Wow, as a new flyer (first flight yesterday), I am enlightened. I fly an electric, so I am concerned about the quickness with which they start. I do everything behind it, but still worry about it. I will remain vigilent in my efforts.

Thanks

If the battery is connected, consider that it could start up at any time, whether you have turned it on or not !

yes... i've had electrics go wild on me, too... one time i was handling my WM CWCub that has a brushless on it and i had my right hand holding it through the prop arc. naturally the throttle was off but somehow it was nudged and the prop started to cut my wrist. i couldn't let go since there were people around me so i held on and twisted my wrist so as not to have the prop hit me too hard until i could shut off the throttle. prop cut at my wrist but since it was no where near full throttle it was only deep scratching rather than cutting. had the throttle been nudged halfway, i'd be in much worse shape. i recommend that before you handle your electrics, put on the throttle lock. could save you lots of pain.

Or even better, if your working on it live to make repairs, removing the prop altogether is the best option, although it may be a pain to have to do, it can be worth the hassle

Hi all, somewhere in this thread I read a statement that a club only had one bitten and that was because, he never followed the safety of working behind the plane. PLEASE be careful working from behind also, I was bench running a 120 twin 2 stroke, with and 16x10 apc prop,the engine dropped one cylinder at idle so I quickly put on my glow driver and it popped back to life. I then went full throttle and the engine was running at app. 9000rpm, but it sounded like it was lean. So I decided I could just tweak it with my screw driver FROM BEHIND, the engine stopped suddenly, and the screwdriver was gone. When I turned my hand over I had some trouble, this being a rotary reed valve engine it is capable of running full bore reverse or forwards and it was running reverse, so the sharp edges got me. I lost a knuckle and whacked another finger pretty bad, the tendons were cut in three places on one finger, and 2 on the other. I fell very fortunate to still have them allbeit they don't work anywhere near 100% anymore. SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL EITHER SIDE OF THE PROP.

Well its been almost 6 months to the day since 'prop bitten', and this is my final summary to the thread. At this point I've got back about 90% use, and hopefully that will increase a bit more as time goes on. I'm still going to therapy 3 times a week, but believe we're about to finish that up as well. There is still some numbness in areas, and it doesn't take long for the fingers and joints to stiffen up, so its a constant exercise routine to keep them somewhat limber. Nor can I extend my fingers straight out yet, still about 10 degrees off from full extension. Hopefully these things will also dissipate as time goes on.

You can see that the wound is healed, except where I banged the index finger cleaning out my truck. The other photo is all of the various apparati worn during different periods of the recovery process. The box on the left is an electro-stimulator for working the muscles to achieve extension of the fingers. The braces and one of the gloves are for keeping the fingers in various stabilized or bent configurations, the rest are slings and ice packs. Only thing missing is a lot of gauze and wrapping. So far treatment has generated 138 pages of paperwork, most of it insurance billing and I suspect a few more are still on the way. My out-of-pocket expenses looks to be just under $3,000.00. Total insurance costs look to be just under $20,000.00. The second operation accounts for about $11,000.00, or roughly $2,000.00 per finger, with the next largest share going to therapy. Here are my observations;

1. Take the prop off or disconnect the engine when working on electrics.

2. Keep your insurance up-to-date and have some idea of your coverage. I use Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which was a bit of a blessing, as I didn't have any of the restrictions associated with HMO's and various 'in-network' providers. I was considering cancelling it just a week before the bite because of cost, thankfully common sense prevailed in this instance.

3. If you get bit and are going to require surgery, seek out a specialist! The ER may provide you with a list of appropriate surgeons, but that does not mean you will get one of them when you schedule with the clinic. So, use what little time you have to check that list to see which one may be the best for you. Ask around, google them and so forth, THEN call the clinic and request to see that person. Not, "I have a list and need to see one of them".. you may not get any on the list, but instead the surgeon 'on call' the day of your injury. While there may be various insurance considerations to consider, the important point I've learned is that if you've injured your hand and require surgery, get a hand specialist! Had I done this to start, I probably could have saved myself a second surgery, since the general ortho surgeon failed to adhere to protocol and left my hand in a cast for far too long, thus 'locking' everything up beyond theraputic recovery. FYI, unless you've REALLY screwed up bad, surgery for this type of trauma is out-patient.

4. You will need additional support. Not just to get to and from surgery but for daily activities as well. Ever try washing just one hand, with one hand? Opening a jar one-handed? Point is you'll find a number of seemingly innocent tasks become very difficult. You're not going to be able to button shirts, pants or tie shoes, so get some pull-up athletic trousers and polo shirts. As for shoes, Wal-Mart sells a tennis shoe with velcro straps for $9.00 or so. Driving wasn't a huge problem, just awkward so have to be careful. One thing for certain, your uninjured hand/arm is going to get much stronger through the course, and your injured hand/arm is going to weaken considerably. You will be nothing short of amazed at how quickly muscles atropy, and the length of time it takes to get them back up to reasonable usability.

