Man scalped by RC helicopter

dud

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,635
73
91
I'm not even remotely interested in watching this. Why?
 

Hugo Drax

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2011
5,647
47
91
I guess playing with something that has a high speed spinning blade that flys around seems a bit risky.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
These aren't toys. They're pretty much identical to full scale helicopters. They are very dangerous if you lose control and have to be treated with a great deal of respect.

Sounds like he was an experienced pilot. Something may have gone wrong with the model. Bad gyro or a faulty servo caused loss of control. I'd rule out radio interference since most pilots use spread spectrum now. Sounds like a freak accident. Unfortunately, it happens.
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
I had a bad incident with one and pretty much put it away after that. Stupid mistake, but it pretty much launched off the table at me. I blocked it my hands and pushed it towards the ground. It cut into both of my legs and the palm and pinky finder on left hand. Wife was pretty miffed when she came home and there was blood on the walls and floor.

Luckily, I didn't have the main blades on or it would have been much worse and I still have the scares a couple years later.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
68,457
12,611
126
www.anyf.ca
Was the name of this copter "The Indian"? :biggrin:

Seems stupid to be near it when it's spinning though, you would think he'd stay clear, and not land it so close to himself. The tent probably creates some weird air flows if the wind is right that might make the copter do something unpredictable when it's going under.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
5,456
136
Wow, horrible :(

My dad told me a story about a guy at his local flying spot growing up - the guy lost control of his R/C airplane and plowed right into another pilot and killed him. Really horrible unfortunate accident. I've seen some pretty bad crashes, but fortunately no one was ever hurt. Really sad to lose a hobbyist like that :(
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,704
5,456
136
I had a bad incident with one and pretty much put it away after that. Stupid mistake, but it pretty much launched off the table at me. I blocked it my hands and pushed it towards the ground. It cut into both of my legs and the palm and pinky finder on left hand. Wife was pretty miffed when she came home and there was blood on the walls and floor.

Luckily, I didn't have the main blades on or it would have been much worse and I still have the scares a couple years later.

That's actually been one of my fears with flying large choppers, aside from the fact that I'm horrible at flying helicopters :biggrin: I've always been worried that the large, high-speed blades would either hit me or hit a spectator, would never want that to happen :thumbsdown:
 

SKORPI0

Lifer
Jan 18, 2000
18,429
2,357
136
Off the top of my head, I'd say you are right.

:hmm:

Those gas powered 24" helis are dangerous with the way it is being flown. I've watched enthusiast flying then nearby every summer time and amazed on what they can do with it.
Bought a 24" battery powered heli and they can't even compare to those. Typical price for them starts at about $2500.
 

Squisher

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
21,204
66
91
I would have thought there'd be some sort of shear device built into the blade that would be designed to break before it could cut through a human skull.
 

Rakehellion

Lifer
Jan 15, 2013
12,181
35
91
I would have thought there'd be some sort of shear device built into the blade that would be designed to break before it could cut through a human skull.

That would also cause the blade to break during a normal flight, launch itself 100 feet across the field, and really fuck someone up.
 

Pheran

Diamond Member
Apr 26, 2001
5,740
35
91
Yikes, that must have been one heavy-duty RC copter. The little plastic rotors on my quadcopter wouldn't do more than scratch me even if I jammed the thing right into my head.
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,910
2,141
126
Yikes, that must have been one heavy-duty RC copter. The little plastic rotors on my quadcopter wouldn't do more than scratch me even if I jammed the thing right into my head.

Yeah, people are trying to mislead by making it look like it was one of those plastic deals you see in the mall. It was a bit more "robust" than those:

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