Words fail me..

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
I was out this morning flying some of my fleet including a new Blade 180CFX that I picked up second hand but unflown. The fields where I fly are public space so I prefer to fly when there is at least two of us so we can act as spotters for passers by and dog walkers etc. My flying buddy had not arrived but i figured I would be safe enough flying the little Blade 180 'solo'

The maiden flight was going fine, it was flying real nice. I was just starting to think that i would have to revise my opinion on micros when something hit me hard in the chest knocking the Tx out of my hands. The Tx was on a neck strap so didn't fall but before I knew what was going on the little Blade had crashed very hard. Only then did I realise a huge dog had jumped up on me, I never even say it coming.
The dog looked like a mastiff or pit bull but actually seemed friendly, it was just being playful i guess. I saw no sign of the owner until the dog ran off to the far side of the field, and there was the owner looking right at me. He can't of missed what happened but just turned around and walked quickly away:mad:

Not much i could do, he was 100yds away and I had four helis which i couldn't leave and the Blade sat there in bits in it's death throws, servos twitching and whirring. The damage was pretty bad, it's cost me more in bits than the price I paid for the heli (over $100).

What sort of scumbag person would just walk away like that? I dont blame the dog but the least the guy could have done is come over and said sorry.

Anyway, here are the fleet ready to fly, the little Blade looking all new and pristine in the foreground:
IMG_20160408_105340.jpg


The good news was that I flew the rest of the helis without problem. I guess it could have been worse if it had happened when i was flying one of the big ones.
 
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Derek

Well-Known Member
That's really unfortunate, buddy! I'm glad that none of the bigger heli's suffered the same fate at the smaller one. Everyone should be responsible with their dogs.

The Goblins and Agile are looking real good but I love the looks of the Kasama Dune 600. I've not seen one like that around here. Do you have flight video of the Kasama Dune? I'd like to see it.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
I didn't video the Dune this week but here it is from last year:

 
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holtneil

Active Member
Hi Steve what a pain ,I had big problems once I could not land as it was chasing the heli ,lucky for me Debs was there to chase it off, I know it's a public park but bog owners need to step up , I would had held on to the dog till they came over
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Holding onto the dog wasn't really an option, by the time I knew what had happened the dog was away. It was all over in a moment.
 

trainrider06

Active Member
I used to have dogs, love em, I had a Doberman one time, he was always on a leash, didn't need to be, but kept him on it because of the other irresponsible owners! That's a shame Steve, sorry about the heli, at the very least glad your ok and the radio wasn't damaged.
 

Admiral

Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about that Smoggie, you right it could have been worse. But it's still not fair in the scheme of things.
Good luck with the rebuild I think you will really love the 180 I found it the best of all the small helis, though servos and torque tube need upgrading to make it more robust.
 

murankar

Staff member
I had that happen to me, almost at the end of last season. I was just hoovering around with the X3 when I caught a dog out of the peripherals. The owner had his dog in the park off the leash. In my city that illegal to be doing. all animals have to be leashed while outdoors for safety reasons. Anyhow at first the dog and owner where way off in the back of the park. I figured I would be safe enough with them so far off. The owner appeared to be watching me fly the X3, the dog was intuned to the fence line just sniffing around for a sent. I did 2 packs with out issue or concern, i figured the owner was in control of the beast and knew what it was I was doing. Anyhow on the last pack the dog sighted in on a hovering X3 and got curious about it. By this time the timer went off and all I could think to do is go up. So i dumped collective in and climbed out of reach of the dog and brought the heli towards me while hitting the radio kill switch on the Vcontrol. This put the X3 into an instant auto. Since this bird does not retain head speed well the blades slowed as the heli approached the ground. Dog thought "Treat, Treat, treat" and got his nose smacked by the zeal 360 mm blades. He didnt yelp so it must not of hurt him. I then looked dead at the owner and he finally leashed his dog. We were both wrong but then again if his dog had been leashed it would not of happened.
 
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