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US 3D Heli accident, IRCHA 2016


MattyB
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Saw this last night on Facebook - apparently a large 3D heli went into the crowd at a US event in Muncie, In (which I believe is the AMA national site). Thankfully the pilot killed the throttle very quickly after the tail touched the ground, meaning the person who was hit escaped with minor cuts and bruises to his legs and was back watching soon after.

 
 
I don't want to give the impression I am against 3D heli - it's not my cup of tea, but to each their own. However this does show that if something goes wrong during 3D a big heli can go very fast in pretty much any direction.

Edited By MattyB on 09/08/2016 11:52:06

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That looks to be rather less than the AMA-advised 250ft spectator separation:

The sponsor or the show team must arrange for crowd control so that the show will be in compliance with
the AMA Safety Code. A 250-foot safety line/barrier must be provided to maintain a separation between
the spectators and the RC flying area.

Sitting that close to a very efficient flying threshing machine seems a bit Darwin-like to me....smile o

Pete

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Does the 250ft in the AMA document mean a 250ft long line, or 250ft separation between the flight line and the public? I agree the former makes no sense, but it is a bit grey. Certainly those spectators were way closer to the action than 250ft. Very strange given Muncie is the home of the AMA...

Edited By MattyB on 09/08/2016 13:23:06

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250 ft (83 yds) is almost the minimum length of a football pitch (100 yds)..........imagine watching a 3D heli from that distance - you'd need binoculars, so it's not surprising that they're flown so close.

Another video from the same meeting showed a similar heli sustaining damage and carrying on - eventually being deliberately decked.........not too clever I suppose.

Edited By Cuban8 on 09/08/2016 13:37:44

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Posted by Cuban8 on 09/08/2016 13:33:42:

250 ft (83 yds) is almost the minimum length of a football pitch (100 yds)..........imagine watching a 3D heli from that distance - you'd need binoculars, so it's not surprising that they're flown so close.

Agreed, 250ft does seem a long way away, hence why I wondered whether it was the length of the line not the distance between flight line and spectators. However there is another interesting statement further down the AMA Air Show document I linked above...

"A minimum of 400 by 50 feet of level low grass or asphalt runway area is preferred. The RC flight box area should be 1000 feet cubed minimum to perform a regular show. Any smaller area is a special show which can only be done with certain small aircraft. The 250 foot safety line/barrier still applies. No parked aircraft, static displays, or airport refueling stations, etc. can be within 300 feet of this flight box area on three sides (opposite, left, and right sides of the flight box)."

Obviously these are only recommendations, but it does seem like the AMA may have gone over the top with the recommended separations. This may then mean event organisers feel they have no option but to go closer, but have no guidance on what a reasonable suitable distance is.

Certainly the fact this occurred at the AMA's own national flying site must be particularly embarrassing...

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If you look at PDF 706 'Recommended RC Flying Site Specifications' in the Club Information section on this page, it refers to:

Personnel Side of Flight Area:
Locations Distance Factor (measured perpendicular from edge at runway safety line)
Runway edge is the base line Safety line or base line
Pilot line 0-25 feet from safety line
Pit line 25 feet or more from safety line
Spectator line 65 feet or more from safety line
Parking lot 80 feet or more from safety line

There is a diagram further down the page which illustrates the layout.

I'm wondering if this may be their recommendation for club sites and which they are using at that meeting, which may not be a public display per se? I can't see the AMA recommending 65ft separation and then not applying it on their own 'club' site.

If that is the case, it looks to me that the distance between the model and the spectators isn't too far from 65ft - rather too little safety margin to be sitting in an easy chair, I reckon.

Pete

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Takes me back a few years when at a show/fly in, we was watching a sponsored 3D Heli pilot do his stuff. We felt he was flying beyond his capabilities and was uncomfortable watching him, so much so, we hid behind a stone wall some 20yrd from the pilot (just in case). When I voiced my concerns to the pilot he was oblivious to the possible dangers as his ego of flying in front of watching public was bigger than his abilities......oh he'd already wiped out 3 Hely's that day!

Its only a matter of time before a catastrophic event will occur

Sorry rant over

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We had a 3d heli go out of control at full throttle a few years ago. It went over the pilots head and through the pit area narrowly missing club members . Our pit area is 25 to 30 more from the flight line .It then came back and smashed into the pitsagain and destroyed itself and a fixed wing model sitting in the pits before the motor stopped. The failsafe had been set but didn't operate ! The pilot shut the throttle but no response ! The radio link is tenuous at best and any number of thing can but rarely do go wrong.Unfortunately accident will happen . Thankfully no serious injuries.

