There are more electric planes than ever before. But I still see people holding the planes with armed batteries in the arc of the prop. An accidental bump of the throttle could cause a serious cut. Try to get into the habit of never reaching through the arc of the prop, just as you should not be reaching through a prop that is spinning.

Same goes for taxiing in the pits. People do all the time, but an accidental throttle bump will eventually cause injury or damage to a plane.

On another note, the caretaker for Swan Harbor stopped by with his kids a few weeks ago to watch. Everything is OK, but last year, he pointed out two incidents that some people need to be warned about. Otherwise we could be looking for another field. Supposedly someone flew a plane very close to the farmhouse and another time, someone was flying over the duck pond way on the other side of the power lines. Now most of us cannot even see our planes that far away, but you should not be flying past the halfway point to the farmhouse, nor on the other side of the power lines.

A few other things to think about when loading up the car or van when heading the field: make sure large batteries, cans of fuel or anything heavy is secured in case you were in an accident or had to make a sudden stop. Also, you don’t want to place anything heavy behind an airplane to guard against it being crushed in the event of a panic stop. You can’t protect against everything, but just doing some common sense things might save yourself or equipment some grief.

One more word about LiPo batteries. Even though they are relatively safe, never charge them while you are not around. Always keep an eye on them and disconnect from the charger when done.

Let’s have a safe season. Wear those safety glasses too.br>
As always….fly safe and think…..

Swan Harbor RC meets 7 PM the second Tuesday of the month.  In the Fall and Winter we meet at the Churchville Rec Center located on Glenville Road in Churchville.  Otherwise we meet at our flying field at Swan Harbor Farm.  The public is welcome to the meetings. To fly with us at Swan Harbor flying field take Oakington Road off US 40 (between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace) and follow the signs for Swan Harbor Farm.  Be sure to have a current AMA membership card because you need it to fly.  A SWAN HARBOR RC 2013 Membership Applications  is available on line or additional information can be obtained from Steve Snyder, 410-638-2895, Steve@SwanharborRC.com.