It's been a little while since I told this story and it was on a different forum, but just so you know, these incidents can and will happen and not just with RC airplanes.
I was practicing flying my RC Heli at home one beatiful evening when one of our dogs suddenly took an interest in the heli that was impersonating a frisbee with incredible hang time. As I was nearing the end of my tank of fuel, I opted to land closer to me so as to avoid the dog. Our other dog, normally the obedient one, saw that the first dog had paid considerable attention to the hovering heli so she started to as well. I called her back, again, and again. Finally, when I yelled at her the third time, she turned away and started back towards me so I started to settle the heli down. She turned around and lunged at the heli, so I immediately fed in full right collective to get it away from her and the heli rotor contacted the ground and her at the same time and the heli then proceeded to thrash itself to death as the dog ran off limping. After finally evaluating her situation thoroughly, a trip to the vet was in order. She ended up losing 1/3 of her tail at a cost nearly double that of the repairs required for the heli (not cheap, either). What a nasty accident.
Moral of the story...Stay alert to ALL possible distractions and intruders into the flying area and pits. The pilot must take total responsability for maintaining a safe zone around the rotating parts whether they are props or rotors. I still love this hobby but am very aware of the possible dangers and I only hope that this thread continues to keep my fellow modellers aware of the responsabilities we have with these models.

I had a Saito 180 bite good when it surged against the hold down then came back into my thumb and forefinger at full throttle,lost half of my thumb nail and cut a chunk of flesh (about 1/3 of the tip under the nail) to where just a piece of skin held it on. Had to drive myself to the hospital(wife to shook up to drive) after about 20 stitches in the forefinger and half of my thumb nail removed they sent me home. this happened at home so even if you do things right it could still happen. Thet said if my reflexes were any slower I would be missing both fingers!

where were you guys 5 1/2 weeks ago when I put the palm of my hand thru an APC 15-6. 1 cut thumb tendon, 2 cut little finger tendons lots of cut muscle and scattered nerve damage. The doctor said he quit counting stitches after triple digits. In PT now and slowly coming back, wounds look extremely good, but getting the tendons pulled thru the scar tissue is a real bit*ch. Paint the tips of your props, My saito 100 backfired and reversed itself right after starting, sputtered backfired and reversed again coming right at me while i was still on the ground I just reached out trying to protect myself and the plane I could not see the exact location of the spinning tips, It happened so fast you dont have time to think. I am going to purchase kevlar gloves and use them religiously while starting and tuning from now on

Smallfly you have me worried now. I just bought a Saito 100 in which has not been started as of yet not to mention it is the biggest engine I have ever owned. As I stated early on in this thread I got bit by a .75 two stroke. *wonders maybe I should invest in a pair of gloves*

Blackie

Blackie,

A pair of gloves and an electric starter. I have the "industrial" chicken stick. And yes, I am a chicken.... a chicken(rooster) with all of his digits intact. (knock on wood)

Another safety note: Never try to stop a moving airplane by a wing tip. I watched a guy dance with his plane for about a minute before he realized the transmitter was in his other hand and he killed the throttle. If it wasn't so dangerous, it would have been funny.

Mark M.

I got VERY luckyI did'nt damage the nerves or tendons,thats why when someone would say how bad it was I just told them that I was very lucky compared to some people that has had similar insidents and I was following all the safety rules! I got almost all the feeling back in the forefinger and the thumb nail has grown back.

It was on a weekday evening and I was just getting my plane ready in the pits. Other members starting showing up, one in particular was already there messing around with his plane, as I proceeded with putting my plane togeather, I had my tool box stationed on some supports on the stand I was working on. The stand was made out of 1/4 cold roll steel with foam padding for plane rest. I was concentrating on my plane with my back turned to this particular person and was not really paying him to much mind then all of a sudden I heard his plane rev to full throttle and sounded like it was getting real close real fast, so I turned my head just in time to jump out of the way while watching his 40 size H9 stick slam into the stand I was working on shreading his wing completely off of the plane, cracking his fuse in two pieces and scattering my tools all over the place. I looked up at him after it was all over expecting some comment like "geez I am so sorry" but nothing came out of his mouth. I told him thats ok that I am fine and that I was not hurt, he started picking up his plane as I started picking up my tools and later on I found out that he was taxing (engine running) where he should not have been while reversing his radio channel switches, the switch he was looking for was one of the control service switchs instead he found his throttle switch.

To this day this guy has never offered me an apology.

Blackie

Blackie,

I just finished a Hangar 9 Cap 232 with a BME 102, thats a 6.2 cubic inch engine with something like 10 H.P., it spins a 28 x 10 carbon fiber prop @ 6250 RPM on the ground with only 4-5 tanks of gas through it. It will get more powerful as it breaks in more. Takes like 15 gallons of gas to break in all the way.

I have been VERY scared of this prop, and I don't mind saying so. A healthy fear brings on a healthy respect and attention to details. At this RPM and power this thing could and would completely take your hand, arm or leg clean off. Fingers? HA! like a hot knife through warm butter. Be careful and NEVER, EVER fly alone or start any engine no matter what size without a helper or in my case two!

Scott

I hate to see any of my fellow modelers hurt, but this mioght be good experience for the younger as well as the older 'crew'. I have a question for you though. Did AMA pay any of your medical billz? If not why? Did you report these incidents to AMA??

