92 MODEL AVIATION
IT’S AN OUTRAGE! The situation is so far out of bounds that
some readers might not believe it could exist. You can’t blame them.
I, too, was skeptical at first.
A small group of rogue modelers is building and flying model
aircraft that do not have CGs. No CGs at all. This is bad and they
must be stopped.
These mavericks, who oppose nature with their scofflaw aircraft,
claim that the weight savings and increased performance are worth
the risk of flying without CGs in their models.
So far, there have been no documented injuries as a result of this
practice, but it is only a matter of time. Modelers who consider
themselves beyond the laws of nature are a threat to the rest of us.
Those laws were voted in for a reason, and openly disobeying them
is bad for our hobby.
Modelers are famous for wild experimental flying machines. I
love odd-looking models, which is good because the ones I build
tend to turn out that way.
Still, there are certain rules of physics
that we must know and obey if we want our
models to fly safely and well. Knowing
where to install the CG is a basic modeling
skill.
Since the earliest days of aeromodeling,
designers knew that a good set of plans
should feature that little checkered-circle
symbol to remind the builder that a CG was
needed and indicate where to place it. The
CG is a time-tested safety feature for every
model, from the smallest indoor helicopter
to the largest Giant Scale airplane.
No properly supervised flying site would
allow a model that lacks a CG. Try to bring
an aircraft or helicopter such as that onto the
field at Muncie, Indiana. Our AMA
Executive Council members would not fly
such an aircraft. I bet that MA editor
Michael Ramsey has never even seen one.
Please help me stamp out this small but
insidious movement. Insist that a CG be
included with each model aircraft you
purchase.
When you construct your next
prizewinner, make sure to install a CG.
Many pilots put it at the balance point of the
model, and serious builders will have an
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
It takes an unbalanced mind to fly a model without a CG
Also included in this column:
• Spammers on the attack—ready, aim, delete!
• E/Z Bender puts a kink in things
• Preflight more than your model
• Battery charging is in the bag with Lipo Safe
Du-Bro has come up with this handy new tool that forms wire
without poking fingers. The E/Z Bender works great.
Hold me; squeeze me! Pure-Tech makes a line of Xtreme straps
that keep onboard components in place until you release them.
Bruce Sund is grinning because he knows that his Lipo Safe battery bags have charging
hazards zipped up. Common Sense RC makes them in several sizes.
04sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/23/10 10:01 AM Page 92
unmarked CG in each individual component
for safety’s sake.
In January I had a great time at the 2010
AMA Expo. For once, the weather in
Ontario lived up to California’s sunny
reputation. I greeted old friends and met new
ones, while seeing all the latest neato hobby
stuff.
Bruce Sund was in the Common Sense
RC booth, showing off a new line of handy,
fireproof-fabric containers for battery -
charging. There are three sizes of Lipo Safe
bags available. The picture shows the
smallest one. If a battery decides to make
trouble, these bags will keep it contained.
Bruce said that the entire line has been
tested with ignited battery packs. The
hardest part was to get batteries to ignite,
since the cells and chargers available to us
these days are so good. That is great news,
but please continue to charge your Li-Poly
battery packs in a fireproof container.
Li-Poly batteries are becoming popular
and commonplace, but incidents of burning
battery packs have declined greatly. I have a
sneaking suspicion that a fair percentage of
early accidents were caused by using Ni-Cd
chargers with the wrong type of battery,
despite accounts where the embarrassed
victim or perpetrator says otherwise. Human
nature can be a formidable opponent.
My next stop at the AMA Expo was the
Du-Bro booth, where Ed Bojan was
demonstrating a keen new gadget. The E/Z
Bender forms music wire with astounding
ease and precision.
Wire is used in almost all model aircraft,
so wire-bending tools are standard in our
workshops. This one leaves them all in the
dust.
Ed showed me how light-gauge wire
could be made into landing gear, propeller
shafts, and wing mounts in seconds, without
puncturing the fingers of the person holding
the pliers. (I am usually that person.)
