THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Im thinking of SUEING ART-TECH AND ALSO NITROPLANES.COM....why you might ask....just purchased from nitroplanes.com a falcon 3d 400, brand new fresh out of box. so i take it out of the box i notice right off on the contoller the switch for the 3d mode is broken off. hmmm so i loaded soft ware that came with this into my computer,hmmm throttle control didnt work,so i figured maybe software issue.so i set up heli ready to fly. turn controller on. heli starts up full throttle screams past my daughters face (10yrs old) .crashes into wall and heads back at my daughter. so i grab the heli in mid air quick with my hand so it dont hit my daughter. well when it hit the wall it broke the main blades and when i grabbed it in the air one of the main blades went threw my hand..hmmm 13 stitches and a trashed heli. im real happy.....not

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Ummm bro,

Not trying to bust on you too much here but you stated "so i take it out of the box i notice right off on the contoller the switch for the 3d mode is broken off."

1) Why on Earth would you even think about firing up the heli knowing that???
2) Why would you even consider starting it up with your daughter that close???
3) It sounds like you did this inside??? Again a big time no no....a 400 size heli has headspeeds up to and over 3000rpm!

No offense, but it's YOU that made the mistakes, NOT the vendor! What you did was completely unsafe! It sounds like maybe the Flight Mode switch broke off during shipping. What you should have done is immediately called them and returned it for replacement! Secondly, do NOT fly that heli inside and never fly it anywhere near where it can hit people...especially kids!

Sorry about your injury, but let that be a huge lesson learned about these RC heli's!

Skarn

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

I agree with Skarn. When I first bought a Honeybee c/p I also flew it indoors with switch selected to idle up when i turned it on. Big mistake. Also ended up with a cut hand and trashed heli. The heli should have a warning message to tell you in idle up before plugging in reciever but it is not a high grade unit. The cost of being impatient and a learning experience.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

well first im not new to rc, ive had problems with new equipment before.. ive fixed them all on my own without returning anything, second i was outside the wall was side of my house and daughter was almost behind me to the right when this thing took off.......i have to stop saying things on here because my lawyer said wait and see what (np) does.....im not a wussy,not crying about a few stitches, i mean if nitropl will be greatful enough to send parts to fix this problem without me haveing to pay for them then i will forget it ever happened. but i know they will say or think someone new to this messed up and needs to learn. but thats so far from the truth ...so i will wait and see...thanks

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Not to look askance at your injury and your daughter's near miss, but Skarn is pretty much right on with his response. Safety is your responsibility, and powering up a heli with a known defect, inside, near a child is a big no no. If you are not an experienced flier, that could explain some of this. Take a little time and talk to local R/C heli pilots about safety procedurs, get yourself a simulator, and have another stab at it once you heal up.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

1st thing i checked b4 i even turned the controller on was the throttle....like i said not new to rc....

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

ok let me say this so who ever responds knows i have over 20 years with rc,planes and heli<s..i have 15 planes and this was my 4th heli. so stop replying how you think im new to this. or how you think. its plain as day the controller messed up or was messed up.....sorry but i cant respond to much more because i have to wait and see whats going to happen..but thanks for your replies

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

i sent a email to nitrostaff1 . told him what happened,,,,will now see where this goes....i have to give him the chance to respond.(lawyer says i should). but as everyone knows it will be the same story as what replies i got,,,,,,you should have done this or you should have done that...blah blah blah....facts are facts.....well thanks for all replies....

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Well then Mister 20 years flying... Sounds like you got a little complacent then.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

You do realise that if the 3D switch was broken and in the 3D position the throttle is 100% when the stick is at the bottom? This is why you need to think about what you are doing and take precautions needed. Even if there was no obvious damage you need to take precautions. ALWAYS!!!!

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Wow, you can actually sue in America for your own stupidity.
Love to see this one on Judge Judy :D

One question remains, do you make a habit of operating potentially faulty equipment?
It sure as hell looks like it, probably be another 20 years before you learn anything.

PS. Glad your daughter wasn't seriously injured.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Personally, it sounds to me like the pending lawsuit here would be parental neglect, the fact that you powered up a helicopter when you knew the idle up switch was broken, was ignorant enough, but to do it near your ten year old daughter was even more idiotic, and then to have the nerve to try and put the blame on someone else and to even attempt legal recourse, Thats just absurd. take responsibilty for your own mistake, and learn from it dont try to use it to make a profit off of a company that isnt at fault. Your daughters personal safety was at risk, and you say you'll drop it for free parts? If you really thought you had any ground to stand on I would think that your daughters health and maybe even her life is worth a bit more than some free parts. Think about it.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

This guy obviously thinks he did nothing wrong. This is a mind set... it's ALWAYS someone else fault. This is why the US has such an overloaded legal system.

