the
first flight of a new or repaired model
aircraft.”
To perform this inspection, have
someone watch the aircraft while you
stand 30 paces—roughly 100 feet—from it
with the transmitter antenna collapsed.
Hold the transmitter in a horizontal
position with both hands so the control
sticks point straight up and the antenna
stub is pointing directly at the model. This
configuration will give the worst signal
reception, which is what you want for this
test.
If the radio system functions properly
in this configuration it will function
properly with the antenna extended while
the model is airborne. Move the controls to
activate the servos while your observer
verifies their proper operation. The
controls should move freely, smoothly,
and with no jitter.
You can also do the range check if you
are alone. Place the transmitter on the
ground with the antenna collapsed and
pointed straight up. Carry your model 30
paces from the transmitter. If the servos
jitter or make noise before you reach 30
paces, you have a problem with the radio
link and an unsatisfactory range check.
I recommend that you perform a radio
range check before the first flight of every
session. I also recommend that you
reperform the radio reception check with
someone holding the model off the ground,
with the engine running at full throttle.
Why? With the engine running, the aircraft
components will be exposed to the inflight
vibration that was absent for the
quiet range check.
I have seen many routine preflight
range checks reveal equipment failures.batteries the night before. Maybe the pilot
thought he or she charged the battery but
connected the charger to a switchcontrolled
receptacle and turned off the
receptacle when leaving the shop. Perhaps
one cell in a four-cell battery has failed.
Maybe something is wrong with the
antenna installation in the model.
Vibration caused by the running engine
may cause connection failures. Poor
connections may cause the control surfaces
to jitter when exposed to vibration. Seek
experienced help to assist you in
troubleshooting if you find a malfunction.
At a recent contest I had planned to fly
a glider in one of the events, but the range
check indicated that the receiver battery
was dead. Therefore, I substituted another
aircraft to fly in the competition.
Fueling and Start-up: There are three
barriers you should consider for starting an
internal-combustion-engine-powered
model, the first of which is for sound.
Most model engines generate a noise
level of 90 decibels at a distance of 10 feet
when operated at full throttle. This level is
even higher when you are in a position to
adjust the throttle. If you enjoy listening to
good music and want to conserve your
hearing, wear an appropriate barrier: a set
of earplugs, a hearing-protection headset,
or both.
We gradually lose our hearing as we
age, and exposure to sounds at high
decibel levels accelerates that loss. I have
been told by medical personnel that the
loss process is cumulative and irreversible.
Protect your hearing while you still have it.
The second barrier is wearing a pair of
gloves if you intend to hand-start the
engine. Using a “chicken stick” is even
better.
A chicken stick is a piece of broom or
mop handle measuring roughly 8 inches
long that you use to flip the propeller. You
should install a piece of insulating foam
over the stick; that way, if the propeller
strikes the stick on a backfire, the stick
won’t break the propeller.
The third barrier is for your feet; wear
substantial shoes—not flip-flops—if you
intend to prepare and fly a model. An
unprotected foot placed inadvertently in
the arc of a spinning propeller would not
be a pretty sight.
The third point of field etiquette is to use
an overflow bottle on the vent line from
the fuel tank when fueling your model.
This will allow you to collect that excess
fuel for later use and prevents grass-killing
spills. Many flying sites have grassed pit
areas, and the owners would not like
yellow splotches in their green carpet.
During the fueling process no one in
the vicinity of the aircraft being fueled
should smoke. In addition, the methyl
alcohol used in our models is poisonous to
humans; don’t try to clear a clogged fuel
line by sucking on the fuel hose.
The fourth point of field etiquette is to
consider where the propeller blast from
your aircraft will go. Orient your model for
starting so that the propeller blast will not
send methyl alcohol or stirred dust in the
direction of other models, vehicles, people,
or pets. I usually start my aircraft with the
tail pointed toward the runway edge of the
pit area so that any blast is directed to the
edge of the area between the runway and
the pit area, where no one is.
When starting the aircraft you should
have a backup holder—the third level of
safety. Either have someone hold the
model or install some kind of restraint.
This is the backup for your ability to
control the airplane’s movement and
operate the radio controls simultaneously.
When you start the aircraft engine, be
aware of anything that could fall into the
propeller arc. The wires from the field box
to the glow warmer and the wires from the
field box to the electric starter need to be
arranged so that they will never come in
contact with the propeller arc.
Some fliers like to wear a neck strap to
support the transmitter’s weight when they
are flying. If you use such a device, leave
it attached to the transmitter. Do not hang your extended antenna enter; it makes
a great antenna shortener.
I catch the transmitter handle with two
fingers of my left hand and grab the left
wing’s LE. This keeps my transmitter and
my hand off of the slippery-with-fuel right
wing. Then I reach around and grab the
bottom of the fuselage with my right hand.
This configuration gives me good control
of the aircraft.
On your journey to the taxiway, watch
for tripping hazards such as low fences
that may surround the pit area. Stepping
over one of these obstacles with a model
that has the engine running is an awful
idea. Think of the consequences. Where
will your face be with respect to that
spinning propeller when you hit the
ground?
You have reached the taxiway. I hope this
article has given you new insights about
hazards and appropriate safety actions to
protect yourself and others from injury
during this important preparation task. The
next two articles in this series will cover
safety in model flight operations.
Be safe and good flying! MA
Donald W. Brooks
[email protected] the strap around your neck when you start
and adjust the engine.
During one of our club safety
discussions I asked, “Where do you think
the snap of the transmitter support strap
would end up if it got into the propeller arc
while you were starting the aircraft?”
The response was immediate and
intense: “Smack-dab in your left ear!”
That sounded like firsthand experience
to me. He was lucky that the only damage
was that his ear smarted for a while.
Once the engine is started, the propeller
arc becomes a lethal slicing zone. Anything
entering that arc will be rearranged, and the
propeller itself can be easily damaged.
Propeller tip speeds at full throttle are
between Mach 0.3 and 0.5—250-350
mph—not a good time to be hurried, tired,
stressed out, distracted, or overconfident.
Move to the rear of the aircraft to remove
the glow warmer and to make any
adjustments.
Engine fuel-mixture adjustment has its
own dangers. I have seen experienced
modelers succumb to the Commodore
Syndrome (overconfidence, described in
last month’s installment) while trying to
adjust their engines. While still in front of
the aircraft, they reach around the propeller
to make the mixture adjustment.
I cringe every time I see that. Those
fliers think they are invincible and are
unreceptive to safe-practice improvement.
A slight miscalculation or a momentary
distraction is all it would take to place the
modeler’s wrist and arm at major risk of
injury.
Objects in the grass, such as rocks or
sticks, should be cleared from the area
before you start your engine. Anything in
the propeller arc could be slung up and into
an innocent bystander.