By skipping the pliers completely and
using this simple-looking tool, I’ll be able to
form all the wire parts I need without
wearing bandages afterward. I bought one
for myself and another one for my father. A
heavier-duty version is in the works for the
big-airplane fliers who use thicker wire.
On the next AMA Expo aisle was
Dwayne Yates and his Pure-Tech Products
booth. He showed me a line of clever
retaining straps for onboard battery packs,
fuel tanks, and radio receivers. These
lightweight straps stick to the model but
easily release their cargo when needed.
Quickly being able to remove and install
the battery is great because it lessens the
temptation to charge it in the model. These
straps, with their trimmed edges and bright
colors, look sharp when installed.
Compared to last year’s AMA Expo, I
noticed many improvements and additions.
The Headquarters crew from Muncie,
Indiana, was overworked, but they had
things humming.
Lora Knowlton is extremely competent
and a pleasure to work with. I even saw her
in a moment of quiet, without people
pestering her for decisions. She told me it
wouldn’t last long, and she was right.
AMA Marketing Director Jeff Nance
deserves special mention for his work
promoting the Expo on local TV. Last year’s
indoor flight demonstration for the cameras
was a last-minute deal, but this time was
way different.
Jeff had arranged for appropriate RC and
FF aircraft, with skilled pilots and a wide
variety of models, to entice viewers to attend
the Expo. Most important of all, he
diplomatically handled the TV crew’s
requests for aerial stunts and told them what
was okay and what was too dangerous to
attempt. Bravo!
Jeff handled tremendous pressure and
only goofed once, by letting me participate
in the flight display. Every time the camera
panned across the formation of state-of-theart,
high-performance 3-D aircraft doing
their thing, into the frame came the little
Old-Timer-style cabin model that I was
(almost) controlling. The expert young
aerobatics pilots tolerated me with good
humor but wisely ducked under a table when
I tried a landing—just like my pals at the
local field.
Public demonstrations of model aircraft
are great fun and terrific exposure for our
hobby, but it takes good judgment and
restraint to do things safely. There can be
heavy pressure to exceed limits in the name of
showbiz.
No matter how skilled a pilot is, how nice
the model is, and how up-to-date the radio
system might be, our craft are not 100%
reliable. We should take a page from fullscale
aviation and plan our demonstrations
with a pessimistic outlook, always assuming
the worst. Nonmodelers will be amazed
regardless. They will never know that we
wisely planned for a problem that did not
occur.
Bravo to the whole AMA crew!
When I got home from the show, I read an email
from Bill Logue, which made a great
point. He wrote that we should “preflight
more than just the aircraft,” by inspecting our
vehicles before a trip to the field.
He made a long drive to a DC Maxecuters’
indoor session in his trusty but seldom-driven
car. It was not so trusty that time, because
during the trip he was signaled by other
drivers that his taillights were completely out.
Bill continued with great caution until
reaching a safe location. He wrote that he still
has not found the electrical problem that
allows the headlights to work but not the
taillights. A simple “preflight” inspection
before the trip would have saved much
trouble.
At my workplace we have installed two
big parabolic mirrors high on the exit gate so
drivers can see their own vehicle lights in the
front and back. It is surprising how often we
find bad bulbs. It is much cheaper to get this
information from a mirror or a friend than
from a law enforcement officer with a ticket
book.
Another e-mail arrived that was not so
welcome. It was yet another spam message,
allegedly from an overseas RC toy factory.
The company apparently “harvested” my email
address from a Web site and decided that
I was a toy wholesaler.
You never know what these spammers are
after. They will use any ploy to get you to
open a message and attachments which could
be packed with malware and other bad stuff.
Your computer and your personal information
are targets for these scammers, so beware.
I get loads of legitimate catalogs and sales
notices from hobby companies with which I
am signed up, and I spend plenty of money
online with these aboveboard dealers. An
unsolicited spam message is another thing.