If I had received a broken out of the box item then I would have taken a picture of it IMMEDIATELY, then started an RMA process. YOU CAN'T PROVE that the item was broken on arrival IF YOU USE IT. Is this difficult to understand? You decided to fly something that had an obvious fault. Even if no one had gotten hurt, and I won't comment on the supidity of having your child there, you STILL WOULD NOT HAVE A CASE.

If you buy something, open it up, then find out it's broken you should return it immediately. You don't use it..... doesn't matter if it's a rc heli, power tool, blender, tv... etc.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

LOL, I'm sorry bro, but you just showed just how little RC HELI experience you have!

How did you check the throttle with the idle up switch broken???? It's obvious that it was in idle up when you turned it on....as evan points out if you had throttle stick all the way low/down, that's 100% throttle!

This is YOUR mistake plain and simple and I hope you don't waste any of your money and time with a frivolous law suit! (Or NitroPlanes for that matter).

Skarn

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

I hate to say it but if he had the right lawyer he'd probably win or get a out of court settlement. Unless the company realized he started it in 3D or something they'ed probably have a hard time proving it wasn't a defect... Unfortunatly there are people that get awarded for stupidity in this country.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

I thought I would charm in here because I am 6 months away from being an attorney. Due to any possible ethical issues, I will not provide any legal advice (I am sure that you don't need it anyway because you have an attorney). On a personal level you are a dumb ass. You took a dangerous product, knowing that it was not in working order, and proceeded to use it. Now you want money for injury? While I will not even directly comment on your chances of success, I will point out that most jurisdictions reach conclusions that agree with common sense (take what you will from that).


However, if a company decides to settle, then that decision in no way reflects the legal system but only reflects on that companies decision.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Sounds like after 15 planes and 4 helicopters you still may have lessons too learn.

I see this at our club field regularly - one can have 100 planes and 40 heli's and still do dumb things. The experience they have still does not give them the right to blame others for their momentary lack of intelligence.

We have all done dumb things in our lives, fortunately, most go on to take responsability for their dumb actions without trying to sue someone.

I hate to say it, but I hope this is not another case of "more money then brains".

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

13 years of being a firefighter, I would never place complacency over safety, but thank you for keeping people like me employed!

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Hey CJD. It's spelled ya'll. Trust me, I'm from a large family of rednecks, rebels, and hold over hippies, from deepinahearta west TN.:D

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

I have two problems with this.

First, most speed controllers won't arm unless the throttle is full down.

Second, the ' is a substitute for ou just like in you're its a substitute for the space and a

So y'all is correct :)

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

sorry dude, i don't think you have a leg to stand on. with this thread alone, you would lose. just chalk it up to a lesson learned and be happy no one was really hurt bad.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Heavy on RC gear & light on common sense.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Holy Smoke! Me thinks a good preflight checklist is in order here. (One is attached for you.) A review of the AMA safety code is also warranted, and is also attached.

I'm with Barracuda here, that copter should not have armed. I'll bet the switch was tampered with so the esc would arm, and then the switch made contact and off it went. I'm glad your daughter was not harmed, I too have an only daughter and in no way would I put her in harms way like that, especially with an unproven model.

I'm also glad your neighbors were not harmed, nor their property damaged, as I'd bet you would be the one sued. I'm also glad you live many miles away from my location.

Speaking of your location, it's interesting to note that your town is SE of Surprise NY, West of Climax NY, and East of Result NY, not to mention South of Medway NY. (?)

DrS

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

Apparantly, you figured wrong.

RE: THINKING OF Sueing Art-tech,nitropl.
 

All I have to say is that any hobby manufacturer / hobby shop owner that is serious about their business should read the online forums to keep abreast of upcoming trends in the hobby.

If I was the defendant in this case, I would use this tread to get me off the hook. Anybody "thinking" about suing somebody else, should keep it to themselves and not publicize it like done here. You already have a base line of people in the hobby and the opinions of some more experienced modelers that could be used to tilt the decision to one way or the other.

I do agree with BarracudaHockey. The ESC should not have armed if the throttle signal was other than 0. If the ESC did arm, then you MIGHT have a point. Otherwise the rest of the safety oversights are all on the owner.

Rafael