Simviation Forum - R/C Airshow deaths

Reply #15 - May 15^th, 2006 at 7:20am

Hagar Offline
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What I'd like to know is why he was flying over the crowd in the first place? The two dead were hit square in the head by this oversized toy...

It's difficult to judge without knowing the full circumstances. If this was the World champion performing at a public display I doubt very much that he would fly over the crowd deliberately. However safety concious you are there is always the chance that the radio signal will be lost or subject to interference. If this happened the pilot would have no control of the model at all. This has happened to me & I'm sure most modellers but we were lucky to get away with it.

PS. I would expect this type of model to have a fail-safe feature where if the radio signal is lost for any reason the throttle is automatically closed & the model put into a gentle circular glide. This does not always work as intended & would depend on the attitude of the model when the signal was lost.

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Reply #16 - May 15^th, 2006 at 7:49am

town Offline
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I with Hagar. It's extremely sad when anything like this happens Undecided

but when you are radio controlling something you are subject to the vagueries of the ether. I have lost aircraft because someone has switched a transmitter on with my frequency. We have also had strange goings on with mobile phones and such in proximity to our flying site.

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Reply #17 - May 15^th, 2006 at 8:27am

Fozzer Offline
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Blimey...

...!

It looks as though you need to have some very expensive 3rd. party Insurance cover...
...a bit like owning a Rottweiler dog...!

LOL...!

Paul...insured my trees in case they blow down and destroy my next-door neighbours fence in a string wind... Cry

...!
LOL...!

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Reply #18 - May 15^th, 2006 at 12:14pm

expat Offline
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Quote:

Blimey...

...!

It looks as though you need to have some very expensive 3rd. party Insurance cover...
...a bit like owning a Rottweiler dog...!

LOL...!

Paul...insured my trees in case they blow down and destroy my next-door neighbours fence in a string wind... Cry

...!
LOL...!

The guy was German, so he will have insurance. Either he will be covered by his club or by private third party insurance, not that it is much help to the victims.

Matt (living in Germany and badly flying a very insured radio controlled helicopter)

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Reply #19 - May 16^th, 2006 at 7:10pm

beaky Offline
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That's terrible. They might have not realized it was a runaway, expecting it to veer off.... Tongue

I wonder how difficult it would be to rig a giant-scale model so that in the event the radio link is lost, the engine shuts off?

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Reply #20 - May 17^th, 2006 at 2:02am

expat Offline
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That's terrible. They might have not realized it was a runaway, expecting it to veer off.... Tongue

I wonder how difficult it would be to rig a giant-scale model so that in the event the radio link is lost, the engine shuts off?

I do believe, that one a model hits a set weight, certain safety measures have to be installed, but I do not know what.

Matt

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Reply #21 - May 17^th, 2006 at 3:58am

Hagar Offline
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Quote:

I wonder how difficult it would be to rig a giant-scale model so that in the event the radio link is lost, the engine shuts off?

Not difficult at all. A fail-safe engine cut-off is part of the UK large model requirements. I imagine this is much the same all over the world. Display requirements will be even stricter. Quote:

MODELS BETWEEN 7 kg AND 20 kg

(a) Any model aircraft (power fixed-wing, glider or helicopter) weighing between 7 kg and 20 kg without fuel are subject to regulation by the Air Navigation Order over and above Articles 55 and 56. Full details are included in the section Legal Controls over Model Flying.

Pilots of models between 7 and 20 kg should take great care to comply with these regulations as their wilful or negligent breaking could result in their flights being illegal under the terms of the ANO and they may be liable to criminal prosecution.

(f) Pay particular attention to the state of the battery and the switch harness. Ensure that the batteries in both the model and the transmitter have adequate capacity for the flight to be undertaken and are fully charged for each flying session. Don’t expect a standard receiver battery pack to cope with the demands of high power servos and large control forces. Loss of battery power is the most frequent cause of system failure. There are commercial battery back-up systems available and circuits have been published for similar systems. These should be seriously considered if overall servo current drain is likely to be very high.

(g) Where required by the CAA, a radio fail-safe device must be fitted and operational. Remember that the purpose of the device is to prevent the model flying away in the event of radio failure and test it regularly as part of your pre-flight checks.

(h) All ‘large model' pilots should hold the BMFA ‘B' certificate or its equivalent (e.g. SAA Silver Wings, LMA Certificate of Competence), and should ensure that both adequate third party insurance is operational and that all flights made comply with CAA regulations.

(i) Do not operate large models at a site which allows public access to the take-off or landing area unless that access can be marshalled during the duration of the flight. Although you may be aware of the potential dangers, the general public, especially children, will not know these hazards.

POWER FIXED WING

(a) The fail-safe device fitted must, as a minimum, bring the engine to idle speed.

http://www.bmfa.org/handbook/hbook_5_large.html

I haven't seen a detailed report on this incident & the engine might have been ticking over or shut down. Even a small model glider can cause considerable damage if it goes out of control. I once saw a competition thermal soarer come off a hand tow & go straight through a car roof. The glass fibre fuselage punched a neat hole clean through it. Imagine what that could do to someone's head. The glider was comparatively undamaged & was flown again not long afterwards.

Any sensible aeromodeller will have proper insurance. Your home insurance policy is not enough. The BMFA insurance gives up to £5 million 3rd party cover. As with all insurance policies the insurance company will refuse to pay up if the modeller breaks the rules in any way.

« Last Edit: May 17^th, 2006 at 5:55am by Hagar »

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Reply #22 - May 17^th, 2006 at 7:34am

beaky Offline
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Yes, I guess even in a power-off glide a model like that could kill you... I wonder if they were taken by surprise or something. It seems easy enough to get out of the way of a plane that small, but who knows?
I'm thinking of going to the big model show at ORA this summer; I'll have to remember this. Tongue

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Reply #23 - May 17^th, 2006 at 6:19pm

Hagar Offline
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I've finally found some details on this terrible accident. The aircraft is described as a 1/2 scale Pitts Special owned & flown by Stefan Wurm who displays at shows all over Europe.

I found this photo of Stefan with his Pitts Special 'Oracle' which I assume is the one we're discussing.

PS. Found another one.

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Reply #24 - May 17^th, 2006 at 7:22pm

Ecko Offline
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That thing is HUGE!! Shocked

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Reply #25 - May 17^th, 2006 at 8:49pm

beaky Offline
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Yeah, it's plenty big enough to hurt somebody.
Wurm is obviously very skilled: that "Harrier Pass" maneuver is not easy, even with lots of extra power. I pity that hapless couple, but I feel sorry for him, too- it probably wasn't his fault.

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Reply #26 - May 31^st, 2006 at 7:38am

Jon H Offline
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An average 3 foot span model traveling at 60mph has the same ammount of kenetic energy as a rifle bullet fired in anger.

It's not suprising what something this big can do.

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