In this case, I decided to open a dialogue
with these Internet shysters and answered
their message with a request to cease
spamming me and refrain from using stolen email
addresses. (I might have also called them
“worthless, dishonorable, smelly, lizardlipped
parasite spammers.”)
They responded “no no we are the rc
factory not spammers,” which lacked
credibility since I had in fact received spam
from them.
They wanted to sell me a lot of counterfeit
RC toys wholesale (prepaid by wire transfer),
and it didn’t matter how many people they
annoyed with boatloads of spam e-mail. Don’t
get fooled by scams such as this.
I continued our correspondence with
friendly greetings and these words: “I curse
you so that evil fish will come to live in your
reservoir and spit flames into your pottery.
Your pumpkins will all be lopsided with foul
destinies. Bad luck will dog your cartilage.
Blue vermin will infest your sock drawer in a
left-handed manner.”
Yeah, I really sent that. Didn’t hear back
from them, either. Perhaps they decided that I
wasn’t such a hot business prospect.
If nobody did business with spammers,
this threat would wither away. Meanwhile,
watch yourself and don’t get caught in their
schemes. MA
Sources:
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
Common Sense RC
(866) 405-8811
http://commonsenserc.com
Pure-Tech (760) 207-0547
http://puretechproducts.com
Du-Bro
(800) 848-9411
www.dubro.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/04
Page Numbers: 92,93,95
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/04
Page Numbers: 92,93,95
92 MODEL AVIATION
IT’S AN OUTRAGE! The situation is so far out of bounds that
some readers might not believe it could exist. You can’t blame them.
I, too, was skeptical at first.
A small group of rogue modelers is building and flying model
aircraft that do not have CGs. No CGs at all. This is bad and they
must be stopped.
These mavericks, who oppose nature with their scofflaw aircraft,
claim that the weight savings and increased performance are worth
the risk of flying without CGs in their models.
So far, there have been no documented injuries as a result of this
practice, but it is only a matter of time. Modelers who consider
themselves beyond the laws of nature are a threat to the rest of us.
Those laws were voted in for a reason, and openly disobeying them
is bad for our hobby.
Modelers are famous for wild experimental flying machines. I
love odd-looking models, which is good because the ones I build
tend to turn out that way.
Still, there are certain rules of physics
that we must know and obey if we want our
models to fly safely and well. Knowing
where to install the CG is a basic modeling
skill.
Since the earliest days of aeromodeling,
designers knew that a good set of plans
should feature that little checkered-circle
symbol to remind the builder that a CG was
needed and indicate where to place it. The
CG is a time-tested safety feature for every
model, from the smallest indoor helicopter
to the largest Giant Scale airplane.
No properly supervised flying site would
allow a model that lacks a CG. Try to bring
an aircraft or helicopter such as that onto the
field at Muncie, Indiana. Our AMA
Executive Council members would not fly
such an aircraft. I bet that MA editor
Michael Ramsey has never even seen one.
Please help me stamp out this small but
insidious movement. Insist that a CG be
included with each model aircraft you
purchase.
When you construct your next
prizewinner, make sure to install a CG.
Many pilots put it at the balance point of the
model, and serious builders will have an
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
It takes an unbalanced mind to fly a model without a CG
Also included in this column:
• Spammers on the attack—ready, aim, delete!
• E/Z Bender puts a kink in things
• Preflight more than your model
• Battery charging is in the bag with Lipo Safe
Du-Bro has come up with this handy new tool that forms wire
without poking fingers. The E/Z Bender works great.
Hold me; squeeze me! Pure-Tech makes a line of Xtreme straps
that keep onboard components in place until you release them.
Bruce Sund is grinning because he knows that his Lipo Safe battery bags have charging
hazards zipped up. Common Sense RC makes them in several sizes.
04sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/23/10 10:01 AM Page 92
unmarked CG in each individual component
for safety’s sake.
In January I had a great time at the 2010
AMA Expo. For once, the weather in
Ontario lived up to California’s sunny
reputation. I greeted old friends and met new
ones, while seeing all the latest neato hobby
stuff.