5. You MUST be compliant with your treatment! Show up for your therapy sessions and go the whole mile while there. Sometimes its going to smart but you have to suck it up, it won't always be that way! The lions share of that work is going to be on your back. You cannot be cured with an hour a day. You are going to have to do the exercises and work the hand almost constantly. Believe me, you are going to get sick of working it all the time, which can be quite depressing since you will only see very small or modest gains to start with. Don't let it wear you down mentally. Tighten those ruck straps and buck up, because if you stick with it, you WILL get a great deal of lost mobility back. It just takes time, usually measured in months! Frankly I would have never believed that a tendon repair would take so long to recover from. I thought 3 weeks in a cast, 2 weeks working and back in the game. Wrong! Set a goal of getting your hand back, not getting it back next week because its not going to happen like that.

The whole ordeal has been a real eye-opener for me, and I hope that my shared experience will keep you from experiencing a similar ordeal of your own. I would like to thank everyone that contributed to the thread and took an interest, its greatly appreciated. If anyone has any questions I'll certainly respond and try to answer them. For now, I'm back into flying and building, spring weather is breaking and my hand feels good and works good. Life is sweet. So take care my fellow flyers, and I hope your stories are about great flights.

To let all on board this thread know who I am , I am the safety officer of my flying club the Sacramento Red Barons.
I would like to thank Hal (Radical Departure) for letting me copy and reprint his terrible tale of woe in my club's newsletter.
Fwiw and to go on, the retelling of this story has had a positive effect on how members in my club treat AND respect the danger that is always present in our fun hobby.
A tip o' my black hat to you, Hal.
Be safe and carry on,
Gary smith
Red Baron Gary

DON'T LOOK AT THE PICTURES IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY BLOOD. I ATTACH HOPING IT WILL MAKE EVERY ONE MORE CAREFUL.

Sorry about your mishap. I had a bad prop accident on the 23rd of March and have severe damage to my left hand. My first accident in nearly thirty years of flying large and small and until this a cut from an .049 prop while flipping it was the worst event I had. I had my large Airtrax restrained with my usual steal holding devise driven in the pavement 12" in a hole drilled for that purpose,with two 1/2 inch steal rods in front of the horiz. stab, but did not notice that while I ws fueling the plane it rolled backward in the restraint a few inches. I had been working on this 3.2ci SD engine's CD ign and knew it would crank but I had the throttle set over 1/2 (another oversite) and it cranked first flip of the prop. When it did the plane lunged forward to a stop in the restraint, but I had instinctively dropped my hand to ward it off when the 22 inch prop contacted my hand, severed my little finger and real bad cuts to ring finger and the next. It cut my wedding band in half and this may have saved me from more damage as I think that is when the prop shattered. I include some very graphic photos only to make you aware of what just one time of not taking every precaution can result in. I am luckier than some of the guys in this forum in that I have no tendons or ligament damage. If you have a weak stomach do not look at the photos. I have run this enging and other large engings in this restraint but had always in the past chocked behind the front wheels so it couldn't roll back. I just plain forgot to do it. I also know not to fly unless someone else is present but I was at my home and alone at the time. My wife drove up just as I collapsed and rushed me to the ER where the best finger and hand Doc anywhere just happened to be on duty that morning. I am on the way to recovery and will complety recovere except for the numness of the fingers that the nerves were cut in, Its no fun.

[X(] Oh man Silver Flyer! I make it a point to look at any thread about prop bites, hoping by doing so, I'll scare myself into staying careful around these whirling knives. You're pics have got to be the worst I've seen myself. I truly hope you fully recover, and thank God your wife got there in time. Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Dang!!!!!![X(] Im sorry this happened. Do wish you the best and a full recovery. I am however very glad that I found this thread as I am still new to this hobby. { 2 Months New} Ive learned something very valuable here , that I will definitly try to remember from now on. Again I wish you well in your recovery.

Silver Flyer- I hope you recover ok! I too have had a prop bite, but a very small one compared to yours. I was bitten by an OS .25 (at idle) on the corner of my thumb. It severed about 1/2 inch of it almost all the way through, and through the nail. Stitches, blood, you know the rest. It was numb for about 3 years. This thread is, however, one of the reasons I fly gas only. Electrics starting any time scare me.

This is a tragic and unfortunate mistake that has happened to this gentleman. I know this man and he is one of the nicest R/C modelers there is as well as being a very tallented builder. Rest assured that the pictures that were submitted were indeed intended to help other people refrain from making a simular mistake. His interest is to promote and educate fellow modelers in this hobby so that we all may be a little safer. Nobody is deserving of an enjury such as this but it is extremely hard to bare to see it happen to such a nice guy as this man. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

John Rose

I saw a friend get his hand cut because the plane moved forward with a
rope restraint. I personally will never start a glow powered airplane
from the front again.

I designed and built one of these.

http://www.reganspace.com/Planes/index_plane.html
Click on the Smarter Starter link

I have made the plans available for free.

Please go build one of these ans save your fingers

Park 400 turned backwards so I reversed the throttle channel. Yeah. Guess what happens when the ESC is armed.

