I was reading my newsletter from the Rio Grande Valley R/C Fliers.  This is a club to which I belong in Texas and I came across an interesting article that I thought you all might be interested in.  It pertains to the safety of electric planes and the Club President wrote it.  It reads as follows.

     "About 6 years ago, as a member of the Chicago land Radio Control Modelers I was asked to participate in an AMA District VI meeting by Charley Bauer.  Charley and I go way back many years as control line regional and NATS competitors.  Charlie and I were both brought up in the city of Chicago and if you haven't noticed there have been no flying of any model airplanes in the city of Chicago since the mid 60's (keep this in mind).  The Meeting was held in response to safety concerns brought up by modelers on the evolution of Park Fliers.

     If you recall, when Park Flyers first came out on the market, the planes were slow and extremely inefficient.  Most could only be flown in the early morning or evening like we do with our Air Hogs today.  The concerns at the time were of radio interference to adjoining fields and not with the airplanes themselves.  Flying speeds of only 6 or 7 mph and weights 16 oz or less were considered not much of a hazard to the general public.  We are now in a new era of electrics; the motors and batteries are stronger and lighter, and the planes are flying to almost the same standards as our engine powered models.  So what constitutes a park flyer?

     At our last Prop Masters meeting I was listening in on some conversations of the speed at which electric planes (some which were considered Park Flyers) approach.  When I realized how fast some planes were flying, I became a bit concerned.

     Kinetic Energy = one-half the Mass x Velocity (speed) Squared

     For example a glow trainer weighs 6 lbs, typically flies at 40 mph, and if it hits a stationary object it would do so with a kinetic energy of

about 323 foot-pounds.  We all have seen one and wouldn't want to be hit by it.  What isn't always obvious is that a 24-ounce electric flying at 80 mph has the same energy.  Even though it is foam, would you want it to hit you or your vehicle?

     Remember the space shuttle and what a few small pieces of foam did to it.  "Park Flyers" (as originally designed) were intended to fly slow and be harmless, but new technology has brought us to new levels of responsibility.  A park flyer can just as easy cause an accident or injury, so please keep your guard up.  I think that the new electric technology is a great asset to model aviation.  Be safe and keep them flying!!!!"
                                                               Bob Nagle

     After much thought and consideration I have made the following recommendation to the Board concerning THE FENCE.  Since almost everyone wants the fence moved back about 4 feet so that there is room to walk to the pilots stations, there is no need for openings in the fence to get to those stations.  The fence would be continuous between the taxiways and about 4 back from the end of the taxiways.  This would allow a pilot to set his plane on the taxiway and then walk to his flight station.  The removal of the openings would also require the pilots to use the taxiways to get their planes back to the pits.  We currently have some pilots that taxi onto the grass in front of the pilots, shut down their engine and then use the openings in the fence to go to the pits.

     To discourage pilots from stepping over the fence I am also recommending that the fence be 28 inches high.  The plastic material, which is 48 inches wide, can then be split lengthwise and attached to the posts.  This will provide a 4 inch space below the fence for mowing and trimming the grass.  What the membership has to decide is what type of fence support should be installed.  Do we do it cheaply using snow fence posts and a cable through the top or do we use chain link posts and rails ($$$$) to support the fence fabric?

                                                                Stan Zdon