Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

....At least that was the first thing that went through my mind after this happened. Just another prime example of not seeing the prop and not paying attention. This happened on October 23, 2004, (which happened to be my wifes birthday, all around a bad day..). Three days later I had to have the nail beds rebuilt on my thumb and index finger, not a great deal of fun. Bright spot being is that I will still have full function of all my fingers and most of the feeling. The tip of my thumb was fractured and is and will be very tender for a long time.

I feel I am very lucky and realize now no matter how careful you are, you can never be too careful. Just a real stupid thing to have happen...and yes, I know it....

T.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Ohh man are you alright? That really sucks. Man it got your whole hand. This is one example of what happens when you don't pay attention to what your doing.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Yes, I am doing good. The doc said just a little more force on my index finger an I would have lost it. The engine was a TT Pro .46 spinning a Master Airscrew 11X5 at about 8,000 RPM's. I feel alot better today though as I was able to fly for the first time since it happened. I was a little weirded out trying to start the plane, but once it was going and in the air, all was well.

T.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Sorry for ur pain, glad to see ur ok.............

Its wierd thou i got caught in the prop no where as bad as u, but ever since ive VERY Careful when starting........ i think it takes it to happen to you before u realize how dangerous it can be......... althou loads of ppl at my field still are careless even thou you try to tell them they just think nahhhhhhhh ill be fine.............. Guess time will tell....... glad to see ur still back in the air thou :)

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Man that sucks big time. I wish you a fast and complete recovery.

Thanks for posting your pics, although I'm glad I saw them after I ate. [:'(] Hopefully a positive to your mishap will be that other people who see your pictures will be extra safe around running engines and avoid having their own incident.

Kinda like "Hamburger Highway" for people who fly RC! ;)

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

....I'm glad you're going to be alright, T....;)

....thank you for reminding us to be careful. Many people will remember these
images, even subconsciously, and be careful because of it.

FBD.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Glad it will be OK......

Mind if I ask exactly how it happened (yes..I know it was the prop!;))

but how... others may learn by your hamburger hand!:D

reach through for glow... reach for needle without going around to rear?? etc. etc.


really curious so we can all learn...

and feel better!!

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

exeter,

Well, it's actually kinda embarassing. Another flyer in our club was helping a new member break in his engine. The comment was made right after it happened that just before I arrived that they were discussing how easy it would be to have this happen because "you just can't see the prop" when it is running. I was chatting with the other guy and at the same time in my mind I was thinking that the engine sounded almost too rich and was going to check and see how easy it was to adjust the needle. Long story short, (I know, too late), I reached for the needle through the prop. It was early in the morning and the light was such that the prop was completely invisible.

I can pretty much guarantee that from now on my first thought anytime I am around a running engine that I will make sure that I am behind the plane and be fully aware of the prop.

I remember that during my training with an instructor, he was very adamant, (almost obsessive to the point of anal retentive), that I knew about the dangers of a running prop and was always harping about safety for yourself and others. Now I know why.

T.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Very well.....

Appreciate the info..... and may we all learn from the generousity of tsawyer148 for performing this painful experiment for the good of RCU;):D


Happy Flying....
and stand behind the plane:)

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

hey man
dont worry about it, obusly im fell sorry for you. But i went through
exactly the same problems as you, (nail bed repair, broken fingers).
(see my other thread). It has only been 5 weeks now, and im just starting to heal.
It will be slow.

And i cant say enjoy missing school!:D:)
But enjoy the fact that you will be the safest guy in the club.

Hope you get better.
Cheers
Volkan

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

when I was 14 or so i had a goldberg eaglet trainer with an O.S. 25 fp. I had to start it wide open or it woldnt start. I had no electric starter. anyway after it was running i decided to swap hands and as i was pulling my left hand away my palm directly parellel with my thumb hit the prop (master airscrew fiberglass) It completely stopped the engine and embedded the prop blunt end first into my palm so deep i couldnt see the tip at all. it also severed the muscle in my palm. to this day i have a 3" scar in my palm 3/16 wide. if i use that hand to turn nuts or bolts or any index/ thumb work it bothers me..

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Hey Volkan,

I saw your thread after I posted this one....OUCH is all I can say, and yes I know what it feels like. Mine happened 5 weeks ago also...maybe we all should have just stayed home.

