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PSA - Don't Be Stupid Like Me - Remove Props When Working Around Them

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  • PSA - Don't Be Stupid Like Me - Remove Props When Working Around Them

    I have been in the hobby 25 years and I always respected the opportunity for real physical damage. Last night I got careless and made a rookie mistake. I was upgrading the landing gear on my new FL P-38 and I had it powered up because I was having issues with the front gear. I had my transmitter under the wing and I was reaching to switch the gear up and down. This wouldn't normally be an issue but like a dip sh*t, I didn't remove the propellers. After several gear cycles, I bumped the throttle and the props chewed me up and got me a visit to the ER for stitches.

    I know better. I didn't make a conscience decision to cut corners. I made no decision which was stupid and could have had worse results.


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  • #2
    Man Sooner that is nasty looking! We are all guilty of the same thing I know I am, complacency and Murphy's Law will get even the experienced flyer probley even more so. Hope your doing all right and can get back to flying soon. Best of luck.;)

    Roy B.

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    • #3
      My goodness bro! Making that mistake with a twin is especially brutal and unforgiving. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and healing. You poignantly remind us all of the need to be extremely diligent when it comes to safety.

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      • #4
        I feel your pain Sooner, both physical and mental. The only good to come out of these preventable accidents is to teach others the importance of checks, double checks, and maintaining clear focus and concentration. My accident was from my 1400 Hellcat with 6s and 17" prop.accidentally bumping the throttle to near wot. The result was severing my artery, muscle, and nerves. After 31/2 hrs of surgery I was lucky to restore full use of my arm and hand although my arm is numb from elbow to hand,that and being reminded every day of the ramifications of not treating this hobby with the upmost respect. I was a master carpenter for 30+ yrs working with saws on a daily basis with nearly a scratch during that time, and 4 yrs in this hobby almost killed me, go figure

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        • #5
          Thorttle lock and pants and sweatshirts is how I roll. This sucks hope they gave yah some good meds!
          AMA 1102566

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          • #6
            Sorry to see this happen. Hopefully there was no nerve or tendon damage. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

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            • #7
              Heal up soon, I too, am sorry to see this happened. I know how fast these propeller spin, plus they are extremely sharp. I'm glad it wasn't worse and you will heal from this. So, rule number one. No propellers On the model when making table top adjustments. Rule #2 Please read rule number 1. Cheers, Matt

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              • #8
                I'm sorry to see this happen. I hope it heals quickly for you and you will soon be pain-free. Although it's bad enough it could have been a lot worse. Some excellent advice by Matt above.

                While considering the dangers of rotating props and rotors, one thing you may not have considered are EDF Jets. They have an internal fan which is impossible to remove easily. However please bear in mind when you run an EDF that things can get sucked into the duct and into the fan, and also the outlet at the back will clear anything behind the model as well. This includes the wife's best china off a close shelf.

                Martin.

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                • #9
                  The pain of the accident is going away but the embarrassment of the explanation remains. Many people think these things are toys.

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                  • #10

                    Hope you are back to normal soon. It is very easy to be complacent, especially after being in the hobby a while. We all know what can happen, but a reminder once in a while is a good thing. Sorry you were the reminder.

                    Jim

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                    • #11
                      Speedy recovery brother, you are not alone in this mistake we have all done this and gotten lucky. But sooner or later luck runs out. Thanks for posting it and reminding us all to THINK!

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                      • #12
                        Sorry to see that. I wish you a speedy recovery, and that you'll be back in the air soon. Thanks for sharing this with all of us. It takes some guts to do that. But, it is certainly a good reminder to us all to always perform our safety checks.

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                        • #13
                          Ouch! Sorry to see that but I'm glad it wasn't any worse for you. Thanks for the thread, it's a good reminder of how dangerous these props can be when we make mistakes. We've all done it to varrying degrees through the years. Luckily the worst I have had is a chewed up knuckle that took several weeks to heal. My buddy wasn't as lucky. Years ago we were at our field and while I was retrieving my plane, I turn around and see my buddy on his knees making an adjustment when he went to get up his knee hit the throttle on his radio and the prop chewed into his leg like a hungry shark. I had to rush him to the ER, bleeding everywhere.

                          I post this photo not to be gross but to serve as a strong cautionary tale about how serious we need to take these props under power and to do everything we can at all times to use best safety practices such as throttle lock and other measures. Thanks for the reminder!

                          WARNING - GRAPHIC





























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                          My YouTube RC videos:
                          https://www.youtube.com/@toddbreda

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                          • #14
                            Aros, thanks for the WARNING and the space before the picture. Sometimes, we need a good jolt like that to wake us up about the extreme dangers of this hobby. I recounted a story of a flying buddy who chopped off 3 finger tips last year with his CZ Cub. I have not seen him at the field for over a year.