Bruce Sund was in the Common Sense
RC booth, showing off a new line of handy,
fireproof-fabric containers for battery -
charging. There are three sizes of Lipo Safe
bags available. The picture shows the
smallest one. If a battery decides to make
trouble, these bags will keep it contained.
Bruce said that the entire line has been
tested with ignited battery packs. The
hardest part was to get batteries to ignite,
since the cells and chargers available to us
these days are so good. That is great news,
but please continue to charge your Li-Poly
battery packs in a fireproof container.
Li-Poly batteries are becoming popular
and commonplace, but incidents of burning
battery packs have declined greatly. I have a
sneaking suspicion that a fair percentage of
early accidents were caused by using Ni-Cd
chargers with the wrong type of battery,
despite accounts where the embarrassed
victim or perpetrator says otherwise. Human
nature can be a formidable opponent.
My next stop at the AMA Expo was the
Du-Bro booth, where Ed Bojan was
demonstrating a keen new gadget. The E/Z
Bender forms music wire with astounding
ease and precision.
Wire is used in almost all model aircraft,
so wire-bending tools are standard in our
workshops. This one leaves them all in the
dust.
Ed showed me how light-gauge wire
could be made into landing gear, propeller
shafts, and wing mounts in seconds, without
puncturing the fingers of the person holding
the pliers. (I am usually that person.)
By skipping the pliers completely and
using this simple-looking tool, I’ll be able to
form all the wire parts I need without
wearing bandages afterward. I bought one
for myself and another one for my father. A
heavier-duty version is in the works for the
big-airplane fliers who use thicker wire.
On the next AMA Expo aisle was
Dwayne Yates and his Pure-Tech Products
booth. He showed me a line of clever
retaining straps for onboard battery packs,
fuel tanks, and radio receivers. These
lightweight straps stick to the model but
easily release their cargo when needed.
Quickly being able to remove and install
the battery is great because it lessens the
temptation to charge it in the model. These
straps, with their trimmed edges and bright
colors, look sharp when installed.
Compared to last year’s AMA Expo, I
noticed many improvements and additions.
The Headquarters crew from Muncie,
Indiana, was overworked, but they had
things humming.
Lora Knowlton is extremely competent
and a pleasure to work with. I even saw her
in a moment of quiet, without people
pestering her for decisions. She told me it
wouldn’t last long, and she was right.
AMA Marketing Director Jeff Nance
deserves special mention for his work
promoting the Expo on local TV. Last year’s
indoor flight demonstration for the cameras
was a last-minute deal, but this time was
way different.
Jeff had arranged for appropriate RC and
FF aircraft, with skilled pilots and a wide
variety of models, to entice viewers to attend
the Expo. Most important of all, he
diplomatically handled the TV crew’s
requests for aerial stunts and told them what
was okay and what was too dangerous to
attempt. Bravo!
Jeff handled tremendous pressure and
only goofed once, by letting me participate
in the flight display. Every time the camera
panned across the formation of state-of-theart,
high-performance 3-D aircraft doing
their thing, into the frame came the little
Old-Timer-style cabin model that I was
(almost) controlling. The expert young
aerobatics pilots tolerated me with good
humor but wisely ducked under a table when
I tried a landing—just like my pals at the
local field.
Public demonstrations of model aircraft
are great fun and terrific exposure for our
hobby, but it takes good judgment and
restraint to do things safely. There can be
heavy pressure to exceed limits in the name of
showbiz.
No matter how skilled a pilot is, how nice
the model is, and how up-to-date the radio
system might be, our craft are not 100%
reliable. We should take a page from fullscale
aviation and plan our demonstrations
with a pessimistic outlook, always assuming
the worst. Nonmodelers will be amazed
regardless. They will never know that we
wisely planned for a problem that did not
occur.
Bravo to the whole AMA crew!
When I got home from the show, I read an email
from Bill Logue, which made a great
point. He wrote that we should “preflight
more than just the aircraft,” by inspecting our
vehicles before a trip to the field.
