ShuttleJock
Heliman
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
| There are times in our flying careers that we do stupid things and luckily the results are some crushed plasic and bent metal, not tattered flesh and broken bones.
As an teacher I know that there are some people that take your word for it and others that learn best by peeing on electric fences. I had one of those peeing on the electric fence experiences last month.
While I was off from work with the flu, I had ordered some parts for my Shuttle to get it flying again and spent the majority of a Friday evening to get it ready to take to the air once again.
That Saturday afternoon, I was feeling better, so I thought I would take a test hop in the front yard. After starting the heli, I set it down in the middle of my front yard. Steping back about 15 feet, I pulled it into a hover and set it down to make a few adjustments to the tail rotor linkage until it would hold heading without any inputs from me. The test flight was successful and I sat it down on the grass again to make one more adjustment. As the rotor head spooled down I held the collective/throttle down with my thumb as I was taught, and looked down to my flight box for an allen wrench, It was then that my five year old son who I did not even know had walked outside yelled "Dad" !
I looked over at the helicopter as it was rolling over on it's side. I panicked. Instintively I gave it full power and forward stick. The Shuttle leaped off the ground flying sideways as I tried everything I could to get it upright. Then It struck my pickup with a glancing blow to the side of the pickup bed and impacked tail first into the gravel driveway. Pieces flew everywhere as it did it's dying chicken impression.
My first thought was of my Son. I knew that he was not injured but in my mind I still had to check to see if he was Okay. I hugged him as I was gasping. I had missed him by ten feet, but I could have really hurt him.
Major cause of accident - landing on an unsuitable surface; tall grass
Contributing causes - Dimminished mental state, recovering from Flu leading to poor decision making.
Injuries- None
Damage- Tail fin, tail rotor, main shaft, spindle, flybar, woodies, small dent in the side of my pick-up, my psychological state, and pride.
What can we learn from this? Don't fly if your decision making abilities are impaired. If you feel sick you're probably not thinking straight.
Fly in an area clear of obstructions, especially when test flying a new or rebuilt helicopter. Shut down the engine and wait for head to stop before taking your eyes off the model. Use training gear when operating on tall grass. Make sure that spectators fellow pilots are breifed on safety and are alert to runaways. It's just too easy to get hurt in this sport. Read and adhear to the other safety posts in this site and most important... Heads UP!!!!
Todd |
