nitromethane=TNT!! Yep.

Thursday the 22nd, as I was going through the security check, my baggage got the sniffer treatment and lo and behold I was pulled out of line and asked a bunch of questions. The good news was the inspector asking the questions looked at my military ID, and flew model planes once apon a time. Seems I was not in the proper profile, thank God. It seems spilled fuel or even rich exhaust can stay in our clothes, shoes or get on luggage and even a month later be sniffed by those sniffer wands they use with the little piece of paper stuck on the end. Nitrogen is what the sniffer picks up and sets off the alarm. Of course everyone hears the ##### thing and you do get get some funny looks. But, hey, I get those at contests, so I'm used to it. Still. Just a reminder to those that use the same luggage going to distant contests and fuel gets on it while in the trunk. It takes only a few drops. Good thing they didn't sniff my shoes or I'd be in the slammer. But I did get ot God's country, Colorado, in time for my mother in laws 86th birthday. And the last snow storm of the season, but they do need the water.

I had a similar experience last year with my camera equipment. Sniffer went crazy! Seems if you shoot a lot of b/w film the silver nitrate residue really gets a lot of people excited.

Steve ..

Loads of nitrogenated compounds will trigger a false positive on the screening equipment. Just put down weed and feed on your lawn? Get ready for some excitement in the check in line.

Last summer, My wife went to the airport for a business trip. Couple of hours later I get a call from her: "I'm in the security office at the airport and they want to ask YOU some questions!"

turned out that when the sniffer got a hit she told them that it must be her husbands firearms/model airplanes/high power rockets that had to be behind the hit on their detector at the airport, and they became very interested in just what I had here. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone educating the head of security at the airport that A) I was not some kook or militant. and B) His equipment would respond to a number of nitrogenated compounds and the fertilizer recently put on the lawn was as good a suspect as anything.

To his credit, he calmed down and my wife was finally allowed to get on another flight. I did remind my wife not to volunteer information on hubby's hobbies since some of the unenlightened take time to comprehend(!)

>Thursday the 22nd, as I was going through the security
>check, my baggage got the sniffer treatment and lo and
>behold I was pulled out of line and asked a bunch of
>questions. The good news was the inspector asking the
>questions looked at my military ID, and flew model planes
>once apon a time. Seems I was not in the proper profile,
>thank God. It seems spilled fuel or even rich exhaust can
>stay in our clothes, shoes or get on luggage and even a
>month later be sniffed by those sniffer wands they use with
>the little piece of paper stuck on the end.

I warned everybody about this a few years ago. Dave Brown sort of pooh-poohed it in his "travel with airplanes" column a while back, but it doesn't surprise me at all.

Brett, to your credit, I remembered the warning and last month my wife also was stopped for the same thing, namely lawn fertilizer. Only not ours. Her friend gave her a ride to the airport and my wifes luggage was in the back where her friend had hauled a bag of ammonium nitrate lawn fertilizer. It was over a week before this, but it still left enough residue. I never gave it any thought because I was not ccarrying any model equipment of any type, but when it went off I knew immediately what had caused it and my only thought was please don't let them sniff my sneakers or I'm in the slammer for a while. They do tend to over react.

Funny part is, that at Denver they sent all the luggage through without checking it, but we had to remove our shoes. Go figure.

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-04 AT 10:34 AM (CDT)
 
>Brett, to your credit, I remembered the warning and last
>month my wife also was stopped for the same thing, namely
>lawn fertilizer.

It's really a much bigger problem than it might at first seem. It's easy to downplay the possibility of not being allowed to travel, when you are the AMA President and you only live 4 hours drive away from the Nationals. Different matter when you are permanently 2500 miles away, and have limited vacation time. As I found out on the way to the 2001 Team Trials (2 weeks BEFORE September 11), once you get to the airport your entire modeling SEASON can be blown by one arbitrary decision by a local "official" with the Little Hitler syndrome.

As Director for this part of the country, I am very concerned that the permanent stationing of the NATs (and apparently every other event sponsored by the AMA - ask the sad story about how the W/C wound up in Muncie, sometime...*) will *always* be out of reach for the people on the West Coast. There are dozens of people who would like to go, but can't afford to take the time, or the pain, of a 2+ week car trip to Muncie. A lot of the bigger West Coast contests sometimes have the draw of the NATs - Golden State has certainly been in the 80's at times - and that's *just* from people around here.

But we are rapidly headed to having the NATs be an East Coast only affair. Last year, I think there were maybe only 5-6 people from West of the Rockies. Maybe people prefer it that way, but it doesn't seem all that fair.