He made a long drive to a DC Maxecuters’
indoor session in his trusty but seldom-driven
car. It was not so trusty that time, because
during the trip he was signaled by other
drivers that his taillights were completely out.
Bill continued with great caution until
reaching a safe location. He wrote that he still
has not found the electrical problem that
allows the headlights to work but not the
taillights. A simple “preflight” inspection
before the trip would have saved much
trouble.
At my workplace we have installed two
big parabolic mirrors high on the exit gate so
drivers can see their own vehicle lights in the
front and back. It is surprising how often we
find bad bulbs. It is much cheaper to get this
information from a mirror or a friend than
from a law enforcement officer with a ticket
book.
Another e-mail arrived that was not so
welcome. It was yet another spam message,
allegedly from an overseas RC toy factory.
The company apparently “harvested” my email
address from a Web site and decided that
I was a toy wholesaler.
You never know what these spammers are
after. They will use any ploy to get you to
open a message and attachments which could
be packed with malware and other bad stuff.
Your computer and your personal information
are targets for these scammers, so beware.
I get loads of legitimate catalogs and sales
notices from hobby companies with which I
am signed up, and I spend plenty of money
online with these aboveboard dealers. An
unsolicited spam message is another thing.
In this case, I decided to open a dialogue
with these Internet shysters and answered
their message with a request to cease
spamming me and refrain from using stolen email
addresses. (I might have also called them
“worthless, dishonorable, smelly, lizardlipped
parasite spammers.”)
They responded “no no we are the rc
factory not spammers,” which lacked
credibility since I had in fact received spam
from them.
They wanted to sell me a lot of counterfeit
RC toys wholesale (prepaid by wire transfer),
and it didn’t matter how many people they
annoyed with boatloads of spam e-mail. Don’t
get fooled by scams such as this.
I continued our correspondence with
friendly greetings and these words: “I curse
you so that evil fish will come to live in your
reservoir and spit flames into your pottery.
Your pumpkins will all be lopsided with foul
destinies. Bad luck will dog your cartilage.
Blue vermin will infest your sock drawer in a
left-handed manner.”
Yeah, I really sent that. Didn’t hear back
from them, either. Perhaps they decided that I
wasn’t such a hot business prospect.
If nobody did business with spammers,
this threat would wither away. Meanwhile,
watch yourself and don’t get caught in their
schemes. MA
Sources:
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
Common Sense RC
(866) 405-8811
http://commonsenserc.com
Pure-Tech (760) 207-0547
http://puretechproducts.com
Du-Bro
(800) 848-9411
www.dubro.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/04
Page Numbers: 92,93,95
92 MODEL AVIATION
IT’S AN OUTRAGE! The situation is so far out of bounds that
some readers might not believe it could exist. You can’t blame them.
I, too, was skeptical at first.
A small group of rogue modelers is building and flying model
aircraft that do not have CGs. No CGs at all. This is bad and they
must be stopped.
These mavericks, who oppose nature with their scofflaw aircraft,
claim that the weight savings and increased performance are worth
the risk of flying without CGs in their models.
So far, there have been no documented injuries as a result of this
practice, but it is only a matter of time. Modelers who consider
themselves beyond the laws of nature are a threat to the rest of us.
Those laws were voted in for a reason, and openly disobeying them
is bad for our hobby.
Modelers are famous for wild experimental flying machines. I
love odd-looking models, which is good because the ones I build
tend to turn out that way.
Still, there are certain rules of physics
that we must know and obey if we want our
models to fly safely and well. Knowing
where to install the CG is a basic modeling
skill.
Since the earliest days of aeromodeling,
designers knew that a good set of plans
should feature that little checkered-circle
symbol to remind the builder that a CG was
needed and indicate where to place it. The
CG is a time-tested safety feature for every
model, from the smallest indoor helicopter
to the largest Giant Scale airplane.
