Safety Comes First - 2008/09

84 MODEL AVIATION
SOMETIMES WE HAVE to discover things the hard way, as a
story from Fred Dings II illustrates. He wrote:
“A friend crashed his airplane while using the Futaba FASST
system. He had been flying his Piper Cub and then, without
selecting the Chipmunk model on his system, took off and
crashed his Chipmunk.
“I investigated this and found that the Futaba system has no
Model-Match feature as the JR/Spektrum system has. You
probably know all about this, but I have never heard of it or read
about it.”
It’s safe to assume that if one pilot didn’t get the word, there
must be others. The critical words in Fred’s message are “never
heard of it or read about it.” If there was ever a good reason to
read and study the manual for your radio, this is it!
Fred’s note continued:
“I have the Futaba FASST module in my 9ZAP WC-2
transmitter and four planes with Futaba 2.4 GHz receivers. I
linked all four receivers to my module as instructed and now, if I
turn all four of my 2.4 GHz planes on, I can activate all the servos
on all four models.
“Another friend has the JR system and when he turns on all of
his 2.4 GHz models only the model whose memory has been
selected will display any activity. I don’t know how JR
accomplishes this, but it sure is a good thing.”
I generally crash my models one by one, so operating all of
them at once via a single transmitter could save me lots of time.
Don’t get me wrong; I have four Futaba radios looking over my
shoulder as I type, but Fred is right that the JR feature is spiffy.
The point of all this is that we need to be familiar with the
equipment we use. If Fred’s pal had been aware of the situation,
you can bet that he never would have switched models without
changing settings.
Perhaps another lesson here is that it is good to set up all our
models the same when possible. I do it because I’m
unimaginative, but it would have saved the Chipmunk from
turning into chips.
I appreciate Fred’s story and hope other readers will share info
Safety Comes First Dave Gee | [email protected]
The instructions will tell you how well your transmitter knows your airplanes
Also included in this column:
• Flightline shade or visibility—
choose one
• A good way to restrain your
airplane
• The starting process: every
model has one
• Kids who build their own
models? Wow!
• The dangers of spam E-mail
An FF foam RTF Zeppelin glider with a catapult launch system? Ya
seen one, ya seen ’em all.
These Burbank CA middle school kids constructed their own Indoor models and won an
international postal contest. Dave is hoping to pick up a few pointers.
This new RC Plane Restraint gives you one less thing to worry
about while starting your engine. Vertical pieces are removable
for taxiing out.
via E-mail or letter. Anonymity is
available upon request.
Paul Goldsmith said I could quote him
and use his name, so following is what
happened at a meeting of his Arizona
Model Aviators club in Mesa.
“There was a motion at a club meeting
to put canopies over the flight stations at
our field due to the 120 degree temps in
the summer. I did not feel it was a good
idea due to the fact that every once in a
while a plane can get overhead and it
would be out of sight and pose a safety
hazard. What is the AMA’s position on
this issue? I really feel this is a bad idea,
but would like your input to see if I am
correct or just being stubborn.”
The AMA Safety Committee kicked
this question around and I found myself
disagreeing with some experienced fliers,
which made me wonder if I might be
incorrect and stubborn. I feel that this is a
decision for the local club, and what it
decides should go, but it does indeed
sound like a bad idea.
Sooner or later, there will be a pilot
running out from under the canopy, maybe
onto the runway, trying to see over the
shelter to keep an errant model in sight. I
thought the club should encourage the use
of hats, sunglasses, ice-cold Gatorade, and
other means of mitigating heat that do not
pose a hazard to the operation of remotely
controlled aircraft from a static position on
the ground.
Nobody actually quoted me the line
about how “only mad dogs and
Englishmen go out in the noonday sun,”
but Don Lowe (who has more experience
and wisdom than three of me) E-mailed the
following.
“We had sunshades at flying stations at
R/C World for years without their being
the cause of an incident; I have also seen
them at other sites. Florida and Arizona are
noted for very hot sun in summer months.
“What we are looking at is the much
larger benefit of helping to prevent
sunstroke and skin cancer than the very
outside chance of one obscuring the flyers’
vision. Properly designed it should be easy
for the flyer to avoid any obscuration.”
I welcome your opinions on this
question. It looks like my views are not
supported by the actual experience of
modelers, so perhaps I will retreat to my
usual indoor flying sites and turn up the
air-conditioning.
