SAFETY VIDEO

I've got a simpler and cheaper solution for you:

Tell him and any other new pilots to be more responsible for their own actions and pay more attention to what they is doing. Maybe they'll take that sort of lesson on into the rest of their life and it'll help limit the rediculously litigous society that the west is becoming.

Chris

Every prop comes with instructions like these from Master Airscrew

If you're going anywhere near a propellor when it's rotating, approach from the rear so that any contact is a slap-away rather than being pulled into the meat-grinder.

Let me tell you from experience, he's now got all the education he needs. Don't ask me how I know! :)

Tell the dufus that if he's looking to play the "blame game" to look in the mirror. You DO NOT need a "SAFETY RULE" to know that a prop spinning at 10k rpm will cut living crap out of your fingers. Maybe he should take up a safer hobby like basket weaving.

TomC

The "real basics" ? Keep your friggin fingers out of the spinning thing on the front of the engine It can take fingers completely off. 'Always'.......stay behind the engine after starting and do all tuning from behind that spinning thing.

How hard is that to remember ?

I don't think a video will help if you can't remember that.

If you think I'm being a "smart ass: , you're right.

Maybe you'll remember me.

Ken

| this request has come up after a flyer has read all of the safety | rules and passed his gold wings test then reached under a spinning | prop from the front to disconnect the glow clip on a inverted engine | and surprise he cut several fingers , then claims I cannot remember | reading about that in the safety rules.

The problems with including every possible source of danger in your safety rules are that 1) it would be so long that nobody would read it, and yet 2) the list still wouldn't include everything. Some common sense is required.

The props do usually come with warnings.

In any event, if the person doesn't realize not to put meat into the prop arc, some other things you might want to remind him of (and this is not an exhaustive list!) include :

-- Wearing a tie while tuning your engine is a bad idea. It could get pulled into the prop and bring your face with it.

-- The engine is hot after/during use. Do not touch.

-- Lock-tight, while apparantly tasty, is not for eating.

-- Glow fuel is poisonous. Do not drink.

-- Glow fuel burns. Don't pour it on your skin and try to light it. Also smoking, a bad idea on it's own, becomes a worse idea when fueling your plane.

-- Don't stick your fingers into the glow-ignitor. While 1.5 volts won't shock you, the mechanism for holding it on the glow plug could pinch you.

-- Your tools are often sharp. Do not poke them in your eye, and try to avoid poking them in the rest of your body as well whenever possible.

-- Your plane can hurt people if crashed into them. Try to avoid this.

(Yes, the AMA safety rules say not to fly _over_ people, but I don't think they explicitly tell you not to crash into people.)

You get the idea.

| So now we are looking for a safety videos that we can show all new pilots as | well as the written safety sheets.

If you're really serious about this request, you might find something aimed at a wood/metalworking shop -- the dangers would be similar, (especially for somebody building), and the ones I've seen tend to emphasize that you need to think rather than listing more than a few specific dangers.

How the hell would you know if loctite is tasty or not? Possibly the same way that I know that Powermaster 15% has a sweet taste?

-- If you've got long hair... TIE IT UP in a ponytail

-- Don't wear jewelry (yeh that also concerns men!)

-- While the engine is running: Keep on holding the plane as if it were running on full throttle. Because according to murphy, the moment you let go it WILL go to full throttle (either because you bump the stick, something gets lose and the engine goes haywire, or some doofus forgot to check the frequency board and turns on his or her TX on your freq... or any other of a gazillion reasons).

-- Don't leave your fuel sitting in direct sunlight

-- There's probably a gazillion other possible "don't-do-'cause-it's-stupid" things... basically, use brain first and then act, no?

;)

Jenni

Compile some gruesome pictures of accidents. There's plenty of these out there... that ought to get more attention. Or just tell them that if they manage to goof up they'll be nominated for the "most stupid pilot on the local field" award. ;)

Besides as others already said, you cannot put every possibility in the safety rules. That's why people have brains and can think for themselves.

Jenni

"Jennifer Smith" wrote

Don't put your transmitter on a neck strap, with the antenna out, and then lean over to start your engine. One thing that can result, is your throttle can get bumped to full throttle. Another is, the prop can chop off your antenna. DAMHIKT !!!

Very well said Doug , you "silver tongued devil". :-)

Ken

I think the biggest danger period is a few months after starting to fly - when you're a beginner, your instructor and peers will give you plenty of warnings about the dangers and advise on proper procedures, and also beginners tend to be naturally fearful of the noisy engine and spinning prop. However, after a while they get more comfortable and become complacent, and that's when they'll do something silly, like reaching around a spinning prop, letting their neck strap dangle into the prop, positioning/handling their radio such that they bump the throttle, or switching off their radio while the plane's RX is still on and the engine is running.

Given more time, experienced pilots tend to acquire inherently safe behaviours, and are unlikely to do something foolish, but are still susceptible to things like failing to restrain a plane properly, or taking off with the antenna down.

I think safety training has to include both the strict, specific rules and procedures you need to learn and habitualise, ie. don't taxi into the pits, avoid standing in front of a spinning prop (and fellow pilots have a role in reminding their colleagues when they've forgotten), as well as instilling a general common sense in pilots that allows them to analyse any situation and anticipate risks.

Any hobby requires a degree of research into the basics. Thats why its so important to seek out a club or a mentor in your area that can go over safety rules and introduce you to the AMA and further research the website for additional information. Yes most of the rules are common sense. There are good methods to where one should be in regards to any prop and being aware of that nasty spinning thing that becomes a blur. Those who do not do the research and just jump into the RC hobby will learn the misfortunes of how expensive this hobby can be. There have been many Darwin Awards Given away for any hobby. Do a google search on Darwin Awards and you will see so many stupid things that any normal person would say, " No wonder there is a Darwin Theory. Doc Ferguson

~chuckle~ ok, that one is new to me :) But bumping the throttle... ooooh yes, been there... or flipping the wrong switch by accident... OOOH YES!

Jenni

I pulled the Tx on a neck strap and bumping up the throttle stick trick. Ruined a brand new pair of sneakers. Those 11x4 APC props on a little OS .32 can do a lot of damage in just a few rotations. Fortunately, other than the sneaker, the only damage was to my pride. Oh, and the engine was still running when it was all over.

Ed Cregger

"Ed Cregger" wrote

So was my little OS .15, after it chopped my transmitter's antenna in half!

Getting a safety video....

New pilots..... soft of why the F4U Corsair was called the "ensign eliminator". Not inherently a bad design, but proper application of basic safety techniques is not optional.

The bite-back is immediate.

I've also heard of people who have been snake-bit going back and doing the same thing again.... one person that I heard of lost a finger to a big wooden prop is now back at the field and doing exactly what he did before -- hand-propping while sanding directly OVER the prop with the safety tie-down rope slack because he pushes back on the plane while propping it.

Find a video on common sense and show him that.

That's right up there with my sister in law grabbing a cast iron skillet out of a 400 degree oven barehanded, burning herself and then reaching in with the other hand to try again.

Reflecting back on your question of " Are there any safety video's out there." You may have answered your own question. With the availability of video cameras today, " Why not make your own video." It can be tailored to your own clubs needs, can be improved upon by updating information as it is gathered. This can be taylored for novice as well as seasoned RC members as a refresher. The good time for this training can be in the off seasons, such as winter. start out with your basics of the RC airplane and the danger zones. Do a demonstration with a light weight chicken stick and watch the prop sever or send the chicken stick flying to show just what a prop can do. There are so many things that you could video tape and have much better results than a commercial video that could miss something you think is important or built in errors that you don't want your membership repeating. Doc Ferguson