Safety Comes First - 2012/05
Setting a good example
I found a hidden treasure last week. While visiting a construction site in Sylmar, California, I caught sight of a model aircraft zooming around in a nearby flood-control basin. A closer look revealed a paved runway and shaded pits. It was an RC field!
When my work was finished, I found the entry gate and drove down into this secluded little airport. The sign said, "Home of the Port-a-Potti Pilots." I had heard about this flying site, but it was really off the beaten path.
Three pilots were enjoying the mild weather with RC airplanes and helicopters. These gentlemen represented their club and our hobby well. We had a friendly chat, they told me about their club and, when I admired their private field, they invited me to consider joining the organization. They preferred to keep their names out of print; at least until they did something worthy of mention here.
It was clear how experienced and sharp the pilots were when one of them prepared to make a flight. He quietly withdrew from the conversation and concentrated on his model, doing a good preflight inspection, although the airplane had just been successfully flown. These club members knew what they were doing!
After a demonstration of skilled aerobatics, one of the pilots performed a maneuver that filled me with envy: landing and taxiing in. My models don't usually make it to that part of the flight. It's a shame that we sometimes hear about flying fields where newcomers and visitors aren't welcomed, or where safe procedures are out of fashion. The Port-a-Potti Pilots I met are quite the opposite and an example for us all to follow.
Fighting Fires
Seeing the dry brush behind the paved runway in Sylmar reminded me of a discussion Dave Laycock and I had about which fire extinguisher to use for a LiPo battery fire, especially one that starts while the model is airborne. He wondered what firefighting materials should be kept at the flying site and how best to deal with an in-flight fire—after the model comes down, of course. The fumes from a battery fire might be more hazardous to us than a simple brush fire, and that is concerning.
We figured that an electric-powered model would have two fires: the battery and the aircraft. Any standard extinguisher, or even water, would be ineffective against an ignited LiPo pack, but the model itself is another matter. It is unlikely that a battery pack would burst and ignite while the model is airborne. More often, these problems occur while charging the battery. Inflight fires are rare but not unknown, regardless of the power type. Sometimes the pilot can control where the model comes down and can guide it to a convenient spot. When control is lost, pilots must be prepared to go to the crash site and extinguish the fire before it spreads. A few buckets of sand are good to have around the pit area, and a multirated fire extinguisher should be handy. That should be enough to handle most model aircraft fires, whether they begin in the air or on the ground.
Floor Pads
Have you seen those four-packs of big, interlocking foam floor pads? Hardware stores sell them for workshop or garage floors, as a cushion for tired feet. They are inexpensive and work well. A reader emailed me about how his set came in handy in a different way.
George L. has the pads on his workshop floor because they are cheaper and easier to clean than carpeting. He was transferring CA glue to a pipette while he rocked out to a Debbie Harry song, and accidentally knocked a half-filled bottle of CA onto the floor. I bet he really busted a move to get out of the way of the falling glue!
The foam pads were heavily splashed with CA (forget about trying to mop it up!), but it was far better than having it on the actual floor, because the pads could easily be picked up and discarded. George says it was a good lesson in taking extra care when handling such substances.
We get used to CA being in a sealed container with only a small opening, and we seldom handle it with the bottle top removed. It can be scary when a large quantity of CA spills, so extra caution is important. And to be on the safe side, I'll stick with smooth Glenn Miller swing music in my workshop.
Airplane vs. Fence
Chuck Erdahl wrote to me about an incident involving a Giant Scale airplane.
"A pilot landed and proceeded to shut down the engine as he turned in toward the pit area. Instead of thumbing down the throttle trim switch, he accidentally hit the power switch and turned the radio off. That should have killed the engine, but it went full power instead and the plane hit the newly installed crash fence, destroying the model and bending the fence. Luckily, no one was hurt as the fence did its job."
An investigation showed that the throttle servo had recently been reinstalled and turned 180°. This required reversing the servo setting on the radio, but somehow the failsafe did not get reset. Thus, the engine went to full throttle when it should have shut off. Needless to say, fliers at the field are rechecking their failsafe systems very carefully.
Wow, what a classic case! A reversed servo not fully checked after maintenance. What a pity that such a nice airplane met its fate, but at least there were no injuries. Some of our models are getting complicated, and there are more components to check and recheck. This is part of the fun for pilots who like to tinker. Getting such a machine to properly operate in every way is a challenge.
Chuck's story is a good lesson for us all, and sharing it might prevent a repeat of that incident. If you have a similar close-call report, or a topic you think belongs here, please contact me. You can be famous or anonymous, depending on your mood and whether it was you who goofed up or someone else.
Wardrobe Malfunctions
I received an email from a modeler whose name is withheld to protect the somewhat innocent. A man in his club likes to wear shorts and flip-flops out on the CL flying circle, and sometimes suffers banged-up shins.
He wrote: "Why you would want to walk around spinning propellers with shorts and no socks is a mystery to me."
I think that some people consider flying time recreational, and therefore, casual duds seem suitable. Theoretically, if one were careful at all times, shorts and open shoes wouldn't matter because the propeller would never touch you. But things don't always go according to plan. The type of model and pit area could dictate which clothes are right. The classic accident is a loose shirt that gets drawn into a propeller or rotor as the pilot bends over the model.
I frequently work around powerful, open machinery and have learned not to let my ensemble get caught in moving parts. I keep my shirt tucked in, wear no jewelry, and wear no hanging tools or anything else that might cause trouble. Long hair hasn't been a problem for me due to nature's cruel gift of male-pattern baldness, but those with flowing locks need to be extra careful.
These same lessons work at the model field. Anyone who has seen a glider winch in use knows that even if your model has no propeller, there are still ways to get caught up in your hobby if you let loose clothing get in the wrong place.
Not Safe
Doug Ensley took me to task for a recent column in which I described a large helicopter device that actually lifted off with a human pilot aboard, flying it via radio control with the transmitter in his hands. He saw it as giving publicity to a dangerous stunt that could reflect badly on our hobby.
He has a valid point, and I considered not discussing it on those very grounds. I printed it after all, but of course it was in the Safety column, along with my comments about how dangerous it appeared and what might happen to the pilot if anything went wrong.
Doug is a conscientious guy who wants the best for this fine sport. He and I agree that we should all do our best to keep a good public image for modeling, especially in this time of legislative threats to our activities. Reckless stunts and deliberate risk-taking can have repercussions on a grand scale these days, with Internet video that can spread bad news to the entire world.
Expo in Pictures
It's tough to find photographs that depict "safety," so this month I used a couple that illustrate other concepts.
The photo of Don Smith mentoring a young pilot with her first model is a keeper. Don was working in the FF area at AMA Expo 2012, teaching kids how to wind and launch model airplanes. Barry Dougherty's camera caught the teacher and student just before launch. Transfer of knowledge is one of the keys to keeping our sport alive.
The other shot shows my little Space Shuttle No-Cal being launched by retired astronaut and AMA Ambassador Robert "Hoot" Gibson, with Capt. Tom "Huffer" Huff, USN Naval Test Wing Commander, watching.
Tom hung out at my club's AMA Expo 2012 booth as I built the model, amused that I used no kit, plans, or skill, and yet a twin-pusher shuttle finally emerged. Hoot Gibson said that his previous experience flying the full-scale aircraft was no help in handling the smaller version, but he did just fine and got a nice flight. He even autographed the wing for me!
SOURCES
- NORSK (Interlocking Foam Floor Mats)
(888) 443-9058 www.norsk-stor.com/2.html
- Dave's shuttle in flight
www.youtube.com/watch?v=twDBXilEIoU
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
