Went to my field to fly today. Overcast skies but calm and 60F. Got my plane up in the air for the first flight of the day to get the feeling back and damn it was nice to land in calm wind conditions.

Getting ready for the second flight I fired up my plane and had the Tx in my right hand. Plane was ilding on the table and started to pick up my plane in my left hand after I untied it. I was wearing a baggy hooded sweatshirt and it musta caught the throttle cause in an instant my engine was full bore with my single hand holding it back. The plane jumped forward and started tipping over the edge of the table. Initial reaction was to hold the plane against the table to restrain it from getting away until I could kill the engine but as I did that it pivoted to the right and the prop ran across my left knee and it killed the engine. The hole in my leg required stitches. Basically cut through to the bone clear across my knee cap. I was pissed. Stupid - stupid - stupid. A member who's an ex-paramedic got me bandaged up. Club members helped me load up my truck and I drove myself to the ER. My instructor Nick followed me there just in case. Ended up getting 11 stitches and won't be doing much for the next week or so requiring that leg. Happy that nothing worse happened. Definitely could have been worse.

For any beginners out there - mind that throttle stick when you don't have your hand intentionally on that stick. I'm stating the obvious but still. My lesson sucked. [:@] Don't learn the hardway.

Gonna figure out another way to fire up my plane and get it on the strip without this happening again. Maybe fire it up on the ground and walk it out on the ground to the runway. Controller in my left hand and plane in the right so I can restrain the throttle stick.

Lesson learned. :-/

somegeek

dang geek glad u ok.i got a few cuts before trying to flip a sharp prop but nuthing serious as urs.i find it not to easy and pretty dangerous when i am adjusting my eng.cause u gotta run it full throttle to find peak and the usually preflight checks.thinking seriously bought getting a tie down system like a wooden stake and rope and maybe u should to.cause i got fear for a full or idle spining prop.heard bout one guy that the impeller was spinning and it ran all the way up his arm just cutting away.lucky the poor guy didnt bleed to death.take care geek and just think it could have been much worse.

Holy cow, sorry to hear that happened and am certainly glad the injuries aren't too severe.

I have always started my plane on the ground with a fork holding the tail. I then pick my plane up with two hands to cary it to the flight line and have had several times when I've bumped the throttle to full & it's really no big deal other than it's noisy as heck & you have everyone looking at you funny as your trying to get the throttle back off.

I also had a prop go into my arm once when I was tuning an engine at home, but fortunately it was a glancing blow & just put a huge welt on it. Big lesson learned for me, so you'll certainly be more cautious in the future. I know I am.

Sorry for your misshap... After starting, Can't set your transmitter by the taxi way or runway??
We have transmitter holders at our runway gates.... But you still see people holding both while
taking the plane to the taxi way.... You do have to be very careful around these meat cutters...
Another thing that makes me cringe is when members taxi their plane back towards them before
shutting her down, instead of the plane pointing off to the side... IMO so many things can happen,
that would not be good..... That's a lessen learned, now to pass that info to the members....

oh and one more thing.did they give u anything for pain if not i suggest 1000mg hydrocodine it will take the pain out of anything.and if any u guys no what i could use to secure my plane when no ones around to hold it?my club i fly with is about 5 people and its amazeing if 2 people is there at same time.

bummer about the stitches at our club we have restraint tables and ground restraints some of the guys fire up there planes on the tables, but for me it seems dangerous you just confirmed it .when I fire up my plane for flight I always do it on the ground so I almost never have to pick up the plane and transmitter at the same time a similar thing happened to me although I was a bit more lucky so ground starts in restraints for me now, when I have the throttle at idle I then walk/roll my plane to the runway for a rev up before T.O .when I first got into this hobby the motors we used were smaller and not as powerful at least the ones I was using, after getting smacked back then I recall it being a really painful expierence hope you heal up fast B.T.

dont feel alone, there are others out there where the throttle monster got us, uh er i mean them
i built a restraint for mine also after it happened, but you do have to treat that throttle like a gun

[X(] That sucks somegeek!!! Hope you heal up fast!

Consider that another of those "lessons". Most of us have those scars, some bigger than others. I have a nice little line of 'em from a 10x6 that go up my right arm & shoulder(from about 12 or 13 years ago)

Those props are scary...about 6 years ago while I was in Junior High I was bench testing an engine and my mind slipped for a split second and my left hand went into the prop. I nearly lost the tip of my left thumb and index finger, but at the ER they said since I had feeling and partial movement they would sew they up and let them be. This accident turned me away from the hobby for quite a while and I am just now getting back into it. So here I am 6 years later and luckly they all work, I still have scars and a better caution when around a running engine.

Modern computer transmitters usually have a "lock" function that locks the throttle. I use it religiously when moving my plane from the table to the taxiway. Its also preferable to have someone else carry the plane for you if you're not alone. Our club recently built the Meroke style tables at our new field, with the wing restraints, and they are getting universal good reviews. Using a strap on your transmitter will allow you to keep two hands on the plane from the rear. If the throttle gets away from you accidentally, just put the nose down to the ground. You may lose the prop, but its better than losing body parts.

