Another Idiot makes the news, by hitting someone.
- Thread starter Phantom Flicks
- Start date
About a year ago I was flying with a pilot even more experienced than I was
I saw him go thru his pre flight and he calibrated and took off when it was safe
We were flying in an open field and there was a guy and his dog but about 2 blocks away about 800 ft or so there
We're kids playing minding their business
My friends phantom out of no where decides it's going to climb to about 200 ft then it charged right at the kids and I'm standing there watching the whole thing in super super slow motion and watching my friend throw it into manual mode with no luck and it all happened so fast I watched his phantom nose dive into the grass and pretty much explode into 10 pieces or so
Luckily he missed the kids
Is he an idiot?
And when these things can do that all by themselves you still think regulation to protect the public is not a good idea?
I saw him go thru his pre flight and he calibrated and took off when it was safe
We were flying in an open field and there was a guy and his dog but about 2 blocks away about 800 ft or so there
We're kids playing minding their business
My friends phantom out of no where decides it's going to climb to about 200 ft then it charged right at the kids and I'm standing there watching the whole thing in super super slow motion and watching my friend throw it into manual mode with no luck and it all happened so fast I watched his phantom nose dive into the grass and pretty much explode into 10 pieces or so
Luckily he missed the kids
Is he an idiot?
And when these things can do that all by themselves you still think regulation to protect the public is not a good idea?
On another note
A few months ago there was a water main break at my old school UCLA
My friends called and asked if I had seen it on the news and thought it would be cool
To run next door and get some footage so I did
Got to the field that was under about 3 ft of water did my pre check and calibration then took off
I did a few slow passes about 50 ft over the water then all of a sudden she takes off
There were 3 news choppers hovering about 2500-3000'ft above me (lesson learned)
I figured I was only gonna fly to maybe a few hundred feet so I felt the choppers were ok but I kept a close eye on them
But my bird literally took off and it climed! Just like it was going to hover with the other birds above us
I calmly switched into atti mode no luck then into manual no luck and by that time I could no longer see it as
It rose like a prophet on a dark Sunday and there was nothing I could do
By the way I have no idea where it went and the PD were no help other than asking me pre sales questions about it
Anyhow should I have attempted to fly with choppers hovering above me? No and won't do that again but I was not even 100 ft off the ground and did not plan to go much higher
My point is at times these things have a mind of their own and can hurt people
We all should advocate what keeps us educated and what keeps the public safe
What if that thing would have made contact with the news chopper
I would have been writing this from a jail cell
A few months ago there was a water main break at my old school UCLA
My friends called and asked if I had seen it on the news and thought it would be cool
To run next door and get some footage so I did
Got to the field that was under about 3 ft of water did my pre check and calibration then took off
I did a few slow passes about 50 ft over the water then all of a sudden she takes off
There were 3 news choppers hovering about 2500-3000'ft above me (lesson learned)
I figured I was only gonna fly to maybe a few hundred feet so I felt the choppers were ok but I kept a close eye on them
But my bird literally took off and it climed! Just like it was going to hover with the other birds above us
I calmly switched into atti mode no luck then into manual no luck and by that time I could no longer see it as
It rose like a prophet on a dark Sunday and there was nothing I could do
By the way I have no idea where it went and the PD were no help other than asking me pre sales questions about it
Anyhow should I have attempted to fly with choppers hovering above me? No and won't do that again but I was not even 100 ft off the ground and did not plan to go much higher
My point is at times these things have a mind of their own and can hurt people
We all should advocate what keeps us educated and what keeps the public safe
What if that thing would have made contact with the news chopper
I would have been writing this from a jail cell
N017RW
Premium Pilot
I wonder what the folks who said things similar to: "where's all the stories about drones hitting people and other things?" are thinking as these stories come to light?
You know, as if abscence of proof was ever proof of abscence.
Or we'll get the 'ole # of flights vs. # of incidents arguments.
It's a fine one, except it only takes one, especially if it's your child or other loved one.
You know, as if abscence of proof was ever proof of abscence.
Or we'll get the 'ole # of flights vs. # of incidents arguments.
It's a fine one, except it only takes one, especially if it's your child or other loved one.
N017RW said:
Well I'm getting the feeling that a lot of members here are sick of reading my posts regarding safety, but I'll plow ahead...lol.
Earlier on another thread
someone said I should quite talking about safety since there has never been a fatal accident involving an RC plane. I posted several links to fatal accidents; A 13 year old girl in the UK hit in a park and killed, a couple in Eastern europe who were both killed when an RC plane flew into spectators, etc.The response was that I was comparing Apples to Oranges. WTF? Do they expect the Plastic in a Phantom to be less harmful than foam or balsa wood?
I remember when I joined here 18 months ago there were people adamantly denying that the props of a phantom could cut anyone. They've all fallen silent once the videos of lacerations caused by Phantom blades started appearing.
I hope it doesn't take several serious injuries from drones before these same idiots change their minds about what 5 lbs of mass can do to your head if it hits it at 40 mph.
Meta4
Premium Pilot
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Why would you think that?GoodnNuff said:
No-one would dispute that 5 lbs @ 40 mph hitting your head is likely to cause injury. But we're sick of hearing it again and again in so many threads. We get it but when it's not relevant to the main theme of a thread and it gets served up and repeated and repeated some more .....GoodnNuff said:
That's all good. But as long as I see people post that "the most foam will do is leave a bruise" and "there is no evidence that a Phantom can cause injury" I will respond with facts. I'm sure as hell not flooding threads and hijaking them so I can talk about the potential danger, nor am I fear mongering. But I will always respond to those who are of the believe that their rig couldn't possibly hurt a person if it were to hit them at high speed, or any RC for that matter.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
So the victim died, right? I mean, they must have. We've all seen that balsa wood can punch a whole a foot wide through 1/8" steel.
Meta4 said:
No, you all responded and responded, I kept up my rebuttal to your posts.
I was told to make a new thread to discuss this, I've done so.
So don't even discuss safety in other threads eh?
I guess the topic of safety if taboo on PhantomPilots.
GoodnNuff said:Earlier on another thread
Just for pedant's sake...they did not say there has never been a fatal accident involving an RC Plane. They said there had never been a fatal accident involving a Phantom....to which you linked fatal accidents to RC planes (and a petrol-fueled RC single rotor helicopter).
Don't misquote other people to fit your agenda.
I'm not saying there couldn't be a fatal accident involving a Phantom...I'm actually surprised there hasn't been yet...but you're the equivalent of a cardiologist standing outside a burger joint telling people how unsafe it is to eat the food. Yeah, we know it's dangerous to eat burgers, but we enjoy it, so let us eat our food in peace. We do the best we can not to choke, and we'll hit the gym right afterwards to try and mitigate the risks...but you constantly haranguing us while we're eating does nothing but breed resentment.
No! In this case the cardiologist would be eating the hamburgers. If you have a heart attack are they gonna arrest your cardiologist? No! He's gonna say "I told that fat f*ck to stop eating those hamburgers. Day after day I would go to McDonalds just to protest him eating and watching the numbers change".
I'm sorry this scenario is just unworkable, and the cardiologist is a ****...
I'm sorry this scenario is just unworkable, and the cardiologist is a ****...
GoodnNuff said:
Your feeling is correct.
Sick and tired reading it. Get a life man .
Your posts are annoying. Please post on another forum, other than phantompilots.com
There are many points of view to consider and we all know (I hope) that safety is a big responsibility for any RC pilot. I think everyone has had their say here so lets move on from here and stop the personal attacks.
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