Safety Comes First — 2006/01
Are your smoke alarms working?
"THE GOOD NEWS is that now I know that all my smoke alarms are working," wrote Marty Sasaki. He posted his story on the Internet, and I couldn't resist sharing it. Following is the rest.
"I made a prop block to mold a propeller blade on, and the glue (Ambroid) hadn't completely dried even after a few days. A few seconds in the microwave ignited the remaining solvent, which filled the room with smoke and set off all of the smoke alarms."
Marty was working on a rubber-power propeller, but there's a lesson here for all of us. Scratch builders often use household appliances for modeling tasks: molding plastic canopies in the oven, removing wrinkles from covering material with a clothes iron, and making laminated parts in the microwave are neato ideas — but only when combined with caution and vigilance. My wife, Sweet Diedra, let me know loud and clear that melted plastic residue was not to be left on the oven racks. Apparently her baked potato tasted like a P-51 canopy.
Field photos and equipment
Many thanks to a noble but nameless reader who took a "What's wrong here?" photo at his local field. That Messerschmitt is held in a sturdy stooge, but I cannot recommend keeping a plastic fuel jug underneath a running engine. It seems as though there have to be some awkward lifting maneuvers done before that model can taxi out. Am I missing something? If so, please drop me a line.
Another picture shows a clever stooge designed by Philip Story. It has Velcro straps that adjust to fit all his airplanes, and the whole rig converts to wheel them onto the field and then hold them securely for starting. Not bad!
The column header now gives my email address only, but don't let that stop you. I still welcome (and will answer) old-fashioned paper letters also. Please mail them to Box 7081, Van Nuys CA 91409. Your help and suggestions are vital.
Battery safety — a cautionary helicopter tale
I really enjoyed the note Bill Westphal sent with his helicopter photograph. He wrote: "I'll take my 15 minutes at the pillory. I'm 68 and I've been flying for 45 years, but these new batteries are a challenge.
"My three-way charger got left out in the rain while we were at Lake Powell, and apparently something in the Li-Poly shutoff circuit got iffy. That wasn't a particular problem, though, as the helicopter flew out over the lake and is now in about 50 feet of water.
"I ordered a replacement, put about an hour on it, and then blew it up. My third arrived today. My wife says no more until I get on eBay and sell something."
Bill has some suggestions for electric-power fliers:
- Do not fully trust any battery charger; if it fails to shut off you can have an explosion and fire.
- Remove the battery from its vehicle for charging.
- Charge in a fireproof container, such as a tin can with sand or a "Battery Bunker."
"I got off lucky; I lost only a $300 helicopter. And a table, of course."
First aid and field fixes
Len Rozamus of Hopewell, Virginia, sent a great close-call story and tip.
"Dave, love your column. Here's a trick I learned the hard way. At the field, I reached over the propeller, got stung, and fumbled through first-aid stuff to stop the bleeding and cover the wound. A soap wash and antiseptic application was used, but the surrounding area was still too fuel soaked to accept a Band-Aid.
"Solution: Using a canvas material Band-Aid allowed for a spot of cyanoacrylate on either end (a drop or two on top of the material) to secure it to the skin. Obviously this is not a permanent solution, but it worked for the moment, and that can be mission serious.
"I thought I'd pass this tip along so others could benefit. I wish I would have thought of it way back when (I've had lots of 'boo-boos' over the years). Now my field box has a first-aid section with canvas Band-Aids, antiseptic, and a small unopened tube of cyanoacrylate. By the way, I have sworn off reaching over the propeller."
Super glue is great stuff, and Len did well, but I'm not sure I could remain calm enough to use it on a fuel-soaked cut. One of the earliest uses for cyanoacrylate was to seal battlefield wounds, so his solution was reasonable — but prevention is far better. Avoid reaching over spinning propellers.
