Safety Comes First 2010/07

84 MODEL AVIATION
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
Dave’s CA burn technique
Also included in this column:
• Say no to stooping
• The charging pot called the kettle black
• Thank goodness for Li-Poly protection
• Safety margin at a college RC competition
• Personalized license to fly
Don’t leave your charger unattended! Mike Myers was glad that
the battery pack was inside his Battery Bunker ceramic charging
jug when flames erupted.
College-level engineering students designed
this RC model for a weightlifting competition.
Strict monitoring ensured a safe event.
Anderson Lyrio wants his model at a comfortable height while he
adjusts it. With scrap wood and ingenuity, he built this custommade
folding rack.
AS A DEDICATED safety guy, I feel obligated to lead the way in
carelessness. If there is an accident available, I’ll gladly take it for
myself, if only to provide fodder for this column. Plus, I heard that if
you never use your first-aid supplies, they get stale.
The AMA booth at the National Science Teacher’s Association
convention is a happening place. We promote the AeroLab program,
which uses model aircraft to teach middle school science.
A booth full of model airplanes will attract kids, and when
there’s a lull in the science-teacher traffic, sometimes I sit a few
youngsters down and help them build airplanes. Three kids had their
models nearly finished when my incident occurred.
I was using CA glue with accelerator spray. The kids handled the
spray and I worked the glue for safety’s sake (Har! Har!). It was a
different brand and viscosity from what I’m accustomed to, which
shouldn’t have been a problem for a semiattentive adult modeler
with 40 years of experience.
We cracked the Sky Streak’s wings, to give extra dihedral, and I
applied a liberal glob of CA to the joint. The little girl was making
her first model, but she understood what to do, and the accelerator
bottle moved close to the wing as she sprayed a good shot toward
the wet glue.
At that moment, time stood still for me. I realized that the glue I
was using had a much greater flow than my usual brand, and that I
had applied too much. The excess had dripped off of the wing and
onto my finger.
As the accelerator spritzed in slow motion, I had a long time to
think about how much it would hurt when that much glue cured on
my skin. Hours passed in a millisecond while I reached for a roll of
paper towels. Empty. If that glue was not wiped off soon, it would
be too late.
My last option was to use my nice, new britches. During this
instant, which lasted forever, I considered how any physical injury
would be minor compared with the witty comments I would endure
from Sweet Diedra about how her husband only gets one usage from
each pair of pants before getting glue on them. I chose to endure the
burn to my finger and spare myself the charred image at home.
As the glue began to react to the accelerator spray, I felt it warm
up. It got extraordinarily warm. This brought me out of my time
warp and reminded me that there were three innocent kids across the
table. They had never seen a grown man jump around and curse
while waving his hand frantically. I had to remain calm and fake it.
I told them—through gritted teeth—that this was why we had the
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adult handle the glue, and that it could get
extremely hot if it cured on human skin.
They believed me because of the beads of
sweat on my brow.
Meanwhile, the other booth workers
noticed my distress. These were my pals; I
could see their concern and knew what they
were thinking. “Our friend is facing pain
and injury. We are here in a strange town.
How will we dispose of his body?” Their
barely stifled giggling was little comfort, as
a wisp of smoke rose from my finger.
Eventually the burning sensation
lessened, and I was able to get the three
aircraft finished. Someone else took the
kids into the test-flight area so I could treat
my boo-boo.
There were few options. Peeling the
hardened glue blob from my digit would
tear the skin and make the wound much
worse. Debonder could melt it away
chemically but would greatly irritate the
burn underneath. No ointment could
penetrate.
I was stuck with letting it wear for
several hours, until my repeated handwashings
broke things loose and the
artificial scab came off. I uttered several
choice technical terms during the process,
since the kids were long gone.
Within minutes, a large blister formed
over the second-degree burn. There was
even a tiny spot of charred third-degree
damage. Who knew CA could get that hot?
I’m all better now. I’m using both hands
and all four fingers to type this. Don’t let
my goofs happen to you. Watch where that
glue drips!
There’s a story behind each of this
month’s photographs. Anderson Lyrio
showed me the snazzy custom model
holder he made for his Saito 1.00-powered
Tucano. He wanted to avoid awkward
bending, so the foldable rack is exactly the
right height for him.
Anderson used scraps and leftovers, so
the cost was zero. Smart fellow.