Edited By Engine Doctor on 10/08/2016 07:53:16

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Im not a member of a club but have permission to fly from a public area by the council.

In our case, the irony is that we were asked to fly from another area in the park because our >1.5kg foam models, flown nowhere near the public on a separate section, may cause an injury to someone by 70+kg cyclists riding around the very same area at 40+Kmh with the same public walking on the same track as them.

I do see the requirement for separation as being necessary but I'm not into 3D helis, and I do think they are dangerous. They can move pretty quick. After a public servey was conducted by the council, there were more complaints about the cyclists than we had against us with our models. Infact we had none!

Edited By Rosco on 10/08/2016 08:38:27

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Posted by Jack Banner on 10/08/2016 07:15:58:
Looking on Google there are some horrific injuries sustained from Christmas trees and plenty of near misses.

I understand your point that anything can be dangerous. I used to play Rugby and it was a good week if nobody was injured. A team mate of mine was killed during a game.

but my point was if you are hit by an RC helicopter the consequences can be pretty severer

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Has anyone picked up that on some of his manoeuvres the hely was flying directly towards the crowd line

Worryingly how can you close the throttle in idle up when you've not got time to react?

Is there some form of kill switch? and is it mandatory?

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That is very common for 3D Heli flying Owdlad. Most of the routines will have the Heli flying 'towards' the crowd at multiple points. A lot of the Heli comps have high netting or chain link fences in between the flight line and the crowd, or a large gap, not sure why this one didn't but I presume they had done a risk assessment or everyone had signed waivers

When flying 'idle up' as they are here, there is always a hold switch that cuts the throttle completely but leaves the pilot in control of pitch and collective. Anyone who flies 3D gets good at hitting hold quickly as, if you don't, the Heli will destroy itself when it hits the floor. This fella hit hold in time for sure, as injuries were minimal.

Yes Phil, that was my point exactly. Everything has inherent dangers and exciting things almost always have more danger built in That crowd looked like educated observers to me and they could all have moved back should they have felt there was too much risk. If I had been there on my own I would have stayed where I was but would have been watching the Heli like a hawk. If I had been there with my daughter we would have been at the back of the crowd or standing behind something solid...

Now if someone was flying like that, over the strip, at my local (mixed fixed wing and Heli) club? Different story altogether.

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I think this video shows the separation distance more accurately - I suspect the first one was being zoomed significantly...

 
I also suspect that the actual crowd line (if there was one) may have been behind what appeared to be other competitors and helpers?

...not that it would make much difference if the contraption had hit someone under power. Makes my usual action of taking advantage of the plastic box facilities or going for a burger/ice cream during 3D heli slots at shows all the more sensible in my opinion!

Edited By Martin Harris on 10/08/2016 13:17:54

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Whether its just me but every time I hear a 3d heli it gives me the shivers. The constant sudden change of noise pitch seems to trigger a reflex to both stare at it and be afraid. Most the time, the sudden change of noise with fixed wing aircraft is the result of a imminent crash .

Ive seen similar heli crashed on u tube that seem to almost be deliberate attempts to push the model to its limits and often within strike distance of the viewers. Id advocate as big a separate distance as possible !

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Hmm, they could have edited the first 2m 45s out of that vid and I wouldn't have missed much....face 24

However, there are two leads (or perhaps a broken drive-belt?) clearly visible, trailing from the tail-rotor hub as it heads towards the crowd...

Pete

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Over the years the 3D manoeuvres have increased in complexity and violence, but has the regulations concerning crowd line safety followed in line?

As Jack pointed out........where's the safety fence? Is it mandatory?

This photo was taken last week at the European F3a Campionships.. note the double fence and how far the distance to the flight line

131.jpg

Edited By Owdlad on 10/08/2016 16:09:20

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Posted by Pete B - Moderator on 10/08/2016 15:37:57:

However, there are two leads (or perhaps a broken drive-belt?) clearly visible, trailing from the tail-rotor hub as it heads towards the crowd...

Pete

Looks to me to be the broken tail drive belt. Presumably snapped when the tail rotor hit the ground. I can't think why you'd have any leads going to the tail - the tail servo on every heli I've ever flown or seen is at the other end of the tail boom.

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