I know that the AMA really has no control over the TSA or any pull to get any relief. But it's awfully frustrating to have a pool of 40-50 people permanently excluded from the most important contest in the world.

Brett

*hey a light bulb just went off on the topic of W.C. formats...

I wish the Nats rotated too, Some of us East Coast types don't have the vacation to take a very long road trip + a week at the Nats. I'd rather wait a couple of years for them to come back around rather than never be able to get there at the current location.

>I wish the Nats rotated too, Some of us East Coast types
>don't have the vacation to take a very long road trip + a
>week at the Nats. I'd rather wait a couple of years for
>them to come back around rather than never be able to get
>there at the current location.

Heck, if you are on the East coast, it's probably at worst one very long day's drive. Try 3 very long days drives!

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-04 AT 01:44 PM (CDT)
 
Hi Brett,
I agree with you on this one.

I'm sure the AMA would defend it's position of having the NATS at Muncie because of that being their "Headquarters", the awesome site built there, etc., and I *understand* that it is very near the US's population *center*, but I am not sure it is near the "Flier's" population "center".
I only have a 14 hr. ride to get there, (not the couple thousand miles that y'all on the West Coast have to travel) but that still makes it an expensive, and time consuming, proposition to plan for each year. Vacation time, rising gas prices, hotel and meal funds all add up as everyone knows.
I believe it is very unfair to those flyers who are at the extremes of travel from Muncie. Especially with the air travel situation.
I can make the 14 hr. trip when needed, but I would much rather see the NATS rotated, as they once were. I, probably, would not make the trip when it rotated to the West Coast, or Texas, Nebraska, etc., but I could make it when it is on the East Coast, maybe Louisiana, and other locations like that. Places where I can leave in the morning and be there in the same "day".
My missing a NATS, or two, every so often because of these things is not like y'alls situation where it is a true burden for many to get to Muncie each year.
I might not be making this as clear as it is in my head, but dedication to the event is not a question if it's going to take close to a week in a car, going each way, to be able to attend. Which would be about as expensive as it would be to fly, IF you can get everything you need flown with you, and not damaged....
You got my vote on this.
I remember a couple of events having a separate "site" in the past, can PAMPA do this with CLPA? Or do all "outdoor" events have to be held at the same site during the same time?
Lots of other questions and situations to work out, but it *seems* do-able.
Bill <><

As Director for this part of the country, I am very concerned that the permanent stationing of the NATs (and apparently every other event sponsored by the AMA - ask the sad story about how the W/C wound up in Muncie, sometime...*) will *always* be out of reach for the people on the West Coast.

Brett

(Big snip...)

Brett,

Okay, I'll bite: How did the World Champs wind up in Muncie?

Bill, All

It would seem that rotating the Nats would be doable with all the closings of Naval Air Stations and Air Force Bases. AMA Headquarters would need to come up with a traveling road show though. Somehow, I don't think that they want to do that!

Not only ammonium nitrate. When coming through U.S. Customs on way to VSC'02, I noticed this sweet looking little dog, on a leash held by some official. It was wandering round among the travellers. When it got near me it suddenly nose dived into an open bag I was carrying, back end waving in the air. I immediately tried to drag it out, wishing to protect the contents, as you will hear. The guy holding it got very up tight about things. "Don't touch this dog. It's a working dog, and costs $20,000 to train". "Well" says I, spend a few more dollars and teach it the difference between explosives/drugs, and chocolate!!!". In the bag was an open bar of chocolate, ruined by this bloody dog slobbering all over it! Next time I may put a mouse trap in the bag and spike it with chocolate.

>Not only ammonium nitrate. When coming through U.S. Customs
>on way to VSC'02, I noticed this sweet looking little dog,
>on a leash held by some official. It was wandering round
>among the travellers. When it got near me it suddenly nose
>dived into an open bag I was carrying, back end waving in
>the air. I immediately tried to drag it out, wishing to
>protect the contents, as you will hear. The guy holding it
>got very up tight about things. "Don't touch this dog. It's
>a working dog, and costs $20,000 to train". "Well" says I,
>spend a few more dollars and teach it the difference between
>explosives/drugs, and chocolate!!!". In the bag was an open
>bar of chocolate, ruined by this bloody dog slobbering all
>over it! Next time I may put a mouse trap in the bag and
>spike it with chocolate.

He should have been more concerned how much chocolate the dog ate!
Human chocolate is poisonous to dogs and can be fatal.

Human chocolate?

>Human chocolate?

Yeah, like toe cheese(!)