Posts: 336
Joined: 7/13/2002 From: Prior Lake,
MN, USA Status: offline
My hand with a spinning prop did tangle. My fingers this encounter did mangle. Now they're numb. I feel so dumb. At my side all my arm does is dangle.
No longer a transmitter can I hold. Many times my story I've told. Flying's my life, so says my wife. By the time they heal, I fear, I'll be too old.
My dreams of winning many RC riches are, it's sad, all tied up in stitches. "Serves you right," said my wife to her honey, "considering what you've spent of our money!" "Now Sweetheart," I said, "don't be like those other, umm, witches."
To my flying buddies, this I have to say, if flying you wish to go the next day, when it's time to stop a spinning prop for Heaven's sake keep your fingers out of the way!!!
Posts: 373
Joined: 3/29/2002 From: Commerce Township,
MI, USA Status: offline
I 'Feel' for you Paul, but why don't you enlighten us on how this happened. Did you not use the ‘chicken stick’ or were you starting the beast and reached around to adjust the throttle or what?
The more info you can give our gang, the ‘less’ chance of this unfortunate accident rearing its ugly head again.
Posts: 466
Joined: 8/28/2002 From: Lincoln,
CA, USA Status: offline
Ouch! Been there, done that! But damn - you did it a lot better than I!!!
Back in the early 70's, while stationed in Germany with the USAF I was breaking in a rebuilt ST .40. I remember it was cold (patches of snow on the ground) and I was at the flying site just trying to get the engine to start the first time after replacing the sleeve and piston & ring. Probably had been flipping for an hour (no electric starter back then). Suddenly the engine caught, I adjusted the needel valve, then started to reach around the side of the prop to remove the glow plug clip. Prop caught the back of my index finger. Weather was so cold I didn't realize what I'd done right away because my fingers were numb. So I spent the next 4 hours at the base hospital (Bitburg AB) getting my finger sewed up. Just knew they were going to have to remove a chunk of meat from my a** to fill in the big empty space but the corpsman was able to cut up what was left with some small surgical scissors and draw the pieces back together. He turned out to be quite a seamstress!
Posts: 336
Joined: 7/13/2002 From: Prior Lake,
MN, USA Status: offline
Hi Guys,
Thanks for your replys. There actually is a lesson to be learned from this. Our club recently built a bunch of benches that allow you to work on your plane at hand level. That's the good news. The bad news is that this puts the spinning prop at hand level. I was walking around the plane from left to right and my left hand swung into the prop. I honestly don't know how I let this happen. Simple carelessness, I guess. My fingers were cut from the back side of the hand.
I'm glad you liked my rhyme. I thought that at least I could turn my carelessness into a little humor.
Posts: 466
Joined: 8/28/2002 From: Lincoln,
CA, USA Status: offline
Paul --
Working at a higher level was EXACTLY how I got my hand in the prop in Germany (described above)!!! The club had picnic tables and benches right behind the flightline and because of the patches of snow on the ground, I had the plane on one of the tables. I, too, felt this happened because of working at an unusual angle. Your points are well taken.
Posts: 264
Joined: 2/19/2003 From: Medina,
OH, USA Status: offline
Paul ... think sailplanes ... the only thing that can go wrong is to get your foot tangled in the winch line and get dragged a couple hundred feet ... much better than what you went through.
Posts: 336
Joined: 7/13/2002 From: Prior Lake,
MN, USA Status: offline
Pinball -- When this first happened I was ready to condemn these benches to the ash heap of good ideas gone bad. On reflection, I guess I'm not quite ready for that, but I think I'll be working from the ground for a while. I wouldn't want little kids running around the area where these benches are, though, when props are spinning.
Keith -- Sailplanes sound good, but I like my friend's idea even better, turbines! Oh, wait... I'd probably burn my whole hand...
Posts: 336
Joined: 7/13/2002 From: Prior Lake,
MN, USA Status: offline
Jon -- Thanks for pointing out your experience. I'm curious if there has been a slight increase in hand injuries since these types of benches were introduced.
Paul I feel for you as earlier this year I to had an oops. I to try to always be careful around the prop but I proved it only takes 1/2 second of carelessness to ruin your day. For me I choose to reach for the glow panel while trying to start a stubborn engine with out first letting the prop come to a full stop. So there I am at high idle with no hands on the plane and you guessed it the engine decides to catch. But alas I was lucky I only caught the tip of my left thumb installing a good size gash along the side of the nail that hurt like &%@! Nice poem on a painful subject though.
Posts: 929
Joined: 5/7/2002 From: Arcade,
NY, USA Status: offline
I would have to say that that would ruin anyone's day. So tell me Paul, indeed so that we all may heed Tell us how you did it to all those little digits?
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