90 MODEL AVIATION
I RECEIVED a letter that mentioned “corporal tunnel syndrome.” It
sounded like that old movie, The Great Escape, but I realized that the
sender meant “carpal” tunnel, and he was referring to something the
doctors call “repetitive motion injuries.”
When we do something many times, it can put a strain on certain
body parts. The reader told how he had developed minor wrist
problems from starting his RC gas engines by hand.
Now readers, let’s not have any snide comments about a poor guy
who gets to fly his models so often that he gets carpal tunnel syndrome!
The man admitted that he was fortunate in that respect, but he warned
that too much of a good thing can be bad for you!
If you are going to do a task such as starting a propeller repeatedly,
it pays to make a plan. Your hand and wrist muscles may adjust to the
work, but if mechanical help is available, why not use it?
Varying your technique is a good strategy
too. Many pilots work on their aircraft while it
sits on the ground. Switching between squatting,
sitting, and kneeling could help minimize joint
strain.
My “day job” requires much work on
machinery that is close to the floor. I rotate
between a folding stool, a kneeling mat, and a
lay-down tarp. That way, the strain on my knees
and body gets spread around. Too many of my
friends have had knee problems, and I’d like to
avoid such things if possible.
My dad turned thousands of screws and nuts
in his career, and probably more since retiring.
At one point, his wrists became so inflamed that
they needed surgery.
Dad advised me to get a power screwdriver,
since my job involves similar mechanical work. I
followed his guidance, and after many years I
have worn out a number of power tools, but not
my wrists—yet. My hope is to one day have so
much time to fly that winding my rubber motors
becomes a health issue!
It’s fun to read those great e-mails and letters
from readers! They contain good information or
topics to address, and sometimes they set me
straight on some issues.
If you send me an e-mail, be sure to put
“MA” in the subject line to get past my spam
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First Safetycolumn@cs.com
Also included in this column:
• Dave douses some flame e-mails
• Smoking and fuel? Bad combo!
• Airframe stress test by kids
A light at the end of the carpal tunnel?
The component layout on Richard Cline’s 1/2A Maverick helps
keep fingers out of the propeller when launching.
Jimmie Allen never saw a Scarlet Tanager look this pretty in the old days! Known for his
fine workmanship, Don Butman built this CO2-powered Old-Timer.
These kids are participating in a bird-flight program that veered
into aeromodeling when the author became involved.
01sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 11/20/09 2:02 PM Page 90filter. I delete plenty of spam messages, many
from crooked sales outfits that collect e-mail
addresses from modeling Web sites.
Sometimes I receive copies of e-mail
exchanges forwarded by other people. The
most amazing ones are from senders who are
irate about something, but have no idea how to
get what they want from a local club official,
their AMA representative, or an AMA staff
member. This type of e-mail is called a
“flame,” and you can’t imagine how bad they
get!
Most of us know that starting out with
insults and obscenities is no way to win the
hearts and minds of anyone. That kind of
treatment doesn’t put people in a cooperative
mood! I’ve read some mighty rough language
in messages about our hobby, and the senders
actually expect the recipient/victim to do his or
her bidding afterward.
To put up with such things, AMA officials
and staffers need great patience and thick
skins. I have neither. They must represent the
organization with dignity and restraint. I am
only a lowly columnist, so I can call a crackpot
a crackpot!
Poison-pen writers sabotage their own
causes, since nobody wants to read through a
kooky e-mail to see if there is some valid point
at the end. AMA policy gets changed all the
time, but seldom as a result of nasty letters that
use insults in lieu of logic.
The situation is different for a grown-up
style of message. I’ve seen major effort and
serious action that has resulted from such an email.
It’s obvious; if you want people to take
you seriously, don’t call them names!
Your local and national AMA officials are
not politicians. Generally they’re modelers, as
you are, who give up some flying time to
volunteer to help others. Treat them with
courtesy!
I was on a road trip visiting an RC field where
nobody knew me. My bad landing approaches
were all part of my disguise as an ordinary,
mild-mannered modeler. The flying site in
question is city-owned, and there is no real
governing organization to enforce rules or
safety.
On my left in the pit area was a group of
men standing in a circle. They were laughing
and talking about the airplanes that were
parked at their feet. Roughly half of them were
smoking cigarettes, despite the presence of
fuel cans, pumps, oily rags, and the usual gaspowered
model stuff.
