First, my sincerest condolences to the families of the victims, very sad to have our sport looked at in this light.

This kind of brings up the old debate of giant scale and safety. If he was flying a “model” instead of what is basically a full scale aircraft with a radio I wonder if the outcome would have been the same? A biplane with a 100” wingspan is huge! Let’s say he was flying a 54” span Sig Skybolt, how would it have been different? All models can kill, but it’s much harder to avoid a hit from a model that big and it won’t break as easy as a smaller model. For example the wings will snap right off a Sig Skybolt, but I doubt you could snap the wings on that thing very easily. I doubt all victims were stuck by the engine, the plane almost went straight in. As stated above about European safety standards and the prevalence of giant scale in that region, I was wondering when this was going to happen. A radio frequency is a VERY weak link to your model, I know by experience. I’m not saying all planes should be smaller models, there just has to be stringent flying rules, especially concerning crowd safety at shows and giant scale flying in particular. The Napoleon complex will always be with us…

If it doesn’t stink, stir it up

Dion