Safety Brief
Emergency Procedure #1
May 2001

Shut the engine off at the first sign of a control or structural related problem.
Turbine pilots should be able to activate the engine shutdown control on their transmitter instinctively and without having to look for it.
Give some thought and practice to this procedure. Your caller/helper should also know how to do this and have permission to do it for you if you get too busy trying to save a doomed model.
If the model has a control or structural problem, shutting down the engine at the earliest indication will provide the best chance for it to survive because the speed (energy) will diminish and more importantly it is much less likely to ignite upon impact.


Safety Brief
Too much speed in inexperienced hands
by Bob Violett 5/24/01
In my travels to 10-12 events per year and through our representatives throughout the U.S. we have observed or hear about most of the turbine jet crashes.
Many of these crashes could have been avoided if the speed of the model was dialed down to the experience level of the pilot and that of the builder of the model.
It takes years of flying and building experience to be able to safely operate a complex, heavily power loaded turbine model.
The current AMA waiver system allows any applicant who has filled out the paperwork to operate a high performance jet - almost without limits. It is basically a license to go 200 mph without actually demonstrating the capability to do it safely.
Many modelers who are currently entering the turbine era have limited building and flying experience. In many cases they have entered the hobby with ARF models that may fly 120 mph at best. These are light loaded, 4 channel airplanes offering little challenge to assemble and operate.
Experience cannot be bought - it can only be acquired with time and dedication to the task. The "need for speed" can be satisfied in a safe manner only after the required experience has been gained.
Doesn't it make sense to utilize the technology of speed limiting devices or dial down the thrust until the pilot's skills catch up with the model's ultimate capability?
One very practical way to do this is to incorporate a throttle-to-throttle mix in your transmitter, activated by the retract or flap switch, that allows full power for take-off and then a much reduced setting for flight.
This also facilitates a throttle position more closely related to model speeds that the pilot is familiar with.

Example for a BVM Bandit weighing 19+ lbs with RAM 750, AMT AT-180, or Jet-Cat P-80:

Take off power - 17 pounds of thrust, the ultimate top end speed will be approximately 230 to 240 mph.

Reduced power - 11 pounds of thrust, the ultimate top end speed will be approximately 150 mph.


Allow me to suggest that if the pilot trainee has experience with 120 mph models, then that should be his limit until stick time and experience justifies more.
Operating at reduced power also increases the time to reach the ultimate velocity allowing the pilot-in-training more time to react to the acceleration.
Throttle management is the single, most different, required skill for flying a turbine jet. Operation at reduced power will allow this required skill to be obtained in an orderly and safe manner.
We have observed AMA turbine waiver approved pilots take off, loose visual orientation, crash and burn within seconds and they never even pulled the throttle back, proving that written rules and completed paperwork are not sufficient for safe operations.
Knowing and respecting the limits of the model and the current skills of the pilot are key to avoiding these unnecessary, costly and potentially dangerous to our sport, occurrences.
We are all, always in training.
When you see a flight of F-18's, F-16's or F-15's fly over, they are either on the way to, or returning from a "training mission".

Bob Violett