Similar concerns about pieces being
thrown from the propeller arise following a
hard landing in which the propeller may
have been splintered or nicked. A flaw in
the propeller can weaken it enough to cause
it to fly apart if raised again to a high rpm.
Inspect the propeller thoroughly for damage
after a hard landing if you plan to continue
using it.
To the Taxiway: The club I belong to
chose to disallow taxiing aircraft in the pit
preparation area; the board of directors
decided this was an inherently dangerous
practice. A large number of pilots may be in
that location at any time. If control of a
model is lost while it’s taxiing in the pit
area, someone may be seriously injured by
a propeller.
Most pilots carry their models to the
taxiway or to the runway. Larger models
that are hard to carry are pushed or pulled
to the taxiway or to the runway by their
vertical fins. The pilots’ flying stations at
our field are protected from out-of-control
aircraft by fences that outline the taxiways.
To carry the model safely I leave the
transmitter antenna collapsed. I have
learned that the propeller arc is a bad place
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 47,48,50,52,55
March 2006 47
by Donald Brooks
Models are lined up at the edge of a typical pit area awaiting preparation for flight.
This provides many opportunities to practice safety and courtesy.
LAST MONTH, in the first article of this
safety series, I wrote about shop safety
and the five levels of defense we must
practice to keep ourselves and others free
from injury during model construction:
proper attitude, prechecks, backup,
isolation, and barriers. I’ll refer to those in
this month’s discussion of model-aircraft
flight-preparation safety and flying-field
etiquette.
As far as attitude is concerned, I will
assume that you have achieved that first
level of safety defense; you are not
hurried, stressed out, tired, distracted, or
afflicted with unjustified overconfidence
when you arrive at the flying field. You
are well rested and ready for the
interesting process of preparing your
aircraft for a safe flight.
I will also assume that if you are a
beginner you have made arrangements for
flight instruction. I’ll go into detail about
that next month when I review safety in
flight operations.
This discussion will center on the
precheck level of defense, which in this
case is the preflight check of your aircraft.
I will cover completing a thorough
preflight check, getting the engine
running, and taking the aircraft to the
taxiway.
Most organized flying fields have six
physical areas dedicated to model-related
activities. Arriving at the field and starting
from the outside these are the parking
area, spectator area, flight-preparation area
(also referred to as the “pit”), taxiways,
runway, and overflight area.
A boundary—a fence, railroad ties, or
other marking—that clearly separates the
various activities normally identifies the
first three areas. The taxiways and runway
are apparent. The overflight area for RC
operations will not be marked, but it must
be understood and used by all RC fliers.
AMA defines the overflight area as an
imaginary box with a ground-level
footprint that is roughly 2,000 feet long
and approximately 600 feet across, with
the runway centered at the edge of one of
the long sides. This box is surrounded by a
safety zone that extends 250 feet beyond
both ends and beyond the side opposite the
runway. All flight operations are to be
conducted in this imaginary box.
This flight-operations box is usually
considered to be 400 feet high to avoid
any interference with full-scale aircraft.
There can be no people, buildings, major
roadways, or full-scale aircraft operating
within the RC flight-operations box.
This kind of layout for a model flying
field physically isolates the overflight area
from areas containing people. This lowers
the safety risk from aircraft control failures.
If control of a model is lost for some reason,
it will likely crash in an area away from
pilots and spectators.
If the various sections are not clearly
identified at the flying field where you
intend to fly, ask a modeler who is familiar
with the field what defines the various
areas.
The first point of field etiquette is that if
you are unfamiliar with the flying field, ask
if there are any restrictions or special rules
for flying there.
Flying at any model airdrome chartered
under the auspices of AMA requires you to
have an AMA membership, to establish that
you have met the insurance requirements
for flying at the field.
Most sites have specific rules such as
restrictions on sound levels from operating
engines, starting and taxiing restrictions
for certain aircraft, or prohibition of
alcoholic beverages. You should learn
what the rules are before flying rather than
be told, in no uncertain way, after you
violate one of them.
The second point of flying-field etiquette is
ensuring that you have authorization to turn
on your radio transmitter. However, this is
more than etiquette; it is an essential point
of safety for control of RC aircraft at every
AMA chartered flying field.
Each site has some method of
controlling radio-frequency usage. Only one
model at a time can be flown on a specific
frequency. Energizing a second radio
transmitter on the same frequency will jam
the operating signal for the flying aircraft,
causing it to be uncontrollable and crash.
Photos by the author
Frequency control boards appear in many
variations. This one has paddles clipped to
steel rods, with Plexiglas pockets behind
each for the AMA card.
Some of the many devices available for
hearing protection. Most provide roughly
a 20-decibel depression in sound level.
A preflight safety-check regimen is vital. A hearty tug on the aileron verifies that the
hinge is tightly secured.
A pit-area starting stand is at the right. The model is placed behind the cushioned vertical
risers with its nose extending forward of the risers. This provides a secure way to hold the
aircraft while starting and adjusting the engine.
There are 50 discrete radio frequencies
in the most-used 72 MHz radio broadcast
band for control of model aircraft. Each
broadcast frequency is referred to as a
“channel.” The channel number appears on
a label on the back of your radio
transmitter.
The use of these frequencies is
controlled by the employment of frequency
paddles you obtain and clip onto your
transmitter antenna. The first step in
preparing your model for flight when you
arrive at the flying field is to obtain the
appropriate frequency paddle.
Go to the staging area for the
frequency paddles and place your AMA
card in the slot when you take one. Only
turn on your transmitter if you have the
frequency paddle for that frequency
attached to your antenna.
A secondary benefit of placing your
AMA card in the slot comes into play if
someone else would like to use the
frequency you are on. He or she can look
at your card to see who has the use of the
frequency.
Be thoughtful. After your flight, turn
off your radio and store the transmitter,
return the paddle to the frequency control
board, and retrieve your AMA card.
Most modelers will hold you
responsible for equipment replacement or
repair costs if you cause a crash by
operating your radio transmitter without
authorization. Even worse, doing so places
everyone at the flying field and in the
vicinity at risk by interfering with the
control of an airborne aircraft. All our
safety precautions based on attitude,
precheck, and backup would be voided
with one simple flip of the transmitter
switch. Please make sure you have
authorization—the frequency paddle—
before turning on your radio transmitter.
Once you have the paddle for your
channel and have placed it on your radio
antenna, turn on your transmitter and then
the receiver in your model. You are ready
for the preflight inspection of your aircraft.
There are four necessary checks for a
radio-controlled model before flight: a
bolts-tight and visual inspection of the
48 MODEL AVIATION
model’s exterior, a control-function check,
a battery check, and a radio-reception
check. It is better to perform these before
you fuel the aircraft. You may need to turn
it upside down for some of the checks, and
if it’s fueled there may be a spill.
