RC vs. real AC

[Waldo]

  An accident report has been filed to the FAA. There are many discussions on several different R/C forums going on. I would like to see the final report on this incident.
Right now its mostly speculation based on the video. No facts from the full size pilot yet as to whether he had proper permission to do his fly past.

 Nonetheless its not good for the r/c community

[CAP1]

I think it depends on what the airport manager puts in the NOTAM.  We've had to "close" non-towered airports in the past due to landing emergency aircraft on them and having to shut down on the runway, and when that happens we contact the radar control facility who controls airspace around the airport and they put out a NOTAM closing the field.  When the runway is cleared off, they remove the NOTAM.

when they used to have airshows at kvay, the only aircraft permitted to land were those in the show. otherwise the airport was closed.
 to the best of my knowledge, n14 does the same thing.

[eagl]

Nonetheless its not good for the r/c community

Absolutely true.  No matter who is at fault, people who don't know anything about aviation will view RC pilots as reckless.  They won't see the obvious clues about the professionalism of the RC pilot involved in the incident, including the corporate sponsorship and the fact that the first thing he did was carefully pack away his transmitter before attempting to recover the wreckage.  A reckless amature wouldn't have taken that much care of the important equipment, and the amount of flying gear that was sitting in front of his trailer is probably probably worth more than my car.

[CAP1]

Absolutely true.  No matter who is at fault, people who don't know anything about aviation will view RC pilots as reckless.  They won't see the obvious clues about the professionalism of the RC pilot involved in the incident, including the corporate sponsorship and the fact that the first thing he did was carefully pack away his transmitter before attempting to recover the wreckage.  A reckless amature wouldn't have taken that much care of the important equipment, and the amount of flying gear that was sitting in front of his trailer is probably probably worth more than my car.

a reckless amature wouldn't be able to get that model off of the ground. they more than likely wouldn't be using 2.4ghz radios yet either. they wouldn't be able to hover that.
 i've been flying r/c for years, and still can't hover...but then i dont go for that type of flying. i like smooth flowing maneuvers, one flowing into the next........

[Belial]

If you look real close he bi-plane didn't collide he swooped in doing 300 and put a 30mm into the RC during takeoff.

[Chalenge]

when they used to have airshows at kvay, the only aircraft permitted to land were those in the show. otherwise the airport was closed.
 to the best of my knowledge, n14 does the same thing.

I have attended many many airshows where we had combinations of 3D displays and Helicopters and there has always been one common event between R/C flight programs and the full size show and that would be an arm length patrol of the entire runway by thirty people. Either this pilot came in unannounced like eagl said or someone screwed up giving him the clearance to make that pass.

Every time I fly a model I know it could be the last time it takes to the air and no matter how much it costs it doesnt compare to one mans life. So either the R/C pilot doesnt care or he knows very obviously that plane didnt belong there at that time and right now I have to go with knowing it didnt belong there.

[DREDIOCK]

I dont think it was the fault of the RC pilot. But the hotshot in the full sized AC...OR of those running the airport.

It it obvious that this was a combined event where RC planes were being allowed to fly. And more specifically allowed to fly over that particular runway. The reason I say that is because of the close proximity of the official in the white shirt. Who later came over and apologized to the RC owner. Also Without going back and rewatching to point to the specific time on the video. the guy in the white shirt mentioned that the pilot of the real AC did not have clearance to make that low pass over that runway. Which sounds kind of to me like the pilot of the real AC had done a Maverick " Sorry Goose. but its time to buzz the tower" Top Gun stunt flyby.

Im no airport expert. But I dont know of any airports that would allow that kind of low flyby with so many people so close to the runway

[DREDIOCK]

Ok at about 4:40 the official in the white shirt. Whom if you freeze at 4:50 you can clearly see the tag on his shirt that says "Air Boss" speaking to the RC guy about the pilot
"He didnt announce his go around. Then i saw him go around and I told him to go left and I saw him staying with the runway. That thats when I told you to fly away, and just as your flew away..."

Looks to me like the pilot did not follow the instructions of the air boss.

"Sorry Goose. But its time to buzz the tower"

[AAJagerX]

i should also add, that the pilot of the bipe should've gone after that kid for the cost of repairs to his wing.

That's a load of BS.  The pilot should've known that RC aircraft were in the area.  If he didn't know...  He's an idiot. 

If you knew that an RC show was going on and decided to show off in your plane and got hurt...  No sympathy from me.

Stupid on the pilot's part.  Clear your pass before you take it.  Don't expect the air to be clear. 

If it wasn't the pilot's fault, he wouldn't be getting sued for damages.  (the RC driver will win BTW)

The guy was lucky that he didn't kill someone.  Dumb F...

