Barnyard Buzzards Newsletter July 2009 Page 8

Buzzard Droppings July 2009

Text Box: forgetful. I lost an airplane a couple years back. I knew there was a problem with the security of the receiver battery pack. It had come loose in the past, but no harm came of it. I put it back in the foam compartment that it lived in and forgot about it. That was several flights and several months before. On this occasion I believe that in the nose down part of a loop the battery came loose and unplugged from the switch harness. This could have been a big problem if the plane were headed toward the pit area. Fortunately it crashed into the field with no harm done, except to the plane, which was destroyed. When you get right down to it, most problems we have are preventable by using a little COMMON SENSE. There’s that phrase again I seem to use it a lot in this column. Yes, guys there are the occasional RF problems, but not nearly as many as some flyers would want you to believe. If you have a lot RF problems, get your equipment checked and look in the mirror for the cause of the problem. There are millions more. You guys can fill in the blank _______________. UNTIL NEXT TIME, BE SAFE BE COURTEOUS Vince Bell, Safety Officer

Text Box: Our first fun fly last Saturday was great, no accidents and it ran smoothly, at a good pace. Thanks Ron and all that helped out. DUMB THINGS WE DO Most dumb things we do aren’t really a safety concern in the respect that they will cause someone or ourselves to be injured. In this category a few of the dumb things: Leaving an essential part or piece of equipment home. The wing tube if it is removable. Bringing the wrong transmitter for the airplane that you brought. Forgetting fuel. This is one I have done a couple times; I’ll bring glow fuel, but not gasoline. Forgetting to fill the fuel tank and running out of fuel a few minutes into the flight. This is usually more of an annoyance than anything else. However if it happens in the wrong place it can be a potential hazard, if not to personnel to the airplane. The really dumb-things and most dangerous are usually from lack of attention to details. In the case of new pilots just simply not knowing or having never been told. Failure to know the condition of the batteries in your equipment. This is one of the biggies. Just because a battery pack is new does not make it good. I talk to a lot of fliers at the field that have no idea as to the condition of their batteries. I get about the same response from all - “I charged them last night or after flying last week” Unless you have cycled the batteries you have no idea what the condition of the pack is. Not checking all of the controls before taking off. I don’t how may times I have been asked to give a new plane its maiden flight and found one or more of the controls reversed. With the multi plane computerized radios it is really easy to have the wrong plane set. Take my word on this one. Not extending the antenna can cause some bad things to happen. Don’t extend the antenna on the 2.4gHz transmitter. Lack of attention to detail, just plain lazy or

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