Safety Comes First
BAARRROOM! That's what it must have sounded like when a Sailplane winch battery exploded recently. I think most of us are well aware of the possibility of an explosion when attempting to jump start a dead car battery. However, until last month when I opened a letter from Gene Pastori, I had never heard of a car battery exploding while it was being used to power a Sailplane winch. Gene's letter contained the following account of the incident: "I would like to tell you of an accident we had at our club field. We were holding our December Sailplane contest when the winch battery blew up. Acid flew all over the place, and the battery just flew apart, sending shrapnel all over the field and acid all over us. It was a good thing that we all wore glasses so no acid got in our eyes. However, I do have a ruptured eardrum as a result of the loud noise of the explosion.
Safety Comes First
WHITE KNUCKLE airline passengers are those who fly under a great deal of stressful worry about their safety-they grip the armrests so hard their knuckles turn white. This relates to me in the following way: When Pan Am Flight #103 disintegrated over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988, I was visiting relatives in England. So it was with some trepidation that I boarded my return flight to the U.S. on another Pam Am flight (also a 747). No, I am not a nervous air traveller, but on this flight I did spend some time wondering what is a passenger's first sensation when a bomb explodes in the luggage compartment.
Safety Comes First
CLARIFICATION: In the April 1989 issue of Model Aviation I drew attention to a photograph that had previously appeared in a VP column which depicted a winning parade float featuring model aircraft. The caption under the picture had stated that another Piper quarter-scale was taxiing behind the float. In the April column I noted that the pilot of the taxiing model (not visible in the picture) may have had it on a loose tether as a safeguard against a radio malfunction, and I strongly urged others who may follow suit to use such a tether. Well, just yesterday I received a note from the model's pilot that showed me that he was way ahead of me when it comes to safe operation around bystanders. Patrick Rickel, president of the Four Seasons R/C Fliers, was the pilot, and he enclosed a color photo of the float which included the "taxiing" 1/4-scale Piper J-3. Pat's note stated:
Safety Comes First
E-Z CONNECTORS: In my March 1989 "Safety" column, I discussed a letter from Alan Pink-staff in which he related an experience he had with a club safety officer who alleged that E-Z connectors were not safe for use on flight control functions. This discussion sparked readers to send me quite a flood of letters, some of which I discussed in the June "Safety" column. That column, in turn, reopened the floodgates and once more filled my mailbox with letters concerning E-Z connectors. Some of these missives related problems experienced by modelers who had used them; others endorsed their use on all control functions; and several offered suggestions to prevent problems.
Safety Comes First
ODORLESS CyA GLUE: Allergic reactions to the fumes that are emitted when cyanoacrylate (CyA) glue cures have been the subject of a number of my previous Safety columns. Modelers who have developed a sensitivity to these fumes have adopted various solutions to the problem, and these have ranged from use of a respirator (uncomfortable), to increasing ventilation in the workshop (not very practical in winter), to discontinuing use of these products (unacceptable to many). Well, it seems that Bob and Bill Hunter of Satellite City, Inc. may have hit on the ultimate solution for those of you who have previously suffered discomforting allergic reactions.
