Safety Comes First
John Preston 4025 Peppertree Ln., Silver Spring, MD 20906
This column is provided to address items of concern regarding safety aspects of model aviation activities. Content of the column, however, is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the official position of the Academy of Model Aeronautics.
THE CANARD PAPERS
Such is the name of the newsletter of the Fauquier Aero Recreation Modelers that is edited by Tom Chipley. FARMer member Mike Powell sent me an issue (more months ago than I'll admit) containing an editorial dissertation on safety that was sparked by an accident suffered by club member Ken Parys. Ken was wearing a glove while hand-starting a 2 hp Olsen & Rice swinging an 18-inch prop and it seems that the prop snagged the glove and pulled Ken's finger into a blade. Tom had the following to say about safety:
"As most of you know by now, Ken Parys suffered a serious injury to his hand from a large, unforgiving wooden prop. The blade completely severed a finger bone, and Ken has a temporary steel pin to hold things in place while the healing continues. I mention this for a couple of reasons.
First is the obvious safety lesson taught by accidents of this type. We may, hopefully, learn from someone else's mistake. But the magazines all have safety columns that go into the grisly details of blood and guts and that is not for here.
The other reason I mention Ken's injury is to connect a couple of seemingly unrelated hobbies: model aircraft and motorcycles. When I began riding motorcycles, several friends and relatives warned me of the certain dangers I faced. My Mom would not allow the bike at her house (it must be in the secret "Mom's guide to Motherhood" book), and a good friend who shoots film for a Raleigh (NC) TV station, and who covers his share of the blood and guts accidents in the process, figured I was already another statistic. He has since taken up ultralight flying! Ponder that if you will.
They were all certain of the dangers involved and were convinced that as soon as I became aware of the potential for destruction I would cast off the dangerous machine and return to my previous sanity level which, many seem to think, has always been in some question. Nonetheless, they missed the whole point.
I knew the bike could be harmful if misused. I know that small engines swinging small props can deliver pain and injury. I know that the power tools in my shop can remove parts or move parts of planks! I know, yet I continue to ride motorcycles, start model plane engines, and saw pieces of wood with power tools. I continue because the trade-offs are worth it to me. How many actions in our lives require no trade-offs? Marriage? Parenthood? A driver's license? Dinner at a new restaurant? Travel? We make the trade-offs all the time. I want to do such-and-such, so I will prepare to endure, adjust and expect to give up this or that in return. It's how life is. So the question is, how badly do we want to do the "dangerous" deed? Is the thought of bared knuckles enough to chase us away from starting a 1/2A engine, then we have to ask ourselves how much we really want to start the little engine.
But to those of us who feel the need, the possibility of danger (great or small) is not a deterrent. In fact, it adds to the satisfaction of accomplishment. We do not climb the mountain just because it is there, but also because there is the danger of falling off the mountain. A certain amount of danger is a tonic—it's ketchup for the French-fries of life. French-fries, like RC planes, big game hunting, motorcycling, and getting home late without a good excuse.
It is possible, of course, to let the tail begin to wag the dog. Hemingway became so obsessed with his fears and the mastery of them that the search for this mastery molded his life and, ultimately, his death. I do not find the need to hand-start bigger and yet bigger engines simply to prove to myself that I am not afraid of them. They all scare me and, therefore, the larger the engine, the greater the care I exercise (or certainly try to exercise) in the handling of it.
Motorcyclists who court danger by improper dress and attitude may be victims of a need to prove themselves—to show their peers that they are not afraid. They miss the point. Fear is as normal as breathing—we all experience both. Understanding the cause of the fear and the message it is trying to give is the key to enjoying many activities like motorcycling, model aircraft, mountain climbing, and snake charming. With knowledge and understanding comes some safety. As our experience with bigger engines expands, we will still feel the warnings of fear, but we also know how to protect ourselves, and that permits us to go beyond.