The types of prechecks are detailed in
the following.
1) Mechanical and Visual: The first
precheck is mechanical. Thoroughly
inspect the exterior of the aircraft; look for
loose, damaged, or torn covering or
structural damage. Pull-test the wheel
collars to make sure they are secure.
Ensure that the wheels roll freely.
If you find any damage, forget about
flying. Take the model back to the shop
and complete any needed repairs. You will
be happier for doing so. Several times I
chose to fly an aircraft with a known
deficiency. The results were seldom good.
It costs much more time and money to
completely rebuild a crashed model than to
make a minor repair.
Make sure that all bolts and screws—
engine bolts, muffler bolts, wheel collars,
wing-mounting bolts, screws holding the
landing gear, and servo mounting
screws—are tight. Torque the propeller nut
as tight as you can get it with a 6-inch
wrench or one of the four-way wrenches to
keep the propeller from spinning off
during the starting process.
2) Control: Do the controls for the
aircraft move easily, without binding? Do
they go the correct direction when you
move the control stick?
Pay particular attention to the ailerons
since they are easily reversed with modern
radios. Stand behind the aircraft. If you
move the aileron control stick for a right
turn, the right aileron should travel in the
upward direction and the left aileron
should travel in the downward direction.
Pull on the control surfaces to check
the hinges’ integrity. Sometimes a hinge
will break or pull out of the slot where it
was glued because of vibration or rough
treatment.
3) Battery: Inspecting the battery can
be done two ways. You can measure its
voltage with a voltmeter that places a load
on your receiver’s power circuit and
confirm that the power indicator on your
transmitter registers more than 80%. The
other way is to verify that the transmitter
and receiver are charged for 12 hours the
night before you fly.
4) Radio: Item 1 of the AMA Safety
Code for RC flight (which you can find
elsewhere in this magazine) states, “I will
have completed a successful radio
equipment ground range check before the
first flight of a new or repaired model
aircraft.”
To perform this inspection, have
someone watch the aircraft while you
stand 30 paces—roughly 100 feet—from it
with the transmitter antenna collapsed.
Hold the transmitter in a horizontal
position with both hands so the control
sticks point straight up and the antenna
stub is pointing directly at the model. This
configuration will give the worst signal
reception, which is what you want for this
test.
If the radio system functions properly
in this configuration it will function
properly with the antenna extended while
the model is airborne. Move the controls to
activate the servos while your observer
verifies their proper operation. The
controls should move freely, smoothly,
and with no jitter.
You can also do the range check if you
are alone. Place the transmitter on the
ground with the antenna collapsed and
pointed straight up. Carry your model 30
paces from the transmitter. If the servos
jitter or make noise before you reach 30
paces, you have a problem with the radio
link and an unsatisfactory range check.
I recommend that you perform a radio
range check before the first flight of every
session. I also recommend that you
reperform the radio reception check with
someone holding the model off the ground,
with the engine running at full throttle.
Why? With the engine running, the aircraft
components will be exposed to the inflight
vibration that was absent for the
quiet range check.
I have seen many routine preflight
range checks reveal equipment failures.batteries the night before. Maybe the pilot
thought he or she charged the battery but
connected the charger to a switchcontrolled
receptacle and turned off the
receptacle when leaving the shop. Perhaps
one cell in a four-cell battery has failed.
Maybe something is wrong with the
antenna installation in the model.
Vibration caused by the running engine
may cause connection failures. Poor
connections may cause the control surfaces
to jitter when exposed to vibration. Seek
experienced help to assist you in
troubleshooting if you find a malfunction.
At a recent contest I had planned to fly
a glider in one of the events, but the range
check indicated that the receiver battery
was dead. Therefore, I substituted another
aircraft to fly in the competition.
Fueling and Start-up: There are three
barriers you should consider for starting an
internal-combustion-engine-powered
model, the first of which is for sound.
Most model engines generate a noise
level of 90 decibels at a distance of 10 feet
when operated at full throttle. This level is
even higher when you are in a position to
adjust the throttle. If you enjoy listening to
good music and want to conserve your
hearing, wear an appropriate barrier: a set
of earplugs, a hearing-protection headset,
or both.
We gradually lose our hearing as we
age, and exposure to sounds at high
decibel levels accelerates that loss. I have
been told by medical personnel that the
loss process is cumulative and irreversible.
Protect your hearing while you still have it.
The second barrier is wearing a pair of
gloves if you intend to hand-start the
engine. Using a “chicken stick” is even
better.
A chicken stick is a piece of broom or
mop handle measuring roughly 8 inches
long that you use to flip the propeller. You
should install a piece of insulating foam
over the stick; that way, if the propeller
strikes the stick on a backfire, the stick
won’t break the propeller.
The third barrier is for your feet; wear
substantial shoes—not flip-flops—if you
intend to prepare and fly a model. An
unprotected foot placed inadvertently in
the arc of a spinning propeller would not
be a pretty sight.
The third point of field etiquette is to use
an overflow bottle on the vent line from
the fuel tank when fueling your model.
This will allow you to collect that excess
fuel for later use and prevents grass-killing
spills. Many flying sites have grassed pit
areas, and the owners would not like
yellow splotches in their green carpet.
During the fueling process no one in
the vicinity of the aircraft being fueled
should smoke. In addition, the methyl
alcohol used in our models is poisonous to
humans; don’t try to clear a clogged fuel
line by sucking on the fuel hose.
The fourth point of field etiquette is to
consider where the propeller blast from
your aircraft will go. Orient your model for
starting so that the propeller blast will not
send methyl alcohol or stirred dust in the
direction of other models, vehicles, people,
or pets. I usually start my aircraft with the
tail pointed toward the runway edge of the
pit area so that any blast is directed to the
edge of the area between the runway and
the pit area, where no one is.
When starting the aircraft you should
have a backup holder—the third level of
safety. Either have someone hold the
model or install some kind of restraint.
This is the backup for your ability to
control the airplane’s movement and
operate the radio controls simultaneously.
When you start the aircraft engine, be
aware of anything that could fall into the
propeller arc. The wires from the field box
to the glow warmer and the wires from the
field box to the electric starter need to be
arranged so that they will never come in
contact with the propeller arc.
Some fliers like to wear a neck strap to
support the transmitter’s weight when they
are flying. If you use such a device, leave
it attached to the transmitter. Do not hang your extended antenna enter; it makes
a great antenna shortener.
I catch the transmitter handle with two
fingers of my left hand and grab the left
wing’s LE. This keeps my transmitter and
my hand off of the slippery-with-fuel right
wing. Then I reach around and grab the
bottom of the fuselage with my right hand.
This configuration gives me good control
of the aircraft.