The men began jokingly shoving one
another around, trying to avoid stepping on the
aircraft and waving their hands for balance.
Some hands held lit cigarettes and at least one
butt dropped onto the ground.
My feelings were torn. As stupid as these
guys were acting, I felt deep gratitude for their
help with this month’s column.
On my right was a fellow prepping his
airplane for flight. I thought I’d point out the
impending barbecue to him, but the words
wouldn’t come out. This guy was crouched
over his model, pumping gas into the tank,
while puffing on a lit cigar!
He even adjusted his fuel tubing with the
hand that held the burning stogie. Not satisfied
with being a spectator at the cookout, he
wanted to be the main course!
The people I described really did those
things in front of me. You might run into
someone such as this at your site. What action,
if any, can you take?
At this field I was a stranger and had no
authority to give orders. Perhaps there was a
diplomatic way to tell them they were acting
stupid, but I couldn’t think of any. They
already knew that they were doing something
foolish. Having a stranger remind them of it
would probably not work out well.
My solution was to leave before the fire
department was needed. No confrontations this
time.
In this case, the people were unaware of
who was watching them and didn’t seem very
bright, so they will remain anonymous—until
you see them on the news, being medevacked
to the burn center.
Somewhere out there is a reader who wants
to defend these dopes. I expect to read e-mail
about how the ignition temperature of fuel is
higher than the heat provided by tobacco
products.
Sorry but there is no defense of dumb stuff
like this. There is a whole world of fine places
to enjoy a smoke, but leaning over a model
being refueled is not among them!
Our gas is not only flammable, but it is also
explosive, and will make a swell fireball if it
finds an ignition source at an inconvenient
moment. The human eye cannot see gasoline
fumes, so we cannot tell where a flammable
92 MODEL AVIATION
air/gas mixture might lurk, unless some idiot
locates it by waving fire around!
I don’t care how many years someone has
gotten away with it, what a chemistry whiz he or
she is, or anything else. Fire and gasoline should
be kept apart.
Have you ever seen a gas spill ignite and
spread like—well, like wildfire? I have, and
there’s no stopping it without serious fire
equipment. A small quantity of model fuel can
make an incredible amount of flame in an
instant.
I have friends who smoke. They all seem to
know about gasoline being flammable, and they
wouldn’t put their buddies at risk just for a
cigarette. This is an important qualification if
you want to hang out with me; I am
uncomfortable around people who might cause
explosions.
The photos this month do not have much to do
with safety. How do you illustrate flame e-mail?
Nevertheless, here’s a token effort to tie things
together.
The FF Gas model was built by Richard
Cline, who usually dominates the competition
field with his Gliders. He did an exceptionally
tidy job on the hardware installation, with engine
controls, timer, and fuel system neatly placed.
The model is a 1/2A Maverick, spanning 42
inches. I’ll bet that Richard keeps his fuel system
well clear of any sources of ignition in the pits!
Don Butman is well-known for his top-notch
workmanship. The model shown is his Old-
Timer classic Scarlet Tanager, also known as
Jimmie Allen’s Bluebird Racer. Don used
lightweight iron-on covering instead of tissue,
and it looks nice! He powers his model with
CO2, which eliminates any fire hazard during
fueling.
The kids in a picture are students
participating in a science program at their local
natural history museum. The instructor thought
the course on bird flight could use a little pep, so
I was invited to bring in some indoor
ornithopters and other model airplanes.
Naturally the kids wanted to fly something of
their own, hence the bird-shaped gliders you see
being mass-launched in a normally quiet
auditorium. It got a little noisy that day, as the
enthusiastic kids filled the air with balsa. Kids
that age shouldn’t smoke and the models do not
use gasoline, so the fire danger was minimal.
Those bird gliders were made possible by
well-known Society of Antique Modelers
member Ron Boots, who kindly provided a giant
load of 3/32 sheet balsa. I drew a custom design
based on that dimension and was gratified to see
it fly properly when tested.
My pride was short-lived, though, because
the kids gave me a lesson in stress analysis. Do
you want to know where your airplane’s weak
spots are? Let a little girl fly it!
Subsequent bird gliders were equipped with
additional reinforcement at the tail and wing
root. MA
Sources:
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
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