K2r Safety Alert
Last month's safety column included a letter from John Whitsitt, Jr. who experienced detachment of a transmitter control stick while he was flying his Midwest Sweetstick. This happened after Whitsitt attempted to clean the transmitter case by spraying it with K2r Spotlifter which softened the plastic at the stick attachment point. Just days after I mailed that column to Model Aviation I read the following account in the Washington Post.
"Dow Chemical Company will remove a carcinogen, perchloroethylene, from its K2r Spotlifter and give $50,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club, which alleged in a legal action that Dow violated Proposition 65, an anti-toxin initiative passed by California voters in 1986."
I've been using K2r on and off for over 20 years, not knowing that it contained an alleged carcinogen. Hopefully, in the amount used to clean spots off clothes or carpets or to remove oil residue from fuel-soaked models, the quantity of fumes one breathes would be minimal. On the other hand, why push your luck? If you also are a K2r user, maybe you should check the ingredients of your can and see if it lists perchloroethylene. If it does, maybe you should either get rid of it or only use it outdoors.
More on re-tree-ing models
A segment in the December 1990 safety column concerned the death of a modeler attempting to climb a tree to retrieve a model. I asked readers for suggestions for alternative methods for retrieving treed models.
The February 1991 column contained several alternative methods including using a hunting rifle to shoot off the branch on which the model was caught. I commented that this was the "most novel" of the submitted methods (and the most dangerous). However, the claim for "most novel" now has to go to the method submitted by Howard Baldwin who resides in Sacramento, California. Howard sent me a videotape of a full-scale airshow held at the Rancho Marietta airport in 1989, which included a demonstration of model flying by the Capitol City Barnstormers Air Show Team. The videotape began with a shot of a full-scale helicopter (Bell Jet Ranger, I think) hovering over a tree in which was caught an Ugly or other kind of stick. An unknown person descended on one of the helicopter's skids, reached down, and plucked the undamaged model from the tree. Pretty slick, but I still recommend calling your local tree surgeon should your model become gobbled up by a tree. It might cost you a few bucks but not as much as renting a helicopter! For the record, the videotape of the airshow was first class. I've watched it several times.
Spontaneous Switch-Off
Another letter concerning a model that ended up stuck in a tree came from Souderton, Pennsylvania modeler Joseph Bensel. Joe's model was found in a tree, three miles from the flying field, a week after it became a fly-away. Joe managed to retrieve his model by throwing a rock, to which he had attached some twine, over his model then using the twine to haul up a rope. However, the interesting part of his letter is why the model became a fly-away. A post-mortem performed after retrieval revealed that the receiver battery switch was in the Off position. Joe believes that the through-the-fuselage push/pull rod used to operate the switch had sufficient friction where it passed through the fuselage that vibration caused it to move the switch to the Off position. He now mounts all his switches directly on the fuselage side that is opposite to that of the engine exhaust.
Joe's letter jogged my memory that this wasn't the first time I'd received an account of an incident in which a receiver switch spontaneously switched off during flight. A search of my files revealed a 1987 letter from Lyall Wassex.
Lyall is from Rocky Mount, North Carolina and had used a Dubro Quick Switch Mount to hold the receiver switch. In mounting the plastic cap that fits over the slide switch actuator, Lyall inadvertently installed it upside down. This resulted in some free play between the cap and the switch actuator which prevented the switch from being pulled all the way to the On position. However, the switch did move enough for the contacts to just barely close and enable Lyall to fly three months without incident. Eventually, however, while making a high-speed pass along the runway, vibration caused the contacts to open and Lyall's Kobra stopped responding to the transmitter and crashed into the end of pit row.
In any receiver switch installation it is important to ensure that whatever means is employed to turn the switch on moves the switch actuator to its full travel. Before leaving the subject of switches, letters from Jerry Hogan and Todd Smith described very similar incidents in which their transmitter switches inadvertently turned to the On position. This is the reverse of previous discussions concerning transmitter switches that were mistaken for trim levers and were inadvertently turned off during flight. However, the reason appears to be the same—namely, a switch projecting from the face of the transmitter with no surrounding guard.
