WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

After flying for around a year and a half I knew better than to do this,but I simply got too confident in my self. This is to anyone flying,and,or getting started in helis. Last night I was going out for a flight in my backyard right before sundown. I have done this like a million times,and my neglect caught up to me. I had plugged up my T-rex and had the throttle down. I then set the heli on the couch with the controller beside it while I was putting my shoes on,but as soon as I layed the radio down the idle up switch got hit which then I was trying to recieve the radio from beside the heli when I put my finger through the tail blade due to adrenline,and not thinking. I now have 11 stitches of knowledge,and have a lesson to tell all new comers. Be carefuls around the machines. I was the only thing at fault last night. Now I cant fly for atleast 2 weeks,and have hospital bills that there was no excuse for. Always double check your machine,and your remote,because one mistake is one too many. I came out lucky because it could have been a lot worse. I just hope that maybe my story will help somebody be safer with their helis.

Brandon

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

polkchop,

Sorry to hear about your incident. I have to agree with you, these things are not toys. Many of us guys sometimes forget that, and end up paying for it in the end. I hope that you get over this without any serious problems and are able to get back flying as soon as you are able.

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Thank you Helo. Yeah like I said you have towatch what you are doing. Also I know I had the knowledge to know not to do that,but I got over confident which is easy for even the most experienced pilots to do just please don't let this happen to anyone else because once again there is no excuse for a mistake like what I pulled off. Another thing would be to watch out,and make sure none of the switches can get bumped,but for now I will sit,and do some research on a new heli.

Brandon

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

If they're not toys just what are they? I know they are dangerous. By definition they are toys.

Spinning props, spinning blades, hot exhaust or batteries that catch on fire. These are the toys we chose to play with.

From Websters

toy Audio Help (toi) Pronunciation Key
n.
An object for children to play with. (Or in our case grown men)
Something of little importance; a trifle.
An amusement; a pastime: thought of the business as a toy.

I hope you heal fast and never get hurt like that again it sucks to do so.

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Hey bro,

Sorry that happended and I hope you heal fast.

But this is another reason why you should ALWAYS have your throttle hold switch ON PRIOR to plugging in your heli's. Also, why did you plug it in when still inside? You should NEVER plug it in until you have it sitting on the ground where you intend to take off from!

Again, not trying to bust on you, just giving some safety advice.

Good luck!
Skarn

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

I know what you are talking about. Thats what I was saying when I said I was over confident. The main reason I plug it in inside is my dogs always try to get around me when im trying to hook it up,and I dont want them to bump the controls,but oh well. You live,and you learn.(Appearently I do a lot more living than learning lol!) It is just a little obstacle I have to overcome,but this sport is worth it. Also it builds character! Ya it is strictly an outdoor heli now.

Brandon

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

I know what you mean. I started my Trex600n up one day and the throttle was at a high idle. I had ahold of the head and the blade holded and pinched my hand. Luckily I was able to grab the fuel line shut off and kill the engine as the radio had no effect. Seems I forgot to turn the reciever on. DOH! ;)

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

All it takes is a little thing to make a big problem. All I wanted to do was get in a 7 minutee flight but instead I got a 3 hour wait at the e.r. LOL!

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Did you say the Heli was on your couch? Why would you hook up the battery inside?[X(] You don’t connect the battery until your ready to fly. Also you should setup your throttle hold switch and use it when you don’t want the Heli to spin up. Sorry to read that you injured yourself but this whole incident stems from a complete lack of safety precautions and common sense. [:'(]

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

I will have you know that I did have the radio setup correctly,and the accident was caused by a simple switch getting bumped. I didnt post this thread to get bashed,I posted it to warn others in this hobby that may be unaware of the dangers (like me) from doing the same. I do realize it was my own fault,and I blame everything that happened on my own actions,nobody else. Also if you would read the above post I stated the reason I plugged the heli in inside the house was because I didnt want my dogs to possibly bump the radio while I was plugging it in. I normally have put my throttle hold switch on,but this time I had just happened to forget.

Brandon

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Sorry to hear about your accident. That has to hurt like heck. But.....

you shouldn't be powering up your heli with your dog around either. [link=http://helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=71982]My dog bit my TREX 600[/link]

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Yeah see I was trying to avoid something like that from happening to my dogs,and,or to me. If something happened to my animals,or another person due to my actions I would probably get out of the hobby. So I am doing everything in my power to make this as safe as possible.

