How NOT to start an Aircraft

[Guest Cralis]

Video is pretty self explanetory...

 

YouTube - FAA Hand-Propping Accident Video

 

 

[Thx1137]

Scary stuff.

 

I have scars on my fingers from model aircraft. No way known I will try a big one!

 

Steven.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Lost a biplane once hand-propping down one end of the airstrip, I had forgotten to do a preflight item,. shut down to check it, and then hand-propped it again. All I could find for wheelchocks were hard cowpatties, which she promptly jumped. It did two turns around me whilst I was hanging onto a wing strut. Managed to knock off the throttle in the open cockpit fortunatly. A dangerous bisiness. I will only handprop an aircraft now under the following conditions (religously!) 1. Compenent pilot in the cockpit or 2. Tail of aircraft well tied down to immoveable object.

 

 

[Yenn]

The man from whom I bought a 1600 Jab engine lost several fingers starting that engine by hand. It certainly curtailed his use of fingers. He was a retired schoolteacher and worked as a "rouseabout" at Jabiru, so it didn't stop him working, but was a painful thing to see.

 

 

[markendee]

The man from whom I bought a 1600 Jab engine lost several fingers starting that engine by hand.

Apparently he didn't realise his two fingers were gone until he went to say goodnight to the boss.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

I bet it was, I used to hand prop an old J3 cub for a friend of mine often. I was taught however by a clever old gentleman whose first rule was "always wear an old glove on the hand contacting the prop in case it kickbacks. He also taught a different move to normal, which was to set a lower blade at about 7 o'clock posn and to drag it through sort of backhand as you walked past. As it started you would then be walking away from it. He also taught never to put a leg into the prop arc as props are quicker than legs. It's worked for me so far.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Hi Markendee, always somebody ready to take just about anything into the toilet...I love it !

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Hi Markendee, always somebody ready to take just about anything into the toilet...I love it !

Saw another idiot loose a couple once when he decided to see if an old balistic chute rocket would still work. Unfortunatly he had two fingers over the serious end when he pulled it....it worked.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

there is a clip floating around of the Ultrabat loose at an airshow took out a couple of people.

 

watched Tiger Moth at one of the early schofields shows pilotless, tail up and heading for the fuel dump flipped over not far from it. Whew, went the crowd.

 

 

[Geoff]

Hay Ian, I didn't think a jab would fire up till it go to 280rpm so how did he spin it so fast?;)

 

 

[BLA82]

I have scars on my fingers from model aircraft. No way known I will try a big one!

I second that!!!!!

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

YouTube - Runaway Aircraft

 

here is the clip on the ultrabat

 

not sure if this was at Camden or Mangalore. Either way it caused a lot of rule changes to ultralights performing at airshows.

 

One other interesting story i listened to on the ultraflight radio show was a story on a PPG that the owner was having trouble starting so he opened up the throttle and gave it a crank it fired, ran him over and in his own words it did the best launch ever. it became airbourne and climbed circleing over the field slowly gaining height. it had over 8 us gallons on board. It was still airbourne a couple of hours later and as the day cooled down and it burnt off some fuel it climbed into stronger winds and still circleing dissapeared into the gathering darkness, never to be seen for over 12 months until it was found deep in a forest. the canopy was UVed out but the ppg was in good condition. As the pilot said what can you do but stand there with your bottom jaw hanging. been lookin for this in the archives but hav'nt found it yet worth listening to as it was sadly a hilarious story.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[facthunter]

Hand Starting.

 

My first model aircraft engine, (a Frog 150 diesel) wrecked ALL the fingers of both hands before I got the hang of starting it. (I was 11).

 

During my flying training, I was TAUGHT how to handswing props and duly signed out in my log-book. Like many things done properly, there is little on no danger.

 

The problem is when you are alone.

 

This used to happen quite frequently, but we always carried chocks for the wheels.

 

With the Tiger moth, the control stick was secured in the full back position, (or almost so) and the chocks were placed in front of the wheels. An exception to this is where the strip is sandy, where sand can be piled in front of the mainwheels.

 

The engine is primed (by tickling the float) and THE THROTTLE IS CONFIRMED CLOSED, AT THE CARBURETTOR, at the same time (with the cowl open). All you do is set the throttle at idle and when it starts it ticks over rather gently. You click on the Port magneto , make sure the friction nut is tight, and remove and stow the chocks.

 

I do not know of any (other than the VW) engines that are suited to handswinging, and I am not currently across the legality of doing it on your own. I suspect that it is not permitted. I personally witnessed an Auster tug plane at Bond Springs, that was started and went forward into fuel drums with a lot of power on, with no one in it, which broke both blades off the propellor. There is the famous case of the Auster Archer that took off at Bankstown with no-one in it, and flew around over Sydney for some hours before the Navy shot it down. Nev.