On your journey to the taxiway, watch
for tripping hazards such as low fences
that may surround the pit area. Stepping
over one of these obstacles with a model
that has the engine running is an awful
idea. Think of the consequences. Where
will your face be with respect to that
spinning propeller when you hit the
ground?
You have reached the taxiway. I hope this
article has given you new insights about
hazards and appropriate safety actions to
protect yourself and others from injury
during this important preparation task. The
next two articles in this series will cover
safety in model flight operations.
Be safe and good flying! MA
Donald W. Brooks
[email protected] the strap around your neck when you start
and adjust the engine.
During one of our club safety
discussions I asked, “Where do you think
the snap of the transmitter support strap
would end up if it got into the propeller arc
while you were starting the aircraft?”
The response was immediate and
intense: “Smack-dab in your left ear!”
That sounded like firsthand experience
to me. He was lucky that the only damage
was that his ear smarted for a while.
Once the engine is started, the propeller
arc becomes a lethal slicing zone. Anything
entering that arc will be rearranged, and the
propeller itself can be easily damaged.
Propeller tip speeds at full throttle are
between Mach 0.3 and 0.5—250-350
mph—not a good time to be hurried, tired,
stressed out, distracted, or overconfident.
Move to the rear of the aircraft to remove
the glow warmer and to make any
adjustments.
Engine fuel-mixture adjustment has its
own dangers. I have seen experienced
modelers succumb to the Commodore
Syndrome (overconfidence, described in
last month’s installment) while trying to
adjust their engines. While still in front of
the aircraft, they reach around the propeller
to make the mixture adjustment.
I cringe every time I see that. Those
fliers think they are invincible and are
unreceptive to safe-practice improvement.
A slight miscalculation or a momentary
distraction is all it would take to place the
modeler’s wrist and arm at major risk of
injury.
Objects in the grass, such as rocks or
sticks, should be cleared from the area
before you start your engine. Anything in
the propeller arc could be slung up and into
an innocent bystander.
Similar concerns about pieces being
thrown from the propeller arise following a
hard landing in which the propeller may
have been splintered or nicked. A flaw in
the propeller can weaken it enough to cause
it to fly apart if raised again to a high rpm.
Inspect the propeller thoroughly for damage
after a hard landing if you plan to continue
using it.
To the Taxiway: The club I belong to
chose to disallow taxiing aircraft in the pit
preparation area; the board of directors
decided this was an inherently dangerous
practice. A large number of pilots may be in
that location at any time. If control of a
model is lost while it’s taxiing in the pit
area, someone may be seriously injured by
a propeller.
Most pilots carry their models to the
taxiway or to the runway. Larger models
that are hard to carry are pushed or pulled
to the taxiway or to the runway by their
vertical fins. The pilots’ flying stations at
our field are protected from out-of-control
aircraft by fences that outline the taxiways.
To carry the model safely I leave the
transmitter antenna collapsed. I have
learned that the propeller arc is a bad place
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 47,48,50,52,55
March 2006 47
by Donald Brooks
Models are lined up at the edge of a typical pit area awaiting preparation for flight.
This provides many opportunities to practice safety and courtesy.
LAST MONTH, in the first article of this
safety series, I wrote about shop safety
and the five levels of defense we must
practice to keep ourselves and others free
from injury during model construction:
proper attitude, prechecks, backup,
isolation, and barriers. I’ll refer to those in
this month’s discussion of model-aircraft
flight-preparation safety and flying-field
etiquette.
As far as attitude is concerned, I will
assume that you have achieved that first
level of safety defense; you are not
hurried, stressed out, tired, distracted, or
afflicted with unjustified overconfidence
when you arrive at the flying field. You
are well rested and ready for the
interesting process of preparing your
aircraft for a safe flight.
I will also assume that if you are a
beginner you have made arrangements for
flight instruction. I’ll go into detail about
that next month when I review safety in
flight operations.
This discussion will center on the
precheck level of defense, which in this
case is the preflight check of your aircraft.
I will cover completing a thorough
preflight check, getting the engine
running, and taking the aircraft to the
taxiway.
Most organized flying fields have six
physical areas dedicated to model-related
activities. Arriving at the field and starting
from the outside these are the parking
area, spectator area, flight-preparation area
(also referred to as the “pit”), taxiways,
runway, and overflight area.
A boundary—a fence, railroad ties, or
other marking—that clearly separates the
various activities normally identifies the
first three areas. The taxiways and runway
are apparent. The overflight area for RC
operations will not be marked, but it must
be understood and used by all RC fliers.
AMA defines the overflight area as an
imaginary box with a ground-level
footprint that is roughly 2,000 feet long
and approximately 600 feet across, with
the runway centered at the edge of one of
the long sides. This box is surrounded by a
safety zone that extends 250 feet beyond
both ends and beyond the side opposite the
runway. All flight operations are to be
conducted in this imaginary box.
This flight-operations box is usually
considered to be 400 feet high to avoid
any interference with full-scale aircraft.
There can be no people, buildings, major
roadways, or full-scale aircraft operating
within the RC flight-operations box.
This kind of layout for a model flying
field physically isolates the overflight area
from areas containing people. This lowers
the safety risk from aircraft control failures.
If control of a model is lost for some reason,
it will likely crash in an area away from
pilots and spectators.
If the various sections are not clearly
identified at the flying field where you
intend to fly, ask a modeler who is familiar
with the field what defines the various
areas.
The first point of field etiquette is that if
you are unfamiliar with the flying field, ask
if there are any restrictions or special rules
for flying there.
Flying at any model airdrome chartered
under the auspices of AMA requires you to
have an AMA membership, to establish that
you have met the insurance requirements
for flying at the field.
Most sites have specific rules such as
restrictions on sound levels from operating
engines, starting and taxiing restrictions
for certain aircraft, or prohibition of
alcoholic beverages. You should learn
what the rules are before flying rather than
be told, in no uncertain way, after you
violate one of them.
The second point of flying-field etiquette is
ensuring that you have authorization to turn
on your radio transmitter. However, this is
more than etiquette; it is an essential point
of safety for control of RC aircraft at every
AMA chartered flying field.
Each site has some method of
controlling radio-frequency usage. Only one
model at a time can be flown on a specific
frequency. Energizing a second radio
transmitter on the same frequency will jam
the operating signal for the flying aircraft,
causing it to be uncontrollable and crash.
Photos by the author
Frequency control boards appear in many
variations. This one has paddles clipped to
steel rods, with Plexiglas pockets behind
each for the AMA card.
Some of the many devices available for
hearing protection. Most provide roughly
a 20-decibel depression in sound level.
A preflight safety-check regimen is vital. A hearty tug on the aileron verifies that the
hinge is tightly secured.
