UkerDuker

My Feedback: (3)

******WARNING, IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, CLICK THE BACK BUTTON NOW!!!!!***********

******WARNING, IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, CLICK THE BACK BUTTON NOW!!!!!***********

******WARNING, IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, CLICK THE BACK BUTTON NOW!!!!!***********

******WARNING, IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, CLICK THE BACK BUTTON NOW!!!!!***********






I had my boys Nexstar at the field on Saturday. The wind was blowing, but nothing to get excited about. I took it up for the test flight since I repaired the wing tip. It was a minor accident the previous weekend.

I was trying to tune the upper and lower needle valves. I placed the plane in the engine tuning stand for some tweaking. I got the lower one set and the idle was perfect. This an OS 52 4-stroker. I throttled up and started to adjust the top end needle valve. I was standing on the right side of the plane. I saw the throttle servo travel wasnt allowing the carb to open fully. I began to adjust the servo travel in my radio. Just a few beeps and I'll be good. Just then a HUGE gust of wing came at me from the from the left side of the plane. In an instant the plane was thrown off the stand and right toward me. I instinctly put my hand up to deflect the inboard object. 2 seconds later I turned around and asked anyone to grab the roll of paper towles out of my truck. I looked at my finger which now looked like some fresh hamburger. The blood was everywhere!

After a quick trip to the ER and about a dozen stitches. I was good as new. The plane made contact with teh engine tuning stand after slicing my finger open. It slightly damaged the top side of the wing. The guy watching from the picnic table behind me said, "Thats the freakiest thing I ever saw in my 30 yrs of flying."

Anyway, I'm grounded from flying few a couple weeks while the healing continues. I guess I can stay home and work on my 132" AC-130, as long as I dont glue my bandages to the wing. [8D]

Mike

scolvin

Eeee... Yeah I did the same thing a couple times on different occasions years ago. The first time it happened I went to the ER as well and got a dozen stiches or more, it was a long one down the side of my middle finger. The nurses got a good laugh when they took x-rays of me flipping it off.

The second time was when I trying to get the glow starter off the head of the engine and my finger extended too far, zip! Not nearly as bad as the first one and probably not as bad as your cut but nothing a little ointment to disinfect it with and some CA couldn't fix. I was off and flying in no time... After I got over my jitters.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

ouch!! that looks like it hurt

bilbo5

WOW!!!!!! Thanks for reminding me. I have a Nexstar also.It is a fun Hobby,but it is serious. Well at least your on the mend take care which i am sure you are.

MP3_tilaco

ouch....[:@]

shd3920

Nasty, sorry for your pain and suffering. And loss of flying time. Goes to show how dangerous this hobby can be. Would have freaked me out.

tlgibson97

That sucks. It may seem like it was the wrong choice right now to put your hand up but think of what the prop would have hit if you didnt block it with your hand. I think fingers heal pretty easily compared to something like eyes or your face. I'm sure it wont have much feeling in it for a while but in a couple of weeks if healing goes well it will be much better.

I know if I dont watch myself my electric prop is going to get me sometime because I keep inadvertantly bumping the throttle after activating it. I figure I wont fully learn the lesson until it gets me.

LuftwaffeOberst

Glad you are OK... Thanks for the "reality check." [X(] All it takes is a split second for something to go wrong. I'm glad your finger was still connected to your hand. My Club Prez told me how 3 years ago he was looking for someones finger. They found it still connected... just by a strand of skin.

The guy quit flying soon after... the accident really freaked him out. He was doing the same thing, adjusting the Low End and he got distracted. " Whap!" There went his finger.

Your story... man that was just plain freaky. [&:] What was the weight of your plane? It must have been a strong gust of wind.

Hope you still have feeling in your finger, keep it safe my friend.


Luftwaffe Oberst
Radio Aero Modelers Club
AMA District II
Pulaski, NY

UkerDuker

My Feedback: (3)

Luftwaffe Oberst

Its a Nexstar trainer, it weighs 6-7 lbs. That gust of wind was huge. I;m just glad it didnt hit my face, eyes or ears. My finger is a small price to pay. I will fly again. It just might take a few weeks. I want to be sure its healed before I start working around the nitro fuel.

