emergency services such as police, fire
department, ambulance service, and anything
else you might need in a hurry. The location
of the nearest hospital and a map to it are
extremely important.
Including the specific location of the
flying field is important. Huh? Don’t we all
know where we are? Ironically, this is one of
the most important pieces of information
needed. Most of the modelers on the field
certainly know how to get to the field from
their home, but experience has shown that
many couldn’t quickly tell the 911 operator
their location. These 911 operators are
accustomed to dealing with addresses, not a
description of how to get there!
It’s a good idea to visit the local fire and
police departments to make sure that they are
aware of your location and to help you define
that location to other emergency services. The
latitude and longitude of the field should be
posted in order to make it easier for an
emergency helicopter to find you if its
services are needed.
The need for emergency services is not
limited to accidents; many medical
emergencies could demand help as well. I
saw a clever idea at a club awhile back. It was
“out in the boondocks,” and they had taken
most of these steps but the members had gone
another step. They had all of the necessary
information on the bulletin board, but had
added a smaller, easily removable plaque with
the same information on it. The idea was that
whoever went for help would have all of the
information available when he got to the
telephone. Pretty clever!
Prepare for those emergencies, and
hopefully they will not become disasters.
I have been reviewing the claims we receive
each month and have noticed a couple of
items that could noticeably reduce the number
of accidents. First, understand that there are
medical claims where we hurt ourselves,
BY THE TIME you read this, the flying
season will be here in most of the country.
(You people in Florida and California, you
can point fingers and laugh but you still need
to listen up.)
I know some clubs that hold an official
opening day, somewhat like the tradition in
baseball. It’s enjoyable and can accentuate the
beginning of a new season of fun.
Obviously, your flying site will have to be
brought up to speed after the ravages of winter
have taken their toll. Ironically, this will be a
bigger project if you have continued to fly
most of the winter.
The opening-day ritual gives the club
some motivation to get that field into pristine
condition because it is generally an event that
involves families. In some clubs, it is the day
with the greatest attendance at the field.
Opening day offers a chance to see friends
you may not have seen for a few months, hold
a cookout, do some flying, or show off that
winter project.
Before opening day, the most important
thing you can do at your flying field is a
safety walk-around. What is a safety walkaround?
That’s simple. It’s a slow stroll
around the field, looking for anything that
could become a safety hazard.
There are always the obvious things such
as the broken hinge on the gate, the tree limb
resting precariously on the roof of the
clubhouse, the gap in the flightline fence that
you cut last fall to drive the maintenance
vehicle onto the runway, etc. All of those are
important, and should receive attention.
This walk-around—which can involve
people who don’t even fly as sometimes they
will see things the modelers are so
accustomed to seeing that they miss—should
focus on those less obvious things such as
holes into which people can step or a dead
tree which is just waiting to fall.
Pay particular attention to checking out
emergency response equipment such as
ensuring a first-aid kit is available and filled.
Are the fire extinguishers where they should
be and are they in working order?
One thing I am personally critical of is
whether emergency contact information is on
the bulletin board or somewhere quickly
available in an emergency. What kind of
information should be available? To begin
with, make sure the location of the closest
telephone is available in case there are no
cellular telephones on the field when that need
arises.
Include telephone numbers for all types of
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
May
Prepare for those
emergencies, and
hopefully they will
not become disasters.
Dave Brown
AMA president
[email protected]
and liability claims in which we hurt someone
else—including other modelers.
It should be obvious to most people that
most medical claims involve propellers.
While not unexpected, I have been surprised
to see how many accidents happen when a
modeler starts his model without anyone else
holding it. It is obvious that you should have
another person holding onto the model, but
apparently some don’t realize just how
important this is.
Believe it or not, some people start their
1⁄4-scale models without anyone or anything
holding it back. When starting any model
larger than 1⁄2A, don’t do it without some form
of restraint. This can be someone holding it or
a mechanical restraint, but have something
holding the model. The larger the model, the
more important this is.
This, along with always adjusting an
engine with your entire body behind the arc of
the propeller—which typically means behind
the wing—would substantially reduce the
medical claims.
Look in the current edition of the
Membership Manual (http://www.model
aircraft.org/templates/ama/PDF-files/
memanual04.pdf) for the suggested flyingfield
layout. Keep in mind that these are
“minimum” recommendations; try to tailor
your field to it as closely as you can.
Of particular importance is the separation
between the near edge of the runway and the
pilot stations. That specified 25-foot distance
can serve to avoid many accidents.
A number of accidents involve models
veering off the runway on both takeoff and
landing and hitting other modelers on the
flightline. Having a specified distance
between models and people will serve as a
reminder when you are too close.
Even if you cannot adopt all of the
suggestions in the recommended field layout,
this is one you should make every effort to
match. Could we mandate it with additions to
the rules? Yes, we could—and we might in
the future—but every rule of this sort will
cause the loss of some flying sites.
There may be alternative ways to achieve
a comparable level of safety, such as fullheight
barriers, but get out there and measure
that offset and move the pilots back that
recommended 25 feet. The accident you
prevent might be the one you are involved
in—either as the pilot or as the victim!
Till next month, fly safely. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/05
Page Numbers: 5
