I have been reading a website designed to inform users of the legal implications of flying helicopters. With many parts turning thousands of RPM, failures are occurring. It is difficult to design, manufacture, market and deliver without running afoul of regulations. You cannot hide in foreign countries. This could very well be the cause of many manufacturers leaving this market.

Heli_Splatter

I have been reading a website designed to inform users of the legal implications of flying helicopters.

Got a link? I'm not going to address the rest of your post, because you may be referencing the site you're reading, and I'd like to see it first.

J. B. Jones

Haven't you heard? Everything will kill you. Might as well wait out life till the time of your death. Best wishes

Example of a case in Colorado

Here is a link to a case.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/co-supr...rt/1879656.html

The timing of your post is curious. I had a reason to go into our attic a few weeks ago and while I was there I brought down a stack of Radio Control Magazines (RCM) from 1979.

In them was a series titled "RC Flying and the Law". See scans. Notice the attached scan is a multi-page article and it's part 8(!).

Legal issues for our hobby are not something new. There have been legal questions for at least the last 4 decades and almost certainly very much longer.

While legal questions have existed for a very long time, the specifics of the law may have changed. The article from RCM noted above was written before wood was known by the state of California to cause cancer. I am not knowledgeable enough on the subject to say that the laws have change sufficiently to be causing a decline in modeling.

"Well, Nothing bad can happen now."

Heli_Splatter

Example of a case in Colorado

Wait...one person says a faulty Align blade grip caused him an eye injury after a failure. So he sues Align and Horizon. Look, I can write a book about my thoughts on this, but it's not important to this subject, doom of the hobby.

Anyway, from my rudimentary reading skills, all that case says is that Align loses an appeal on grounds of jurisdiction and the case continues in some other court.

Sorry, I'm not seeing the doom of the hobby because of this particular, weak case.

J. B. Jones

Law suites are NOT the cause. There have been law suites and there will be law suites that is not going to change. Society is changing! Think about this. This hobby was exciting because there were only 2 ways to fly over the years from the 60's when this hobby took off. Crawl in a FS or build a model. Now with technology and the perfection of computers there are very few limits to what the young kids can do with video games. They do not need to spend months building, or weeks assembling, a plane/heli/drone to fly. Now you can go to a toy store and buy a drone that flies better than anything we built just 10 years ago. Weather also has an impact! Kids now days do not go outside to play any more, it tooo hot, its tooo cold. We are turning/turned into couch potato's.

I am sorry to say technology has passed us by in the fast lane, and were are in a little red wagon. Before this occurred to me, I though we had the best technology considering how well our helis fly, but look at what your simple lap top (and it is out of date) tablet/phone can do.

If people let legal liabilities stop them from getting into a hobby, it would of stop people from flying drones at airports and public places.

We now have many options to get into flying that lets us do vertical take off combined with other photography & FPV without the risk of coming with a trash bag that used to be thousands of dollar of parts plus lots of effort spent.

Heli Fanatix

We now have many options to get into flying that lets us do vertical take off combined with other photography & FPV without the risk of coming with a trash bag that used to be thousands of dollar of parts plus lots of effort spent.

This quote says a lot. I never liked crashing obviously, and dreaded the times that it did occur, I never let it inhibit the fun I was having when I didn't. But obviously the newer crowd doesn't see it the same way. There was a special feeling of accomplishment, creating something and succeeding at bringing it home in one piece that the new generation will never feel.

There is something different with this generation!!!

Yes Jerry... You are on to something there!

Most of us active and thriving in the hobby has a mindset like this pilot in this thread:
https://rc.runryder.com/t827515p1/

While this generation [Millennials plus some others from previous generation that somehow manifested same behaviors] have this type of mindset:

Watch at YouTube

The difference is all about VALUES
- attitude
- perseverance
- responsibility
- contribution
- doing what’s right without violating anyone whenever doing anything in life.

Probably the biggest problem, and it's getting worse, is that people don't want to accept responsibility for anything. If anything goes wrong, it's someone else's fault . . . even if you were being stupid when it happened.

Airwolf
You hit it on the nose !!!

Dan

I guess that the whole point of the thread is that manufacturers can produce defective parts and even defective designs. Not everything is caused by the user (though a lot seems to be). Who pays for the insurance carried by the manufacturer? We do of course as it is included in the pricing. You have to have a pretty good cash flow to get reasonable product insurance. Somebody is always going to sue you.

It is not any one thing. It is a combination of things.

Interesting thread,
I am interested to know the differences between our equivalent of the AMA here in the UK BMFA, we have to buy BMFA insurance if we want to fly at any BMFA event or affiliated club, the insurance covers you in the event of an accident and you are proved to be at fault, up to a value of £25M... (Civil Liability

I am in no way a legal expert and the only Legal info on US Life I know is what I got from Judge Judy LOL... surely your AMA covers you in event of accident if it is proved to be your fault ? and is no different from driving a car where you have to have liability insurance..

All The Best

We have MAAC . I believe they only cover personal injuries/accidental death and property damage up to 5 million.
Basically liability insurance.
If you have a mid air don't call them.
If at fly at home it's the home owners insurance that covers not MAAC.
Again don't bother calling unless you put your Heli through the roof and then the house burst into flames.

spending time, paying attention

Ya, The trophy crowd gets a trophy even when they crash, but somehow it isn't the same for some reason!!!

purchased a replacement main rotor holder

it's a little confusing here, what actually is a "Main Rotor Holder" ?? is it a Main Blade Grip ??

I ask because, if it is a Main Blade Grip, then the report makes me think he reused one Grip that was in the first crash, if so he has to prove that it was the New Grip that failed, because if it was the older Gripped that failed the fault is not on Align

Jim
Buzz Buzz Buzz

Legal issues for our hobby are not something new. There have been legal questions for at least the last 4 decades and almost certainly very much longer.

Of course all the lawyers ads screaming on TV that if you did something stupid and hurt yourself it must be someone else's fault so, "call me and I will get you a boatload of money."

I think about the hereafter. I go somewhere to get something, then wonder what I'm here after ?

GyroFreak

Of course all the lawyers ads screaming on TV that if you did something stupid and hurt yourself it must be someone else's fault so, "call me and I will get you a boatload of money.

Wait until you are injured by no fault of your own. You will want to recover damages from the party causing injury.

Answer this question
If you are traveling in 3 lanes. Then a car in the far left lane cuts all lane to get to the right hand exit. The right rear corner panel of the car hit the semi left front bumper. Which the semi was in the right lane.
Who is at fault? Should be the car. But lawyers went back 5 yrs on the log books. Just to fine 15 minutes off on a toll receipt. No one was killed but minor injuries to the people in the car. They got over a million dollars. The driver of the car was at fault. But lawyers and them went after just to get money. This all happen in Chicago, IL.
So I paid for there mistakes. So like someone said they want to blame someone else then there self.

Dan