Tx, a change in ergomonics?

Accidents do happen sorry to say. Write to the radio manufacturer and suggest the design change. They do listen occasionally.

I have my 'trainer' switch set up to kill the engine so i don't have to mess up my idle speed after every flight. Also keeps an Ooops like your friends from happaning. Note this may not be a viable option on non-programable radios.

remove my-wife to reply :-)

So long as it can happen at all, it will be while doing something else if it isn't while reaching for the trim tab. I hook the left index finger forward of the stick when reaching for the throttle tab, positively locking it full aft. Holding the box one handed, my thumb is on the gimbal forward of the stick, again preventing unwanted stick movement.

Bumping the throttle unintentionally has consequences. Your habits have to reflect this. If I may say so, a firearms safety course teaches the right mental habits even if the remainder isn't directly applicable.

I think it boils down to common sense! I too, in the beginning accidentally would bump the throttle when I didn't mean to. Luckily nothing bad ever happened. Nowadays I keep my thumb wrapped around the top of the throttle stick so it doesn't happen anymore.

Bill

Just curious... What about the oops in flight when you accidentally hit the trainer switch? Kind of like when I was a newbie and throttled down and I forgot that I have the trim set to kill the engine. Oops! Dead stick and I am now coming in whether I like it or not.

Btw, my trainer switch is currently using the timer function on my JR 8103 transmitter. Which beeps and thus lets me know when I am running low on fuel. Which saves me from another oops! All transmitters should sport such a feature as far as I am concern.

Bill

Mode 2 I presume, although it can also happen with Mode 1. Non-digital trims?

That would be a good idea except that I believe putting it close to the centre keeps it from being accidentially adjusted.

For starters, get a TX with a kill feature. My TX has a two function button, when flying it can be set as an engine cut. As to whether it's ergonomically located, that's another argument (centre bottom edge).

I'm no expert but I'd suggest he consider a TX with a kill feature, which I think is a far better proposition than messing with the trim.

Points to ponder:

1. Accidents happen.
2. Nothing can be engineered in such a way as to prevent every fool in the world from screwing something up.
3. The accident you describe is a very rare accident which suggests that

Sorry to be so graphic :-) but the truth hurts. In this case, it REALLY hurts.

MJC

My friend did say after the accident that he should have had the right mental habit. He was remorseful, I will visit him in the hospital today.

I believe some time ago in aviation, full size aircraft had the horizon indicator backwards relative to the aircraft itself. That is it showed on the instrument panel, the horizon was tilted but the aircraft was level.

The pilot then tried to level the horizon resulting in the aircraft being more banked. After many close calls and some accidents, the industry changed the indicator to show the aircraft banking. Then the pilot would correct the bank.

If they woud do that, why would the RC industry not do so in the name of safety? I don't think one person calling the manufacturers would have much weight. As some posters have said, they had similar experiences. Then there may have been many more incidents like this nationwide. Must we adapt when a simple relocation of the control tabs would prevent injuries?

How can we effect a change?

Wan

Probably shouldn't be in front of the plane when messing with the throttle trim. When training students, (non-computer radios) I reduce my throttle trim in the air before landing, so when I do land, the stick will kill the engine. My Hitec Eclipse has a throttle kill button that shuts down my planes.

John VB

Because it is a non issue.

If you accidentally stamp on the accelerator rather then the brake, you will crash your car.

A far more serious issue surely.

Why don't you phone up ford and get them to put the throttle on the steering wheel?

You have the right idea. I used to have a student who was a klutz. One day he bumped his throttle while kneeling down in front of his unsecured aircraft. After his third prop strike (into his person), I insisted that we get some one other than him to start and tune his engines or I would not fly with him. My logic was that the spectators were not really interested in blood sports or they would be elsewhere. He stopped being my student when he violated that rule and chopped his hand up again.

Rather than worry about a new design that may not be market acceptable, just suggest to all radio makers that they include a specific throttle kill button on all radios. It will take a while for the old stuff to work out of the system, but the benifits are clear and the change will be widely accepted.

Well for One.

My Hitec has a kill button located on the face of the radio, also the trim tad for the throttle is a switch, not a slide(Flash 4). your friends bad mishap is just that, a mishap, not everyone hits the stick when pulling the trim slide down.

IIRC Hitecs all have a button on the bottom of the transmitter that operates as a kill switch. Effectively doing the trim to 0 instantly with a thumb press.

MANY computer radios now have an option where a button can be assigned to drop the throttle trim down to "0" momentarily without having to go NEAR the throttle. The Royal EVO is just one of those radios. Maybe THAT'S what the original poster had in mind? If so, it's already being done. Plus, mechanical radios are almost obsolete and will probably no longer be available within a couple of years so I doubt if any ergonomic change will be made to them in order to help stupid people push the correct lever.

MJC

| > If they woud do that, why would the RC industry not do so in the name | > of safety?

The two issues are different.

| > I don't think one person calling the manufacturers would have much | > weight. As some posters have said, they had similar | > experiences. Then there may have been many more incidents like | > this nationwide. Must we adapt when a simple relocation of the | > control tabs would prevent injuries?

I don't think everybody agrees that your simple relocation will prevent injuries. And besides, as others have pointed out, there's always the kill switch.

And you can always modify your transmitter if you wish.

| If you accidentally stamp on the accelerator rather then the brake, you | will crash your car.

Who cares about the car? I'd be more worried about that Farmer's Market where this seems to always happen ... | A far more serious issue surely. | | Why don't you phone up ford and get them to put the throttle on the | steering wheel?

A better idea: if you push on the accelerator *really* hard, it kills the engine. That way, when somebody is mashing on the accelerator, thinking it's the brake, so hard that they hurt themselves (happens a lot, actually), the engine stops and hopefully nobody gets hit.

I agree with Bill here and do the same. I put my thumb on top of the throttle stick when I do not want it to move. More importantly, you must "fly" the aircraft (no matter what it is) from the time you turn on the TX and RX up to the point when you turn them both off. By fly, I mean have the aircraft in complete control at all times. rick markel

My Model Aircraft Home Page

It would only kill the engine if i was at idle power in the air long enough for the engine and airplane to slow down and ooopsed on the trainer switch for a couple seconds. In other words, it's not a problem. Worst case, if i'm a complete idiot and do all of the above in the right order for a long enough time? I land! :-)

remove my-wife to reply :-)

For more than 8 years I have my throttle control on a slider on the left side panel of the TX. While my thumb handles the elevator / rudder stick, the left index finger handles the throttle. (right thumb for ailerons, right index for "special effects" button right side of TX - photo's / trapdoors etc.)

It seems weird, but to me it feels totally ergonomic. I "invented" it because it felt totally weird to fly with the right stick (local mode: vertical motion used for throttle control) bent into a corner while trying to make subtile inputs to the same stick for aileron.

I had a few novices fly with my TX (closely supervised), and found that the absence of undesired throttle input during turning made flying easier.

Also, while throw-start electric gliders with the right hand, it was convenient to operate the throttle and hold the TX with the left hand.

I find that spreading multiple functions over a larger amount of fingers creates more precision.

..and the trim and throttle slider are wide apart - to come on topic again.

Unnecesary to say that the rest of the world disagrees with me, so hat the "Rene-mode" will probably never make me famous.

Oh I see and thanks! As I must have assumed incorrectly that even a split second would instantly kill the engine.

Bill