No properly supervised flying site would
allow a model that lacks a CG. Try to bring
an aircraft or helicopter such as that onto the
field at Muncie, Indiana. Our AMA
Executive Council members would not fly
such an aircraft. I bet that MA editor
Michael Ramsey has never even seen one.
Please help me stamp out this small but
insidious movement. Insist that a CG be
included with each model aircraft you
purchase.
When you construct your next
prizewinner, make sure to install a CG.
Many pilots put it at the balance point of the
model, and serious builders will have an
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
It takes an unbalanced mind to fly a model without a CG
Also included in this column:
• Spammers on the attack—ready, aim, delete!
• E/Z Bender puts a kink in things
• Preflight more than your model
• Battery charging is in the bag with Lipo Safe
Du-Bro has come up with this handy new tool that forms wire
without poking fingers. The E/Z Bender works great.
Hold me; squeeze me! Pure-Tech makes a line of Xtreme straps
that keep onboard components in place until you release them.
Bruce Sund is grinning because he knows that his Lipo Safe battery bags have charging
hazards zipped up. Common Sense RC makes them in several sizes.
04sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 2/23/10 10:01 AM Page 92
unmarked CG in each individual component
for safety’s sake.
In January I had a great time at the 2010
AMA Expo. For once, the weather in
Ontario lived up to California’s sunny
reputation. I greeted old friends and met new
ones, while seeing all the latest neato hobby
stuff.
Bruce Sund was in the Common Sense
RC booth, showing off a new line of handy,
fireproof-fabric containers for battery -
charging. There are three sizes of Lipo Safe
bags available. The picture shows the
smallest one. If a battery decides to make
trouble, these bags will keep it contained.
Bruce said that the entire line has been
tested with ignited battery packs. The
hardest part was to get batteries to ignite,
since the cells and chargers available to us
these days are so good. That is great news,
but please continue to charge your Li-Poly
battery packs in a fireproof container.
Li-Poly batteries are becoming popular
and commonplace, but incidents of burning
battery packs have declined greatly. I have a
sneaking suspicion that a fair percentage of
early accidents were caused by using Ni-Cd
chargers with the wrong type of battery,
despite accounts where the embarrassed
victim or perpetrator says otherwise. Human
nature can be a formidable opponent.
My next stop at the AMA Expo was the
Du-Bro booth, where Ed Bojan was
demonstrating a keen new gadget. The E/Z
Bender forms music wire with astounding
ease and precision.
Wire is used in almost all model aircraft,
so wire-bending tools are standard in our
workshops. This one leaves them all in the
dust.
Ed showed me how light-gauge wire
could be made into landing gear, propeller
shafts, and wing mounts in seconds, without
puncturing the fingers of the person holding
the pliers. (I am usually that person.)
By skipping the pliers completely and
using this simple-looking tool, I’ll be able to
form all the wire parts I need without
wearing bandages afterward. I bought one
for myself and another one for my father. A
heavier-duty version is in the works for the
big-airplane fliers who use thicker wire.
On the next AMA Expo aisle was
Dwayne Yates and his Pure-Tech Products
booth. He showed me a line of clever
retaining straps for onboard battery packs,
fuel tanks, and radio receivers. These
lightweight straps stick to the model but
easily release their cargo when needed.
Quickly being able to remove and install
the battery is great because it lessens the
temptation to charge it in the model. These
straps, with their trimmed edges and bright
colors, look sharp when installed.
Compared to last year’s AMA Expo, I
noticed many improvements and additions.
The Headquarters crew from Muncie,
Indiana, was overworked, but they had
things humming.
Lora Knowlton is extremely competent
and a pleasure to work with. I even saw her
in a moment of quiet, without people
pestering her for decisions. She told me it
wouldn’t last long, and she was right.
AMA Marketing Director Jeff Nance
deserves special mention for his work
promoting the Expo on local TV. Last year’s
indoor flight demonstration for the cameras
was a last-minute deal, but this time was
way different.
