26 Stitches From an RC Engine (1984)

Terri purchased a new 0.40 K&B model aircraft engine for my Father's Day present. This engine had a carbareuter adjustment that was about 3/8" closer to the prop than my old engine.

Uncle Weasel (Bill Burnham) came over to fly. We loaded our gear and headed to a football field off Sjolander road. We had a good day of flying. We usually wipe down an aircraft after a flight. This makes your flight rags oily. There was a kid watching us fly. He had a boom box playing "rap" crap.

I cranked up the K&B and began to adjust the high speed mix. The engine is capable of 17000 rpm and I was getting close when I poked my index finger into the prop area. I stopped the engine with my finger! The prop slashed deeply into my finger, raking open the flesh around the big knuckle. The good news is the prop sprayed blood all over the kid playing "rap" music. He packed his stuff and left.

My first impluse was to stop the bleeding. I grabbed a flight rag and clamped down on the wound. Of course, the flight rag was soaked in methanol and oil, with a good mix of dirt. This, coupled with the actual injury, delivered a good amount of pain.

Uncle Weasel loaded up all the gear and carried it back to the car. He drove me back home. Terri drove me to an area emergency clinic where they had to scrub the wound clean due to the dirt and oil in the injury. 26 stitches were required to close the wound.

I still love flying. I built and crashed 46 aircraft before I left the hobby. I hope to return to RC models when Kris and I finish college.

-Wayland