Hello everyone,
This is “safety article” #1…and already I’m plagiarizing. Thanks to Don Pruitt for a great write-up and especially for Colt’s lightnin’ reflexes…..oh you weren’t there?...well read on friends:
Wiley

Guys,

Some of you may have been at the field last Sunday when Colt Holcomb stuck his U Can Do in the dirt on landing. The situation was that he was on final, just a few seconds from touchdown and realized that he was drifting toward the trees. He overcorrected and when he noticed that he was headed toward the pit area he dumped the plane in the dirt doing considerable damage to the fuselage and wing. Fortunately the plane is repairable and may be back in the air this coming weekend.

I think that Colt should be commended for his quick thought and reaction to a potentially dangerous situation. We had a number of spectators and about six preschool age kids in the pit area and he correctly avoided a serious mishap.

I know that Colt is not the only one in the club that has been in a similar situation and also made the decision to ditch and sacrifice the plane rather than risk personal injury or property damage. 

We should all mentally review this situation before every flight and have our reactions preprogrammed to do everything possible to keep our planes out of the pits during an in-flight emergency.

I will share with you an example of mental preprogramming that I learned from flight school. My flight instructor told me that on every landing you should mentally plan on not landing but instead plan on pushing the throttle up and going around. This way, if things don’t work out on the approach: you are too high, too fast or the wind is blowing you off the centerline, you will not try to fight it and force the landing but will instead abort and make a safe exit. Many modelers and full-size pilots alike start the approach with the attitude that I am going to get this thing on the ground no matter what. It never occurs to them until after the accident that they simply could have gone around. 

Being mere humans even the most quick-witted of us takes some time to recognize a dangerous situation, analyze the correct response and take the proper action. Add to that our physical reaction time and the reaction time of the servos to move the control surfaces and then the reaction time for the model to respond to the movement of the control surface. This is made even worse if the plane is stalled or approaching a stall. It may respond very slowly or not at all. So, if you add up all these reaction times you will see that it may take as much as two or three seconds before any corrective action can be realized. Being mentally preprogrammed will significantly reduce the mental analysis part of the equation.

The potential for flying into the pits does not just occur on landing. There are just as many similar situations that occur on takeoff. Once you start the takeoff roll you should be mentally prepared to pull back the throttle and abort at the first sign of trouble. Don’t try to fight it and think that your superior flying skills will allow you to save the day. This means that if you hear the engine sag or if the plane is not responding in a predictable manner or the wind is blowing you around or you are overcorrecting, just pull back the throttle and start over. If you are already committed to the takeoff, turn away from the pits. Your friends will admire you much more for showing good judgment than they will if they have to duck your errant plane. 

Here is some food for thought. Next time that you are out at the field, take a look at the holes in the safety fence. Each one of them was a serious accident that was narrowly averted. This fence is only four feet high and will do nothing to stop a plane that is four and a half feet high.

D. Pruitt

If anyone has a safety tip or a safety –related story to tell, I WANT TO KNOW!!!

We all learn from each other.

Wiley Cain home 7709850802 e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it