Heads Up on the taxiway

[CAPFlyer]

I've become more used to walking through arcs in the line of "there's no other way to get there", but I avoid them as much as possible. My first aviation job was with Air Wisconsin (ZW) at Denver Int'l when they were still flying the Doinker. The rule was that no-one could walk through the prop arc under ANY circumstance not least because there were no prop brakes on the aircraft, so the props could move under even a very light gust of wind if at the right angle and cause some serious harm if it hit you. When I'm around the R4D, I always approach from either the wingtip or down the fuselage for this reason. With some of the twins I've worked around, there's no option but go through the prop arc to reach certain locations on the airplane, but if there is any way, I go around, over, or under the plane to keep from doing it. You never know when there might be a gust of wind or hot mag that could be the end of you, not to mention if you make the mistake of walking through a running prop (as I've heard of on far too many occasions).

[Bill Greenwood]

Ober, BDK, Tillerman, Cap; you guys make pretty much the same good point. Unless otherwise needed STAY OUT OF THE PROP ARC. Think of it as a crazy Samarai warrior with a big sword that he can swing at anytime. Don't give him a chance to chop you. I hate to see photos of people standing under or leaning on props.

Last edited by Bill Greenwood on Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Jack Cook]

Having seen up close someone walking into a moving prop and the outcome. NEVER take a short cut, never allow another to do it. Treat every prop like it's hot. Rules like this are written in blood

[Forgotten Field]

Railway employees are taught to never walk on the rails, to always step across the rail and onto a tie, as there is always a chance you will fall and be incapacitated on the tracks. I think propellers should be treated the same way- there is always the chance of becoming seriously incapacitated or dead if you touch a prop. I view a propeller in the same light as a gun, or matches, or chemicals- only used by properly trained people, and very dangerous if handled without care. I wish airshow announcers would say this in their spiels, as people are always touching the L-5 prop.

I teach my sons, 4 and 10, to walk 10 feet away from the prop in an arc, and to always get the pilot's attention before crossing in front of an aircraft. Both of them get it, and get reminded of it every time we are at the airport.

Thanks for bringing it up, Bill.

[Canso42]

I'm thankful that there was no damage and everyone is safe. Jack Cook says it best for me. As a still fairly new warbird museum volunteer, I got into the habit right off the bat of ALWAYS BEING AWARE OF EVERY PROP ALL THE TIME. Like Jack said, always treat every prop as hot.
I work tug crew at Lone Star. Being on a vehicle crew myself I was real interested in this thread. One thing that I don't think anyone mentioned, is that ground vehicles can suddenly make a move or change directions just seconds after they seem to be in the clear.
Some years ago, I worked in a fairly dangerous job situation. The company had a safety slogan "always take the safe course."
Thanks for hearing my 1.5 cents' worth.

Doug.

[planeoldsteve]

It's not just prop's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDhtWDfx3oo

Steve

[Bill Greenwood]

Plain old Steve, God that is awful. I have read of one where the sailor actually lived. Is there any danger from a T-33, F86, L-39, etc ? Bet a Raptor is really bad.

[T33driver]

Plain old Steve, God that is awful. I have read of one where the sailor actually lived. Is there any danger from a T-33, F86, L-39, etc ? Bet a Raptor is really bad.

While on the ground, the T-33 gets much of it's intake air from spring-loaded plenum doors on top of the fuselage but one still needs to stay clear of the fuselage side intakes whenever the engine is spinning. Besides risk to ground personnel, intake FOD (foreign object damage) is a significant damage risk to jet engines whether it's debris on the ramp or a hat on a person's head that can get sucked throught the intakes and trash an engine. L-39s are lower risk with their intakes being higher up.

[RickH]

F-4 and TA-4 have safety areas posted in their ground handling T.O.s. They show a cone from the intakes radiating forward and a cone radiating outward from the exhaust.

The T-33 is less susceptible because it's an centrifugal flow engine, It already has screens around the intakes of the engine proper.

The axial flow with direct intakes are pulling more air through the intakes and the route is directly into the face of the engine.

[RickH]

Complete video with background. THE GUY SURVIVED !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJf1okwb-5Y&mode=related&search=

[Jack Cook]

So much of my time was spent around A-6s I didn't fear the intakes. but, I sure respected them. S-3s and E-2s always scared me though. Night
is a whole different kind of scared. Yes, I'll admit it I was sacred