I called
Liz Helms of the Publications Department, who
is tasked with the unenviable job of putting
some polish and clarity to all of the vice
presidents', president's, and executive
director's columns each month. My call was to
clarify for what month I should be writing my
column. She informed me that members would
receive this issue in late August or early
September.
Wow! What happened to the summer?
She ran down that the membership would be
reading this on approximately Labor Day, the Nats would be over, and the International
Radio Controlled Helicopter Association's (IRCHA's)
huge fly-in would likely be in progress at the
International Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana.
Where did the summer go?
I receive hundreds
of
telephone calls during the week and enjoy the
exchange with members. I can tell when there
is bad weather in a section of the nation
because the number of calls from that area
increases. If you can't fly, call the AMA I
guess.
Right now the big news is the floods in
the Midwest, and I fear our fellow pilots in
those regions are in recovery mode and flying
is out of the question for a while.
Let me
remind you that AMA has a Disaster Relief
program to help clubs recover from a natural
or man-made disaster. Find out more
information about this program on the AMA Web
site at
www.modelaircraft.org/PDF-files/714.pdf.
A few weeks
ago I received a call that pertains to all
of us: safety at the flying site. In 2006, the
Academy began requiring clubs to have a
designated safety officer listed as a part of
the club chartering process.
This position is one of those thankless jobs that can
make a huge difference in someone's life. The
trouble is that some will never know it. The
club safety officer who stops or prevents an
unsafe practice and nothing happensthat's the
good part. Nothing happens and people didn't
get hurt.
The next time your club's safety officer points out a
safer way to fly both in the air and on the
ground, thank him or her; he or she is only
looking out for you.
If you're wondering why I'm on a safety kick this
month, it's because Joe Hass made the call I
mentioned that pertains to all of us. I asked
Joe to write about the items we discussed when
he called because we can all learn from his
concerns. I have included his letter and a
photo.
"I am writing as a concerned modeler. With 54
years of modeling experience, I am a current
club president, a past AMA vice president, an
instructor, and a Leader Member. I fly most
everything. My youngest son flies too. I have
the scars and the bills from an overnight
hospital stay to prove that I have made my
share of mistakes.
"My concern is one of safety with those rotational
things that give us thrust: propellers. We
have been to a lot of flying events. I have
seen:
" Engines being started while the pilot is
holding on to the transmitter
" Engines being started with neck straps hanging loose
" Engines being started
with the transmitter attached to the neck
strap and the strap around the pilot's neck
" A pilot attaching the neck strap to the transmitter
(with the engine running) without holding the
throttle stick in the idle position
" A pilot putting his leg between
the leading edge of the wing and the propeller
while the engine was running
"Now I'm sure
that those involved would say that "someone
was holding on to the airplane." In all the
situations I described there was a helper.
Let's look at the first three.
"It can take a
lot of force to start an engine. Even more to
start a big one. Balance is critical. Most
anything can cause a loss of balance or
position. I can't imagine the damage to a body
if the neck strap got caught up in the prop,
any prop, even a .40 size. A helper can do
nothing to stop the potential carnage.
"Observation 4 may require a bit of
explanation. I have included a picture. I make
it a habit to always hold the throttle stick
down with my left thumb whenever the engine is
running. This prohibits the throttle stick
from accidentally being bumped while walking
to the flightline or any other activity.
"It
is such a habit for me that I just usually
hold the transmitter this way regardless of
whether the engine is running or not. This
habit is a direct result of a personal
incident a few years ago. I bumped the
throttle stick on my leg while carrying a
running 60-size helicopter. The engine was now
running at full throttle. The clutch was
burning up. The exhaust smoke was thick. It
took everything I had to hold on to the rotor
head, put the heli down and get to the
throttle stick. A very dangerous situation.
"Observation 5 is the one that haunts me the
most. What would have happened if a bee had
stung the helper? Or the pilot? The natural
reaction is to jump. All I could see is "filet
of calve" as the carbon fiber prop angrily
sliced through human flesh.
"There is no way
to legislate all of this. I would be opposed
to it anyway. But I do ask that all modelers
and Contest Directors make it a point to
courteously point out these types of behaviors
to their fellow modelers and suggest
alternatives. In most cases the individual may
not even realize what they were doing.
"In
full-scale aviation there is a term called
'Chain of Events.' Accidents rarely happen
because of a single event. Rather a series of
things happened (a chain). Break the chain and
the accident never happens.
"Another aviation
term is 'Situational Awareness.' Take a moment
to analyze the activity, the "situation," and
take proactive, thoughtful steps to create the
safest situation possible.
"I like to stack
the deck for safety and have a great
experience for all involved." Thanks, Joe, for
helping us all to be safer pilots.
The staff
has been busy compiling the ballots from
Leader Members on the proposed bylaws changes.
We will know the results soon.
We are
compiling information regarding the AMA
presence at the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Aviation Rulemaking
Committee on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) in
Washington DC. The FAA has requested the
coordinates of every model-aircraft flying
site in the nation as it studies the UAS
issue.
Labor Day originated in 1882 and is the
symbolic end of summer. I would be remiss if I didn't
take a moment this Labor Day to say thank you
to the AMA staff members for their work and
dedication to the Academy. Many times cars are
in the parking lot after hours and on weekends
to ensure that the work is done in a timely
manner.
My thanks and appreciation to all of you who make this
organization what it is in serving the
membership.
MA
In the spirit of flight.
Jim Cherry, Executive Director
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