Safety Comes First
SECURE THOSE TAIL FEATHERS: While talking to a Giant Scale modeler recently, I was asked if I would again remind those who fly big models to make sure their craft are properly secured prior to starting. This particular appeal comes on the heels of an accident that occurred when a "secured" Giant Scale tail-dragger tilted forward onto the hands of the modeler who had started it on a flightline table. The front wheels of the craft had been sandbagged to prevent movement while the model was on the tabletop. However, once the model was started, the rush of air over the tailplane lifted the rear of the model into the air. The modeler had his hands resting on the table under the prop; when the model suddenly tilted forward, he wasn't able to move his hands away from the prop in time to avoid serious injury.
Safety Comes First
IT'S A CHALLENGE: As winter weather finally gives way to warm spring days, and favorable flying conditions become more and more common, it really becomes a challenge for me to sit at the computer and work on a column when I know all the folks are whooping it up at the flying field just a few miles away! Today is one of the few days I'll have off over for the next few weeks, and here I sit staring at my computer monitor instead of watching my airplane jump into some picture-perfect morning air! It's funny that I seem to find myself in such a predicament, although I know I only have myself to blame for having waited until the last moment to sit down and write my column.
Safety Comes First
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY: As you read this column the long summer days, warm temperatures, and gentle breezes will have returned to most of the country, and most of us in the hobby will have already traveled to the flying field a dozen times or so to shake the bugs out of the new creations we made last winter. Hope all is going well with your new craft and/or the old standby, and that all the maintenance you gave it last winter is paying off. Question: Did you remember to go through the field box and throw out all those old rubber bands and broken props? Hate to see a wing come off in flight due to weak bands, or to have an injury occur from a separating prop.
Safety Comes First
I GUESS I MIGHT BE a little off base (OK, some claim more than a little), but I would bet most of you feel that there's no better way to spend an afternoon than flying a good-running airplane in nice weather, among the company of good friends. Having said that, I guess it's safe to say that I just returned from the field with an airplane that didn't work (the engine gremlins). The weather got bad (the weather gremlins), and no modelers I knew showed up. I bet I know what you're thinking-no, I didn't fly alone, and yes, I do have friends to fly with, at least every once in a while!
Safety Comes First
AS TOLD TO ME by longtime modeler and friend Charles Castaing of New Iberia, Louisiana: "Safety should be very high on our list of priorities and should be kept in mind at all times. It seems that most accidents occur when we don't concentrate and/or allow ourselves to be distracted from the task at hand." How true that statement is, especially in our hobby! Anytime you engage in a hobby that is as dynamic as ours, the opportunity for error and injury goes up. Given all the safety information that is available, one would think that the common modeler would be more immune to error-but we all know that isn't the case. If we were able to measure our risk level the same way companies measure their employees' occupational risk, I believe we would find that modelers would need to possess a certain level of knowledge to safely accomplish the job at hand, and to understand the dangers involved when engaged in complex tasks. The common modeler, like the common employee, needs training to be able to work effectively and safely.
