Safety Comes First - 2004/12

78 MODEL AVIATION
MANY THANKS TO all who are
responding to my plea for close-call stories,
useful information, and problem areas that
need treatment. Your help makes all the
difference in saving fellow modelers from
repeating our own goofs or learning the hard
way about a dangerous situation. Please send
a postcard, a letter, or an E-mail message if
you have new info or an instructive story.
I have heard one comment from several
readers: What makes this guy qualified to
write about safety? It’s a fair question,
considering my reputation as the Inspector
Clouseau of aeromodeling. Here are some
answers:
1) I actually have a modest background in
industrial safety.
2) I have a passing familiarity with model
airplanes.
3) I responded to the ad in MA seeking a
safety columnist.
These factors, plus my offer to sweep out
the editor’s workshop if hired, led to the
present situation. I, if not the readership, am
having a wonderful time, so I’ll stick with it.
Speaking of sticking, I have some
information about cyanoacrylate glues that
you may not have heard. Those who use
accelerator spray to speed the curing of
cyanoacrylate have learned that certain
plastics react poorly to it.
In fact, spritz makes some materials
crumble like my sales resistance at the hobby
shop. It is worsened by multiple exposures
and time passage, but sometimes the damage
occurs right away. I had a small indoor-type
Dave Gee
S a f e t y C o m e s F i r s t
Box 7081, Van Nuys CA 91409; E-mail: [email protected]
Soldering equipment is a hot topic this month. Read about what
can happen when you have too many irons in the fire.
Readers suggest how to prevent hobby knives from rolling off of
the table. The tops of your feet will appreciate it.
Dave Dawson tests a Navy Carrier model. Most CL equipment hasn’t changed in
decades; RC modelers have seen huge improvements in radios. Can reliability lead to
complacency?
electric motor mount disintegrate within
minutes of installation.
I’m no chemist, and more facts are
needed—especially some way to determine
which materials are vulnerable and which are
not. Meanwhile, be cautious about getting
accelerator on plastic components unless
you’ve tested the combination.
Securing larger electric motors with glue
is not recommended for several reasons, and a
good one is that the bond of cyanoacrylate or
certain epoxies may come loose with the
continuous heat of operation. That combined
with vibration and the shock of sudden
impacts (such as my landings) make sturdy
mechanical attachment the way to go.
Following is a motor story from Rich
Tansey of Half Moon Bay, California.
“Just read your column, and thought you
and other AMA members or readers would be
interested in hearing of a real ‘bad one’ I had.
12sig3.QXD 10/25/04 11:09 am Page 78
The ‘incident’ occurred as I was first dabbling
in electric motors and trying to adjust one in
my hobby room.
“There are probably as many ways to
mount an electric motor as there are people
using them. I had used the ‘lazy man’s’
technique of simply taping the motor to a
plastic fuselage by putting electrical tape
around the final 1⁄2 inch or so of a Speed 600
motor.
“One day I was adjusting the servos with a
fully charged battery. Suddenly the motor
came on at full bore, jumped out of the
fuselage, and before I could blink had cut the
tip of my thumb off. The slice was as sharp
and clean as a razor blade.
“After several stitches and a few months’
time, I was lucky to come out with only a
minor deformation of the thumb. I was
completely surprised at the power of this
relatively small motor. I have since learned
some valuable lessons about electric motors
compared to gas:
“1) They rarely stall. When shorted by an
obstruction (in this case my thumb), and
without a protective fuse, they will demand
every amp of current from the battery.
“2) The plastic or nylon props used in
Electrics won’t break, and the edge at 3,000
to 5,000 rpm acts as a buzz saw.
“3) Tape is the most dangerous to use
80 MODEL AVIATION
because it works great for a while but can
release at any time.
“4) Never have the prop toward you.
“5) Think of all the steps you are making
in testing engines indoors. If you haven’t
thought about the steps, you may put yourself
or others in danger.
“6) Electric motor mounts need to be as
carefully thought out and anchored as gas or
glow engines.
“7) I now test engines only in a special
test rig I built which has about 100 pounds of
holding force and a barrier around the prop.
“8) I now use multiple backup systems to
anchor mounts for flying: epoxy or shoo glue,
rubber bands surrounded by several layers of
tape, which I replace after every flying
session, and a pipe clamp with a screw
around the whole assembly.”
Thanks, Rich! That’s good advice for all
of the E-fliers who are using ever more
powerful and efficient new motors.
Model aviation frequently involves
inherently dangerous items such as spinning
propellers and sharp tools. Minor injuries
sometimes occur despite our best efforts, and
in an effort to stay on the cutting edge of cuts,
I have some updated first-aid information.
A recent medical study compared various
methods for treating minor nicks. Some test
subjects volunteered to undergo identical
injuries that were then treated with a wide
variety of products and techniques. The
results, especially healing times, were
carefully recorded.
Although cleaning a gash and keeping it
covered is a good idea, some tried-and-true
first-aid methods did poorly in comparison to
newer treatments. Disinfecting a wound with
hydrogen peroxide resulted in a longer
healing time than not treating it at all! The
best results were obtained with products such
as Neosporin or Polysporin. Cuts treated with
iodine, soap, and water alone or other
medications took longer to mend.
