Warbird Information Exchange

I've seen the worst accident I have ever seen In my life and I used to work on an ambulance in college.. A guy at the airport was hand proping a airplane by himself. It started and because he didn't have the brakes on or the tail tied down it fired up and lurched forward and he cut off 3 fingers off one hand and a big chunk out of the other almost severing the arm.. OMG, it 's one thing seeing a dead body but seeing a live one running around with severd limbs is another...... Holy sugar, Totally unexpected to see something like that at the airport... Made me self reflect on how many times I had hand proped A/C.

Yeah, lots of people (and yes I've seen this done) ignore the FAA regulation that there has to be someone competent in the cockpit during a hand-propping. Common sense would say to tie the tail down at a minimum. I've hand-propped a few times myself and it sure makes you appreciate a starter!

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

On the L2-A that I finished the restoration on, we put switches on the boot cowl (under switch guards and a door) to prevent something like that from happening. If the engine surged like that, it is simple to flip the switches off and kill the engine. Oh, by the way, it was all approved by the FAA even though we all know that single hand propping is agin the rules.

RICK

Had a friend who owned a Baby Ace with a Cont 65. I showed up one day while he was trying to find which cylinder had a stuck valve. He was pulling one lower plug at a time, sticking his thumb in the plug hole and pulling the prop thru by hand. I offered to help and stood ready to pull the prop thru on the next cylinder. I asked if the switch was off, he replied 'Yes' and showed me the key in his pocket. He stuck his thumb in the plug hole, and I pulled the metal prop thru. As I did it immediately started and ran. I backed away while my friend took off running, holding his thumb sceaming "IT FIRED...IT FIRED..". I walked around and turned the fuel valve off. Caught up to my buddy, who was still holding his thumb. I said 'Let's see your thumb'. He slowly peeled his hand away from the digit and revealed a jet black thumb tip. I said "looks like she's running a little rich". He did not appreciate my humor at that moment.
I then asked how it started with the switch key in his pocket. He said he had no idea, because he had also taken the mag wires loose. I said 'holy crap, that made the mags hot!' He had no clue.
This is why you always treat a prop like its hot.
By the way, I have a banner hook on my tailwheel so I can safely prop my Hatz by myself.

Steve G

Take a look at the device below. This is the attach angle for the emergency braking parachute on a WWII CG-4A Glider. I have had a customer or two use them for making a release for a hand-propping tie down. I haven't tried it for that purpose, but think it is essential to tie down your aircraft if you are hand propping by yourself, which I know nobody ever, ever, ever does...

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Not just "real" planes, had a friend who was nearly killed by an RC plane that was being stubborn and then started suddenly, catching his hand. He jumped back and the plane ran over him chopping all the way up one leg, nicking his femoral artery. If he had not had a friend there that jumped in and helped stopped the bleeding, and being 200 yrds from a firehouse with paramedics, he would have bled out!!

Watch those props!

To prop my Cub, I chock the mains and leave the wings tied down. I start it on min throttle so it is a fast idle only. I GO OUT AROUND THE WING, pull the throttle back to min speed, then GO AROUND THE TAIL, untie the left wing, then BACK AROUND THE TAIL to untie the near wing and get in the cockpit. If I could not secure it fully I'd leave the fuel turned off after I primed it. Never walk in or reach in any prop arc, if you can avoid it just like you never point a gun anywhere except the ground unless you are shooting at something.

Treat a prop like Mad Samarai with a sword. And darn sure don't take those photos with you or your kid leaning on the prop or standing under one. Would you put your car up on a jack and ask your kid to crawl under it for a picture?

I meant this to go under the other one about hand propping.

Bill Greenwood

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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Which FAA regulation is this? I had a 65HP Luscombe and refused help starting it all the time.

My rules:
Throttle at idle
Stick tied back with the seat belt
Brakes set
At least one wheel chock

I have seen some really incompetent people try to handprop planes and it scared me. It is amazing that people whose only experience may be seeing it done in an old black & white movie would consider trying without any training.

Years ago in Chino John Muszala's Douglas Skyshark was hit by a runaway 182. The pilot was handpropping the plane with an unqualified passenger on the throttle. As I recall, at least one of the rear passengers lost some teeth in the ensuing crash. One of the prop blades cut through the Skyshark's wheel like a hot knife through butter. Little else on the Skyshark was damaged, but luckily for them it was there or the plane could have traveled farther and resulted in a fatality.

Easiest planes I've handpropped - anything with an A65
Hardest - Christen Eagle (fuel injected), most nosedraggers because of the angle

I've always pulled the prop through prior to starting an engine, usually 4 revolutions, and I always treated the prop as 'HOT': check throttle, mix, mag switch, brakes and chocks or tied down.

Had a Tri-Champ fire on me one day, ran about 30 revolutions before it died - scared the #%&* out of me but no injuries - bad mag switch (so that's why there was no mag drop on one of the mags........)

Saw the remains of a 172 that was propped by the pilot because the battery was dead - nobody in the plane, throttle somehow full forward, egine fired, guy got out of the way, plane gets airborne and sticks itself about 20 ft off the ground betwwen two big trees..................

This is one thing that scares me about aviation. Those prop blades scare the crap out of me!

Sorry to ear about it. Hope the guy is doing ok.

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Yall be careful out there!

It's not chocks or tied down for me, it's chocks AND tied down

Well, I guess it's not a regulation after all. I thought I was shown it, but can't find it right now.
For sure, the official Airplane Flying Handbook they say that it should not be done without two people familiar with hand-propping techniques are available. See page AFHB 2-8.
http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/airc ... a-2of7.pdf

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Oh god, how awful. I heard about a fatal encounter recently between a mechanic and a prop. You sure can't let you guard down at all when handling a prop. I always do a mag check on shutdown in the 195 which requires me to turn the prop through before starting and I make sure the key is out of the switch before touching the prop. But still, if something distracts you or your routine changes mistakes can happen. I had a broken p-lead once on a Super Cub that required frequent propping-caught it during a mag check at shutdown.
I used to (this was a long time ago) prop that plane by myself on occasion. With a Super Cub its easy to do a seaplane start-stand behind the prop, brace one hand on the windshield frame and pull the prop with the other. With the door on the Cub it's easy to have the mixture off and catch it before it shuts off. I thought this was a pretty safe way to start the thing, until an old-timer pointed out that if the engine ever kicked back I'd probably lose a few fingertips. The back edge of the blade is sharp and there's no way to avoid it from behind (which is why you never wrap your fingers around the blade when propping normally.)

The best one I have ever heard about hand propping.................."I'd rather kiss a rattlesnake on top of the head than prop one". Probably not bad advice. I got bit once, and that's enough.
Three Finger Wayne

I was working offshore as a kid when a supply helicopter dropped in and promptly mowed the top of his guide's head off. It's been 20 years or so and I still get a little sweaty in the palms when props are spinning. The one time in Denver when I was ordered to help spin a prop on a B25 I not only had no idea what to do, I think I got in the way. Youse guys can do that bit, if you don't mind. I already KNOW I suck at it.

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