DX8 just saved my life

[mickwilliams36]

Well not really...but it certainly stopped my face from having a good mashing at the hands of my Trex 450 Sport.

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I was just gently tail in hovering after fitting training gear so my daughter could have her first lesson, and before I knew what was going on the heli was heading backwards directly towards my face at a great rate of knots. It all happened so quickly I didn't have time to do anything, but my instinct was to just shove the DX8 into the blades to push it away. Thankfully I still have all my fingers in tact and the only damage to the Heli is a set of blades, stripped main gear and a bent main shaft (I think the training gear softened the blow with the ground). I wish I could say the same for the DX8 which has a cracked case and thumbwheel, broken IU switch and fractured battery connector (I think this was due to the "hitting the ground" bit). So I'm currently waiting for Millerman Couriers to pick it up so it can be returned to Horizon Hobby for repair.

I know a lot of people have in the past spoken ill of the DX8, but I must say at the moment it really is my best friend.

[BenScoobert]

Sometimes it takes a little eye opener like this to realise you are flying too close.
I had a reminder with my raptor whilst not knowing where my nipper was, heli crashed behind me after a dumb thumb and I knew he was behind me somewhere.
Lets hope it's the worst thing we both ever do.

[Zeeflyboy]

Really condition yourself that if the heli is out of control coming towards you or someone else blades facing just hit full negative. Who cares if it crashes, at least it's down.

Skids facing you, obviously it's full positive.

If you don't have time to think "blades facing me, full negative" then you are flying too close imho.

Glad you had a lucky escape, I once flew my mCP X into my DX6i (in control but flying too close in strong winds) and it snapped the antenna off... incredible for a 45g helicopter! I gave it a bit more respect after that lol.

[cjcj1949]

Accidents and near accidents are reality checks. Glad someone's found a use for a DX8. I'm not sure about kids flying helis. They tend to be unpredictable at best. Helis and kids.

[mickwilliams36]

If you don't have time to think "blades facing me, full negative" then you are flying too close imho.

I completely agree...it wasn't intentional, but believe me, I certainly won't be flying that close again...lesson learned.

[Zeeflyboy]

cjc - that's where buddy leads really come into their own.

[Sao]

That's a wake up call right there! I always make sure there is plenty of room between me and my helis when flying. I get mocked sometimes at the field because I put my heli as far away from me as possible where others spool up only a few feet in front of themselves!

I'm not sure about kids flying helis. They tend to be unpredictable at best. Helis and kids.

Entirely depends on the young person In my book. Look at young Justin here (4 years old at the time!) 4 Year Old Justin Jee (Justin Chi) - RC Heli Stick Movement - Sep 2006 - YouTube

[sd330ml]

just glad to hear no serious injury ( helis and dx8 can be fixed)
a reminder to us all

Stuart

[moonmanflyer]

Glad you are ok mick, just be thankfully that it was not your daughter at the controls, helis and controllers can be fixed.
When in any situation that things get out of control, just hit that throttle hold switch, then the heli will just fall to the ground, might cost you in repair bills but will hopefully stop any injuries

[Zeeflyboy]

moonman - agree in principle, but if the heli is close and shifting towards you at a rate of knots, throttle hold isn't the best option... especially the bigger the bird - the blades are still going to be spinning plenty fast enough to really do some damage. I would first get it moving roughly away with the simple blades facing = negative, skids facing = positive, then hit throttle hold.

Throttle hold is however better than nothing of course lol.

[Mark_T]

I'm with Moonman on this one, throttle-hold first, any attempt to save the day can come after that with what is left of the head speed as it decays if you really have time (which you probably don't).

When it is already too close and getting closer, it is not the moment to try and figure out if it is positive or negative pitch you want.

Once the power is off the situation is generally getting less dangerous from that moment on.

It is the distance that makes the difference for me, if you have time to be thinking about which way to adjust pitch then by all means go for it, but if you only have time for one instinctive reaction then you want that to be throttle-hold.

[Zeeflyboy]

It is the distance that makes the difference for me, if you have time to be thinking about which way to adjust pitch then by all means go for it, but if you only have time for one instinctive reaction then you want that to be throttle-hold.

absolutely agreed

[moonmanflyer]

moonman - agree in principle, but if the heli is close and shifting towards you at a rate of knots, throttle hold isn't the best option... especially the bigger the bird - the blades are still going to be spinning plenty fast enough to really do some damage. I would first get it moving roughly away with the simple blades facing = negative, skids facing = positive, then hit throttle hold.

Throttle hold is however better than nothing of course lol.

If you are out of control, hit hold, being hit by a heli with no power is much better than being hit by one on power full stop. It is ok saying put this input in etc, but if you are out of control in a panic th is the only option, standing there trying to figure what input to put in will be to late.
And no, doesn't matter what size heli it is, if you are out of control etc, hit hold, it will fall and will give you time to move your ass out the way

[Varelco]

If you are out of control, hit hold, being hit by a heli with no power is much better than being hit by one on power full stop. It is ok saying put this input in etc, but if you are out of control in a panic th is the only option, standing there trying to figure what input to put in will be to late.
And no, doesn't matter what size heli it is, if you are out of control etc, hit hold, it will fall and will give you time to move your ass out the way

The blades and heli are still carrying a lot of inertia I doubt it will make much difference. Especially as the heli is bound to be close to you to hit the throttle hold in the first place, headspeed wouldnt of decayed massively.

Your seriously best off just planting the heli into the ground using collective. You don't want the thing hitting you trust me.

[moonmanflyer]

The blades and heli are still carrying a lot of inertia I doubt it will make much difference. Especially as the heli is bound to be close to you to hit the throttle hold in the first place, headspeed wouldnt of decayed massively.

Your seriously best off just planting the heli into the ground using collective. You don't want the thing hitting you trust me.

Having a driven rotor is far far more dangerous than an undriven one, and putting a driving rotor disk into the ground is going to cause lots more bits to fire off, where an undriven rotor will stop straight away on impact.
Hit hold first, always the best option, then worry about everything else