The consequences of complacency.

[Mike Griffin]

The consequences of not thinking.

Yes this is very much model related but is just one little sector of a much bigger and broader issue.  I will try to tie this together is some sort of logical fashion.

I am an aircrew member with the Billy Mitchell Senior Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol here in New Orleans.  Every meeting our safety officer gives us a safety briefing and this last meeting he talked about the consequences of not thinking.  He, by the way, is a commercial airline pilot.  He talked about the fact that most mishaps related to flying a plane are not committed by the new pilot with just a few hours.  They are committed by pilots who have thousands of hours because of complacency.  I do remember when I took flying lessons back in the early seventies, my CFI told me the same thing.  I knew a guy back then who had literally thousands of hours at the stick and landed one day with his gear up.  He said when he heard the prop tips hitting the runway, he knew he had messed up.

Now how does this mindset relate to modeling?  Simple…if we were honest, probably most errors in flying and building models are committed by those of us who have been doing this for years.  The difference is that when flying real airplanes, a mistake can cost you your life.  Mess up building or flying a model and most of the time you just build another one and fly it until it meets its demise.
I wanted to share something with you that happened to me yesterday that was just inexcusable and crazy considering I have been building model planes since I was 15 years old and is a perfect example of just not thinking.

I was doing the test build of the Imitation fuselage.  I glued the two core pieces of the fuselage together and the next step was to glue the Warren truss ribs in the rear cutout and then glue the two 1/16th inch laminations to the inboard and outboard sides to create the full ½ thick fuselage and then you glue on the plywood doublers.   But did I do that?  No I did not.  I glued the the two 3/16th inch core pieces together and then proceeded to glue the plywood doublers to the front of the fuselage WITHOUT FIRST inserting the Warren Truss ribs and then GLUING ON THE 1/16th inboard and outboard pieces. 

I left for a few hours to let the glue set up and when I returned to the shop I realized what I had done and I have to tell you,  I felt like a complete dumbass. After building for years and years, how could I have done that?  Easy, I was complacent and thought I was beyond making that kind of mistake.  Guess what?  I wasn’t.  Makes you feel like a complete fool. 
Anyway, since Eric Rule is out of town for another week or so, I will have to wait until he gets back and can cut this dummy another fuselage set so I can finish the build and make sure everything fits.
 
I guess it just goes to prove when you think you know all the answers, you just haven’t asked all the questions.
I will give you further updates as things progress and I will try not to make anymore stupid mistakes….who am I kidding? 

Kindest regards,
Mike

[bob whitney]

one of my big problems {I have the scares to prove it )in flying stunt is ,after all these years of flying speed and racing using props of 6 to8 in of diameter I don't leave enough clearance around the 12 in props I now use in stunt.

[robertino619]

Mike you are one of the best builders I've seen on line.
For every mistake you've made I have made 10.
So don't sweat it.
Would it be a good idea to carbon veil between fuse parts for more rigidity?
is there a building sequence in writing included with that kit?

Thanks for making it better for us in the hobby.
Robert

[Avaiojet]

I didn't read all of that Mike, but if you used Epoxy, heat will release the parts.

[Mike Griffin]

I didn't read all of that Mike, but if you used Epoxy, heat will release the parts.

Actually Charles, I never thought of that but it is too late now.  LOL...I was too distraught to think that clearly I guess.  I will say that West Systems Epoxy is good stuff though

Mike

[john e. holliday]

Wait until you start to put the base covering on a fuselage and discover you didn't install the tail wheel/skid blocks.

[Target]

Thinking about one thing,  while doing another that you've done routinely, definitely can lead to problems.
I just asked my engineer if he had shut the batteries off for the engines he's changing oil on. These are brand new,  Cat c32 1500hp diesels. He said,  "No, who's going to try to start them without oil".  I told him for all he knows i might,  and laughed.
He knows I'm a good captain, but...

[Mike Griffin]

AHHH guys, I guess misery loves company...thanks for making me feel better.  We are all human....

Mike

[Avaiojet]

Actually Charles, I never thought of that but it is too late now.  LOL...I was too distraught to think that clearly I guess.  I will say that West Systems Epoxy is good stuff though

Mike

Mike,

Heat will still release the parts even if had been glued a year ago.

CB

[Chris McMillin]

Oh come one, everybody has made two left sides of a fuselage!
Chris...

[Will Hinton]

Oh come one, everybody has made two left sides of a fuselage!
Chris...

Not Me!  (They were two RIGHT sides.)

[Bill Morell]

Not that big of a deal. I can remember doing this with Jetco towliner kits once or twice even after READING the instructions.

[TDM]

Mike you are one of the best builders I've seen on line.
For every mistake you've made I have made 10.
So don't sweat it.
Would it be a good idea to carbon veil between fuse parts for more rigidity?
is there a building sequence in writing included with that kit?

Thanks for making it better for us in the hobby.
Robert

Light carbon veil does not add any strength in that application. Veil will add some more durability and make the plane a little more ding proof handling wise (like sticking finger nails on the finish) but not structure wise.
More on the subject: you need some kind o weave cloth or unidirectional to gain strength and applying the weave or uni on curved surfaces rather than flat surfaces will add more strength yet without the weight penalty.

Back to the subject I crashed my model at King Orange over the weekend because I was complacent and took my eyes of the model. I know a friend of mine who mangled a hollow Igor prop and a motor (150$ worth of stuff) because the phone was ringing while he was getting ready for flight.

Also I screwed up a composite wing because I forgot to add all materials that should have been inside the mold. That cost me some 200$ in stuff and then some.

Yes I agree keep you head and if you get distracted regroup and retrace steps to make sure you are ok.