A pit-area starting stand is at the right. The model is placed behind the cushioned vertical
risers with its nose extending forward of the risers. This provides a secure way to hold the
aircraft while starting and adjusting the engine.
There are 50 discrete radio frequencies
in the most-used 72 MHz radio broadcast
band for control of model aircraft. Each
broadcast frequency is referred to as a
“channel.” The channel number appears on
a label on the back of your radio
transmitter.
The use of these frequencies is
controlled by the employment of frequency
paddles you obtain and clip onto your
transmitter antenna. The first step in
preparing your model for flight when you
arrive at the flying field is to obtain the
appropriate frequency paddle.
Go to the staging area for the
frequency paddles and place your AMA
card in the slot when you take one. Only
turn on your transmitter if you have the
frequency paddle for that frequency
attached to your antenna.
A secondary benefit of placing your
AMA card in the slot comes into play if
someone else would like to use the
frequency you are on. He or she can look
at your card to see who has the use of the
frequency.
Be thoughtful. After your flight, turn
off your radio and store the transmitter,
return the paddle to the frequency control
board, and retrieve your AMA card.
Most modelers will hold you
responsible for equipment replacement or
repair costs if you cause a crash by
operating your radio transmitter without
authorization. Even worse, doing so places
everyone at the flying field and in the
vicinity at risk by interfering with the
control of an airborne aircraft. All our
safety precautions based on attitude,
precheck, and backup would be voided
with one simple flip of the transmitter
switch. Please make sure you have
authorization—the frequency paddle—
before turning on your radio transmitter.
Once you have the paddle for your
channel and have placed it on your radio
antenna, turn on your transmitter and then
the receiver in your model. You are ready
for the preflight inspection of your aircraft.
There are four necessary checks for a
radio-controlled model before flight: a
bolts-tight and visual inspection of the
48 MODEL AVIATION
model’s exterior, a control-function check,
a battery check, and a radio-reception
check. It is better to perform these before
you fuel the aircraft. You may need to turn
it upside down for some of the checks, and
if it’s fueled there may be a spill.
The types of prechecks are detailed in
the following.
1) Mechanical and Visual: The first
precheck is mechanical. Thoroughly
inspect the exterior of the aircraft; look for
loose, damaged, or torn covering or
structural damage. Pull-test the wheel
collars to make sure they are secure.
Ensure that the wheels roll freely.
If you find any damage, forget about
flying. Take the model back to the shop
and complete any needed repairs. You will
be happier for doing so. Several times I
chose to fly an aircraft with a known
deficiency. The results were seldom good.
It costs much more time and money to
completely rebuild a crashed model than to
make a minor repair.
Make sure that all bolts and screws—
engine bolts, muffler bolts, wheel collars,
wing-mounting bolts, screws holding the
landing gear, and servo mounting
screws—are tight. Torque the propeller nut
as tight as you can get it with a 6-inch
wrench or one of the four-way wrenches to
keep the propeller from spinning off
during the starting process.
2) Control: Do the controls for the
aircraft move easily, without binding? Do
they go the correct direction when you
move the control stick?
Pay particular attention to the ailerons
since they are easily reversed with modern
radios. Stand behind the aircraft. If you
move the aileron control stick for a right
turn, the right aileron should travel in the
upward direction and the left aileron
should travel in the downward direction.
Pull on the control surfaces to check
the hinges’ integrity. Sometimes a hinge
will break or pull out of the slot where it
was glued because of vibration or rough
treatment.
3) Battery: Inspecting the battery can
be done two ways. You can measure its
voltage with a voltmeter that places a load
on your receiver’s power circuit and
confirm that the power indicator on your
transmitter registers more than 80%. The
other way is to verify that the transmitter
and receiver are charged for 12 hours the
night before you fly.
4) Radio: Item 1 of the AMA Safety
Code for RC flight (which you can find
elsewhere in this magazine) states, “I will
have completed a successful radio
equipment ground range check before the
first flight of a new or repaired model
aircraft.”
To perform this inspection, have
someone watch the aircraft while you
stand 30 paces—roughly 100 feet—from it
with the transmitter antenna collapsed.
Hold the transmitter in a horizontal
position with both hands so the control
sticks point straight up and the antenna
stub is pointing directly at the model. This
configuration will give the worst signal
reception, which is what you want for this
test.
If the radio system functions properly
in this configuration it will function
properly with the antenna extended while
the model is airborne. Move the controls to
activate the servos while your observer
verifies their proper operation. The
controls should move freely, smoothly,
and with no jitter.
You can also do the range check if you
are alone. Place the transmitter on the
ground with the antenna collapsed and
pointed straight up. Carry your model 30
paces from the transmitter. If the servos
jitter or make noise before you reach 30
paces, you have a problem with the radio
link and an unsatisfactory range check.
I recommend that you perform a radio
range check before the first flight of every
session. I also recommend that you
reperform the radio reception check with
someone holding the model off the ground,
with the engine running at full throttle.
Why? With the engine running, the aircraft
components will be exposed to the inflight
vibration that was absent for the
quiet range check.
I have seen many routine preflight
range checks reveal equipment failures.batteries the night before. Maybe the pilot
thought he or she charged the battery but
connected the charger to a switchcontrolled
receptacle and turned off the
receptacle when leaving the shop. Perhaps
one cell in a four-cell battery has failed.
Maybe something is wrong with the
antenna installation in the model.
Vibration caused by the running engine
may cause connection failures. Poor
connections may cause the control surfaces
to jitter when exposed to vibration. Seek
experienced help to assist you in
troubleshooting if you find a malfunction.
At a recent contest I had planned to fly
a glider in one of the events, but the range
check indicated that the receiver battery
was dead. Therefore, I substituted another
aircraft to fly in the competition.
Fueling and Start-up: There are three
barriers you should consider for starting an
internal-combustion-engine-powered
model, the first of which is for sound.
Most model engines generate a noise
level of 90 decibels at a distance of 10 feet
when operated at full throttle. This level is
even higher when you are in a position to
adjust the throttle. If you enjoy listening to
good music and want to conserve your
hearing, wear an appropriate barrier: a set
of earplugs, a hearing-protection headset,
or both.
We gradually lose our hearing as we
age, and exposure to sounds at high
decibel levels accelerates that loss. I have
been told by medical personnel that the
loss process is cumulative and irreversible.
Protect your hearing while you still have it.
The second barrier is wearing a pair of
gloves if you intend to hand-start the
engine. Using a “chicken stick” is even
better.
A chicken stick is a piece of broom or
mop handle measuring roughly 8 inches
long that you use to flip the propeller. You
should install a piece of insulating foam
over the stick; that way, if the propeller
strikes the stick on a backfire, the stick
won’t break the propeller.