[AAJagerX]

over the runway like that, a low pass isn't that bad. i'd kinda like to know what made the r/c dude think it was a smart idea to hover a $5k model on the runway though.

Because he was there to do that.  Seriously, are you gonna blame the RC driver for being in the way of an idiot that didn't check his clearance for a pass?

[bagrat]

AHAAAA! that pilots all like screw ya toy!

but the only bonehead here is the RC guy playin with his toy at an airfield. ill bet that toy could take off from a basketball court, he should be at a park.

[AAJagerX]

This was a very irresponsible pass (without clearance as well).

It's not a joking matter.  Someone could've been killed.  Luckily, that didn't happen.

[Tec]

A bit more info from another forum.

A little more information:

"The event last Saturday took place at a private airfield. At a minimum they could have filed a NOTAM (Notice to Airman) alerting pilots of radio controlled operations at the airport during specific times, and if they were to allow those operations on or near the runway, the runway could have been closed," said FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer. "In all cases with regard to radio controlled aircraft interfacing with manned vehicles, the manned vehicle retains the right of way."

"Even if the pilot of the RC aircraft was at fault, there's actually no law regarding the operation of remote-control aircraft near airports, or anywhere, despite the growing popularity of giant-scale aircraft as large as eight feet in size.

The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) does have a "Safety Code" stipulating modelers shouldn't fly above 400 feet within 3 miles of an airport and to notify airports when they're in close proximity, but Kenitzer says "It should be noted that the code is suggestive and not binding by federal law."

The FAA also issued an advisory circular, but it was from 1981 and the hobby has evolved significantly in the last 29 years. The AMA, FAA, and other groups put together a list of suggestions in 2009 for how to regulate these aircraft, but it has met with resistance from some hobbyists, and the report itself includes objections from the AMA."]A little more information:

"The event last Saturday took place at a private airfield. At a minimum they could have filed a NOTAM (Notice to Airman) alerting pilots of radio controlled operations at the airport during specific times, and if they were to allow those operations on or near the runway, the runway could have been closed," said FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer. "In all cases with regard to radio controlled aircraft interfacing with manned vehicles, the manned vehicle retains the right of way."

"Even if the pilot of the RC aircraft was at fault, there's actually no law regarding the operation of remote-control aircraft near airports, or anywhere, despite the growing popularity of giant-scale aircraft as large as eight feet in size.

The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) does have a "Safety Code" stipulating modelers shouldn't fly above 400 feet within 3 miles of an airport and to notify airports when they're in close proximity, but Kenitzer says "It should be noted that the code is suggestive and not binding by federal law."

The FAA also issued an advisory circular, but it was from 1981 and the hobby has evolved significantly in the last 29 years. The AMA, FAA, and other groups put together a list of suggestions in 2009 for how to regulate these aircraft, but it has met with resistance from some hobbyists, and the report itself includes objections from the AMA."

Maybe it's the diphenhydramine but there's a couple lines in there that short circuit my brain.  DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Here's the R/C guys version of the events.

Ok Slick bro's ya ready for this ****. Bad news. The Slick is dead !! She was hit by a full size Pitts Special, Iv got pics & video I will be uploading real soon, Cory, and me went to do a demo for a childrens charity event at a real airport, and I was hovering on the deck and down comes a full size Pitts , dude and his wife were flying in it, and he procedes to do a high speed on the deck pass without clearing with the flight boss and wham !! He made an emergency landing, leadingedge of his bottom wing has a 1'X1' foot dent, and is not flyable. handsomehunk could have killed himself and his wife pulling crap like that, No clearance with control whatso ever, and all I got was im sorry. Now im out $8000.00, but I got an apology which is worth nothing,

[Chalenge]

See? The R/C guy is just self-centered. Something tells me he wouldnt feel any different if the full size pilot and his wife had died. Simply put $8k is nothing compared to one life let alone two. This guy is a moron.

[flight17]

active means what it sounds like. planes coming and going. notice the plane taxiing at the end there?

 ama rules also dictate that you have a spotter when you fly. someone should've seen the bipe coming.

 and challenge is correct.......there will be trouble from the ama for those that were involved flying that model.

the RC was 8 grand as the pilot clearly says that after putting his controller away.

So far from the multiple sites ive read this one, the Pilot wasnt suppose to be flying over the runway. he also wasnt in contact with the ground as the ground crew called him multiple times to go around. The RC pilot was then told to get the RC out of the way because he was still coming in and thats why he starts to fly the plane away before impact.

 It was a flyin/RC event. If you look at the airport, there is no place for them to fly from other than the runway (notice how the crowd was right there at the runway and the planes right next to it?

now you mention the plane taxiing at the end. The was the bi-plane that was hit. You hear towards the end a director of the event say he is down safe.