xplayer930

Med school is pretty sucky the first two years. But after you take the Step 1 summer going into third year things get much better because you start clinics. I know its getting increasingly harder to get into the medical field in general. DO's an MD's are on the same level now days as well. Dont be foold by what people tell you. Overall it is worth going if you really want it. I have no regrets
As for my rc flying its VERY limited these days ;/

izzy-israel-73

"youch" i have been cought out a couple of times my self [X(] with my nitro motors now i use a chicken stick the boy's laugh at me but i dont care as i rather have my fingers then not !!!!!!!!!!!

JeffinTD

Though this is a heli rotor bite, I suppose it belongs here to remind people to be careful with helis.

WARNING graphic.

http://youtu.be/VdIlUYiVmnc

Flight Risk

My Feedback: (1)

Don't you love that close-up?
I get real nervous when I see the heli guys flying them right in front of their faces, and flip flopping them.

JeffinTD

Just getting into helis from planes myself, those things make me nervous. When bigger ones spool up, it is easy to see how they could cause an injury that would make that video look like a paper cut.

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

Much more comfortable this way, and not any riskier than being in front, falling into the prop could happen from any direction if tripping, not sure sure how that plays into it. Not all airplanes can be comfortably started this way, and some people are too big or whatever. I dont really have to lean over it in a precarious way at all. If I got a high throttle start for what ever reason, I want to be behind it.

I have seen stabs break while a second person is stradling the tail, as the operator is in front doing a full run up, no thanks.
Witnessed props and spinners and locknuts come apart from others over the years, being in front is not the best place to be.

pitts M 12

These pictures and videos sure make my little incident ( half a dozen slices on the ends of the right index and thumb ) seem very minor. The culprit was a o.s. 10 with a "a precision cut" prop that i was bench testing, though as it turned out the bench was not very good and wobbled to the side at a very inconvenient time. It was still kind of bad but nowhere near as bad as some on this thread as I do play piano at a fairly high level. Also from this thread I learned that electric is not safer then glow engines. Hope all the people who were bitten here get better fast.  

JM

stevegauth30

well, i supposed i was pretty lucky compared to alot of you guys, but heres my story any way. a couple moons back, when i was just getting my thumbs into shape, i bought my first glow powered airplane. mind you, i only had less than a summer worth of self taught experience. i basicly had none. but i had to have a " gas plane". so i showed up at the local flying field, that i now belong to, and asked around. In about four minutes i had bought a SIG Astro Hog with a K&B 61. I couldnt wait to get home and start it up. not like i can fly it at home, but you remember how it was. Any way, I fired it up, reved it a few times, and came to the conclusion that it needed to be tuned. Mind you, it was probably running like a clock, i had no clue. So i reached up there , about an inch behind that 12 x6 prop spinning around 12000, the whole time straddeling the tail to hold the thing, lost my balance, and the closest hand to the ground, was right behind the prop. WHACK. Well, that old K&B never quit. The plane lurched foward, and my first reaction, not knowing what i was doing, was to shut off the reciever. Now i cant throttle it down, so i picked up on the tail and let the prop hit the ground, which wasnt very smart either. needless to say, i took the top of my pinkey knuckle clean off, bone and all, along with a grteat deal of flesh. 6 months of physical therapy, and alot of time lolst from work. I learned alot that day. Pffff, i sure hope so. the biggest thing, i shouldnt be messin with something i know nothing about. after a whole season off, and alot of thinking, i decided, i will still get into rc airplanes, but i will join a club, and actually LEARN how to fly. The best descision i ever made when it comes to this hobby. I now fly 1/4 and 1/3 scale planes, with a lot more potential for injury or even death. Thankfully i can say that i never since had even the smallest incident. Ive learned sooo much from the guys at the club, and consider myself a good, safe pilot. I hope even one person reads this and decides not to go out and but that big ol dengerous plane or helli, untill you actually know how to fly it. In the end, I was lucky, but it doesnt mean it cant happen again. Steve.

nitro wing

My Feedback: (1)

wow, that was a big wake up call, ouch. Glad you are doing fine all around now. Enjoy.

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

This is probably the best thread on the whold RCU website. Folks don't realize that it is too late once it has happened and things will be different and in some cases major damage is done. I was one of the ones that just barely got hit in the thumb once by a glow engine and did no realy damage for the long haul.

Call it luck or whatever, but one thing I can state is that I am very cautious around anything spinning with power to do damage. I don't care about those that laugh at taking safety precautions or the way I start my planes. They can laugh on as I still have my fingers.

