Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hand propping a plane scares the bejesus out of me. Props are nothing to mess with as are planes with nobody at the controls. I've never done it, and as long as I am flying a plane with an electrical system, and starter, I never will.
According to the information in the video the pilot seemed to be so determined to fly didn't want to wait until Monday for a mechanic to repair the airplane. That kind of decision making is high risk one wonders what else this guy has done or will do. Hopefully he doesn't kill anyone other then himself.
People still hand prop older birds all the time, but the potential for disaster is a biggie. Even on a modern bird if you want to pull the prop thru you need to make sure ignition is off, throttle at idle. Not a big fan.......had a tractor with no starter when I was a kid that taught me a lesson years ago......I can still remember seeing stars........lol
I don't mind hand propping smaller engines in the area of 100 hp or less. Higher horsepower means higher compression, and that only adds to the danger.
One warning to anyone who pulls a prop through a compression stroke of an engine. BE PREPARED for the engine to try and start. Better safe than sorry. About 5 years ago, a mechanic and I were pulling the prop through on a Cessna 210 so we could tow it. The master was off, and I actually had the key in my pocket. The engine actually tried to start, turning over 4 or 5 prop blades, but unable to start due to the mixture being off. Both of us had to change our shorts after that. It was towed to the place it had last been worked on (different mechanics, the mechanic with me was a helicopter mechanic), where it was found to have several "issues" causing the mags to be hot all the time.
I don't mind hand propping smaller engines in the area of 100 hp or less. Higher horsepower means higher compression, and that only adds to the danger.
One warning to anyone who pulls a prop through a compression stroke of an engine. BE PREPARED for the engine to try and start. Better safe than sorry. About 5 years ago, a mechanic and I were pulling the prop through on a Cessna 210 so we could tow it. The master was off, and I actually had the key in my pocket. The engine actually tried to start, turning over 4 or 5 prop blades, but unable to start due to the mixture being off. Both of us had to change our shorts after that. It was towed to the place it had last been worked on (different mechanics, the mechanic with me was a helicopter mechanic), where it was found to have several "issues" causing the mags to be hot all the time.
My understanding that if you were just running the engine an ignition step up coil can store some energy for sometime. The reason I know this is from large 2 stroke RC airplane engines I fly DA-85 the manual states the electronic ignition will not fire the coils unless the prop is spun fast enough to protect one from it firing because of the coil storing energy. Ill assume since magneto coil system is just a generator connected to a step up coil has no protection could be the case why it fired a few times on you.
My understanding that if you were just running the engine an ignition step up coil can store some energy for sometime. The reason I know this is from large 2 stroke RC airplane engines I fly DA-85 the manual states the electronic ignition will not fire the coils unless the prop is spun fast enough to protect one from it firing because of the coil storing energy. Ill assume since magneto coil system is just a generator connected to a step up coil has no protection could be the case why it fired a few times on you.
Actually not true for aircraft engines with mags. When the ignition switch is off, in reality it is actually grounding the magnetos to prevent them from "working", and by grounding them, release any electrical energy. In my case, obviously, one or both of the wires associated with grounding the mags was wired wrong, not connected...etc.
When you are testing the mags on run up, you are actually grounding one of the mags in order to see how the other one is running.
On some airplanes, it can be just one compression (prop pulled through), to cause it to run if the conditions are right.
Actually not true for aircraft engines with mags. When the ignition switch is off, in reality it is actually grounding the magnetos to prevent them from "working", and by grounding them, release any electrical energy. In my case, obviously, one or both of the wires associated with grounding the mags was wired wrong, not connected...etc.
When you are testing the mags on run up, you are actually grounding one of the mags in order to see how the other one is running.
On some airplanes, it can be just one compression (prop pulled through), to cause it to run if the conditions are right.
I guess the lesson here is always consider the coil hot when moving the prop even if you have the keys in your pocket as you found the wire could be lose or not connected. Verify throttle is closed, brake is set, wheels are chocked, and use proper method to turn prop stay out of the arc.
A guy hand-propped my Mooney 201 once. The starter was acting up and chose a refueling stop in the middle-of-nowhere Georgia to decide it didn't want to co-operate. This seasoned pilot was very helpful: he even pulled out a battery cart at one point to try to get the engine going. When all else failed he offered to hand-prop it. I said I could not ask him to do that given the risk, but he said it would not be a problem. He disappeared in to his hangar and when he came back out he was wearing thick gloves on his hands. At that moment I knew he had done this a few times before, and it probably was no big deal for him. I was at the controls. We got the engine going on the second pull. Got the starter fixed a week later.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