This thread is about sickening to look at! [:'(]

There should be a forum on "Safety" without posting those sickening pics!

rcdivot,
You are by all means free to start one, and I will certainly be happy to read it. Warnings that some users may find some of the images offensive have been used by a number of posters, myself included when I started this thread. If you are 'sickened' by the images you are also free to click out of it and move on to another thread. I believe a number of people will be safer because they took the time to read this thread and examined their own safety practices, or lack thereof. There are a number of real dangers associated with this hobby, and as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. I find it unfortunate that all you were able to take from the thread was offense.

A guy at the park a few days had a Mini Ultra Stick with a 480, it was on his car and somehow he hit full throttle, it jumped and got his coat. He was lucky because there were about 5 vertical rips where the prop had hit.

I didn't even start flying yet and I am already worried. I have started my engine up multiple times and can think of one instance where my father could have had a finger taken off. Thanks for posting all of the pictures and stories. They truly show the importance of safety and how dangerous this hobby can be even with the slightest lapse in judgement.

hobbyenthusiast,
Safety is something we practice every day, beit driving our vehicles, walking across the street and so forth. Normally we don't worry about it, we pay attention to things and do what we can to stay out of harms way. RC is a great hobby, but not near as fun if you're worrying about it. Practice 'dry runs' on starting your engines, think about the movements you use or want to use to keep safe, how you're positioned in relation to the engine, and internalize those movements or procedures. Most importantly, if you're new to the game, get some training/assistance from someone experienced!! I strongly encourage that.

In another life I was an Airborne Ranger. The Ranger part was pretty cool but the Airborne part always scared the beegeebers out of me. I went on to High Altitude Freefall and later passed the JumpMaster course, but jumping still scared me. (of course I'd never show it). For me, worrying is a part of fear. I used that fear of jumping as a safety mechanism. Since I had been trained to have a set of internalized procedures regarding rigging, inspecting and so forth, my fear kind of re-enforced the notion of executing those steps properly. I made hundreds of jumps and jumpmastered hundreds more, without incident. Accidents can and will happen. But the odds can be greatly minimized by thinking through what you're doing, and you'll be okay. RC is one of the funnest things you can do with your pants on, so don't worry! Think safety, get some training or assistance if you need it, fire that baby up and have some fun!!!

I found this thread just by chance and I think it should be the first main heading on every forum.To many people think these motors are just toys,and a lot of people new to the sport just have no idea of the power these small motors have.And the prop is just like a rotating knife,or you might look at it like a up-side down lawn mower.And to those who are offended by the not pretty to look at pictures,you are probbly an accident just waiting to happen.I am sure beyond any doubt this may help save someone from getting hurt.Also you might take note that a lot of these accidents were not from new beginners at this sport.There is a difference between fear and respect.The goal is to always learn from someone else's misstake.I fly fuel planes but I never thought about the electric models until I read some of the threads here.Gas planes you don't worry about them until you put the heater on the glow plug and start them up.I have not been involved with the electric planes.This has been a learning experience for me and I have been playing with airplanes for more than 40 years.Thanks to all of you who have shared there storys with us. BIGMIG

"There is a difference between fear and respect."

Good point. I don't have fear of my aircraft, but believe me, I certainly have a newfound respect for the power they can produce and the injuries they can inflict. Stay alert.. and you'll stay uninjured.

I hope you recover quickly. People should take note of this and realize this stuff happens faster than you can even fathom what is going on. Get well soon. I personally will take more care and not take restraints, specifically the strap I use, for granted.

Great thread!! These posts are certainly a reminder as what can happen when you don't pay attention. I was complacent and stupid and you can see the results below. I won't bore you with all of the details, but the picture below shows the prop after contact with my right hand. The prop is exactly as it looked after my incident. Thank GOD it was a wood prop! If it was a carbon fiber prop it would have completely taken off 3 fingers.[] I keep it on my trailer door as a reminder to myself and anyone who sees it. FYI - my fingers are back to 95% normal usage. I will never use a carbon fiber prop again and I'm really careful anytime I'm around an APC prop on smaller models.

Got my first big prop bite a week ago was starting my H9 150 P-47 with an fpe 2.4 it started at about 1/2 throttle and broke loose from the hold back got me in my right hand. thankfully I was wearing my leather glove and it just mashed the tip of my middle finger.

Those pics posted by Silver Flyer are sobering. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery, and I for one appreciate you and others posting these stories as lessons to newbies like myself.

About 10 years ago, we had a neighborhood kid who mowed our lawn, and he knocked on my front door one day, with his hand looking very much like Silver Flyer's, minus the severed pinky. He had tried to clear grass from the discharge chute while the mower was running. The analogy of these planes to a vertical lawnmower is 100% accurate!!!. Luckily, the kid in question made a full recovery, and his Marine dad gave him a lecture about lawnmower safety. I've mowed my own lawn since then.

Again, thanks for sharing your pain, and I guarantee that by doing so, you have saved someone else from making the same mistake.

Get well soon.