I hope others at least take some time to consider the danger and use a little extra caution. There may be a young person watching you and you may be saving him from getting hurt one day when he decides to take up the hobby. Happy and safe flying!

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I have a healthy FEAR of a spinning prop so I have started installing remote glow plug connections on all my aircraft. IN a J3 Cub I have it inside and I open the side window to connect it. If I have an opening canopy it goes in there. I try to place it at or behind the leading edge of the airplane. Most my engines are such if I keep my paws off the needle I don't need to readjust them so I have no reason to get too close. I start the airplane from the front and I prefer having someone holding it even when using a tail trap. Now don't go thinking I'm any smarter than anyone else, I still have scars on my fingers from a Cox .049 from when I was a kid. My lessons were learned the hard way!

izzy-israel-73

Never knew props can be so nasty!

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Most people don't until they are bitten. I let a letter size piece of paper fly through a prop of a .40 to show my 16 year old son all the cuts it would have in the blink of an eye. It left a big impression on him. The paper was cut every 1/4" for the length and it went through so fast he couldn't see it pass!

A prop can be unforgiving but there are a lot of sports that can cause serious injury and even death. The trick is to make safety precautions a habit and never deviate from performing them. Accidents occur when we get sloppy! Every propeller strike I got from an .049 when I was a kid was my own fault period. Remember the old saying: There are old pilots and there bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots!

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I got an email today from Aero Perfect they had a Behind the prop Starter set up they had discontinued but they are considering offering a kit including the plans and the hardware you build yourself. You might take a look at it on their website www.AeroPerfect.com . I think it would be a great idea to use particularly when and extra pair of hands aren't available at the flying field. I have already contacted them an requested they let me know when it's available. If it looks good to you and you think you might like one drop them a line.

WacoNut

I thought I would add to this thread,
I was running my 3W-157 engine up at a festival for some spectators that wanted to hear the engine run. I had everyone standing back behind the propeller arc except for myself as it was pretty crowded. I knew better but I thought well it will be fine. As soon as I went to full throttle the prop bolts broke and the prop immediately departed the engine and hit me in the arm shearing 6" off the tip of a 32" prop on my arm and the prop flew another 75yds before landing.

I was very lucky that the prop did not hurt anyone else. That was my biggest concern as I looked down at the gash in my arm. The impact on my arm was so strong I thought for sure my arm was broke. After a quick trip to the E/R I found that no bones were broken and the laceration was superficial as it did not go thru all the layers of the skin. I was extremely lucky.

You will never see me standing anywhere near the front of a prop as it is being run up and I will never start an engine for a crowd of spectators to see. Just not worth the risk.
Later!!
Anthony

rt3232

My Feedback: (6)

+1

Been there done it and don't want to do it again

Cheers

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I was lucky when I learned to respect the prop back when I was young and stupid and was using an old .049 Baby Bee. The most danagerous thing you can do is get too comfortable with a spinning prop, and it is so easy to do. I have been lucky the few times I have slipped but....

ScottMcM

My Feedback: (66)

I lost about 1/3 of my index finger to a Saito 130t about a year ago. It can happen in a blink..

Flight Risk

My Feedback: (1)

Wow! You are so lucky Anthony. I can't imagine prop bolts breaking. I assume this was a wooden prop. If it were carbon fiber or composite you would be missing an arm.

WacoNut

It was a wooden prop,
I shy away from carbon props and glass filled nylon props for this reason. They will all hurt you but wood will at least break and splinter easier reducing the impact force. I was dumb enough to stick my hand right thru a 11" Master Airscrew prop years ago reaching for the high speed needle. Almost lost a finger to that mistake.
Here is a pic of the prop that tried to eat me alive.
Anthony

stevegauth30

you are very lucky anthony. we all are from time to time.

qldviking

This pic was part of a promo about office safety, the culprit in this case was a paper shredder

shawn32671

The original post at the beginning reminds me of my stupid mistake...years ago, I had a Dumas Big Swamp Buggy that I was about to "run-in" the nitro engine on. I got the engine started and without thinking at all, I'd reached for the needle to adjust idle but instead of reaching around the back of the engine to mess with the idle needle, I stuck my fingers right into the prop and WHAMMO, hard lesson learned. Same thing, tore up tendons and veins, loads of physical therapy and worse of all, lost wages. Hobbies like this along with many others, you really need to pay attention.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

It's easy to do and takes just a moment! I had a friend who worked in a pipe shop and the foreman who had been there for over 20 years let a 4" threading machine get a hold of him and thread his arm all the way past the elbow!

izzy-israel-73