Safety Comes First - 2005/05

86 MODEL AVIATION
“I VALUE MY fingers and my life above slightly better performance
for my model airplanes,” said Hank Riehl regarding carbon-fiber (CF)
propellers.
Hank has strong reservations about CF propellers and wonders
what their safety record is compared to wood and fiberglass units. I
haven’t heard of any particular problems with these newfangled, highperformance
airscrews, so here’s an official request for your expertise.
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]
Ron Russell and young Jackson Guthy taxi out for a flight. Their RC model and FF
aircraft have powerful engines that require caution at the field.
George Plance suggests using tie wraps
around hobby knives’ handles—possibly
the ultimate solution to the rolling-knife
problem! Jackie Sorenson shows his
clever idea.
Don Riordan made this magnificent Rufe model from a humble
FF rubber-powered Guillow’s kit. Oh yeah, this is the safety
column; he didn’t get hurt while building it.
Please contact me with your knowledge and experiences with CF
propellers compared with other types. I’m especially concerned with
high-speed uses as opposed to use on indoor or slow-flyer models, but
any data is welcome. I’ll publish the results in an upcoming column.
I’ve got some swell stories this month, starting with one from
Internet celebrity Ed Toner. His tale shows how the most mundane
tasks can be turned into an exciting adventure.
“I’m a cigar smoker. I smoke big stogies, and they last for hours.
I hate to stop building for that long, so I struggle through the process
of enjoying a cigar and doing simple things like sanding, doping, etc.
“I was doping the rudder of my Cosmos R2 ROG, and I used
some thinner to remove a decal that I didn’t want. I’ve gotten quite
absentminded in my dotage, and I put my wet dope brush in the dirty
ashtray and my lit cigar in the open thinner bottle—Whoosh! It never
got to the surface of the thinner—the fumes set off the lit cigar.”
This seems to be yet another parable illustrating how smoking
can be hazardous to your health. But according to Ed there was a
happy ending, as follows.
“The good news is that I salvaged the brush, and the cigar is okay
too. Ah, the joys of The Golden Years. (Over what hill? I don’t see
no hill. Hand me my glasses, son.)”
Subjects That Just Won’t Quit: The rolling-hobby-knife question
brought an excellent suggestion from George A. Plance of
Florida. Secure a zip tie around the knife handle, and then clip off
all but a half inch of the stem. George says that if you wrap it
around twice, you can pull it tighter.
Those plastic strips are also known as
“cable ties,” and they have a serration that
allows them to cinch tight but not loosen. I
think this may be the best solution of all!
In an attempt to wrap up this topic once
and for all, I stick you with an anecdote from
Ron Dietz. He wrote:
“While I was working at GE aerospace
some years ago, I was in one of the design labs
when lab technician Bob Schultz had an XActo
knife roll off the bench as he worked. In
a moment of instinctive reaction, as the knife
fell between his knees, he closed his legs to
catch the knife!
“Those of us who saw what happened next
were shocked to see the knife sticking at 90
degrees from the inside of his thigh! Then
Bob, not saying a word, casually twisted and
pulled the knife out of his leg!
“After everyone got their breath back, Bob
explained and demonstrated that he was okay.
The leg that was impaled was a prosthesis!
None of us had suspected that truth even
though Bob walked with a slight limp.
“He later explained that he had been
wounded in his native land of Hungary during
the uprising against the Russians and it had
cost him his leg. He eventually became a
citizen of the USA and was a good model
maker and lab tech.
“Many times I kidded him about the knife
incident and asked him, ‘Bob, what would you
have done if the knife had fallen pointed at the
other leg?’ He always replied, ‘Vell, I voud
not haf closed my legs.’”
How do you say “yikes!” in Hungarian?
I’m now taking bets on whether this topic is
finally finished or not. If you have an
instructive or entertaining anecdote, or just a
good topic, please send it in. Thanks to so
many kind readers for contributing!
I’ve noticed that when I visit a strange flying
field, my head is on a swivel looking out for
models that are possibly headed my way. Why
do I feel more complacent at my own site?
Familiarity breeds contempt, perhaps? Wise
modelers exercise vigilance at the field
whether they fly RC or FF, because being
struck by any gas model is bad news.
Look at the picture of the RC airplane
taxiing out. It and FF models feature
powerful gas engines in the nose, and either
one could cause great harm if it struck
someone. The radio system keeps the RC
aircraft under control at all times (unless I’m
trying to land it), and the FF craft is
uncontrolled by definition.
So why is it so rare (throughout the years) to
hear of FF models hitting and injuring
someone?
There are several reasons, one of which is
that there is less FF activity than RC these days.
Also, RC models fly relatively close to people
with the engine at full bore, whereas conteststyle
FF models zoom skyward with the timer
set to shut off the engine after just a few
seconds, after which it becomes a glider.
A big difference is that FF fliers know that
their models are uncontrolled, so they keep a
high level of alertness at the field just in case.
Warnings are shouted and heeded.
I have seen the CD’s megaphone used when
an errant Old-Timer model declined to take off
in favor of an extended high-speed taxi run. A
visit to a different flying site is always
interesting, and in my case it made me aware
that I should be just as careful whether I’m on
familiar or unfamiliar territory.
Some FF modelers brought this up in a
recent Internet discussion. These experienced
fliers were sharing stories of launches gone
awry, where powerful gas models struck parked
vehicles and sometimes people.
At flying meets in the United States, a
flightline is used to keep launches away from
pits and spectators. Someone mentioned that,
“In the UK a few of the Power lads seem to
launch straight out of the boot of their cars.”
A wailing Gas FF airplane could be
dangerous, but thankfully these models seldom
run amok. The power plants are timed for short
runs, and the models generally climb away as
designed.
Don DeLoach wrote, “In ’91 in Fort Worth I
saw an F1C do a loop and recover at waist level
where it plowed into a car door at full speed.”
Similar stories mentioned that damaged cars
were sometimes left unrepaired, and the scars
were worn proudly to later meets. Such crashes
are quite rare, but such tales are retold to
emphasize the need for a high level of
awareness while at the flying field.
If it is important to keep an eye out for
models at the FF field, how much more
important is it at the RC field, where airplanes
pass relatively close to humans with the engines
running full speed? Today’s radio systems and
model designs are excellent but not perfect.
Keep thinking “what if?” and you’ll be
prepared for surprises.
A Couple of Quickies: Don Lafferty uses
inexpensive gardening-style clay pots and
saucers to store and charge Li-Poly batteries.
The cord runs through the hole in the pot! That’s
a clever precaution! Stand by for some detailed
information about the Li-Poly safety issue.
I received a report from Robert Goldsberry
of possible cell-phone RC interference. It is
unconfirmed, and he requests further
information on this situation. There have been
no similar incidents as far as I know, and here
in Los Angeles where nearly everyone carries
and uses a phone (while they should be paying
attention), we would be the first to see any
problem. Please chime in if you have had
experience in this area. MA