I am getting more and more concerned watching other pilots fly. There seems to be a huge number of folks that are excellent pilots who fly less than 10 feet from themselves, spool up less than 5 feet, etc.

I am not the worlds best heli pilot, nor the worst. I have flown from the Trex to turbine powered and everything in between, so my concern is balanced. This holds true across the entire spectrum of helicopters, at least to my observation.

Now, you fly close to yourself. How fast can you move out of the way if a servo pot fails on the swashplate and goes hard over in a direction that will bring the heli into you? Ever seen it happen? I have seen 3. Each one happened so fast the pilot had no chance to do anything, and in that instance there really isn't anything one can do but hope it greets Planet Earth before anyone gets hurt.

But wait........ Lets just say a blade lets go. Seen that happen too.....usually too high of a head speed, but feathering shafts and grips break, not often, but they do. Can you image what a blade at 1600 RPM can do to you from 5 feet away at chest level? I am a retired Paramedic. I sure as heck can.

This is a neat, fun, expensive hobby. Lets keep the expense in the mechanical side of things, fly the heli farther away from yourself, progressively farther according to the size of the heli. I suggest as a simple guideline, according to rotor diameter, the following safety distances.

Less than 1 meter=10 feet
1-1.5 meter=20 feet
1.5-2 meter=30 feet
2 meter and up=40+ feet.

Maiden flights or flights after repairs the distance should be increased just as a precaution.

Please be safe, when someone gets hurt by a plane it is the persons error, but when a heli hurts someone, the heli gets blamed for being dangerous and unsafe. We all know that isn't true, lack of respect for the dangers is the issue.

Think safe
Jack