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                            • #15
                              My father was flying RC before I was born, so I grew up with it. When I was a boy, no more than seven or eight, my father made a landing, and bumped the prop on the field. The plane rolled out to about the end of the runway. I, being the plane chaser, ran out to grab it. I picked it up and the engine hit the inside of my upper arm. I have that scar to this day. That was my first wake up call that care must be taken around these "toys" that we love so much. Accidents happen, but they can be prevented with the proper amount of preparation and focus on the task at hand. We all know that we should have a throttle cut,and we should take the prop off whenever we are setting up or working on a model, but as humans, we get careless, impatient, and complacent.

                              I hope that you heal rapidly, and are able to get back into the air. We can all learn from your mistake, and the photos are a blatant reminder that just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean it won't or can't. Best wishes.

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                              • #16
                                This, unfortunately is a common occurrence in our hobby. Those 'Attilla the Huns' hanging on the front end of most of our planes really don't care about our health and welfare. If you don't have a kill switch on your radio, please take the few minutes required to route one to an unused switch. After Lon's incident, I made sure mine had one as well as the elastic band running along the back of the radio from the handle to the stick. We all get careless from time to time, myself included. But it's safety safety safety !! I put my radio, with the locks engaged a way over from me, so even with the props on, it's not going to activate and no matter what safety is built in at that point, I don't get in front of the Grim Reapers, funny how human nature tells us we must stand in front of the plane while testing retracts, but it does, I know!!
                                With someone else in the room, step away from the plane if its a distraction.
                                I've come so close that I've often looked around to see who was sitting on my shoulder.
                                As they used to say post briefing on Hill Street Blues, "Let's be careful out there !"

                                Grossman56
                                Team Gross!

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                                • #17
                                  Oh I wish I had pics for this post! Been there just a few months ago.. My dad & I replaced the motor shaft on his CZ cub due to vibration after a hard crash. After all the repairs and installing the shaft, naturally we "had" to test it for vibration. Well, this is the unique case where the prop IS on during bench work! All was going well until i knocked the transmitter on the floor & of course it immediately went straight to full throttle! Plane leaped off the table towards dad's lap! I reached the fuselage just as the prop started eating dads shorts. I jerked it back with such force I damaged the top of the fuselage, unplugging the battery in the process. Fortunately I didn't have the battery fully installed so it came loose. I had 3 fingers cut reaching for the plane & dad had a 5" gash/cotterized trench in his right thigh. No stitches required thank GOD! Lesson learned. Thankful the stock prop was on instead of the apc prop we usually use, would've cut us to ribbons. Dads house looked like a crime scene! Prop slung blood all over the kitchen & I left a trail all the way to the bathroom!
                                  Last edited by CZ Flyer; Jun 7, 2017, 09:37 AM. Reason: more info

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                                  • #18
                                    Talking about embarrassment.

                                    I had 12 stitches from a garbage can, those w the big flip back lid. Finished doing the lawn, safety glasses, gloves, steel toe boots, jeans, no alcohol check.

                                    S
                                    The day before it had rained so the grass was still damp as it was a little high and did not dry completely when cutting it. Ready to pick up yard debris etc, so had to move that big garbage can, which I left w the lid open. When rolling it out it got jammed in a section of the patio and kicked it w my left leg, but I kicked the lid which had a lip on it. The edge of my rubber boot got stuck w the lid lip and instead of retracting the foot back I stepped down bringing the lid w me, which pulled the trash can toward me. As soon as the lid touched the semi wet grass I slipped and fell forward literally faling inside the trash can.

                                    Had a severe neck injury because I hit the edge of the can, luckily it was not metal but strong plastic or it would have cut my head off. Hit the inner wall breaking one of my front tooth and 12 stitches in the upper lip.

                                    At the ER like 5 doctors came to see me and they all asked me the same thing, how it happened....

                                    The deal is, check out many of those trash cans, most say, do not move w lid open. And some even say dont kick it to push it forward.

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                                    • #19

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                                      • #20
                                        I hate to see this happen. This is a real danger anytime you are working on an electric airplane using a BEC to power the radio. It probably seems obvious in retrospect but if you are working on your control surfaces, landing gear, etc and don't need the flight motor to be powered, just unplug the lead from the BEC to the receiver (throttle channel) and plug a RX battery pack into the receiver instead. This disables the flight motor and allows you access to operate everything else on the airplane. This procedure will work on any airplane or EDF Jet. Removing the prop also works but as has been stated above, some airplanes and most all EDF jets don't support easy prop or fan removal.

                                        Blue Skies!

                                        Rick Pellicciotti
                                        Avanti Jet by TriStar models is a web site devoted to Sebart RC Avanti jets.

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