Brandon

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

i have another possible soulition to your dog delema. The cannopy on my Hurrican 550 is a real pain to get on and off so I dont like to do it when I'm kneeling down before takeoff. I like to strap in booth batteries and put the canopy on before I carry it out to the flying area. My soloution was to put a female deans connector in line with the power cable and make a shorting plug outof a male deans connector. For your Heli you could create an extension cable and do the same thing. Thuis would allow you to hookup your battery and carry the Heli all over the place and not have to take a trip to the ER. once you get where your going you just plug in the shorting plug and your off.

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

yikes.... hope ya heal fast.

but here in canader we need not worry 'bout such things.... as we dont get a hospital bill for stitches, eh. ;-)

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Nope, you just pay for it if you used it or not. :D

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

I noticed that he said he plugs it in inside because the dogs would be bumping into it if he was outside?

That implies that the dogs are running around the helicopter while it is flying, taking off, and landing.

I've read others that had their dogs around while they were flying. Many of them thougth the dog was smart enough not to get near the heli... Dogs aren't smart enough! Many of those people had to take their dog to the vet for surgery to repair their faces. (Oh yead saw the post above)

Don't fly around animals!

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Yeah they only go around me when Im plugging in the heli because im kneeling down so they think I want them to come over to me. Also I am going to start practicing spot landing when I can get my hands on the heli again,because I have a table I am going to start landing on when I get doe flying so I dont have to land on the ground with the dirt,grass,and animals.

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Sounds like you need to spend some time teaching/reinforcing the STAY command, so when you say it, they do it no matter where you are or what else you are doing. It would also be a good idea to teach them a command that makes them go to a certain spot and stay there so you don't really have to take your attention off the heli to land. It can be whatever word and spot you choose as long as you are consistent with it. If you use different flying fields, then teach the dog to come to your side, sit, and stay. The heel command comes to mind. Most dogs are rather intelligent, but they are also curious, and they will think whatever you are doing is okay for them to. It will take some time and effort, but it will be worth it. Just my 2 pennies.

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

I've had far better results in getting my labs to obey the "Stay" command than any of my teenagers. The dogs train easier. :)

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

POLKCHOP: Been there, done that. Had finished flying and got careless, did not have switch in off position, had tx in left hand and picked up BH450SE by tail boom with right hand and apparently brushed the throttle. Heli spun up, ate my arm in four places. Does not take long to drop a heli which then thrashes itself to death. Trip to the emergency room. Learned a great lesson. Good luck and happy flying.

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

This why am switching to Nitros. Trim down, motor shuts off, blades can't hurt you. My Belt Cp has always spooked me when hooking it up, Throttle hold or not. A glitch, on an Electric, has full power, NOW and watch out! I never liked the term "toys" when refering to any motorized machine that flies electric or Nitro. I love flying my planes and helos, and always make sure people know to stay behind me when I am flying. Bystanders and pets just don't know how to act around them. all my birds, gets a full pre and post flight check just like the real thing. I don't mind cleaning my Nitro because it gives me the chance to look over the whole helo after flying. I have found loose screws, missing screws, loose rod or even a link that was reaching the end of it's service life. These are "aircraft" and should be treated as such. Some manufacturers recommend certain inspection intervals to tear down and inspect critical items but too many times many of us(including me) fail to do and fly till something breaks. To a wife it is a toy, but for those of us that know what these aircraft truly are, remember to treat them with respect and always er on the side of caution when flying in parks and other places where bystanders might be. I have gotten the dirtiest looks from people when I was flying and they wanted to walk out in front of me to get closer because it looked so cool and I had to literally shout for them to stay behind me or they coul dbe hurt. Then when I landed I gave them a class on physics and rotating blades at close to 2000 RPMs. Keep safe all and enjoy this wonderful hobby.[8D]

RE: WARNING HELIS ARE NOT TOYS!
 

Not necessarily true. With my TREX stock Align ESC, I always have soft start programmed so that even if one were to accidentally flip off TH, the blades will SLOWLY spool up giving you plenty time to either get away from it or hit TH.

Nitro's aren't any safer IMO. Ever heard of a hot start with a nitro? No such thing as soft start/spool up with a nitro.

Skarn