President’s Perspective - 2003/04
Dave Brown, AMA president
There will not be any special procedure for screening baggage containing model airplanes.
Last month I wrote of the problems encountered by a few members — and those expected to affect more members — when transporting models as baggage via commercial aircraft. Research into this problem has continued with some interesting results.
The problem with the "sniffers" appears to be more isolated than we originally thought. It does happen occasionally, but rarely. Jay Mealy, Steve Kaluf, and I met with representatives from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and came away with a much better understanding of their task and how we should proceed. We are drafting a document that will outline how to prepare for airline travel with models.
Understand that there is no "magic pass" that will allow any baggage to be treated differently from any other. Please reread that sentence — it is important. There will not be any special procedure for screening baggage containing model airplanes.
Travel and packing recommendations
- A model box must never contain any items on the prohibited list for checked baggage. Check that list carefully — people can be arrested for infractions, so be very careful.
- All baggage is subject to search, and most will be X-rayed looking for suspicious content. Many items in a model airplane, particularly radio control (RC) components, may cause concern when viewed on an X-ray, so assume the box will be opened and visually searched.
- Use hinged covers with easily released latches to ease inspection. Screwing the lid down with many screws would probably result in your arriving at the destination without your models.
- Typically you will not be present when the box is searched, and you will not be allowed to talk to the inspector. This is intended to minimize the prospect of an individual talking the inspector into a lesser search.
- Plexiglas windows in the box can help inspectors see inside, but they do not substitute for easy-to-open boxes.
- Pack only the models in one box and put tools or other items in a separate box. Minimize tools and rely on friends who are driving to the event for support items when possible.
- Make easy-to-open boxes that hold models in racks so the models are easy to view. For a typical RC model, try to face the wing opening toward the lid of the box to make inspection easier.
- Before packing a model for the trip (both ways), flush out the fuel tank and engine using castor oil to replace any residue with an acceptable substance.
These are my ideas intended as a place to start. We are working on a complete set of guidelines — look for them on the AMA website. We are also working to have some models in typical shipping cases run through the TSA test center; images from those tests can become part of TSA inspector training. That should help inspectors understand what a model looks like and reduce unnecessary concern.
The trick is to educate both modelers and TSA inspectors about what to do to minimize travel problems while maintaining acceptable levels of security for all travelers. Errors will be tilted in the direction of increased security, so it behooves us to make inspections easy and to cooperate in any way we can.
Shipping alternatives
Personally, if I were going to an important contest I'd seriously consider sending the models by air freight a couple of days before my departure and picking them up upon arrival. This may cost more, but as airlines are more critical of baggage amounts and charge more for excess baggage than they did in the past, the difference may not be as much as you think.
As this is being written, an airliner recently crashed near Charlotte, North Carolina, and concerns about what caused the crash include baggage weight and its effect on the aircraft's center of gravity. I'm sure this will not help our situation regarding shipping model boxes as baggage.
Coordinating with fellow travelers
An alternative may be to coordinate those traveling in privately owned vehicles with those flying commercially to ensure models are transported to events. If you are driving to an event and have room, your fellow modelers would appreciate it if you would volunteer space to transport their models. I suspect they would be happy to help with expenses.
In memoriam
Aeromodeling lost two real champions with the passing of William G. (Bill) Bennett and Bill Brown.
Bill Bennett was the visionary who established and sponsored the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in Las Vegas. Beginning in 1974, this tournament has grown into an event that rivals the World Championships in stature. I will always remember Bill Bennett arriving late one evening at a hotel room where several of us were repairing Ivan Christensen's model at an early TOC. Bill wore an elegant suit with a "racing stripe" of balsa dust down the front, having shaved a block of balsa down to size to replace a lost wingtip! Such was Bill's love for aeromodeling and aeromodellers. He will be missed in many ways.
Bill Brown was credited with the creation of the "gas" engine for model airplanes. His creation was first used by Maxwell Bassett in a model entered against rubber models in 1933. To say it revolutionized the sport would be a huge understatement. Many of today's older modelers, including myself, had a Brown Jr. as their first engine.
'Til next month.
Dave Brown AMA president dbrown@dbproducts.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