Would really like to know that the money I shell out every year goes to assisting and helping fellow flyers.. :stupid:

Gastronom thats a damn good question I never thought about the AMA

Blackie

I have filed as a supplement to my standard medical insurance and special services of the ama was very nice, sent all the forms etc, It is a long waiting game to get paid Im sure, Heck it takes months just for the insurance company to send you statements of what was paid, and then you need itemized statements etc, but over 10 thousand dollars worth of surgery etc may come down to my out of pocket ama deductible 50 bucks. At least I hope.... some day. BLACKIE-- If you fly your saito 100 inverted check very carefully the low speed needle transition, No problems on the test stand upright, but when inverted in the plane It was WAY rich on the low end causing all those burps bubbles and backfires. Make sure someone holds your plane the first 8-10 times you fly it. Mine bit me on flight 4, I had been slowly leaning the low end but a fellow flyer several weeks ago leaned it another full turn before it began to transition well

I did the same thing, sort of, only a 20X8 prop was involved at about the same RPM. Got lucky, only a bruise and a broken prop.

I wince when I look at these photos. I wish all of you that have been injured the best of luck, and a speedy recovery. I have been lucky that I've never had a serious accident, I have had a couple close calls though. It makes you stop and think. I have seen a couple such accidents at our field. I too have flown alone, but will not in the future. If you see someone at the field trying to start a plane alone, ask if you can hold it for him. You may prevent an accident, and make a new friend at the same time.
Think safety, fly safely.

One of the guys in my club, who I have a great deal of respect for, always wears a heavy set of leather work gloves whenever he is starting and/or testing (engine on) his plane in the pits. I now know the reasons why, without ever having to ask him.

Weldo

I was wondering if anyone out there wears safety glasses while running/starting an engine. I can imagine rocks, props, shattered spinner (as was mentioned above) being thrown into the eye.

I work at a college where I address laboratory safety issues. All students are required to wear goggles in chemical labs, technology labs, wood working labs, etc. Seems like a good idea to do it at the field as well.

I can see wearing them to start and run and then removing them just before takeoff or something like that. Of course, where do we stop. I could put on my gloves, goggles, leather apron, and then climb into my steel cage to fly. (Hmm, steel cage would probably affect the radio transmission.) I guess we always just take some sort of risk.

Anyway, I was just curious what others thought. Maybe we should just make sure and wear something over the eyes whether it be your glasses or sunglasses. I think I'll try and do this myself. I may even buy some gloves.

Just a thought,
Herb

Dave,

I'm from Silverhill, and fly in Foley. Are you a member of SARCM?

Sorry to see the damage to your arm. I had a plane get loose several years ago and have used restraints ever since. I know this is not a forum to sell something but I don't....we have a club member that sells these stands that work well on everyhing I own. Dick Petit commented on them in a recent RC Report. It holds my Cap 231 with a OS 1.60 at full throttle without a problem. If someone would like I can put you in contact with him.....Johnny

I still fly with the Fairhope club (BARCS), but I mainly fly off my on strip which is probably not far from your house. Email me at [email protected]

There was a post asking about reastraining devices. Here is my contribution to the hobby.

Extreme Aerosports Plane Restraints

Thanks,

Jon

I think that 90% of us have clipped our fingers at one time or other but mostly pride is hurt more than flesh. We all forget the important safety rules but there is one accident that is going to be a real loo loo. I cringe when I see guys wearing a transmitter neck strap hanging loose while their transmitter is on the ground at their side. There they are flipping the prop. One day, and I hope I am not there to see it the engine is going to start and that neck strap is going to get caught in the prop. You can fill in the grisly details but his wife is not going to be too happy when she sees what happens when a face is pulled into a prop.

Wow those pictures are a real reminder of how much damage these little engines will do. When I was first starting into this hobby I was alone out at the field had just started my OS 40 fp and had it running at full throtel, I reached through the prop, sounded like a weed eater when it hits a big stick. I had five stiches in my left index finger, Luckily my dad is a doctor, He sewed me up but was in hurry to get to his cabin, He had no sympathy
Take care and slow down think about where your fingers and hands are.
Scott

Sorry to hear about the injury,that must have been a nasty hurt,Just though i would let you guys know about a really bullet proof glove thats out on the market,someone mentioned a kelver glove,since im in alaska and do a lot salt water fishing big fish,there is glove out for holding and cutting fish,i think its called a Shark Skin,its actually heavy wire type mesh glove,actually is comfortable to wear,and belive me,no matter how sharp the knife is,you slip and get your hand,well you better sharpen the knife,but reading this thread,made me think about useing it for starting some of those big monster engines,any good tackle shop should know about them,there acutally metal wire gloves,but really comfortable to wear.You might get a broken finger,but thats about all that would happen with one of these on and you got tangled up with the prop.

Something to think about.

http://www.perfectfitglove.com/Products.htm
These folks have Kevlar gloves, also gloves with stainless wire mesh in them that butchers would wear while cutting meat.
I use their kevlar gloves at work,they are comfortable to use.
Hope this will help those that want to use gloves, if you can't buydirect from them, try Grainger,or MSC.

Fly safe, speedy recovery to those wounded.

you guys are real cut ups! i hope that never happends to me.
oh..... once i started a goldberg super chimpmunk with a ST .60
it was full thottle when it fired up . being on my knees i couldn't get away from it . well i "without time to think" put out my hands to stop it from mowing me down. i wound up stuffing both hands into the prop. it was really cold out "thank god" and didn't feel as much pain as i could have. all i got was a small cut . but boy the props love fingers!