ON THE SAFE SIDE
Thanks to the Masses!
by Don Nix,
Insider Safety Column Editor
A
number of members gave me an abundance of fodder for
my literary cannon this issue.
Joe from Doylestown Township, Pennsylvania, wrote a
nice compliment, and told of losing their public
flying field because a non-club member crashed his
model into the county prison across the road.
Unfortunately, no club member was present when the
incident happened. I was just wondering, Joe: if the
model had taken out a hardened criminal, d’ya’
suppose the officials might have withheld their
complaints?
Mike from Maine commented about the incident
involving the beginner flier who rather impolitely
refused help from one of our instructors, launched
with his elevator reversed, and naturally splattered
the model. I explained that since it was a public
field, our club had no authority to stop the young
fellow from flying.
Mike told about a friend asking for help flying the
friend’s new trainer. Mike noticed the owner only
had six rubber bands attaching the wing, and
suggested adding at least four more. The friend
insisted he had used six “just as the plans
instructed.” Many of us have witnessed what a model
wing looks like when it flutters to the ground while
the rest of the model becomes a very expensive lawn
dart.
This story reminds me almost exactly like one I
witnessed many years ago at our field. All of the
very strong urgings from several of us failed to
convince this individual that he needed more than
four bands—two on each side. He never finished the
first turn after takeoff. Now wouldn’t you think the
guy would have had the grace to say, “Fellas, you
were right. I should have listened.” Typically, he
gathered up his trash, tossed them into his car and
drove away without a word. We never saw him again.
As I might have mentioned, my wife and I are
full-time RVers. We call ourselves “The Meanderthals,”
and wander all over our beautiful United States.
Every once in a while we have the opportunity to
stop at a local flying field. I just got a very nice
note from Dean Nichols of Wanatchee, Washington,
commenting on my mention of their local club field.
At present, we are near Asheville, North Carolina.
From here, we will head northward to the Midwest,
then on across into the northeast. With luck, we
should be able to visit other club fields along the
way.
After watching the third-from-last Space Shuttle
launch at the Cape on May 14, we went on down to
Vero Beach to visit longtime good friend, fellow
modeler, and full-scale pilot, Dave Von Linsowe.
Some of you might remember Dave as a member of the
US World Model Aerobatic Team some years ago, and as
a many-time participant in the Tournament of
Champions in Las Vegas.
Dave lives the dream of many of us who also fly full
scale. He taxis his full-scale Pitts S-2B out of the
hangar attached to his house onto the gorgeous grass
strip of the private airpark where he lives and
flies. Oh, does he fly!
Although I was very active in full-scale aerobatics
back years ago, I hadn’t flown any in more than 20
years. Dave was gracious enough to let me play for a
while. My wife is going to have to get a full-time
job so I can afford to do that again!
The above does relate to safety, because I can tell
you that when you are in the airplane, inverted, a
few feet off the ground, you are most definitely
being careful! One air show pilot friend used to
completely recover his Pitts every four years or so.
I asked him once why he did it, and he replied, “Oh,
I just thought the airframe might need looking at.”
When I asked what he saw after pulling the covering,
this laconic Texan replied, “It needed looking at.”
The point, in case you missed it, is that when your
fanny is in the airplane, you are careful. We should
be no less careful when flying models. Our toys are
quite capable of injuring and (sometimes) killing
others, if not ourselves. The Shuttles are
infinitely more complex structures than our models
or full-scale airplanes, but with all the countless
months and decades of preparation and learning over
the years, there have been three fatal accidents
during the life of our space program.
I
had intended to use some items from Charlie Castaing
of New Iberia, Louisiana, along with a photo of him
at his club’s field, but I’ve run out of space. Next
time.
Meanwhile, soon after you read this the Nats will be
in full progress. For those who have never attended
one, either as spectator or competitor, I would urge
you to do so. I can assure you that safety will be
right at the top of the officials’ priority lists.
Besides, a visit to your national flying site will
be an eye opener you won’t soon forget. We intend to
be there July 5 for opening day.
Q
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