Which Meds / Disabilities grounds RC-Pilots

Jens_Averbeck

Junior Member
Hi everybody,

I would love to see Information about which kind of Medicine or Disabilities should ground an RC-Pilot and fly on a Simulator at home. And i hope i picked the right Forum Section for this if not please move to right Forum.

The Reason i ask is that i have quite a Bunch of Disabilities which make me take up to 500mg Tramadol per Day (Synthetic Opiad-Based Painkiller against Medium to Strong Pain) and would love to fly RC-Planes and Helicopters.

Now i searched the Internet for that kind of Information but couldnt find anything about that. What i would like to see is maybe a list with generic Type of Medicine (eg low Painkiller like Aspirin, Medium to Strong Painkiller like Tramadol, Strong to very Strong Painkiller like Morphine, Bloodpresure Meds like Metroprolol etc etc).

I also look for a List for Disabilities like Shortsighted, Night-Blind, Colourblind, Deafness, restricted Motoric Movement of Hands / Arms etc.

Another Reason i ask is because of Insurance for RC-Planes going bad because you took something from the "No-go" part of the list, crash the Plane which hit someone with the Fuselage to the Head ... Than the Insurance Company finds out that you took that "No-Go" Med and leaves you with a huge amount of Bills.

Regards
Jens from Germany
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Hello Jens!

Welcome to the forum!

If you don't trust your abilities fully when under the effect of the medicines you take, you should consider flying in areas where there isn't much to damage (such as a big field). This also reduces the need for insurance worries, as long as you ask the landowner for permission.

What things do you want to fly? Multirotors, planes, helicopters?

Are you able to drive a car?

Does your disability affect your vision or the control of your hands?
 

Jens_Averbeck

Junior Member
Hi colorex,

Thanks for your Reply. I trust my Abilites while under Tramadol, i take that stuff since 15 Years and it doesnt affect me much anymore

I mainly want to fly Motor-Gliders and maybe later EDF Jets (more precisly the Horten IX as EDF Jet). Secondary would be Helicopters, Multirotor dont interest me (yet).

Can i drive a Car? No, with Tramadol ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramadol ) youre not allowed to drive a Car, also my Eyes are bad enough that i cant make a Driving Licence in Germany (Left Eye -9.75 Dioptrien, Right Eye -11,25 Dioptrien), also i have a reduced Field of View by ca. 20%, Red-Green Blindness, a Blue-Yellow Weakness and totally Nightblind. I knew that i must have yelled "Here" when Bad Eyes were distributed ;)

My Illness (Tethered Cord Syndrome, Spinal Cord grown onto Spine due Genetic Defect) also affects the control of my Hands, Arms and Legs. Most of the Time i have decent control over my Hands, good enough to write with 10-Finger System with about 134 Characters per Minute.

Since im probly not the only one with some Disabilities / Impairments a list like i mentioned in my starting Post would be a help for a lot of People who have those.

Greetings from Germany
Jens
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Well, then you really should fly somewhere safe - like an open/empty field. Get a simulator to practice. I assume you must have a friend with you (to get there), have him learn on a simulator as well so he can help you if something goes wrong.

If I were you I'd look into FPV - as that would enable you to enjoy flying from a chair :)
 

Nonamerc

Arman
Maybe it's smart to ask a doctor about this since we are not doctors ;) I hope that you are allowed to fly. Maybe it is an idea to post this on rcgroups.com I think that there will be allot of people there who can answer your question.
 

Ak Flyer

Fly the wings off
Mentor
I think you can enjoy line of sight from a chair as well as fpv. I would recommend starting with something like a Hobbyzone Champ. They are small and easy to fly and relatively inexpensive. You won't have to worry about doing any damage either as they are very light. You could take one to the head with no damage, maybe not the face. Plus it's small enough that you don't require a soccer field to fly it. A small park when no people are around would be sufficient, obviously more room would be better though. It's a ready to fly plane so you don't have to worry about building it or a complicated setup and if you find that you like it you can always upgrade from there. I wouldn't get a big plane that can cause damage until you are sure that you can comfortably and safely fly a smaller one.
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
Hi Jens, if I got you right you're an aspiring beginner, correct? I'd say any beginner, disabilities or not, is a health hazard to some degree =). It comes down to anyones sense of responsibility and skill set. Any beginner benefit from skilled help, even though the simulators available nowdays can prepare you quite a bit should there be none available.

Your post suggests you are a very responsible person, and have been on meds for a long time, so I'd gather you can judge quite well how suitable RC pilot you are at any given time. If not, develop a set of "skill tests" for yourself, along the lines of the american police's intoxication tests, that you have to pass.

Regarding vision specifically I'd recommend you to get a medium sized, slow and stable plane with bright discernible wing color that fit your visible color spectra so you can easily make out the orientation from a distance.
 

Jens_Averbeck

Junior Member
Hi everybody,

thanks for your answers.

As for driving out in the Country thats not a Problem at all since i live in a small Town with mostly Farmers and enough Fields growing Alfalfa where i could fly (with the permission of the Landowner of course) with a friend who is more into Helicopters. I also have a E-Mobile with a Range of about 35kilometers. But first i learn to fly on a Simulator and than and only than i go and buy a RC-Plane. I know that i would be tooo tempted to take that Plane out for a spin :D

@tramsgar I wouldnt pass that American Drug Test, last time i was in the Netherlands with a friend we got stopped by the Netherland Police and they did a Drug-Test on us, i showed up brightly on the Opiad-Test much to my embaressment. I showed the Police my Pump-Bottle of Tramadol with a copy of my Presciption, they checked with my Doctor in Germany including my daily Dosage of Tramadol and where than uncuffed and released, they suspected me to be Dealer who loves his own Productline :black_eyed:

As for a Beginner Plane i thought about a Parkzone Radian (Pro), painted in a screaming Neon-Green with a additional Bright White and Blue LED Kit on Wingtips and Fuselage for enhanced visibility and orientation. For Transmitter im undecided between a Spektrum DX6i, Turnigy 9X with the ER9X Mods or the Graupner MX12 HoTT System. As Simulator Im leaning heavly towards the Phoenix RC-Simulator.

Greetings from NRW, Germany
Jens
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Sounds quite perfect! A friend of mine likes to land in alfalfa as it softens his uncontrolled descents. :D Notice the FT sticker!

IMG_2621.jpg
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
they suspected me to be Dealer who loves his own Productline :black_eyed:

They cuffed you first and called later? Tough, man, hope you took it the right way - with a lot of life's irony...

As for a Beginner Plane i thought about a Parkzone Radian (Pro), painted in a screaming Neon-Green with a additional Bright White and Blue LED Kit on Wingtips and Fuselage for enhanced visibility and orientation. For Transmitter im undecided between a Spektrum DX6i, Turnigy 9X with the ER9X Mods or the Graupner MX12 HoTT System. As Simulator Im leaning heavly towards the Phoenix RC-Simulator.

Good choices! If you can, perhaps it'd help to outline the colored fields and other edges with black to kick up the contrast? I can recommend both Phoenix and Spektrum, though as the DX6i doesn't have backlight, maybe that's an issue for you? There are mod kits for that in case you don't want to shell out for a DX8.
 

Aces_High

Member
As someone who has to live with pain on a daily basis, I feel ya man. My situation is different however; the VA hospital will not give me pain meds because I'm "in my twenties" which apparently means I'm going to automagically overdoes. Anyway, I'd suggest practicing on a simulator to see how you do. Additionally, bring someone else along when you do physically go fly. That way, if something does go wrong, someone is there to help you.