There are many recorded instances of injury in the pits. Some of which are serious. These can be entirely avoided by operating and maintaining a good pits safety protocol.
The following is a good example of such a protocol.
| Power Source | What | Why |
| IC & Electric. | Always use restraints. | Starting the engine of a radio controlled model aircraft without restraints, has significant safety implications and can lead to injury, a. to the pilot if he is starting the engine from the front of the aircraft and b. to others if the aircraft gets away unexpectedly. |
| Always start the engine at idle. | Idle RPM. means much less thrust, so reducing the risk of injury. | |
| Always get behind the the aircraft as soon as the engine starts. | Making necessary engine adjustments from the rear of the aircraft reduces the risk of injury. | |
| If starting the engine from the front of the aircraft, never reach over the aeroplane to steady it while starting the engine. | The slightest distraction or stumble while reaching over the propellor can result in injury. | |
| If starting the engine from the front of the aircraft, never reach over or around the turning propeller to remove the glow starter. | The propeller arc is often invisible. Distraction or complacency may cause inadvertant contact with the propeller. Loose clothing can get caught in a turning propeller, in extreme cases drawing the wearer's flesh into the propeller. There is no reason for reaching over or around the turning propeller to remove the glow starter. | |
| If using tailplane restraints, ensure the tailplane and it's fixing are of adequate strength to resist the thrust generated by open throttle. | Should the tailplane or its fixing fail, the aircraft will move forward and could cause injury. | |
| If using wing restraints, ensure the wing and it's fixing are of adequate strength to resist the thrust generated by open throttle. | Should the wing or its fixing fail, the aircraft will move forward and could cause injury. | |
| If using an electric starter, use front and rear wing restraints or a helper to hold the aeroplane so that the the engine can be started without reaching over the propellor. | Failure to use rear restraints on the wing or a helper to hold the aircraft forces reaching over the propellor but now carries more risk because of the pressure needed to connect the starter to the spinner. | |
| Starting the engine from the rear of the aeroplane. | Although seldom seen, this is a very safe way to start an engine as the pilot never sees the running engine from the front, so should the worst happen, the pilot is safe. Once running at idle however, the aeroplane should be placed in restraints, to enable necessary adjustments to be made from the rear. To implement this idea the electric starter needs to be mounted in a rig at waist height, and a foot switch rigged to operate the starter. The pilot then holds the aeroplane securely while offering the engine's spinner to the starter, then presses the foot switch. | |
| Electric. | Always use a high current safety isolating link in the electric motor's power circuit. | Given that that RPM output of most brushless syncronous motors is servo controlled, the amount of torque generated by the motor increases if the propellor is blocked, to the limit of the control system's current, (torque). This means that unlike an IC engine, a brushless system will not stop for an obstacle and will draw maximum current to try to honour the commanded RPM. This, along with their silent nature, represnts a serious safety hazard. For this reason many aeromodellers fit a high current safety link, which is only inserted into the power chain, by the pilot, when he is about to takeoff. This prevents every kind of unexpected start. Similarly on retrieving the model after the flight, the link is withdrawn first before doing anything else. |
