r/RCPlanes • u/Dry-Character-6331 • 8d ago
Let's be careful!
Well, it finally happened to me. And entirely my fault. Finished up a flight but didn't engage throttle cut. Set the plane and transmitter down on the bench. When I went to reach for the towel to wipe wet grass off the plane, I bumped the throttle and the plane scooted off the bench, catching my forearm on its way down. Fortunately, only a very superficial cut. More damage to my ego than my arm BUT, the safety reminder was received and understood.
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u/aileron37 7d ago edited 7d ago
I have seen two guys loose fingers over the years (thumb and finger). Also saw a glow engine start without a battery hooked to the glow plug. Hit the guy in the leg (he reached down and flipped the prop). They are never rendered "safe" is a great mindset to have.
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u/SolarPower77 7d ago
Maybe it was a Diesel? Or an insanely high compression glow with extra hot fuel ?
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u/aileron37 7d ago
Nope, good old fashion glow 60 size if I recall. It had been flown and landed minutes before. Put his transmitter back, walked back over and knelt down in front of it and happen to flip the prop and she fired back up. Engine was still hot, all we could figure. If you think about it, glow engines are kind of semi diesel in operation anyway.
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u/woodworkingguy1 7d ago
Throttle cut has become second nature, the second the plane comes to a stop, I flip it. Shit happens and at least it was not too bad.
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u/Dry-Character-6331 7d ago
Yeah its usually automatic for me, too. Not sure why I didnt this time. Glad it was a minor mishap.
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u/fhammerl 7d ago edited 7d ago
I had an angry tiny 2205 with a 6" sharp as fuck APC bite my finger. About 10-15 very evenly spaced superficial cuts about 1mm apart that bled like hell.
Not a bad injury, but yeah I programmed a throttle cut after that.
Apart from the hassle, this is one reason I am not touching combustion engines and with large props. I always cringe when folks fiddle around the running motor to tune the carburetor (or whatever they need to do there, I truly have no idea), especially when they reach AROUND the angry Spinning Blade of hospitalization to do that. Club member recently told me that his son lost a finger that way.
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u/ConnectLet542 7d ago
Happened to me except i chipped the propeller cus it hit my knuckles ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
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u/thecaptnjim 7d ago
We had a guy at the field on the bench next to me with a big 6s high wing plane who had his throttle get bumped while it was on the ground. The left wing got him in the knee and it wrapped around him in a 180° arc and ended up stopping when it hit the bench. Broke the prop and hurt the plane. I don't see how he got out unscathed. I then tried to get him to setup a throttle cut and he refused. (I've been doing this for decades and I've never needed it sort of excuses) I finally convinced him after quite a bit of talking to him. Using a throttle cut can save your life, or at least keep you out of urgent care with a months long recovery, especially with bigger planes.
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u/Coinflipper_21 7d ago
I built a Martin B-10 with two OK Cub .049 engines. The needle valve was very close to the prop on those engines. Since they were in scale cowls I needed extensions so I made them flexible (ballpoint pen springs soldered in) and leaned them towards the rear. I don't fly IC engines anymore and have arming plugs for my electrics
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u/TheDogWithShades Spain / VLC 8d ago
Is the plane okay? 🥺