Mike

JPGale

Maybe we should make some improvments to the engine test stands, some thing along the lines of some bunge cords over the wings that attach to eyelets under the stand to stop something like this happening again.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

as handy as the stands can be I hate them I always feel the plane is going to jump off of it,yours actually did!
it's the first I had ever heard of it,JPGale that a great suggestion for bungie straps I am going to recomend it at our next club meeting for our stands.
usually I start my planes on the ground and use a resraining strap for start up,then there is no lifting of the plane when its running, because its already on the ground just remove the strap off the tail and go when ready to fly

UkerDuker

My Feedback: (3)

bigtim,
I believe I will now start my planes on the ground. If the wind picks up, it would be easier to just turn the planes nose into the wind. If you need to use an engine stand, besure to stand on the side where the wind is coming from. (If its a crosswind)

It looks like I will retain the full range of motion with my finger, but will take some time to gain the flexibility back.

Mike

acarter

ouch!!![X(], good luck,

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

thats good news about your finger I have one a finger I sliced when I was 14 and it doesn't bend past the 2nd knuckle.
our club has a bunch of those stands the older guys like em so they don't have to bend down to run there engines,I usually fly a little larger .60 size Warbirds so the ground start is much better for me,not like I am all that young, 44yrs young LOL.

ro347

My Feedback: (13)

Well .....just a question... if he was making adjustments...considering the safety issue ... should the wing have been on the plane? They say dont ever put your plane on the picnic table cause the wind will take it....same thing no? IM just pointing this out so it doesnt happen to someone else.

UkerDuker

My Feedback: (3)

ro347

Well I could have done everything differently. I just landed from a deadstick and knew the engine needed some minor adjustments. Had I took the wing off, I would have been able to use the stand to hold my plane.

Knowing that you cant change the past, I will live with my mistake. I am glad that ONLY my finger got hit. I could have lost an eye and never flown again.

I would recommend always starting your planes on the grass, nose-in to the wind. I will use the engine stand again, BUT only if I have someone holding the fuselage. If no one is available to hold my plane, I will just move the stand so it points into the wind.

The healing is coming along slowly. I still dont have all the feeling back. I am able to move it through a partial range of motion.

Mike

BaronSchwab

Don't second guess you instinctive reactions. You did the right thing. However, you can evaluate the situation that led to the incident which you have already done. The stands are nice for working on your planes; replacing props, changing servos... etc: but I always start up on the ground for various reasons. I never liked the idea of lifting a running plane and placing it on the ground. What if my grip slipped and I tried to grab it and accidentally grabbed the prop, or it fell and cut my leg, foot. For me starting on the ground is the only safe way to go.

stoney1451

thanks for the strange story. where i fly, we have huge gusts with resultant plane damage caused by blow overs all the time. but never has a running plane been suddenly lifted into a pilots face.
this is a great cautionary tale. and another perfect reminder to think safety all the time.
if you don't mind i'm going to copy out this story and bring it our next meeting. we'll discuss the problem and possible remediations. if any truly good fixes come out of the idea pool, i'll post 'em for all.

the baron is correct,,the closer to the ground the better,,except when ya got a real bad back
or the bugs are biting.

hope everything heals well

lawndart

UkerDuker

My Feedback: (3)

Stoney,

Feel free to use this to help others. Thats why I posted it.

Mike

kregan

Here is the starter I designed and use.

You stand behind the plane, lift the tail of the plane,
roll the plane forward, pushing the nose onto the starter,
remove the glow igniter, go fly with all your fingers.

Wild Foamy

wow, thats a nice 'lil jig you got there K, i always keep my plane on the ground (unless i am flying it) and keep behind it until i am ready for takeoff and if im running in an engine or something i leave it pointed towards a bush or something that will prevent it running into someones leg or worse

flytosky

ouch! i'm sorry about your finger. but you're lucky it's not your thumb and not cutted off.

how's the recovery? doing good?

jetmech05

talkin about a freak accident...usually i can find fault somewhere in my mind, i thought you were going to say something about reaching in and the prop got ya.
But in this case WOW you must have angered the gods.
feel better soon

bkdavy

My Feedback: (1)

We have the Meroke tables at our field and I actually prefer them over trying to start the plane on the ground. I don't like leaning over near the prop, and I like the positive restraint.

If its windy, the tables can easily be turned to face into the wind, which I often do.
If I'm near the plane, I keep a hand on it, especially while trying to make adjustments.
A bungee cord is probably a good precaution. String it on the back of the plane restraints, and it will hold the nose down.
As for carrying the plane, I think its far safer to carry a running plane than it is to taxi in the pit area. But thats dependent on your field arrangement.

Hope the finger heals and you get back to flying shortly.

Brad

UkerDuker

My Feedback: (3)

FLYTOSKY-

The finger is healing very well. The largest part of the injury is fine. The first slice into my finger still hurts. I think it might have caught a nerve. I have limited motion now, but this is self restricted because I do not want to tear the scaps that have formed.

All is going well. I hope to return to flying this weekend. I will be starting on the ground for the next couple weeks.

Mike