Mike Myers is another wise and
experienced modeler. A past president of
the Society of Antique Modelers, Mike is a
cautious guy who bought a special ceramic
jar in which to charge his batteries. It had
seen a great deal of use, but one day it
really got a workout.
Mike left the room while the battery
was charging, and he returned to find a
blackened pot and damage to the bench
where “lava” had shot out of the spout.
This picture was taken after the pot was
scrubbed clean.
He admitted to bending the rule about
staying with the charging system when in
use but said that his penance was to share
the event with us. He says that the little pot
from Battery Bunker cost $45 and saved
him $50,000 in structural damage to his
garage. A bargain!
Ted Stone got a bargain too. He bought
some inexpensive military-surplus
ammunition cans and repainted one for use
as a charging vault. We discussed using
these containers in lieu of more expensive,
specially designed products and decided
that although a metal box is not ideal, it is
so handy and economical that people are
more likely to use it than to charge in the
open.
Add a little padding and your battery
packs can be transported and stored in the
ammunition cans, which have latching lids.
If there is a ruptured pack, the metal will
transmit heat to whatever surface it rests
on, but it still provides substantial
protection and containment.
Ted painted a whimsically fierce reptile
on his charging box and added the words
“Danger: ferocious live batteries.” He’s my
kind of guy.
The odd-looking model in flight was an
entry in the Society of Automobile
Engineers (SAE) International 2010
Collegiate Aero Design Series competition.
College engineering departments design,
build, and document a remote-controlled
model aircraft. The airplanes are then testflown
to see which can lift the most
weight.
I watched some of the safety
inspections and a little test-flying.
Experienced modelers volunteered as
officials, and they took a very careful look
at the airplanes before any flight-testing
was allowed.
The judges worked in teams, to catch
problems that a single inspector might
miss. Savvy modelers have a buddy take a
look at their new creations before the first
flights. You never know what a fresh set of
eyes might find. It’s a lot easier to correct a
problem on the ground.
At the competition, my friend, Tony
Naccarato, served as pilot for a crew of
students from India, none of whom could
match his skill on the transmitter sticks.
They thought it was funny to come all the
way from New Delhi to get tech support
from a guy in California. He gave them
vital advice about their weak landing gear
in time to strengthen it, and they got further
in the contest than they would have
otherwise.
Safety precautions at the field were
extensive, including throwing an errant
columnist/photographer off the field during
the competition flying session, but not
before I got that shot of an unusual model
winging skyward.
Tony said it looked like something I
might have designed. It was a compliment,
I think.
It seems as though I’m always the last one
to hear about things. I was unaware of an
AMA program that allows members to
have custom membership numbers, similar
to vanity car license plates. Clever fundraising!
Well, now you can keep your personal
number for life for one payment. I have a
terrible time memorizing numbers, so now
my AMA number is “DAVE.” That one
should be easier to remember.
My flying buddies thought it would
have been a public service to get
“HAZARD” instead, so I could paint it on
the wings of all my models. They think
they’re so funny …
I’m grateful to the kindly readers who send
me e-mail and letters about things that need
to be discussed here. It’s great to hear from
fliers in other parts of the country, especially
those who have more experience and skill
than I. If you have some information, advice,
or a good close-call story, please contact me!
Jim Rothhammer did so, and we
exchanged e-mail about his concern for our
hobby. Jim has seen various AMA youthrecruitment
programs come and go, and he
wanted me to use my massive influence and
power to shape policy at AMA Headquarters.
He’s a nice guy, so I didn’t want to admit
to him that the extent of my decision making
in Muncie, Indiana, is what kind of soda to
buy from the break-room machine.
Nevertheless, Jim and I are of one mind
about kids and model aircraft. The manual
dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and
problem-solving mind-set that our hobby
provides are not being taught to most
youngsters.
I am in favor of recruitment of all ages of
modelers, but especially and supremely kids.
They have far more to gain from aeromodeling
than the pleasure of seeing their models
zooming through the sky; we need them to
ensure the future of our sport. MA
Sources:
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
BatteryBunker.com
(760) 247-6980
www.batterybunker.com
Customized AMA numbers:
www.modelaircraft.org
AMA AeroLab science program:
April Hathaway
(765) 287-1256, extension 516
SAE International
http://students.sae.org
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