Well, I screwed up and just about killed myself in the process. So what am I going to do? Share with everyone so you can get a good laugh and hopefully someone, somewhere, won't make this mistake again.

Six weeks ago I purcahsed a SuperStar 40 ARF, a OS .46 FX, and a Futaba 6XAS. I spent the next week cleaning out a room in the basement to use as my hanger. When I finished cleaning, I set up a work bench, laid out all the parts of the plane, and went to dinner with plans to start building when I got home. As I was leaving the restaurant, I slipped off the curb and tore a ligament in my ankle. Spent the next week on the sofa with my foot propped up.

After getting the okay from my doctor to be on my ankle, my wife 'allowed' me to start on the plane. During the engine installation I placed the prop on the engine, hand tightened the nut, and bolted the engine in place. The plan was to remove the prop the next day to paint the tips . . . but I forgot.

I completed the plane a few nights later and decided to break-in the engine over the weekend. I took the plane into the front yard, got a couple of bricks and placed them in front of the rear wheels to keep the plane still, fueled the tank, set the needle valve and throttle according to the manual, and started the engine with an electric starter. Once started, I stood up to walk behind the plane to remove the glow plug starter. As I began to stand, the prop and spinner detached from the engine and flew up, right at me. The prop sliced through the collar of my shirt and the spinner left a bruise on my collar bone. Just half an inch up and to right and it would have sliced my throat!

So, for you newbies that haven't started building your plane yet, be careful as you leave the restaurant; you don't want to hurt yourself so you can't work on your plane! Oh, and you also may want to make sure the prop is properly secured when starting the engine.