The third barrier is for your feet; wear
substantial shoes—not flip-flops—if you
intend to prepare and fly a model. An
unprotected foot placed inadvertently in
the arc of a spinning propeller would not
be a pretty sight.
The third point of field etiquette is to use
an overflow bottle on the vent line from
the fuel tank when fueling your model.
This will allow you to collect that excess
fuel for later use and prevents grass-killing
spills. Many flying sites have grassed pit
areas, and the owners would not like
yellow splotches in their green carpet.
During the fueling process no one in
the vicinity of the aircraft being fueled
should smoke. In addition, the methyl
alcohol used in our models is poisonous to
humans; don’t try to clear a clogged fuel
line by sucking on the fuel hose.
The fourth point of field etiquette is to
consider where the propeller blast from
your aircraft will go. Orient your model for
starting so that the propeller blast will not
send methyl alcohol or stirred dust in the
direction of other models, vehicles, people,
or pets. I usually start my aircraft with the
tail pointed toward the runway edge of the
pit area so that any blast is directed to the
edge of the area between the runway and
the pit area, where no one is.
When starting the aircraft you should
have a backup holder—the third level of
safety. Either have someone hold the
model or install some kind of restraint.
This is the backup for your ability to
control the airplane’s movement and
operate the radio controls simultaneously.
When you start the aircraft engine, be
aware of anything that could fall into the
propeller arc. The wires from the field box
to the glow warmer and the wires from the
field box to the electric starter need to be
arranged so that they will never come in
contact with the propeller arc.
Some fliers like to wear a neck strap to
support the transmitter’s weight when they
are flying. If you use such a device, leave
it attached to the transmitter. Do not hang your extended antenna enter; it makes
a great antenna shortener.
I catch the transmitter handle with two
fingers of my left hand and grab the left
wing’s LE. This keeps my transmitter and
my hand off of the slippery-with-fuel right
wing. Then I reach around and grab the
bottom of the fuselage with my right hand.
This configuration gives me good control
of the aircraft.
On your journey to the taxiway, watch
for tripping hazards such as low fences
that may surround the pit area. Stepping
over one of these obstacles with a model
that has the engine running is an awful
idea. Think of the consequences. Where
will your face be with respect to that
spinning propeller when you hit the
ground?
You have reached the taxiway. I hope this
article has given you new insights about
hazards and appropriate safety actions to
protect yourself and others from injury
during this important preparation task. The
next two articles in this series will cover
safety in model flight operations.
Be safe and good flying! MA
Donald W. Brooks
[email protected] the strap around your neck when you start
and adjust the engine.
During one of our club safety
discussions I asked, “Where do you think
the snap of the transmitter support strap
would end up if it got into the propeller arc
while you were starting the aircraft?”
The response was immediate and
intense: “Smack-dab in your left ear!”
That sounded like firsthand experience
to me. He was lucky that the only damage
was that his ear smarted for a while.
Once the engine is started, the propeller
arc becomes a lethal slicing zone. Anything
entering that arc will be rearranged, and the
propeller itself can be easily damaged.
Propeller tip speeds at full throttle are
between Mach 0.3 and 0.5—250-350
mph—not a good time to be hurried, tired,
stressed out, distracted, or overconfident.
Move to the rear of the aircraft to remove
the glow warmer and to make any
adjustments.
Engine fuel-mixture adjustment has its
own dangers. I have seen experienced
modelers succumb to the Commodore
Syndrome (overconfidence, described in
last month’s installment) while trying to
adjust their engines. While still in front of
the aircraft, they reach around the propeller
to make the mixture adjustment.
I cringe every time I see that. Those
fliers think they are invincible and are
unreceptive to safe-practice improvement.
A slight miscalculation or a momentary
distraction is all it would take to place the
modeler’s wrist and arm at major risk of
injury.
Objects in the grass, such as rocks or
sticks, should be cleared from the area
before you start your engine. Anything in
the propeller arc could be slung up and into
an innocent bystander.
Similar concerns about pieces being
thrown from the propeller arise following a
hard landing in which the propeller may
have been splintered or nicked. A flaw in
the propeller can weaken it enough to cause
it to fly apart if raised again to a high rpm.
Inspect the propeller thoroughly for damage
after a hard landing if you plan to continue
using it.
To the Taxiway: The club I belong to
chose to disallow taxiing aircraft in the pit
preparation area; the board of directors
decided this was an inherently dangerous
practice. A large number of pilots may be in
that location at any time. If control of a
model is lost while it’s taxiing in the pit
area, someone may be seriously injured by
a propeller.
Most pilots carry their models to the
taxiway or to the runway. Larger models
that are hard to carry are pushed or pulled
to the taxiway or to the runway by their
vertical fins. The pilots’ flying stations at
our field are protected from out-of-control
aircraft by fences that outline the taxiways.
To carry the model safely I leave the
transmitter antenna collapsed. I have
learned that the propeller arc is a bad place
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/03
Page Numbers: 47,48,50,52,55
March 2006 47
by Donald Brooks
Models are lined up at the edge of a typical pit area awaiting preparation for flight.
This provides many opportunities to practice safety and courtesy.
LAST MONTH, in the first article of this
safety series, I wrote about shop safety
and the five levels of defense we must
practice to keep ourselves and others free
from injury during model construction:
proper attitude, prechecks, backup,
isolation, and barriers. I’ll refer to those in
this month’s discussion of model-aircraft
flight-preparation safety and flying-field
etiquette.
As far as attitude is concerned, I will
assume that you have achieved that first
level of safety defense; you are not
hurried, stressed out, tired, distracted, or
afflicted with unjustified overconfidence
when you arrive at the flying field. You
are well rested and ready for the
interesting process of preparing your
aircraft for a safe flight.
I will also assume that if you are a
beginner you have made arrangements for
flight instruction. I’ll go into detail about
that next month when I review safety in
flight operations.
This discussion will center on the
precheck level of defense, which in this
case is the preflight check of your aircraft.
I will cover completing a thorough
preflight check, getting the engine
running, and taking the aircraft to the
taxiway.
Most organized flying fields have six
physical areas dedicated to model-related
activities. Arriving at the field and starting
from the outside these are the parking
area, spectator area, flight-preparation area
(also referred to as the “pit”), taxiways,
runway, and overflight area.
A boundary—a fence, railroad ties, or
other marking—that clearly separates the
various activities normally identifies the
first three areas. The taxiways and runway
are apparent. The overflight area for RC
operations will not be marked, but it must
be understood and used by all RC fliers.
AMA defines the overflight area as an
imaginary box with a ground-level
footprint that is roughly 2,000 feet long
and approximately 600 feet across, with
the runway centered at the edge of one of
the long sides. This box is surrounded by a
safety zone that extends 250 feet beyond
both ends and beyond the side opposite the
runway. All flight operations are to be
conducted in this imaginary box.