Researchers who are much smarter than I
am conducted the study under controlled
conditions, but some impromptu/informal
clumsy-columnist testing confirmed their
results. The effectiveness of employing bad
language as self-treatment was not
mentioned, although I have seen it used
frequently after minor injuries. It is generally
diluted when children are present and applied
full-strength otherwise. It produces poor
results unless used in conjunction with more
conventional methods.
Multiple E-mails have arrived about the
same topic: hobby knives rolling off of
tabletops. There have been several close calls
and some bloodshed.
Once upon a time, little rubber tubes with
triangular cross-sections were commonly
available. If you slipped one over the handle,
the implement wouldn’t roll. For some
reason, these accessories have become hard
to find, so several wise modelers described
how they drill a perpendicular hole through
the tool and epoxy a length of dowel or
12sig3.QXD 10/25/04 11:09 am Page 80
December 2004 81
tubing in the hole to form a cross.
That is much better than bayoneting your
foot, and it works with most brands except
those that feature an adjusting rod running
inside the shaft.
“NickV” posted the following on the Free
Flight Mailing List: “Has anyone else dropped
a small part on the floor while they were
soldering and then burned themselves with the
soldering iron as they were leaning over to
pick the part up?”
I will carefully avoid any puns about being
branded as the careless type and simply tell
you that this situation has arisen at my
workbench in the past. I once used a penciltype
soldering iron and rested it on the little
wire holder it came with. The cord was a
dangling hazard just waiting to be snagged,
and the inadequate rack did not hold the iron
firmly.
After an incident similar to Nick’s, I had a
burning desire to change things, including my
smoldering pants.
Nowadays I use a soldering gun that can
lay flat on the table with the tip suspended
away from the work surface. The cord runs
across the table, away from me and my
clumsiness. Soldering is an occasional job at
my workshop, so I put the iron away unless it
is in use.
Modelers who use solder more frequently
may have better systems for keeping solder
tips away from flesh. Please share your
solutions with us!
Don Nix, District VIII safety coordinator, was
kind enough to send in the following story.
See if you don’t get shivers from it.
“Back about 1988 we planned a trip to the
mountains near Big Bear, California.
“I decided to take a new kit along and get
started on it while relaxing in the clean air.
After arrival I spread the kit out on a big table
and got started. I picked up a new, unopened
bottle of cyanoacrylate. This was one of those
that had a little tab on top, and to open it, you
just snapped off the tab.
“The instant I did that, I got a face full of
cyanoacrylate spray! I immediately knew what
had happened. The cyanoacrylate was
packaged down near sea level at that
barometric pressure. I opened it at about 7,000
feet, where the pressure was considerably
lower, and the contents, which were now
under much higher pressure than that outside,
evacuated the bottle (a good third of the
contents came out).
“Fortunately, I instinctively closed my
eyes, so didn’t get any in my eyes, but I had a
pretty good freckling all over my face and
spent a good part of the remainder of the day
getting it off.”
LeRoy Cordes of Chicago, Illinois, sent some
great info which I’ll use next month, but for
now a quote from him: “With all the good
equipment we have, we have gotten pretty
complacent.”
Truer words were never written! LeRoy is
experienced enough to know how good we
have it these days and just how dependable
our RC systems have become.
Recently I watched the pit precautions at
the local CL circles and compared them to
the RC field, and I have a theory: the CL
fliers are using the exact same systems as 40
years ago, but the RC pilots have constant
improvements in equipment and technology.
The CL fliers know the proper safety
procedures, which haven’t changed a bit.
Skip a step and it will bite you every
time! The RC crowd has to fight human
nature and consciously avoid putting too
much confidence in new electronics. The
just-in-case precaution can seem less
important when we have such
wonderfully reliable systems.
• ON SITE EXPERT ADVICE AND INFORMATION.
• QUALITY MODELING PRODUCTS.
•WE’RE THERE WHEN YOU NEED US.
(WHERE ELSE CAN YOU GET THAT GLOW PLUG ON A SATURDAY MORNING?)
• AMA NEW MEMBERSHIPS & RENEWALS AT PARTICIPATING NRHSA STORES.
• LOCAL CLUB NEWS AND
HAPPENINGS.
• PART OF A NATIONWIDE
ORGANIZATION WORKING FOR
THE BETTERMENT OF THE
HOBBY INDUSTRY.
• HAVE YOU EVER RACED ON A
MAIL ORDER TRACK?
• REMEMBER WHO GOT YOU
STARTED IN R/C?
NATIONAL RETAIL HOBBY STORES ASSOCIATION
NAPERVILLE, IL 60563 • 630-579-3296
LOOK FOR YOUR LOCAL
NRHSA HOBBY SHOP
WWW.COOLHOBBYSHOPS.COM
Newer fliers who never had to deal with
older, more cranky gear and the hazards of
assorted radio failures might not realize why
experienced modelers still take deliberate,
careful precautions around a propeller or a
taxiway. Share your knowledge! MA
12sig3.QXD 10/25/04 11:10 am Page 81