Bonzo Moon Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 A bit of dog trouble at my local strip! I'm not comfortable model flying when a dog comes and starts barking at me when I'm flying. Sounded like a big dog, though I couldn't take my eyes off the model to look and see! Some good on board aerial video here from my second flight after it had gone. Great cheap model. £13 kit? Banggood EPP Swallow. My build blog video is linked with parts list. It's my favourite fun flyer! The dog walker apologised and said he always has problems with that dog! Edited By Bonzo Moon on 10/01/2020 16:57:15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Well done for keeping concentration on the aircraft, not easy. I was once attacked by an Alsatian while riding my motor bike. It launched itself at me from the side, a size 8 kept it at bay and it then went for the rear tyre biting it as I accelerated away I like dogs but so many owners just can not control them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I love dogs. Sounds like it was just saying hello, nice model mister, how high will it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eflightray Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Try shaking the dog off your leg, though there is a risk it could make things worse. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Smith 1 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I have had this type of situation before too. I tend to shout, when flying, to owners with uncontrollable dogs coming my way that if my plane (60cc) hits the animal it will sadly kill it. That usually provokes the right reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Smith 14 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Posted by Adrian Smith 1 on 10/01/2020 19:44:18: I have had this type of situation before too. I tend to shout, when flying, to owners with uncontrollable dogs coming my way that if my plane (60cc) hits the animal it will sadly kill it. That usually provokes the right reaction. Why are you flying a 60cc size plane where there are dog walkers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 People who cannot control their animals shouldn't be allowed to have them (same with children). Unfortunately we have to live in the real world ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Perhaps you should ask " Why are dog walkers walking their dogs where a 60cc model is being flown? " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 I used to live near nice model flying site which had a public footpath running through it. There were polite warning signs of model aircraft flying and to keep dogs on the lead. I duly did, not that my two labradors would be interesting in chasing flying models. Had it been flying sausages, now that would have been a totally different matter and there would have been no holding them back! Most sensible dog owners tend to err on the side of caution keeping their pets on the lead where they see a potential problem. Conversely a few non-dog owners tend to over react to the presence of dogs. Years ago I used to fly model aircraft on Epsom Downs and there were always dozens of dogs at the weekends and all of them off the lead in those days. I can never remember a case of a model being chased or indeed attacked after it landed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kearsley Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Posted by J D 8 on 10/01/2020 22:04:40: Perhaps you should ask " Why are dog walkers walking their dogs where a 60cc model is being flown? " Playing devil's advocate here, it is just as valid, given we know nothing about the site, to ask "Why is a 60cc model being flown where people walk their dogs?" It depends on your perspective. Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Collins Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 I had a similar problem on one occasion and the animal actually pissed up my leg! The owner Just turned his back and pretended he hadn't noticed - the same technique they use when the dog 'squats' and hey don't want to clean up after it. I have no problem with dogs, and most owners are polite and considerate, but some I could happily string up! And yes I know we have inconsiderate model fliers too - I would string them up to the next tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 This happened in the mid to late 70's: I was teaching myself to fly helicopters (very few others could fly them back then!) and as I worked on shift, I often had days off during the week. There were some large, local playing fields where a heli club used to meet at week-ends. These were usually deserted on weekdays, so I would find myself a quiet spot, and start practising. I'd got to the stage where I could hover okay-ish, and just about stagger around a circuit, so I was practising "circuits and bumps". Fuel was starting to get a bit low, so I decided to land, shut-down and re-fuel. As I was approaching and coming back to the hover, a dog appeared out of nowhere, and started jumping up, trying to grab my heli! I opened up the throttle and flew round another circuit, hoping the dog would lose interest, but no, as I set up for landing, there was this dog again, still trying to grab the heli! By this time fuel is getting worryingly low (fixed pitch heli, so no chance of autorotation - even I had been capable of it!). I decided to fly off slowly up wind, hoping the dog would follow, make quick turn, and land before the dog could get back! This worked, and finally I got the heli down and shut off the motor. However, this heli had a very free transmission, and the blades would keep whirling for some time. By this time the dog was running back towards the heli, so I ran to put myself between dog and heli to prevent a gruesome accident! As I stood there trying to stop the dog getting at the heli, I was struck from behind by an umbrella, and heard an angry female voice shouting "Get that thing away from my dog!", and how she was going to call the police, etc! I replied to the little, old lady that she was welcome to call the police, as there was nothing illegal in what I was doing. However, I pointed out that there WAS a bye-law that said that all dogs had to be kept on a lead in the playing fields, and that if she didn't keep her animal under control, I was going to call them myself! She stormed off in a huff, muttering that it shouldn't be allowed. I never saw her again, even though I regularly went up to those playing fields to practice. -- Pete Edited By Peter Christy on 11/01/2020 10:04:38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Posted by Tim Kearsley on 11/01/2020 08:48:57: Posted by J D 8 on 10/01/2020 22:04:40: Perhaps you should ask " Why are dog walkers walking their dogs where a 60cc model is being flown? " Playing devil's advocate here, it is just as valid, given we know nothing about the site, to ask "Why is a 60cc model being flown where people walk their dogs?" It depends on your perspective. Tim. As an example, our field has a public right of way along one hedge which is behind our parking area and pits and is quite clearly demarked, being well trodden. The flying area is marked by plastic barrier on steel poles. Signs warn the public of model flying in the field. Most disinterested dog walkers stick to the path keeping the cars and pits between themselves and the flying area. Most but not all. Typically these exceptions are also happy to let their dogs run free in fields of sheep. I suspect the dogs have higher IQs than their 'owners'. Should we expect and allow for dogs running free across our clearly marked flying field where all sizes of model are being flown? If that is the model flying becomes impossible without airport style security fencing! Edited By Bob Cotsford on 11/01/2020 10:59:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzo Moon Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 Thanks for all the replies. Love the idea of a dog peeing on your leg! If I hadn't been flying and it had come to say hello it would have been ok, but I couldn't even look down for a second! It's only when looking at the video I can see what was going on. I have seen large helis flown at this site too. The dog owner apologised and said 'he always had trouble with that one'. He was a paid walker. It's my local club flying strip so I guess he's had problems before. I had 3 bulldogs run towards me once when I was landing my paraglider. Barking at me as I came down. It's a glider, I couldn't go around and wait for them to go away! I was shouting at the owner to get them under control as I came down. I landed OK and nothing happened ( I was worried they'd attack me or trample the wing). The owner said, 'they wouldn't have hurt you'. I said, well I wasn't to know that! You scared them, she said. Ha ha! If I'm paragliding at a soaring site I wait till the dogs go before landing. It does freak them out a bit when a big bird drops in from the sky. Anyway, it's only the 4 or 5th time I've flown that wing and it's great fun. My favourite model and so simple and cheap and I really enjoyed the flight after he'd gone! Edited By Bonzo Moon on 11/01/2020 13:29:37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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