This flight-operations box is usually
considered to be 400 feet high to avoid
any interference with full-scale aircraft.
There can be no people, buildings, major
roadways, or full-scale aircraft operating
within the RC flight-operations box.
This kind of layout for a model flying
field physically isolates the overflight area
from areas containing people. This lowers
the safety risk from aircraft control failures.
If control of a model is lost for some reason,
it will likely crash in an area away from
pilots and spectators.
If the various sections are not clearly
identified at the flying field where you
intend to fly, ask a modeler who is familiar
with the field what defines the various
areas.
The first point of field etiquette is that if
you are unfamiliar with the flying field, ask
if there are any restrictions or special rules
for flying there.
Flying at any model airdrome chartered
under the auspices of AMA requires you to
have an AMA membership, to establish that
you have met the insurance requirements
for flying at the field.
Most sites have specific rules such as
restrictions on sound levels from operating
engines, starting and taxiing restrictions
for certain aircraft, or prohibition of
alcoholic beverages. You should learn
what the rules are before flying rather than
be told, in no uncertain way, after you
violate one of them.
The second point of flying-field etiquette is
ensuring that you have authorization to turn
on your radio transmitter. However, this is
more than etiquette; it is an essential point
of safety for control of RC aircraft at every
AMA chartered flying field.
Each site has some method of
controlling radio-frequency usage. Only one
model at a time can be flown on a specific
frequency. Energizing a second radio
transmitter on the same frequency will jam
the operating signal for the flying aircraft,
causing it to be uncontrollable and crash.
Photos by the author
Frequency control boards appear in many
variations. This one has paddles clipped to
steel rods, with Plexiglas pockets behind
each for the AMA card.
Some of the many devices available for
hearing protection. Most provide roughly
a 20-decibel depression in sound level.
A preflight safety-check regimen is vital. A hearty tug on the aileron verifies that the
hinge is tightly secured.
A pit-area starting stand is at the right. The model is placed behind the cushioned vertical
risers with its nose extending forward of the risers. This provides a secure way to hold the
aircraft while starting and adjusting the engine.
There are 50 discrete radio frequencies
in the most-used 72 MHz radio broadcast
band for control of model aircraft. Each
broadcast frequency is referred to as a
“channel.” The channel number appears on
a label on the back of your radio
transmitter.
The use of these frequencies is
controlled by the employment of frequency
paddles you obtain and clip onto your
transmitter antenna. The first step in
preparing your model for flight when you
arrive at the flying field is to obtain the
appropriate frequency paddle.
Go to the staging area for the
frequency paddles and place your AMA
card in the slot when you take one. Only
turn on your transmitter if you have the
frequency paddle for that frequency
attached to your antenna.
A secondary benefit of placing your
AMA card in the slot comes into play if
someone else would like to use the
frequency you are on. He or she can look
at your card to see who has the use of the
frequency.
Be thoughtful. After your flight, turn
off your radio and store the transmitter,
return the paddle to the frequency control
board, and retrieve your AMA card.
Most modelers will hold you
responsible for equipment replacement or
repair costs if you cause a crash by
operating your radio transmitter without
authorization. Even worse, doing so places
everyone at the flying field and in the
vicinity at risk by interfering with the
control of an airborne aircraft. All our
safety precautions based on attitude,
precheck, and backup would be voided
with one simple flip of the transmitter
switch. Please make sure you have
authorization—the frequency paddle—
before turning on your radio transmitter.
Once you have the paddle for your
channel and have placed it on your radio
antenna, turn on your transmitter and then
the receiver in your model. You are ready
for the preflight inspection of your aircraft.
There are four necessary checks for a
radio-controlled model before flight: a
bolts-tight and visual inspection of the
48 MODEL AVIATION
model’s exterior, a control-function check,
a battery check, and a radio-reception
check. It is better to perform these before
you fuel the aircraft. You may need to turn
it upside down for some of the checks, and
if it’s fueled there may be a spill.
The types of prechecks are detailed in
the following.
1) Mechanical and Visual: The first
precheck is mechanical. Thoroughly
inspect the exterior of the aircraft; look for
loose, damaged, or torn covering or
structural damage. Pull-test the wheel
collars to make sure they are secure.
Ensure that the wheels roll freely.
If you find any damage, forget about
flying. Take the model back to the shop
and complete any needed repairs. You will
be happier for doing so. Several times I
chose to fly an aircraft with a known
deficiency. The results were seldom good.
It costs much more time and money to
completely rebuild a crashed model than to
make a minor repair.
Make sure that all bolts and screws—
engine bolts, muffler bolts, wheel collars,
wing-mounting bolts, screws holding the
landing gear, and servo mounting
screws—are tight. Torque the propeller nut
as tight as you can get it with a 6-inch
wrench or one of the four-way wrenches to
keep the propeller from spinning off
during the starting process.
2) Control: Do the controls for the
aircraft move easily, without binding? Do
they go the correct direction when you
move the control stick?
Pay particular attention to the ailerons
since they are easily reversed with modern
radios. Stand behind the aircraft. If you
move the aileron control stick for a right
turn, the right aileron should travel in the
upward direction and the left aileron
should travel in the downward direction.
Pull on the control surfaces to check
the hinges’ integrity. Sometimes a hinge
will break or pull out of the slot where it
was glued because of vibration or rough
treatment.
3) Battery: Inspecting the battery can
be done two ways. You can measure its
voltage with a voltmeter that places a load
on your receiver’s power circuit and
confirm that the power indicator on your
transmitter registers more than 80%. The
other way is to verify that the transmitter
and receiver are charged for 12 hours the
night before you fly.
4) Radio: Item 1 of the AMA Safety
Code for RC flight (which you can find
elsewhere in this magazine) states, “I will
have completed a successful radio
equipment ground range check before the
first flight of a new or repaired model
aircraft.”
To perform this inspection, have
someone watch the aircraft while you
stand 30 paces—roughly 100 feet—from it
with the transmitter antenna collapsed.
Hold the transmitter in a horizontal
position with both hands so the control
sticks point straight up and the antenna
stub is pointing directly at the model. This
configuration will give the worst signal
reception, which is what you want for this
test.
If the radio system functions properly
in this configuration it will function
properly with the antenna extended while
the model is airborne. Move the controls to
activate the servos while your observer
verifies their proper operation. The
controls should move freely, smoothly,
and with no jitter.
You can also do the range check if you
are alone. Place the transmitter on the
ground with the antenna collapsed and
pointed straight up. Carry your model 30
paces from the transmitter. If the servos
jitter or make noise before you reach 30
paces, you have a problem with the radio
link and an unsatisfactory range check.
I recommend that you perform a radio
range check before the first flight of every
session. I also recommend that you
reperform the radio reception check with
someone holding the model off the ground,
with the engine running at full throttle.
