Backintothesky 0 #26 September 6, 2013 Poor guy. A fatality last month as well. As cynical as it sounds, it's statistics like this that help us put the dangers of our sport into perspective for whuffos. "you can get killed skydiving." yep but you can also get killed flying toy copters :-/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #27 September 6, 2013 BackintotheskyA fatality last month as well. As cynical as it sounds, it's statistics like this that help us put the dangers of our sport into perspective for whuffos. "you can get killed skydiving." yep but you can also get killed flying toy copters :-/ You can get killed by just about anything. The thing that matters are the odds. The odds are you'll be killed skydiving before killed by an RC helicopter so your point isn't exactly valid with respect to explaining how "safe" the sport is.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybill 22 #28 September 6, 2013 Hi Lucky, Yup, Grown men playing with toy airplanes!!! That's pretty rad for a chopper!! 'Been flyin' model aircraft since I was a kid. Even those little ol' Cox .049 engines with a 5" prop can crank up 15,000rpm easy!! Apply one of those to some exposed flesh and instant hamburger!! That's why I use a "Chicken stick" (a 10" piece of wooden broom handle) to flip start my engines instead of my fingers! 'Still have all my fingers. Sorry to hear about that dude. Still when it comes to model aircraft flyin', "There isn't a Model Plane Crash I've been involved in that I havn't walked away from!!"SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Backintothesky 0 #29 September 6, 2013 Yep, you are absolutely right. It's not a logical point, but typically whuffos aren't thinking logically when they tell you that you are definately going to get killed skydiving and how crazy you are to be jumping out of planes. A little reminder that they expose themselves to risk of death everyday and that lots of sports they think are "safe" can kill as well is a good thing for cooling down their rather aggressive assertions. Of course it is not the same thing (though I would like to see the number of fatalities per year against number of participants for RC flying), but a little statistic like that can help them see that their beliefs about what is dangerous and safe might be wrong/misguided and then you can have a serious conversation about the real dangers of skydiving (which are never as high as they think they are - I met someone who thought the fatality rate for skydiving was 1 in 10 jumps!) quade***A fatality last month as well. As cynical as it sounds, it's statistics like this that help us put the dangers of our sport into perspective for whuffos. "you can get killed skydiving." yep but you can also get killed flying toy copters :-/ You can get killed by just about anything. The thing that matters are the odds. The odds are you'll be killed skydiving before killed by an RC helicopter so your point isn't exactly valid with respect to explaining how "safe" the sport is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #30 September 6, 2013 kawisixer01lol interesting how the article refers to them as "toys". They are far from "toys". They are exactly toys. And I have several of those toys."No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #31 September 6, 2013 Ron ***lol interesting how the article refers to them as "toys". They are far from "toys". They are exactly toys. And I have several of those toys. and you didnt get killed yet!? i thought it was like one fatality in every 10 toy-choppers.. “Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #32 September 6, 2013 virgin-burner ******lol interesting how the article refers to them as "toys". They are far from "toys". They are exactly toys. And I have several of those toys. and you didnt get killed yet!? i thought it was like one fatality in every 10 toy-choppers.. It has come after me a few times.... But I fought it off. Worse, I have an entire safe full of firearms and when I open the safe they all look at me with evil eyes. I have also been known to run with scissors. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #33 September 6, 2013 It has begun; The drones are turning on us. "There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #34 September 6, 2013 ryoder Cocheese flies RC helicopters, and we haven't seen a post from him for a long time. He's posting on Facebook like a champ! Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #35 September 6, 2013 ryoder It has begun; The drones are turning on us. My brother has a couple of these things. He owns a video surveillance company. I asked if he can put some internet linked cameras on one of his RC helos and hover over my neighbors across the street so I can see WTF is in their backyard since they seem to love spending every waking moment hanging on their front lawn and walking their dogs there too. It's possible to do but he wouldn't do it for me. Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #36 September 6, 2013 ryoder*** It's my job to know weird shit. OK, here is some weird shit I just discovered this evening. What do these three have in common, (w/o googling): - Jim Bakker - Lyndon Larouche - Roger Nelson I'm reading Sugar Alpha as well. I would've know this one!! Prison!!Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #37 September 6, 2013 JohnMitchell Those helos sure look dangerous, like flying a table saw blade around for fun. And some of those jet RC planes weigh, what, 20+ pounds and go hundreds of miles an hour. That would sure put a dent in ya. To tell you the truth these things scare the hell out of me. A couple of the guys at the DZ have them and they're cool and fun to watch but at the same time I've seen them crash and it's always been in the back of my mind that I hope no one gets hurt. OUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAlways be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aeio540 0 #38 September 6, 2013 I think this is horrific but it's pretty rare. I mean its a risk I guess with any piece of RC but it's pretty safe. We jump out of airplanes. I fly them pretty regularly but I fly them away from people and property. I have 5 helis (4 pictured). Just with all things, you just need to be careful. http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff150/aeio540/Helis.png Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,101 #39 September 7, 2013 ryoder *** It's my job to know weird shit. OK, here is some weird shit I just discovered this evening. What do these three have in common, (w/o googling): - Jim Bakker - Lyndon Larouche - Roger Nelson I know!... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,101 #40 September 7, 2013 Some of the larger R/C helis have more powerful engines than your sit-on lawnmower. Even the small electric ones may have motors putting out a kW (which is more than a HP). Most of the accidents are "pilot error". However, remember that the R/C systems are just consumer grade electronics, not TSO'd as used in full size aircraft systems.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #41 September 7, 2013 anyone watched the video of him flying? seemed he had his shit down pretty much; possible failure and loss of control?“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 186 #42 September 7, 2013 Or more like a "Hold my Mountain Dew and watch this". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aeio540 0 #43 September 9, 2013 virgin-burneranyone watched the video of him flying? seemed he had his shit down pretty much; possible failure and loss of control? I've wondered about that. I don't know what FBL system. I've never used them but I have talked to a few guys who stopped using certain brands because of unexplained failure and resetting during flight. One guy I talked to had a Flybarless system reset during hovering and trashed his Trex 550E. Maiden flight. A few guys bought gyros on eBay a while back and turned out they were near identical knock offs but the electronics and soldering jobs were not up to snuff and after a few flights failed. He seemed to be using name brand stuff so it may not have been that. If he had lost the signal I would think it would have gone into fail safe mode and rotors gone to neutral setting and kill the throttle. I have used knock off stuff that if there was any signal loss, blades would go to full pitch and throttle to 100%. I through those receivers away. I followed all the instructions and still had unexplained issues. Did he have dumb thumbs, linkage failure, or loss of signal, we may never know. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theonlyski 8 #44 September 9, 2013 I always told myself if I ever get into the RC helicopter/quad that I would make it an Arduino controlled one. The controller would feed commands to it and it would in turn relay the commands to the servos. If nothing more than for cheap insurance against me doing something dumb."I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890 I'm an asshole, and I approve this message Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #45 September 9, 2013 Quoteanyone watched the video of him flying? seemed he had his shit down pretty much; possible failure and loss of control? Failure and/or loss of control is the obvious. The other thing that is obvious, and I blame the 'Youtube factor' for this one is that the guy was clearly standing too close. Check out the youtube vids of any of the hotshot RC helo guys and it's not uncommon for them to be standing right next to their bird as they do the stunts. It might look cool, but it's just dumb. Those radios have impressive range, and there's nothing to stop these guys from standing back 50 ft and flying from there. Far enough away that you could correct a loss of control, or if you couldn't, the chances are that the helo would hit the ground before it covered the 50ft to 'get' the pilot. It's like anything. You can ride a motorcycle at 100mph all day long on a deserted road, and ride wheelies and be fine. When you do it in traffic, wearing nothing but jeans and a T-shirt, your chances for survival go waaay down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
virgin-burner 1 #46 September 10, 2013 seems youtube's killing A LOT of people lately; yesterday was another proxy-flight gone wrong..“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.” -Hunter S. Thompson "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try." -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
