Buzzard Droppings February 2005

Our club is dedicated to the safe pursuit and advancement of model aviation. We offer the newcomer free lessons to learn how to build models and to fly them. If you should have any questions about the club, flight instruction or membership requirements, call any of the club officers. We have a safety checklist available for those new to our flying field.

Use of a computer simulator is advisable. This allows you to practice safely and will end up saving you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

Still, in any case, the best way to learn to fly R/C planes is by finding an instructor to help. Learning on your own can be expensive and somewhat less safe.

We provide instruction for both building model aircraft as well as flying these models. In most cases, a buddy box system is used at the flying field. Experience has shown this to be the safest method to learn.

Those who want to enroll in the pilot training should

contact Rick Hanners (phone number is on the list below)

or our club secretary, Chet Blake at (425) 673-9369.   

Pilots already enrolled in the training program are

welcome to contact any of the club instructors.                         

Current Flight Instructors:

Dave Bell                     425 672-4249

Ray Gilkey                   360 668-2746

Rick Hanners             360 668-1312

Karl  Schaefer            425 259-1824

Ron Swift                     425 788-6045

Just For Fun

I am sorry to have missed the last meeting of the Buzzards, but I hear that you guys keep the safety discussion active. Sorry to hear that one of us had an issue with a running engine. There have been so many lucky guys, reporting that they had their models locked down, held by another person or tethered somehow and an almost incident turned into just a story of being lucky.

Not everyone gets a happy ending.

So, for all you fellers out there, the commonest sense stuff:

· Don’t start your engines when you’re alone.

· Keep the rest of your fuel away from all combustion sources.

· Treat all your engines like they could start at any time. There is no real safe engine, unless it’s the one in the next state over that someone else is running.

· Make sure no one is in line with the prop arc.

· Retighten your prop mounting hardware often, especially for the wood props.

· Make ALL adjustments from behind the engine (turbines excluded—use common sense!).

· Tether your model.

· Make sure you can shut it down remotely!

Fly hot, keep cool

Safety is no accident.   Have  a safe day!   Randy

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"

Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"

*******

“I’ve never flown before, said the nervous old lady to the pilot. “You will bring me down safely, won’t you?
“All I can say ma’am,” said the pilot, “is that I’ve never left anyone up there yet!”