Why? With the engine running, the aircraft
components will be exposed to the inflight
vibration that was absent for the
quiet range check.
I have seen many routine preflight
range checks reveal equipment failures.batteries the night before. Maybe the pilot
thought he or she charged the battery but
connected the charger to a switchcontrolled
receptacle and turned off the
receptacle when leaving the shop. Perhaps
one cell in a four-cell battery has failed.
Maybe something is wrong with the
antenna installation in the model.
Vibration caused by the running engine
may cause connection failures. Poor
connections may cause the control surfaces
to jitter when exposed to vibration. Seek
experienced help to assist you in
troubleshooting if you find a malfunction.
At a recent contest I had planned to fly
a glider in one of the events, but the range
check indicated that the receiver battery
was dead. Therefore, I substituted another
aircraft to fly in the competition.
Fueling and Start-up: There are three
barriers you should consider for starting an
internal-combustion-engine-powered
model, the first of which is for sound.
Most model engines generate a noise
level of 90 decibels at a distance of 10 feet
when operated at full throttle. This level is
even higher when you are in a position to
adjust the throttle. If you enjoy listening to
good music and want to conserve your
hearing, wear an appropriate barrier: a set
of earplugs, a hearing-protection headset,
or both.
We gradually lose our hearing as we
age, and exposure to sounds at high
decibel levels accelerates that loss. I have
been told by medical personnel that the
loss process is cumulative and irreversible.
Protect your hearing while you still have it.
The second barrier is wearing a pair of
gloves if you intend to hand-start the
engine. Using a “chicken stick” is even
better.
A chicken stick is a piece of broom or
mop handle measuring roughly 8 inches
long that you use to flip the propeller. You
should install a piece of insulating foam
over the stick; that way, if the propeller
strikes the stick on a backfire, the stick
won’t break the propeller.
The third barrier is for your feet; wear
substantial shoes—not flip-flops—if you
intend to prepare and fly a model. An
unprotected foot placed inadvertently in
the arc of a spinning propeller would not
be a pretty sight.
The third point of field etiquette is to use
an overflow bottle on the vent line from
the fuel tank when fueling your model.
This will allow you to collect that excess
fuel for later use and prevents grass-killing
spills. Many flying sites have grassed pit
areas, and the owners would not like
yellow splotches in their green carpet.
During the fueling process no one in
the vicinity of the aircraft being fueled
should smoke. In addition, the methyl
alcohol used in our models is poisonous to
humans; don’t try to clear a clogged fuel
line by sucking on the fuel hose.
The fourth point of field etiquette is to
consider where the propeller blast from
your aircraft will go. Orient your model for
starting so that the propeller blast will not
send methyl alcohol or stirred dust in the
direction of other models, vehicles, people,
or pets. I usually start my aircraft with the
tail pointed toward the runway edge of the
pit area so that any blast is directed to the
edge of the area between the runway and
the pit area, where no one is.
When starting the aircraft you should
have a backup holder—the third level of
safety. Either have someone hold the
model or install some kind of restraint.
This is the backup for your ability to
control the airplane’s movement and
operate the radio controls simultaneously.
When you start the aircraft engine, be
aware of anything that could fall into the
propeller arc. The wires from the field box
to the glow warmer and the wires from the
field box to the electric starter need to be
arranged so that they will never come in
contact with the propeller arc.
Some fliers like to wear a neck strap to
support the transmitter’s weight when they
are flying. If you use such a device, leave
it attached to the transmitter. Do not hang your extended antenna enter; it makes
a great antenna shortener.
I catch the transmitter handle with two
fingers of my left hand and grab the left
wing’s LE. This keeps my transmitter and
my hand off of the slippery-with-fuel right
wing. Then I reach around and grab the
bottom of the fuselage with my right hand.
This configuration gives me good control
of the aircraft.
On your journey to the taxiway, watch
for tripping hazards such as low fences
that may surround the pit area. Stepping
over one of these obstacles with a model
that has the engine running is an awful
idea. Think of the consequences. Where
will your face be with respect to that
spinning propeller when you hit the
ground?
You have reached the taxiway. I hope this
article has given you new insights about
hazards and appropriate safety actions to
protect yourself and others from injury
during this important preparation task. The
next two articles in this series will cover
safety in model flight operations.
Be safe and good flying! MA
Donald W. Brooks
[email protected] the strap around your neck when you start
and adjust the engine.
During one of our club safety
discussions I asked, “Where do you think
the snap of the transmitter support strap
would end up if it got into the propeller arc
while you were starting the aircraft?”
The response was immediate and
intense: “Smack-dab in your left ear!”
That sounded like firsthand experience
to me. He was lucky that the only damage
was that his ear smarted for a while.
Once the engine is started, the propeller
arc becomes a lethal slicing zone. Anything
entering that arc will be rearranged, and the
propeller itself can be easily damaged.
Propeller tip speeds at full throttle are
between Mach 0.3 and 0.5—250-350
mph—not a good time to be hurried, tired,
stressed out, distracted, or overconfident.
Move to the rear of the aircraft to remove
the glow warmer and to make any
adjustments.
Engine fuel-mixture adjustment has its
own dangers. I have seen experienced
modelers succumb to the Commodore
Syndrome (overconfidence, described in
last month’s installment) while trying to
adjust their engines. While still in front of
the aircraft, they reach around the propeller
to make the mixture adjustment.
I cringe every time I see that. Those
fliers think they are invincible and are
unreceptive to safe-practice improvement.
A slight miscalculation or a momentary
distraction is all it would take to place the
modeler’s wrist and arm at major risk of
injury.
Objects in the grass, such as rocks or
sticks, should be cleared from the area
before you start your engine. Anything in
the propeller arc could be slung up and into
an innocent bystander.
Similar concerns about pieces being
thrown from the propeller arise following a
hard landing in which the propeller may
have been splintered or nicked. A flaw in
the propeller can weaken it enough to cause
it to fly apart if raised again to a high rpm.
Inspect the propeller thoroughly for damage
after a hard landing if you plan to continue
using it.
To the Taxiway: The club I belong to
chose to disallow taxiing aircraft in the pit
preparation area; the board of directors
decided this was an inherently dangerous
practice. A large number of pilots may be in
that location at any time. If control of a
model is lost while it’s taxiing in the pit
area, someone may be seriously injured by
a propeller.
Most pilots carry their models to the
taxiway or to the runway. Larger models
that are hard to carry are pushed or pulled
to the taxiway or to the runway by their
vertical fins. The pilots’ flying stations at
our field are protected from out-of-control
aircraft by fences that outline the taxiways.
To carry the model safely I leave the
transmitter antenna collapsed. I have
learned that the propeller arc is a bad place