A few months ago, we wrote to you about fields that have been lost and how important it is to be a good neighbor to other park users, serve the community, be welcoming and kind, and preserve a stellar reputation.  Much of our reputation depends on safety.   

The purpose of this letter is to explain several ways we manage safety, risk, and fun.

This is not being written as a reaction to any specific or recent incident.

Every member is responsible for following safe practices, reminding others when needed, and nurturing our safety culture to protect the club’s members and the club’s field.

Perception and Reputation

Our agreement with the King County Parks requires that we run a safe operation,

“...to ensure safety of all facility users and positive relations with surrounding facility users.

FACILTY USE RULES.  The MAR/C shall develop and continually implement Model Aircraft Flying Field Facility Use Rules mutually agreed upon with King County ... and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) National Safety Code ... to ensure safety of all facility users and positive relations with surrounding facility users.”

Clearly, if our neighbors or anyone in the park office think that we are not running a safe operation, our contract could be in jeopardy.  Bird watchers have told us that flights outside our boundary are frightening to them, and certainly any crashes outside our boundary would lead to negative opinions.

A sure way to harm the club’s reputation is to take risks that increase the probability of someone being injured or make other members or park patrons feel less safe.  Fear is a powerful motivator.  If a plane were to crash outside our boundaries, near a parent and children, the parent’s protective instincts might lead them to take action against the club.

Should an injury happen to someone, our club and the county could be sued by that person, their family, or by upset parents if the injury is to a minor.  They may claim nobody informed them of the hazards.  If this happens, the accident can become public information and news, maybe sensational.  Our reputation can become tarnished. 

Using a Rule for a Specific Risk

Rules cover things that everyone knows can cause accidents, injuries, or frighten our neighbors    These cases are easily prevented when we follow a simple, standardized set of rules.

Example:  Fail Safe

We have had cases where a plane unexpectedly went to a dangerously high throttle setting in the pits.  In one case the plane raced towards another person because it was not restrained while a pilot was programming the radio.  In some other cases the transmitter was turned off before the battery in the plane was unplugged, and the Fail-Safe feature was incorrectly set to a high throttle setting.  These cases are so easily prevented that our rules require that three things are done to every new (or repaired) plane before a maiden flight:

All modern receivers have Fail Safe.   Failsafe must be set to reduce the engine(s) speed to idle upon loss or corruption of signal.  Failsafe must be tested by restraining the airplane and turning off the transmitter to see what the receiver will do when the signal is lost. 

Example: Restraining Aircraft

Aircraft must be restrained when the motor or engine is being started, run up, or adjusted in some manner.

Example: Range Checks

The manual for EVERY brand of transmitter tells you to ensure your radio installation and transmitter will work when the plane is flying far away.  Every brand does this differently.  Our rule says to do a range check whenever an aircraft is new to you or when anything about the inside configuration of the plane has changed.  The point is to find out if anything is blocking your signal in certain orientations.  This is especially important now with the recent accidents due to loss of signal.

More information on Fail Safe and Range Checks Here.

Safety Culture covers what Rules Cannot

For things we cannot anticipate, the club nurtures a “safety culture”.   That is, we use our experience to watch out for each other, look for possible set ups for an accident, and we speak up before something happens.

A safety culture continuously learns from mistakes by openly sharing experiences to prevent an incident from happening again.  It assumes nobody wanted to have a mishap, but we are all human, and we make mistakes.  So, a safety culture does not blame.  Blaming causes people to hide educational stories and useful information. 

Balancing Risk and Fun

Rule:

“High speed passes and low altitude maneuvers must be no closer than the runway centerline if any other people are at the flight line.

If nobody else is there, you may fly closer because the increased risk is solely to yourself.  But if others are there, you must do passes and low maneuvers farther away.  This is an example of writing a rule to manage risk to yourself and others to keep safety without taking away enjoyment.

Personal Responsibility and Consequences

Flying fun comes with responsibility, like driving a car.  Each time you fly, you accept personal and financial risks.  You will have fun, but you could also break an expensive plane, cut a finger, or you could injure someone else.

Only the pilot is responsible for the safe conduct of the flight.  When you have done everything to mitigate the risks, you are now ready to have some fun.  As soon as you taxi out, YOU have accepted ALL the responsibility for the flight being conducted safely.

Last month’s letter discussed the rule enforcement methods in our bylaws.  If rules are broken on a consistent basis by one or more members, disciplinary action will be taken according to the grievance procedure in the club by-laws.

Conclusion

As in the case of the Flaming Geyser and Cascade clubs losing their fields, negative publicity often encourages people or groups who have been silent to come forward.  They may oppose our hobby, have irrational fears, or feel the space should be left wild or used for other purposes.  Safety and the potential for this scenario are the primary motivations behind many of our rules, including the rule limiting the number of people on the flight line -- one of many ways to reduce the probability of injuries. 

Let’s protect each other and our field.  Use common sense, foster our safety culture, watch out for each other, follow the rules, and speak up when they are not being followed. 

We want our public reputation to show that our hobby is welcoming and safe. When we succeed, our field is viewed as an asset to the community because we foster fun, STEM education, future careers, and life-long friendships.