Safety Comes First
MERRY CHRISTMAS! It's that time of year again; time to tear shopping hints from modeling magazines and leave them posted in obvious places around the house! If you really want attention, try sticking the ad for something you want for Christmas on the bathroom mirror; trust me, your "better half" will get the message! On the top of my wish list this year is a computer flight simulator program (keeps winter rust off of the flying skills), a new Radio Glove to protect hands from frostbite, or a foam glider (grin). Okay, maybe I'll settle for a few of my favorite glow plugs, a couple of propellers, and a case or two of reliable fuel. Guess I'm just an optimist! Who knows, maybe I can count on glow plugs?
Safety Comes First
NI-CD KNOWLEDGE: I can't tell you how many times I've been asked questions related to Ni-Cd (Nickel-Cadmium) battery use and management. One would think that after answering the same questions time and time again, something would stick and the answers would come easy. Since I don't think of the subject often (I'm programmed), and I'm not blessed with gray matter that accommodates theory, formulas, etc., I usually refer to what those who know have written. I was asked how to tell if a receiver battery is safe to use, and what needs to be done to keep batteries healthy. I've learned to follow a monthly protocol, and often have to refer to literature when figuring out capacities or available power/demand (varies with size of pack and demand placed on it). My routine requires that I cycle receiver and transmitter packs monthly. To accomplish this I've purchased additional chargers and cyclers; however, even though I go through the routine religiously, I'm not convinced that my batteries live longer because of it.
Safety Comes First
THINGS THAT GO BOOM: While scanning the local newspaper, I noted a story about a grain elevator that exploded, and several people died. One might assume that there was a gas leak, a buildup of sewer gas, or possibly stored chemicals that sparked the deadly explosion, but no; I'll bet my next airplane that the cause was airborne grain dust! How could grain dust create an explosion? When too much of any type of flammable material becomes airborne and trapped in a closed environment, it creates a concentrated mixture that needs only a source of ignition to burn-very, very rapidly (boom!). If grain dust and air mix in a closed environment (such as a grain silo), the mixture can be just as deadly as gas fumes waiting for a spark.
Safety Comes First
HAPPY FOURTH of July! Reflecting on a few years ago, I remember looking forward to an annual Fourth of July event put on by a number of clubs with which I used to fly. Without a doubt, it rivaled some of the best fly-ins I've ever attended. Events usually include a fun-fly, night fly, barbecue, and a "blow what you bring" fireworks display, but rarely does one have an opportunity to have as much fun, eat as much food, watch greater crashes, hear as many "bangs," or more enjoy watching all of the skybound fireworks unload their colors. If your club plans to have a Fourth of July event this year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Council on Fireworks Safety offer the following safety tips:
Safety Comes First
SHORT ANTENNA: Several years ago I was fortunate enough to spend many of my Sunday afternoons flying with good friends at the Millington Barnstormers R/C flying field in Millington TN. It was fun to open a lawn chair, check out what others brought to fly, watch what flew well, and share comments about what didn't. An abundance of the club's members brought out steady streams of the oddest configurations I've ever seen-gyrocopters, flying disks, lawn mowers, witches, stop signs, etc. It seemed that if someone in the club thought of something, someone else would build it and bring it to the field. It's odd that almost everything brought out flew-sometimes exceptionally well. Strap about 1,000 horsepower on that "Round Tuit" and watch it go. After a few trim adjustments (tabs full left, rudder full left, fly with what's left of aileron), most things can fly well; however, arriving to describe what didn't fly well was a letter from longtime Barnstormer Jim Prilliman, who wrote to warn those who have aircraft with antenna protruding from the fuselage and attached to the vertical stabilizer; vibration and rubbing on the antenna at the point where it exits the fuselage can cause the receiver antenna to separate.