Time to look at the photographs. That
gadget holding the model’s tail is an RC
Plane Restraint stand from Jack Knife
Machine Shop.
Steve Watts came up with this new take
on an old idea. In addition to making the
thing out of 6061 aluminum, he designed
the uprights to be removable so you don’t
have to lift or tilt the model when you’re
ready to taxi out. Good thinking.
The RC Plane Restraint in the photo
measures 15 inches wide by 20 inches tall,
with 10-inch ground stakes. Three sizes are
available, and Steve guarantees it for your
lifetime, which might end up being longer
if you avoid injury by using his product.
Sometimes I hear modelers say, “I
could just make one of those myself,” but
would it look as nice and work as well as
this one? Check out the Web site, and one
way or another, please make sure your
flying machine is well secured.
The other two photos depict rare
subjects. Ya gotta admit that you don’t see
a catapult-launched FF foam Zeppelin
glider every day. A good friend of mine
gave it to me, it does fly, and, no, it does
not need helium! I’ll try to justify putting
it in the safety column by pointing out that
our hobby has few boundaries and
anything you can dream up can probably
be made to fly.
We need to match this limitless fun
with a cautious attitude that matches our
models. Different aircraft have different
ways to make trouble. A canard pusher
requires a different starting drill from a
conventional airplane. The same goes for
jets, tandem-rotor helicopters, and tandemrotor
jet helicopters (if they exist yet).
Think things through, and adjust your routine to match your model so you can
enjoy reading this column instead of starring
in it.
A real rarity is a bunch of middle school
kids who build and fly their own models!
Shown is the Yellowjacket Wing of the
Black Sheep Squadron from Luther Burbank
Middle School in California. With the
support of science teacher par excellence,
Joseph Reed, these youngsters constructed a
trio of Hangar Rats and entered an
international postal contest.
CD Jim Arthur, of the Stick and Tissue
Fledgling Flyers (STiFFs), said that they
dominated the Junior division. Actually,
they comprised the Junior division. Still,
getting a 39-second ROG (rise-off-ground)
flight in a gym with volleyball nets and
crowds of fans was no picnic.
These kids did the construction and
repair work themselves, using razor blades
and super glue with proper care and no
injuries. One lad asked me about RTF
models and said, “You mean it comes
already built? Eeewww!” Way to go, kid.
It is just as easy to draw young people
into any other aspect of aeromodeling.
Fixed-wing RC, helicopters, and soaring are
fascinating, and too many of today’s kids
have never been exposed to such things.
Video games are a poor substitute for the
thrill of flight, and we strengthen our
hobby’s future when we share our fun with
newbies.
I seem to end each column with a rant
lately, but this one comes from the heart.
Apparently there are computer programs
that harvest E-mail addresses on a
subject-specific basis for use by
unscrupulous businesses. Unsolicited
spam E-mail advertisements are regularly
sent to my MA-column E-mail address,
because some machine figured out that it
is associated with model aircraft.
I’m not referring to legitimate
messages from hobby distributors about
items to plug. These are clearly massmailed
in the hope of finding
inexperienced computer owners who can
be tricked into thinking that the message
was directed only to them.
Sometimes it will be an ad from a
factory in China aimed at hobby
importers and distributors, and sometimes
it is for a specific product that may not
even exist but can be ordered easily. Type
in your credit card information and the
adventure begins.
I have even received spam from local
companies that should know better. When
contacted for comment, they weakly
claim that they spam only previous
customers, but when pressed they will
admit to gathering new addresses from
Web sites and chat rooms online. Don’t
worry, they say, all you have to do is visit
our Web site and click to be removed
from our list.
I ask if they follow through that way with
each spam message they receive. Nope!
They know that such lists are compiled not
just for sending advertising, but have also
been used for more nefarious purposes such
as phishing and Trojan horse attacks. A
request for removal is sometimes seen as
confirmation that an E-mail address is active
and results in a deluge of further messages.
Computer safety is a serious matter.
Spam is at best an irritating time waster and
at worst a direct threat to your system and
financial privacy. Reputable companies use
legitimate advertising methods because they
want to sell products rather than generate
suspicion and resentment in potential
customers.
I eagerly read bulletins from hobby
suppliers with whom I have registered and
spend plenty of money online, but not with
an outfit that sends spam. I will not plug their
products, on the assumption that their
advertising techniques might be
representative of their business practices. MA
Sources:
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
Jack Knife Machine Shop
(301) 643-0227
www.jackknifemachineshop.com