Jerry's letter described his arrival at the flying field and subsequent discovery that his transmitter, sitting in a Goldberg "Super Tote," was switched on. Apparently, during the trip to the field the radio would rock back and forth. Contact between the top edge of the tote box and the switch caused the latter to move to the On position. This occurred twice with different transmitters.
Todd described a very similar situation that occurred when he completed a flight, turned off the transmitter and receiver, and returned the transmitter to its place in his flight box. After carrying the flight box a short distance he began to clean up his model and noticed the transmitter was now turned on. Again, a projecting slide switch had contacted a corner of the flight box and the jostling motion while carrying it had resulted in the switch being moved to the On position.
If any radio manufacturers read this column I would suggest that you give some thought to protecting your transmitter power switches from accidental operation. It's a simple fix.
The Prop Doc
A bulky envelope recently arrived in my mail from "The Prop Doc." My first thought on seeing that name on the envelope was that it was from someone specializing in repairing broken props. Not so! The someone turned out to be Don Clark and the bulk in the envelope was his new product, a First Aid Kit for the RC modeler. The kit contains band-aids in an assortment of sizes, bacitracin ointment, and Curad wound wipes that are packed in a sturdy plastic box measuring about 4 in. x 2 1/4 in. by 1 1/4 in. Should you have the misfortune to use up all its contents, the box would make a great container for nuts, bolts, and all the other assorted accessories that are needed in your field box.
In an accompanying letter, Don said he will be marketing the first aid kit as of the first of the year (1991). It will retail for $3.98. This is not the first time I've mentioned a first aid kit specifically aimed at the model flier. I think such a kit is a must for every field box. If you are interested in a Prop Doc kit, Don can be reached at 2551 North Ashwood Street, Orange, CA 92665 or call 714/974-4275. Although the box says it is for the RC modeler, it seems equally appropriate for CL and FF modelers also.
Throttle Buddy
A letter from Cal Orr of Custom Electronics enclosed a brochure describing several electronic products including a Throttle Buddy that was first introduced at the Pasadena JMS Show in January 1991. It is an on-board servo driver that operates the throttle servo with or without your transmitter. According to Cal's accompanying letter:
"Two main safety considerations were taken into account: First, the Throttle Buddy allows you to operate the throttle servo while holding the model with both hands (as in the nose to check for a lean mixture at high throttle). You do not need to let go of the model to operate the transmitter. Second, the Throttle Buddy allows you to run up your engine even when your transmitter is impounded. Then when your frequency is clear, you can fly instead of making engine adjustments."
If you are interested in learning more about this product or any of Custom Electronics' other products you can reach Cal at P.O. Box 1332, Alta Loma, CA 91701 or call 714/980-4244.
Safety Comes First
Scalers' newsletter edited by Ken Peet. The column in the fall 1990 issue was submitted by Dan Rossman and concerned safety. Following is an extract from that column.
"Why worry about the pre- and post-flight safety check? Let me tell you why. After the last outing of my Giant Scale, gentle-flying Taylorcraft, I forced myself to do the usual (sometimes) post-flight safety check. While tugging on an aileron to check hinge security the unthinkable happened (it had never happened before).
"An unbreakable control horn, not a hinge, snapped. It let go right at the junction with the mounting base. In flight, the failure would have destroyed the Taylorcraft and the cause would probably never have been known.
"All this proves that, no matter how boring, dull, and time-wasting safety seems, it will save you and me much grief and money. Look at it this way: how many times have you stood there looking at the pieces and wished it was sometime in the past. The secret is to look to the future, do the safety check, and preserve your plane."
The IMAA has a 25-point airworthiness inspection that they use during their sanctioned fly-ins. I note that my copy dates back to 1983 and could have been amended since that time. As usual, I'm rushing to complete this column to meet the deadline for publication. I will contact IMAA and request their latest airworthiness inspection checklist and publish it in the next safety column.
Have another safe one.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
