February is coming to an end, and we’re leaping (sorry, couldn’t resist) into March. We’ll start by thanking Anthony Romano for his excellent presentation on aircraft trimming at the meeting on the 19th. The reminders for making sure our planes’ flying surfaces and linkage are aligned correctly and respond accurately to control inputs must be repeated often, so thanks to Anthony for clearing some cobwebs and refocusing our attention on this vital portion of the engineering side of the hobby. As he put it, trimming “…stops when you sell the plane…”.

Next, my thanks to those who volunteered at our booth at the W.R.A.M. show. Now, for the Bad News, Part One. I received a few comments to the effect that our little corner of the County Center was barren, drab and unattractive. It’s clear we need to make sure the booth is more eye-catching and attractive next year, so we can help avoid a repeat of Bad News, Part Two, which is: we lost money on the raffle- first time ever. I want everyone to think about suggestions for improvements going forward, including more desirable prizes for the raffle, and even whether we should even continue to HAVE a raffle, given the increasingly depressing economic climate.

I also need someone to step up and coordinate all this good stuff- you’ll be given the title of “W.R.A.M. Show Booth Czar” and you’ll be responsible for being there pretty much all three days of the show. It’s a sacrifice, because of the time spent (even a vacation or personal day on Friday) but we need someone to Drive The Bus and make sure our booth is the best it can be. When I start looking around in November for individuals to fill this exalted position, remember I mentioned it back in February.

The meeting of the 19th had, as far as I’m concerned, a very important vote on the VERY serious topic of Flying Alone. A majority of those present were in favor of allowing members who show up at the field when no one else is there, to (gulp) fly alone- by themselves- and not require either another member to be present, or to have to bring another responsible adult to be with them. Shortly after the release of this column, there will be a change in the wording of our regulations to stipulate that the MAAW, going forward, will strongly recommend that you do NOT fly by yourself, for safety reasons. You will not, however, be prohibited from doing so.

The AMA take on this is that they also VERY strongly recommend against flying alone at sanctioned fields, but leave final rules, etc. up to each club. They touch upon the fact that, since the hobby is graying (whitening?) aside from the dangers of accidental incidents (fingers into props, etc.) the possibility of events such as a heart attack, etc. (where total incapacitation is almost immediate) are increasingly becoming a concern for clubs that allow members to fly alone. A statement outlining the MAAW’s responsibility with regards to being a member and this important issue will also be released shortly, and be incorporated in our rules and membership requirements. All I can say is, now more than ever, it will be important that, if you FLY ALONE at the field, that you FLY SAFELY!

For all those who renewed their MAAW membership at the show, my thanks. I should have all the frequency stickers in the mail by the weekend of March 1st-2nd. I visited all of my regular vendor friends at the show, and spent about $125, an amount which has been the norm for me the last few years. Came close to spending money I didn’t have, but didn’t… for now. It was great to see the big guys (Horizon, Great Planes, etc.) back in attendance. A number of the smaller vendors have actually been absorbed by the Big Boys since last year, which made for a smaller number of booths, if not necessarily actual vendors. The weather Friday was a killer, although I understand the crowd Sunday was pretty hefty.

And now, for the final installment of our Primer on Spotting. We had mentioned our “Worst Case Scenario” last time, and that situation is the one where an out-of-control airplane is heading directly at YOU AND/OR YOUR PILOT. When I first started attending regional fly-ins, etc. a few hundred years ago I noticed some of the “old timers” that were spotting holding onto what typically looked like a stick, or branch, or cut off broom handle while they were doing their job. All had a length of no less than four feet or so. I remember feeling sad for these guys that, apparently, needed these items to help them walk, etc. Upon closer examination, and subsequent inquiry, I learned otherwise.

Yup- you’ve guessed it. The sticks, etc. were used to literally bat away- or in some cases, bat DOWN, errant airplanes that were making a bee-line for the spotter or their pilot’s noggin. The greater percentage of these events involve aircraft on the ground, as opposed to the air. The advent of portable fence-like pilot stations also has cut down considerably on the need for you to make like a samurai and stab the ground in FRONT of the offending aircraft (NOT the aircraft itself) and, more specifically, in front of the propeller.

Now at this point a number of you will start to holler about the dangers of sticking something in the path of a functioning prop. Yes, there are inherent dangers in so doing, not only to yourself if a piece of said propeller goes flying in your direction (you ARE wearing safety glasses, aren’t you?) but if they fly in other directions as well. However, if you have to choose between this and a prop whirling at high RPM striking someone’s legs and slicing arteries, etc., it will be the lesser of two evils, every time. Thankfully our field has a number of safety barriers that all but eliminate being claimed by a runaway plane on the ground, IF you are standing where you’re SUPPOSED to while you’re flying!

As far as planes coming your way in the air, however… well, let’s hope the pilot flying (assuming they still have control of the plane) will follow the universal dicta that says that you crash your pride and joy rather than having it go into an individual, or a crowd. If not, then don’t try to swing at the oncoming doomed avion, but instead point your stick directly at the nose, and hold on tight.

One last caveat- all of the above with regards to your using a stick should be considered a MEASURE OF LAST RESORT. If you and your pilot are nimble enough to run away from (with you leading the way) or otherwise dodge the crashing plane, then by all means do so. Pushing your pilot to the ground is also an option, but a less desirable one, because then you run the risk of creating a second out of control airplane in the air if YOUR pilot drops his or her transmitter upon hitting terra firma.

So there you have it. Everything you ever wanted to know about being a spotter. It’s the most important job in our hobby, if you ask me. And we’ll be expecting every one of you to become REALLY good at it from this point forward. Next time we’ll start to look at what you should be doing to prepare your planes for the flying season.

Until then, fly safely, but FLY!