I noticed you were actually in the hospital for awhile with it because of Anemia? Man, that does NOT sound like fun. Although, I didn't get a real cool metal nail, which actually looks like it helped more than what I had. The doctor just lathered a bunch of super glue on it to hold everything together over the nail bed, (dermabond is what he called it, and afterwords asked if I had been exposed to crazy glue very much. DUH...I build model airplanes...what do you think...).

I really hope you heal well and that everything is okay. I didn't notice if it was your right or left hand, but either way, it is a piss poor way to realize just how much you use both hands and how badly you miss one when it is not available...

T.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Atleast you didn't own a full scale[sm=spinnyeyes.gif].

Good luck on the healing process!

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Hey man
ya, i got hemophilia, it is when your blood doesn't clot, in other words it is when you dont stop bleeding!!!!!!!!!!!!!not good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
very rare, genetic, only in males (russian royal family had it!! its a royal disease).

Thats what i love about england, we have a NHS,
we didnt pat a cent, (no insurance required). Surgery was free,
food was free, I had a TV, videos music, 4 nurse:), 2 doctors and
they even got me MacDonalds when my parents left on the first night,

also
before when i went into the operation room, i had to wait for a while (the forgot my consent from!!)
and they asked what i did (by this time, i must have said it a million times) i said it, and they said,
that they didnt have one of those this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was surprised by this and they said that
thay get 1 every ....... then i fell alsleep... DAM IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

oh well.
Lets just both get better!

See you soon.

Volkan

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Owww! [:'(] I've always been rather paranoid around props. I have remote glow power connectors on all my planes, I make sure all the leads and other stuff is well clear before I start the engine. When it runs, I get up, and get behind the plane before doing anything else. The only reason my hand will go near the prop is to adjust the needle, and I creep up to it reaaaalllly slowly (to the amusement of my fellow pilots sometimes). But these pictures will make me even more careful!

Anyways, I hope you (and Volkan) get better soon!

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Sorry, wrong condition...Please forgive me...

I am lucky here in that the company I work for has a great health plan, even though it's nothing close to what you guys get over there. I will not have to pay much because my deductibles have already been met, (my son is an avid skater and we usually get all that stuff out of the way by the end of February).

Still, I wish it would have never happened.

T.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Funny how you never read about someone sticking their hand in the prop and saying it was a "smart" thing to do. It's like saying this was a really bad time for an accident, what would be a good time? Stuff like this just happens, sucks though.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Wow, If it were not for tsawyer and volken, I wouldn't have thought a .46 could do so much damage. I mean, all five fingers, thats harsh.

This year there we had two members of Charlotte Aeromodelers who have made the flesh/prop interface - one quite severe - 1.60 FX I think.

Get well to both of you.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

On a full scale they have a name for it when you try to turn the prop through and have forgotten to make sure the magnetos are off: "The Hemingway Start" ( A Farewell to Arms)

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

ive been hit by 1/4 and 1/3 scale props they hurt and break bones but a smaller engine like .049 get you hand in one of those with a nylon prop youll wish it would have been a DA100. not saying either are fun but the smaller ones tend to cut more blood. hince RPMs and nylon or glass props turning in a tighter radius.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Hey TimC,

That's also the time when you look down and see your face on the floor. "Switches of and keys out" are the words to live by when messing around with full size props.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

And this is 5 weeks later. Still pretty tender, but at least they are useable....

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

....lookin' real good, T. [sm=thumbup.gif]

FBD. :D

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Wow, looks much better. Nice recovery.

RE: Boy, THAT was stupid....
 

Well, I can say that I've been bitten by a prop too. But I got lucky justa sting to my knuckles whil adjustingthe needle valve. When i was in high school I had a piece of wood get bound up in a biscuit jointer and, fly out and suck my had in, I'm missing a little piece of the tip of my ring finger on my right hand. My finger looked like hamburger meat. I am very cautious aroung spinning anythings. I still get the heebie jeebies when i fire up my table saw.

You're hand looks great after five weeks. The doctor couldn't even stich my finger up it was so knarled. I know how it feels man. I feel for you.

Gotta watch out for these spinning things ya know?

Hope you're hands feels better soon!

Mike
St. Louis