Brad

I have nwever yet seen any tx new or otherwise with a throtle lock

Well, at my club we made several haoles in the ground and put small pieces of PVC into the (they just come up to ground level) and put metal bars in these. Foam was wrapped around the bars and you put your tail inbetween the bars and start the engine. After starting you can pull the bars up and tossthem so you can taxi right onto the runway, no lifting, no stitches, no blood. It works pretty good.
Karter

My Hitec Optic 6 has a throttle lock function. Button is on lower right hand side. It allows you to move the throttle gimbal while keeping the engine either at idle if glow powered or off if electric powered. I never make a move without it. Especially around a big electric helicopter.

Clayton,
I use 2 old poles from a old bagmitten set. I wrap the upper part in foam then drive them into the ground with a few inches between them. Then u just drop the fuse through the gap with the hor. stab behind the poles. Works great. Any sort of pole, dowel, pipe, rod whatever would work. Few ppl at my club use some that r commercially designed with the same effect. ONe person ues a strap and a screwdriver in a similar way.
-John

My HiTec Eclipse 7 has a throttle lock button as well. Maybe only HiTec does it. Its a great feature, locks the throttle servo at any position, but out of the way so you don't hit it in flight. Its right next to that handy Engine Kill Switch.

Graham

G'day Mate, sorry to read about your accident, here in Australia, our club has made restraints manditory, see Pix. & we point the plane away from the pits so that if a prop comes off it does not go towards the people in the pits. I hope you heal soon, so you can enjoy your summer of flying.
Good Flyin Mate,
Allan.

My 9C has a throttle lock. Well actually its the idle down but you can set it to idle no matter where the throttle stick is. Then you flip it to regular mode and the throttle stick works again. It's the same switch as the engine kill switch. It is 3 position, up-regular, middle-idle down, down-kill
Karter

At our field there are no tables or permanent structures. We rope tie to stakes but a injure a year seems to occur. Yesterday I heard an engine rev up in pits areas so looked over and watched a 91 FS going rite at the guy. Boy did he jump out of the way. After all settled down he swore it was tied but he just forgot too… revved for engine check out and just about lost his leg. Sometimes safety procedures cause complacency.
Rich

Thanks for the kind words and well wishes. Knee is pretty sore today. They numbed it up good at the hospital before cleaning / stitching which kept it numb for about 6-8 hours afterwards, but man - it's apparent that wore off today. [:'(] Taking some light pain killers but it's tough to walk on.

Looking forward to getting back to the field to fly and figure out a fool-proof method of firing up my plane and getting it on to the strip. I know it's not rocket science but yesterday hinted at me figuring out a better way. Thinking the ground hooks/bars/etc will be the way for me. My radio does not have a throttle restraint or idle down option. Figure if I hold the Tx with my left hand I can keep my thumb on the throttle holding it in the down position while I walk my plane out with my right hand on the fin. Ensuring safety = more fun.

somegeek

Somegeek,
Sorry to hear about your incident. Goes to prove that "stuff happens" and we should always be careful.

An "idle" or "throttle" lock is a good idea, but you don't need to spend a lot of money to buy an expensive radio to do it. Sometimes in this hobby we all have a tendency to "overthink" something and overlook the easy way. All you need is a good ole #64 rubber band. I know that almost everybody has a bunch of these left around from our training days. Anyway, take the rubber band and "tie" it off on the handle on your radio. Then stretch it down the backside of your radio, up under bottom, and up the front side of your radio. Then loop it over your throttle stick. Viola, a throttle lock. The rubber band will hold the stick in the idle position until you are ready for it.

Hope this helps

Ken

That's good stuff right there. Thanks, Ken!

somegeek

Sorry to hear about your injury,
Great idea about the rubber band Ken.
A simple but effective restraint I use consist of a piece of rope long enough to wrap around the tail and back to a tie off point (about 4 or 5 foot )with a two inch or so loop at each end. At the field we have tie off points (large hook) on our tables and a couple of concrete blockes with hooks for portable tie offs.
At home (and can be used anywhere) I have a dog tie out stake (one of those twisted metal ones that you screw into the ground)
We always start our planes on the ground when possible (I have seen combat planes started on tables, they have no landing gear )

at our field we have several PVC U shaped retainers in the hot pits that fit over the rear of the fuse, padded pipe insulation for the tail surfaces ,they slide into 2 pipes sunk into the ground at least a foot. when your finished running up your engine reduce throttle and it just slides out out of the tubes they work well .

Sorry about injury. Easiest way to solve is make two trips. First with plane and engine at idle, then return for transmitter or have a friend follow carrying it. I can't think of any reason to carry a plane with engine running and transmitter at same time. But then I am Old n Slow and I can use the exercise of two trips. [8D]

Dont ever try to handle the plane with the engine running and ANYTHING else at the same time. Just sit the radio down and carry the plane out to the runway. Then go back get your transmitter and go fly. A lot of people frown on walking away from your Tx, but seriously if the connection os lost between the Tx and Rx what good is having it in your hand? Best thing to do is have some one else set the plane out for you.

I LOVE Kens idea for a throttle lock but I still say you are crazy to handle anything else when you have a plane in hand.