Author: Dave Gee

Edition: Model Aviation - 2026/05
Page Numbers: 52, 53, 54
Safety Comes First

Gravity Wins Again

By Dave Gee safetycolumn@cs.com

Duane Holliger built this sharp Sky King from mystery airplane prize plans. It uses classic .020 gas power!

Safety Comes First

A recent incident shows, once again, that the non-aviation hazards of life tend to outweigh any dangers from our modeling activities.

Mike Costello is highly experienced in the RC world, but his piloting skills couldn’t protect him from a ground-level hazard. Mike’s local flying site is in Orange County, California. He wrote:

“I backed into a parking spot at the field, paying no particular attention to the bright yellow parking bumper over which I had successfully walked many times. Until I didn’t. I made a faceplant into the gravel parking lot. Numerous guys came to my aid—thank you! I fractured my humerus, radius, and thumb, dislocated my shoulder, and had a mild concussion.

“My takeaway is: Since our cars have backup cameras these days, from now on, I maneuver so that the parking lot bumper is centered under my car rather than sticking out to the side.”

Mike sent me a photo of his friendly face, showing the kind of awful scrapes you can only imagine from that story. Statistically, we are at greater risk from the non-hobby things at the field than from the model-related stuff. Don’t become complacent just because your flying gear is packed up for the day.

Those parking bumpers are often placed offset in parking stalls so that vehicle wheels hit them instead of straddling them. This means that you can’t always park to avoid the thing that is sticking out. My favorite safety slogan is, “Eyes on path.” I have even stopped walking to read text messages ever since I marched blindly into a hedge.

Write Your Name Across the Sky—and on Your Toolbox

A recent issue of the excellent NOTAM newsletter from the Bayou City Flyers RC club in Houston discussed a basic point that sometimes gets overlooked: Put your name on your stuff.

Pilots sometimes accidentally leave equipment at the field or misplace a tool in the pit area. Heaven forbid one of our models does a flyaway or makes an “abrupt arrival” away from the runway. The old AMA Aircraft ID Label seems to have gone out of style these days, but I say it’s still a pretty good idea. It’s available in a 10 pack through the AMA Store for $3.99. The link is in “Sources.”

A Bit Rusty About Corrosion

Tex Newman sent a report on how his seasonal preflight inspection caught a potentially serious issue. He wrote:

“Last night, I got down a nice, old, film-covered 54-inch wingspan electric RC Comet Aeronca Chief to fly on New Year’s Day. I plugged in the Deans battery connector, and nothing happened. I jiggled the plug and on it came. Subsequent wiggling produced an intermittent connection. I hadn’t flown this one in a long time and the connections in it were slightly corroded. After a little cleaning, everything worked fine.”

A wise pilot does a very thorough preflight inspection after a model has been stored away for the season, as well as a smaller once-over before every flight. Correcting intermittent electrical trouble before takeoff is well worth the effort!

Stay in Your Lane? Nah!

Many modelers have a favorite type of aircraft (helicopter, sailplane, Scale, etc.) and stick with it. Others enjoy trying something different occasionally and expanding their hobby enjoyment. Flying a new kind of model or testing the latest electronic invention can be great fun!

Of course, new equipment means being careful with new things, and maybe learning some new good habits. It’s better to merely read this column than to star in an incident story.

Ken Spencer’s racy Sky King sports an .049 glow engine. Vintage model types are having a resurgence as “old-school cool.”
Ken Spencer’s racy Sky King sports an .049 glow engine. Vintage model types are having a resurgence as “old-school cool.”

Old Tricks Learning New Dogs

Speaking of trying new things, we all know that when an experienced pilot switches from gas power to electric power, there can be a steep learning curve of new procedures. I recently heard about a trend where younger pilots are trying older (classic?) model types. Younger fliers who started with electric power might experiment with a glow engine, or maybe even a Control Line aircraft.

The learning curve slopes both ways, and a careful modeler will learn the right way to safely operate an unfamiliar powerplant. After 100 years of aeromodeling, there is plenty of information available!

Wellness as an Excuse

Duane Holliger won plans for a Sky King model in the mystery airplane game and built one right away. It features a Cox .020 Pee Wee engine and MonoKote covering. I asked whether I could publish a photo of this fine model and he said, “Sure, but I don’t quite know how it would work into a safety topic because no injuries were sustained during construction.” Leave that to me, Duane! Here we go.

Part of safety is “wellness,” which opens the gate for loads of fun stuff. Wellness is a hot topic among industrial safety people. The idea is that some injuries and illnesses might be avoided by promoting health and happiness; thus, a stimulating hobby such as ours, plus the camaraderie of local flying buddies, could help someone stay healthier and mentally sharper than otherwise.

I think that the time Duane spent building and flying his airplane might benefit him in unexpected ways. Plus, his Sky King is such a cool model that it deserves to be shown to everyone.

Mystery Airplane? Not!

It’s no use asking what airplane this is. Everyone recognizes a Boeing 747. The famous aircraft pictured belongs to NASA.

My question to readers is, what is the purpose of those ski rack things on top? No other airplane has anything quite like them. Hint: They’re not for carrying skis.

Send your guess to my email address at the beginning of this column and, right or wrong, you’ll receive digital plans for the Bomber Boy sport model.

Bomber Boy Prize Plans

My nephew, Blake Morrisette, came up with detailed specifications for a model and asked me to produce a custom airplane. I had to make two prototypes so that we could each fly one.

Bomber Boy is a perky, little rubber twin aircraft, with removable landing gear so that you can let it take off or be hand-launched. This model could easily be converted to electric and/or RC. Pull the electronics out of an inexpensive foam airplane and your Bomber Boy will really move!

Blake Morrisette shows two Bomber Boy sport models that were designed to his specifications. They have “retractable” gear! Win digital plans by playing the mystery airplane game.
Blake Morrisette shows two Bomber Boy sport models that were designed to his specifications. They have “retractable” gear! Win digital plans by playing the mystery airplane game.
This famous NASA Boeing 747 is no mystery, but what are those ski rack things for? Email your guess to the author’s address at the beginning of this column and win digital Bomber Boy plans.
This famous NASA Boeing 747 is no mystery, but what are those ski rack things for? Email your guess to the author’s address at the beginning of this column and win digital Bomber Boy plans.

SOURCES