Jeff had arranged for appropriate RC and
FF aircraft, with skilled pilots and a wide
variety of models, to entice viewers to attend
the Expo. Most important of all, he
diplomatically handled the TV crew’s
requests for aerial stunts and told them what
was okay and what was too dangerous to
attempt. Bravo!
Jeff handled tremendous pressure and
only goofed once, by letting me participate
in the flight display. Every time the camera
panned across the formation of state-of-theart,
high-performance 3-D aircraft doing
their thing, into the frame came the little
Old-Timer-style cabin model that I was
(almost) controlling. The expert young
aerobatics pilots tolerated me with good
humor but wisely ducked under a table when
I tried a landing—just like my pals at the
local field.
Public demonstrations of model aircraft
are great fun and terrific exposure for our
hobby, but it takes good judgment and
restraint to do things safely. There can be
heavy pressure to exceed limits in the name of
showbiz.
No matter how skilled a pilot is, how nice
the model is, and how up-to-date the radio
system might be, our craft are not 100%
reliable. We should take a page from fullscale
aviation and plan our demonstrations
with a pessimistic outlook, always assuming
the worst. Nonmodelers will be amazed
regardless. They will never know that we
wisely planned for a problem that did not
occur.
Bravo to the whole AMA crew!
When I got home from the show, I read an email
from Bill Logue, which made a great
point. He wrote that we should “preflight
more than just the aircraft,” by inspecting our
vehicles before a trip to the field.
He made a long drive to a DC Maxecuters’
indoor session in his trusty but seldom-driven
car. It was not so trusty that time, because
during the trip he was signaled by other
drivers that his taillights were completely out.
Bill continued with great caution until
reaching a safe location. He wrote that he still
has not found the electrical problem that
allows the headlights to work but not the
taillights. A simple “preflight” inspection
before the trip would have saved much
trouble.
At my workplace we have installed two
big parabolic mirrors high on the exit gate so
drivers can see their own vehicle lights in the
front and back. It is surprising how often we
find bad bulbs. It is much cheaper to get this
information from a mirror or a friend than
from a law enforcement officer with a ticket
book.
Another e-mail arrived that was not so
welcome. It was yet another spam message,
allegedly from an overseas RC toy factory.
The company apparently “harvested” my email
address from a Web site and decided that
I was a toy wholesaler.
You never know what these spammers are
after. They will use any ploy to get you to
open a message and attachments which could
be packed with malware and other bad stuff.
Your computer and your personal information
are targets for these scammers, so beware.
I get loads of legitimate catalogs and sales
notices from hobby companies with which I
am signed up, and I spend plenty of money
online with these aboveboard dealers. An
unsolicited spam message is another thing.
In this case, I decided to open a dialogue
with these Internet shysters and answered
their message with a request to cease
spamming me and refrain from using stolen email
addresses. (I might have also called them
“worthless, dishonorable, smelly, lizardlipped
parasite spammers.”)
They responded “no no we are the rc
factory not spammers,” which lacked
credibility since I had in fact received spam
from them.
They wanted to sell me a lot of counterfeit
RC toys wholesale (prepaid by wire transfer),
and it didn’t matter how many people they
annoyed with boatloads of spam e-mail. Don’t
get fooled by scams such as this.
I continued our correspondence with
friendly greetings and these words: “I curse
you so that evil fish will come to live in your
reservoir and spit flames into your pottery.
Your pumpkins will all be lopsided with foul
destinies. Bad luck will dog your cartilage.
Blue vermin will infest your sock drawer in a
left-handed manner.”
Yeah, I really sent that. Didn’t hear back
from them, either. Perhaps they decided that I
wasn’t such a hot business prospect.
If nobody did business with spammers,
this threat would wither away. Meanwhile,
watch yourself and don’t get caught in their
schemes. MA
Sources:
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
Common Sense RC
(866) 405-8811
http://commonsenserc.com
Pure-Tech (760) 207-0547
http://puretechproducts.com
Du-Bro
(800) 848-9411
www.dubro.com