Propeller safety — extending the needle valve
Following is a thread from the Internet about how not to get bitten by a propeller. The posts are edited to the relevant parts and come from experienced modelers.
Q: A couple weeks ago I got a nasty propeller bite from a TD .049 engine with an APC propeller while adjusting the needle valve. I'm still a little gun-shy when adjusting the needle valve; there's not much room there. How do you guys extend the needle valve to make it safer?
A: Loosen the venturi and sweep back the needle valve slightly. The fuel supply will still work well.
A: I slipped a short length of fuel tubing over the needle-valve knob.
A: I have several diameters of aluminum tubing that are roughly 6 inches long. They just fit over my small engine needle-valve heads. Approximately 1/4 inch from the end I pinch the tube a little to keep it from sliding all the way down to the carburetor. You can tune the needle from the end of the tube — not behind the propeller. It works for me; I have not been cut since.
A: Cox made some long needle valves for some of its ready-to-fly airplanes that match the KK & Ace fine-thread TD needle-valve assemblies.
I recall seeing several of my father's scale FF 1/2A models from the old days. To extend the needle valve from the cowling he formed a music-wire extension with a "T" handle at the end and soldered it on to the end of the needle valve. Such metalwork is less common these days, but it was a classy and permanent solution to needle-valve access.
A near-miss at a fly-in — who’s responsible?
The modeler who sent me the following story asked to remain anonymous.
"I recently attended a local fly-in. The host club has a great flying site. The well-kept grass runway is approximately the size of a football field.
"I was the only one in the air and was about ready to land. Another airplane was being carried out for takeoff. I told my spotter to let it go and I would land after they were in the air. In the meantime I had an uneventful landing, but the engine quit when I started to taxi back.
"I hollered out 'man on the field,' which was repeated by my spotter. I started walking toward my airplane. The other model was about 30 feet high and going south, parallel to the field. I told my spotter to let it go, but when I turned around I realized that the airplane was about head-high and coming right at me!
"I immediately hit the grass on my stomach! The airplane went over me at about four feet! I was to learn later that the aircraft was also inverted and this was a maiden flight!
"Was I scared? You bet! Was I angry? You bet! After 'cooling off' I had a talk with the pilot of the airplane, who was also visibly upset over the incident. I also consider him a friend and a very dedicated and safety-minded modeler.
"So what happened? The designated spotter was also the owner of the airplane and was more interested in watching the airplane perform than ensuring the safety of other modelers. Quite simply, the spotter let the pilot down.
"Lesson: Always get an acknowledgment from other pilots when something out of the ordinary is happening with your airplane."
The host club could have done several things to ensure the safety of pilots and spectators:
- Hold a safety meeting or distribute a printed handout stating the club flying-site rules.
- Mark or identify the runway and provide a straight line dividing the runway and pilot area.
- Provide a buffer between the pilot fence and the runway and designate pilot boxes to avoid long distances between pilots and confusion over positions.
The newly updated AMA Safety Code has specific guidelines for setting up RC fields, and each rule was learned the hard way. Despite careful procedures, close calls still happen — so take every precaution possible.
Radio crystals — a dangerous shortcut
I'll wrap up with a message from Darlene Zimmerman of the Maple Cave Flying Club in Cooperstown, Pennsylvania. She mentioned a flier who had the following habit:
"... one radio and a pocket full of crystals. All his airplanes were on different channels. No, he is not changing modules—he takes a crystal out of the front of the radio and replaces it with a different crystal! He says if you can't change crystals, why do they sell them?"
Darlene is right to be concerned. I consulted industry experts and got the same answer from all: changing crystals in this manner is likely to result in major problems with transmitter range. Most systems will not tolerate this type of crystal swapping. That's why the interchangeable-module system was developed.
That flier is taking a big chance, and at some point he is likely to be surprised when his airborne model strikes out on its own and no longer cares what control signal he sends. At that point his airplane becomes a danger to everyone. Don't let it happen to you!
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Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
