Man blinds himself flying helicopter in his flat

[Brett Jones]

**LINK** apparently he pressed the wrong button and the heli crashed and blinded him in one eye

Edited By Brett Jones on 28/07/2015 18:01:13

[Stevo]

Oh no... I don't believe it. I really hope he makes a recovery, I'll try and stop writing about H&S, join a club, should have flown it outside...tragic, absolutely tragic.

Edited By Stevo on 28/07/2015 18:19:14

[Martin Whybrow]

I was expecting a micro coaxial helicopter, not a 450 sized heli! Whilst I'd hesitate to say it serves him right, it shows a high level of stupidity to run that inside; presumably if it said Flymo on it, he wouldn't have tried it, but there's not much difference in the danger level.

Reminds me of someone who died in a flat a few years ago when they decided to barbecue inside because it was raining.

[Dave Hopkin]

Candidate for a Darwin Award?

[ChrisB]

I'm afraid I don't have any sympathy for him. As Martin says, would you use a Flymo indoors, or with an open blade..no you wouldn't. Idiot!

Interesting how the press use particular phrases in the article, as is typical!

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I'd put money on this being the incident documented in the most recent BMFA News. We have all read it, I suppose?

[Area 51]

I read something in one of the mags recently or it may have been the BMFA news about a heli accident in the home..

It did make me wince... quite a lot!

I know we can bring models into the house, I'm a glow and petrol lad.. but never "live".. this is so so important with electric, heli and I guess the mutlirotors... Any confined space really, when running an engine in a test stand in the garden I get a feeling of being too close extremely quickly!

Safety first.. easily said .. but it should be our first and foremost thought..

Ouch doesnt cover it..

[Geoff S]

In the winter we fly in a local village one evening every 2 weeks. It's not a large hall and there are often very many small helicopters (eg V911s are popular) or perhaps 10 Vapors in separate sessions. Mid airs are common, rarely with any damage and we accept that. However I've often thought I wouldn't fly without wearing glasses (I have to anyway) because whilst being hit in most places by a model weighing less than 30 grams isn't a big deal, even a small model propellor or rotor could inflict serious eye damage. Sadly, in this case that's proved only too true.

Geoff

[John Privett]

A sad tale, but however stupid he may have been was, you have to give him some credit as he's not attempting to blame anyone else.

He's reported as saying, "It’s terrible and I know it’s all my own fault." And I'm sure the Daily Wail reporter would have been trying her best to get him to blame somebody so they could wag their sanctimonious finger at them...

Edited By John Privett on 28/07/2015 21:22:39

[KingKade]

Hats off to him... Idiot..but...If this educates a few kids of the dangers of the little heli or quod they got for christmas or their birthday, it cant be a bad thing....

[Mark Kettle 1]

The times people ask me about buying a small toy heli - I always mention do use safety specs/goggles and get the kids wearing them as well, they should be issued with the models and warning of the dangers and risk stickers on box and model sides. 

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 28/07/2015 21:38:27

[Barrie Dav 2]

Well, yes, the man was pretty foolish to run the 'Toy' indoors. It's all very well for people to pontificate but for goodness sake the young man has lost an eye! Let's have a bit of humanity here.

[Jez Harris 1]

Posted by Barrie Dav 2 on 29/07/2015 08:05:16:

Well, yes, the man was pretty foolish to run the 'Toy' indoors. It's all very well for people to pontificate but for goodness sake the young man has lost an eye! Let's have a bit of humanity here.

I totally agree - how many people on here have cut themselves with a scalpel whilst building models - I know I have - usually whilst doing something daft like cutting slits for hinges.

Jez

[Mowerman]

We all do 'stupid' things at times and with luck we get away with it or as Jez says often something like a moments in-attention or distraction and things can get serious.

I am sure we have all done something and realized after just how stupid or risky it was and how lucky to 'get away with it'.

[Bob Cotsford]

too true, I've certainly had my share of near misses. My gripe with the published story is the way they describe an outdoor helicopter as a toy - ok it is a toy but that term makes people think warm, cuddly, HARMLESS.

[Area 51]

I agree Bob, quite a few observations passed over the years have referred to our hobby as toy planes.. They soon back off once the see a motor running and revving a full chat!... as with all things mechanical, a little respect and understanding goes a very long way..

[Kevin Wilson]

At one particular indoor venue that I used to frequent I was struck once in the hand sustaining a prop cut to my hand and on another occasion an impact to my temple, luckily from a twin engine plane without a nose mounted prop.

I decided safety specs would be a wise investment.

I have sympathy for the chap losing an eye, but as my father often said "the trouble with common sense is that it's not that common"

[Cuban8]

One reason that I never use a neck strap on my TX. Too easy to catch one of the switches that modern trannies are bristling with, accidentally. Still quite common to see someone working on their plane and have the TX dangling, hands free, from their neck.

[Engine Doctor]

He obviously never saw that one coming ! Common sense is a rare commodity these days .

[Rosco]

I feel sorry for the guy because it has ruined his life literally and we have all done some silly stuff but I would have thought that if he was into the planes then he might have known better.

He can't play the naive card about the heli's if he was into planes me thinks.

[avtur]

Can only hope that the publicity achieved by this story serves as a warning to others who perhaps don't fully understand the potential danger in operating models. The pictures in particular should provide a strong incentive to take care.

[kc]

It has to be said that the man was very unlucky to have it hit where it did - almost anywhere else would not have been so damaging ( ALMOST anywhere else! )

What this should do is remind clubs that heli flying should be done well away from spectators and other pilots!

[Ian Jones]

Okay so there's lots of arguments as to whether our models are 'toys" or not, however for the press the term is used more to add drama than fact and that is where there is a problem with term.

As with most other models the instruction manual for the blade 450 3D does, albeit at the back of the manual, state, "This is not a toy". A little media research wouldn't do any harm, it took me all of a minute to find this information via the internet.

I really feel for the man concerned, stupid ? Yes. Deserved what he got, as predictable as it was? No. I wish him the best recovery possible... and that any further media reporting is sensitive & realistic.

Edited By Ian Jones on 30/07/2015 13:58:26

[Colin Leighfield]

A while back I bought a r/c Chinook (about 250mm long)? through the Internet, it was a decent model and even I could fly it reasonably well. It was only suitable for outdoor use in no wind conditions, so was a natural for flying around the house. Getting a bit blasé with it, I lounged back on the sofa and had it hovering close in, too close. How I did it, I don't know, but I managed to get it to lurch backwards and the rear rotor thwacked me square in the right eye. Fortunately I blinked so the lid was closed, pure good luck. Even so, it was very painful and when I opened the eye my vision was blurred and slightly dimmed in that eye. Over the following days it gradually improved, but I was always aware that it wasn't quite right. Two years ago a cataract in the early stages was identified, with early signs in the left. On medical advice they were both removed and lenses replaced with plastic ones which were adjusted on "mono vision " principles, so I now have excellent vision, a good conclusion. Even so, it was a salutary warning for me. I was very lucky and I'm sure that this incident was a factor in the rapid advancement of the right-side cataract. Accidents are by definition the unexpected and are often borne of complacency, a split-second thoughtless action can cost you a life-time of unwanted consequences.

[kenking-King Design]

The Daily Telegraph reported a couple of days ago the case of a baby boy losing an eye after being hit in the face by a drone flown by a family friend. Tragic ! Having lost an eye myself, in an industrial accident, I feel for the little lad who now has to go through his whole life with monocular vision, never knowing the visual pleasures that come with the full depth perception of binocular sight. A soft, delicate eyeball has no defence against a whirling sharp-edged propeller blade, no matter how small.