Pierre,

I have crushed a leg, but not on a rudder pedal. It was the whole foot deal in an Ultraflight Challenger II. Not enough real strength in the cockpit structure.

I don't agree with taking our hands off the controls. Wear a helmet, nomex, boots, and use very good, very tight belts and shoulder harness. The cheesy inertia reel in the Challenger ended my sex life. I had crashed three crop dusters with no injury and gotten complacent with other aircraft.

Crop dusters like race cars are designed to crash. Low wing for visibility and to absorb the energy of the sudden stop. Pilot as high as possible for visibility and as far from the engine as possible. Hopper in front of pilot so spray will go up onto the engine instead of back on the pilot. Cutters on gear and window. Cable between cabin and vertical stabilizer to keep wires from catching the vertical stabilizer. Thick walled steel tubing and panels or fabric.

The Super Cub was a great crop duster, but killed a lot of pilots. Pilot hit first, engine came back in pilot's lap, spray came up (from hopper in back seat area) on pilot. Piper hired Fred Weick and some University of Texas engineers to design the Pawnee as a safety crop duster. That is why they all look alike. They are all designed to crash.

Here's some which come to mind:

"Don't lean below 3000'."

"Look out the side window to determine when to flare."

"The normal way to land a 172 or 182 is with 20 degrees of flaps."

"Using 40 degrees of flaps is dangerous."

"As long as you stay in the white arc, you won't stall."

"All airplanes are built 20% stronger than the POH says."

"Any airplane can be rolled."

"Just let go and it'll stop spinning."

Cary