72 M ODEL AVIATION
PREvENTIvE MAINTENANcE:
Now that we are deep into the “dark
months” (aka winter) and are hard at
work on our building projects for the
coming flying season, let’s not neglect
our flying fleet.
Above and beyond monthly battery
cycling, we need to make sure our models
are ready to go the first time a decent day
finally comes along.
You should tighten each nut and bolt
(including the servo mounts)—even the
wheel collars. Repair any rips or tears in
the covering. Check propellers for chips
and cracks, and retighten them. Check
clevises and horns for wear. Check the
tank, stopper, and tubing, and replace if
brittle. Most important of all, clean
everything thoroughly, including
transmitters.
Yes, the pin in clevises can fail; yes,
the propeller or spinner can work loose
without coming off; yes, chipped
propellers are dangerous; yes, oil and
grime can work their way into glue joints;
and yes, servo arms and even servos
themselves can work loose.
Models are subjected to intense
vibration for relatively long periods;
anything that can work loose will.
A few hours spent on preventive and
interceptive maintenance will be rewarded
with another season of good, safe flying
from your old reliables.
So I Set Down and Flew: In the early days
of television, many of the popular variety
shows featured composers of popular
tunes, and the show would be built around
their songs.
Invariably, the tunesmith would say,
“then I set down and wrote,” then he
would play his tune on the piano. I always
wondered if anyone ever composed music
standing up.
With the exception of some glider and
Old-Timer fliers, we modelers normally
fly standing up.
How about our flying buddies who
have a difficult time standing because of
illness or orthopedic problems? They can
sit at a workbench and build up a storm
(which is very good therapy for them),
but what about flying their projects?
One of my longtime flying buddies
had knee-replacement surgery; he
scheduled it and his recovery for the
winter months, so he could get back to
flying in the spring. Others are less
fortunate, and will never be agile enough
to fly standing up again.
D.B. Mathews
F l y i n g f o r F u n
909 N. Maize Rd., Townhouse 734, Wichita KS 67212
Swiveling flying seat, for those who have difficulty flying standing up. Notice pipe in
concrete with cap and method of attaching the pipe to the seat.
Bill Martin flies sitting down at the Metro East RC Club Field in Garland TX.
A letter from W.P. “Bill” Martin of
Garland, Texas brought this subject to
mind, and he provided photos of a
splendid solution to the problem.
“After a long illness I thought my flying
days were over, because I could no longer
stand up to fly. My friends Glen
Keppenhan and Neal Higinbotham
surprised me with a chair that’s placed in
the ground and swivels, so I can turn and
watch my planes do touch-and-goes.
“What a great hobby and true
friends!”
It looks as though the chair is a
molded-pedestal type, mounted with
four bolts on a fabricated metal plate. A
threaded pipe fitting has been bolted
onto the plate, with a length of pipe
screwed into it.
For a ground mount, they dug a hole
and set a section of larger pipe in
concrete, into which the chair pipe is set
to provide a swivel action. They keep a
cap over the opening when it’s not in use.
The whole thing is simplicity itself,
yet it’s a wonderfully thoughtful solution
to a vexing problem.
Hold Still! I made my living using my
fingers for more than 40 years. As a
result, I’ve always been extremely
careful around spinning propellers.
Under no circumstance will I reach
around the propeller arc to do anything
to a running engine.
Some of my flying buddies have found
amusement in my moving behind the
engine to remove the glow plug, clip, etc.,
but I’ve only needed stitches twice in the
60 years I’ve been modeling!
February 2001 73
Recently I saw Gail Schulman, who
has been modeling even longer than I
have; he taught me caution a long time
ago. I noticed he was missing the tip
phalanx of a finger.
Gail’s accident and my two were
caused by spinning propellers hitting our
bodies—not from getting our bodies in the
way of the props.
I got one bad cut on my leg, when a
Control Line model slipped out of a
homemade “stooge”; the other accident
happened when a model rolled downhill
into my hand, as I was getting up to move
around to the back; much the same thing
happened to Gail.
Perhaps my most frightening and
potentially serious experience was in my
youth, when I was running an O&R .60 in
a Custom Cruiser Control Line model to
show off to my buddies.
I placed the model on an old card table,
and one of the other kids hung onto the
tail. When the engine started and gave its
mighty roar, the noise frightened the other
kid and he let go. Then I had a snarling
engine headed for my lap!
Fortunately the propeller snagged my
loose-fitting shirt and died, or I probably
would not have fathered three wonderful
children!
Even though you are propeller safetyconscious,
you are still at risk—unless the
model is held securely.
Throughout the years, I’ve seen
modelers tie big models to picnic tables,
fence posts, and screw drivers stuck in
the ground, in an effort to hold them in
place. Of course, there is always the
flying buddy who will stand in the oily
exhaust for you while he hangs on
uncomfortably.
Unfortunately, all these “hold-stills”
depend on the availability of ropes or
items you can’t carry with you to the
field. For a long time, I’ve wanted a
system that will safely hold my model
when the engine is running, and is always
available.
While attending an International
Miniature Aircraft Association fly-in in
York NE during the summer of 1999, I
spotted such a device and purchased it.
I’ve used it faithfully ever since, and I
feel safe moving around in front of a
running engine for the first time in all
these years.
In its own way, this gadget is the most
Author’s Bandito Grande locked safely in position. Model is moved rearward to allow
arm to fold down. Contact Bill Zimmerman for information and pricing.
“Hold Still” device, to hold models while engines are running, in collapsed position.
Spike was driven into ground. Hardware-store foam tubes cover metal rods.
important piece of ground-support
equipment I own.
Bill Zimmerman described his need
for the same type of holder to his son
Kirk.
Kirk took some measurements and
thought about it. He came up with what
amounts to a metal “T” rod, with a pair
of hinges and stops welded onto it,
which supports a “U.” The pointed end
of the T-shaped rod is driven
approximately nine inches into the
ground, positioned so the hinge lets the
“U” drop back, but is in full stop to
forward pressure.
The device straddles the model’s
fuselage at the leading edge of the
stabilizer. When the engine is started, all
its pull goes against the metal stop.
One can safely leave the model
running while he or she moves the
starter, etc. out of the way, then leisurely
proceeds to the rear of the model,
removes the glow clip (if used), checks
high throttle without a need to put an
ankle on either side of the stabilizer, then
moves the model rearward a bit and the
“U” folds flat on the ground.
This device has no commercial name,
so I call mine a “Hold Still.” You really
ought to have one!
For information and pricing, contact
Bill Zimmerman 415 S. Denver, Hastings
NE 68901; Tel.: (402) 462-5458. MA
