Tailwheel...?

[burninggoats]

For example, with a powerful taildragger, you really don't need to master the rudder during takeoff. Just push all the knobs in, wait 2 seconds, and with no forward stick you're in the air, admittedly not over the runway, and you're gonna take out a runway light every once in a while.

Judging by the state of the runway lights at my airport, this is a pretty acceptable mentality among too many pilots.

[MichaelP]

...trained by Hedley perhaps?

[Hedley]

I will admit that it's a technique I have had demonstrated to me, but it's not my personal favorite

[Shiny Side Up]

This method works so well, you don't even need a pilot on board to execute it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... rshow.html

note: Googling "airplane takes off without pilot" gets a staggering ammount of hits. From what I can see from the results, this type of accident happens in North America at least once a year, if not more. Worldwide I would wager it happens probably a dozen times a year. Occasionally when a Cub is involved, it doesn't even require a runway...

[Grantmac]

That is why the last checklist item before solo handpropping should be:

"Prime then select fuel off".

They don't go very far with what is in the float bowl.

-Grant

[Cat Driver]

When I started crop spraying the company had eight airplanes two J3 Cubs, two Super Cubs and four Stearmans.

Only two of them had starters...the Super Cubs.

The most important issue for safe hand propping is knowing what you are doing and never pulling the prop unless you are 100% sure the throttle is closed.

And there is no " one method fits all " .

[Hedley]

I don't really recommend hand-propping for most people, because of the danger involved.

There is one good thing about hand-propping: it teaches you how to precisely prime your engine.

With a starter, there is no such motivation - you can go around and around an extra 30 seconds, too rich or too lean, and it will probably still start. Eventually. Lotta wear and tear on your starter, and it sure cycles the battery, too.

All the itty bitty 4 cyl Lyc and TCM engines hand-prop just fine. My buddy Peter with his 200hp AEIO-360 Pitts S-1T had a starter fail at a contest, years ago, and I hand-propped him for the contest and on the way home - fuel stops, etc. Contest people didn't approve. Oh well. That was the least of my problems with them.

Engines I have hand-propped and really wish I hadn't:

O-470 with 2-blade in C180
AEIO-540 with 3-blade claw in Pitts
Kinner in Ryan
R-985 in Stearman
etc

. is old enough to remember the trick you can use in a twin, where if the starter fails on one engine, you start it using the other engine, using a rope wrapped around the hub of the dead engine, and the other end of the rope is tied to the good engine. Like a lawnmower pull start.

Again, really not recommended for many people these days. Odds are, they're just going to hurt themselves.

[Cat Driver]

. is old enough to remember the trick you can use in a twin, where if the starter fails on one engine, you start it using the other engine, using a rope wrapped around the hub of the dead engine, and the other end of the rope is tied to the good engine. Like a lawnmower pull start.

Yup, used that method on a Beech 18 on floats one day in Northern Quebec when I was all alone and one starter wouldn't work. ( In 1966)

I have also used a Ski Doo to start a DC3 on wheel skis..several times in fact.

[MichaelP]

Hand propping difficulty is usually inversely proportional to engine size.

It is more related to compression ratio and propeller length.

An R985 is a much easier engine to hand prop than a 1500cc VW engine.

Of course since most people are right handed it is easier to swing a prop that rotates in the proper direction.

The situation we should all take a lot more care with is when there's a "B" position on the mag switch.
The R755S engine on the C195 I was flying had a B for Battery. It was a coil ignition system on the right side.
So switch to B with yourself clear of the propeller, nothing? OK swing it! Step away switch off, turn prop to position stand back, switch on, nothing?, swing it, step back.
Sometimes she can fire simply by switching to Battery, or you swing the prop and nothing, then bang!

[mike53]

So if the old time instructors were so good how come the GA fatal accident rate in 1950 was 4 times what it was today ?



http://planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm These figures and your figures don't jive.4 X just seemed excessive .Can you back it up with any proof or did you round up a wee bit too much

Got tooling around AOPA and found this to back up BPF's numbers . http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/stats/safety.html
Note the high number of hours flown in 79,80,81. .We had the recession in 81 through 82 and the numbers have never come close to matching those 3 years with the exception of 99 when they almost hit 29,246,000.

[cgzro]

All the itty bitty 4 cyl Lyc and TCM engines hand-prop just fine. My buddy Peter with his 200hp AEIO-360 Pitts S-1T had a starter fail at a contest, years ago, and I hand-propped him for the contest and on the way home - fuel stops, etc. Contest people didn't approve. Oh well. That was the least of my problems with them.

And it was greatly appreciated!! If I recall correctly the bendix got stuck engaged, was quite interesting because I did a flight with the bendix stuck and was wondering where some of my vertical performance went .. into heating the starter I guess. Replaced it with a lovely little B&C starter at 1/3rd the weight and twice the starting RPM once we got back.

[CPLMike89]

The taylorcraft I used to fly had no starter, If there is one thing that never stops being scary it was handproping and if there was one thing scarier then that it was solo handproping. I wont shed a tear if I never have to do it again.