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Have you ever hand-propped your RV?

Have you ever hand propped your RV?


  • Total voters
    128
Not mine, but used to hand prop my neighbors O-360 powered RV-4 all the time. I have not, and probably would not hand prop a tricycle gear plane.
My 10:1 LongEZ is a pussy cat to hand prop.
 
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Not mine, but my friend's RV-6A, O-360. Kinda awkward, not recommended for anyone that doesn't have a couple hundred hours of J-3 time. Make sure the keyed ignition switch is on "L", not "Both".

Not something I really want to do again.....
 
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I attempted to have mine hand propped several weeks ago when the starter wouldn’t turn over (the root cause was later discovered to be worn contacts in the key starter switch). Unfortunately the Bendix gear was already engaged so that precluded any chance of success.

Given the fact that I have the Bendix starter and a three blade prop, I don’t see myself attempting to prop it ever again, especially if I know the starter gear is engaged.
 
Hand propped my Champ all the time but have not yet hand propped the RV. I will be switching from a 2 to a 3 blade prop so in addition to answering the survey question I am curious:
1. Have you ever hand propped a dual PMag engine using a 9v battery?
2. Have you ever hand propped a 3 blade prop?
 
Hand prop

Only once in my RV-4 at an airfield with no services except fuel and the starter failed. Also saw Rosie do it on the 49 ship at LXT back in 2013.
 
No. IO-360 with TDC at 12-6. I'd need lessons, and motivation. Motivation like certain death if I can't get it running.
 
Yes - I had to hand prop Louise’s RV-6 when the idiot at the ignition switch (it wasn’t Louise....) double-bumped it on a start and the nose piece of the SkyTech fractured (it was the old design - long time ago). We were at a remote field where we’d stopped for fuel, with no one around, and before calling for the cavalry, I figured hand propping was reasonable, given that the engine was warm and usually started on a single blade.

Having grown up hand-propping J-3’s, and then owning one for ten years later on, I am pretty familiar with the Armstrong method of getting an IC engine to run. I had never pulled a 360 through with the intent of starting it before, and found it a good workout - definitely takes a bit more oomph that a lowly C-65 with weak cylinders.

The problem I found with the -6 was that the nose was sort of low for the job, making it feel like I was going to fall into the prop. Not something I will be looking to do on a regular basis.

Paul
 
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Did my O-320 6A once. The geometry of a nosewheel RV is such that your head is right next to the prop when it starts. I'm not doing it again.

Hand propping and jumping an airplane with a dead or low battery has you launching with the alternator working very hard and potentially overheating itself and the battery. If it blows diodes, there you are in the air with a dead battery. Charge it before flight is a better idea.

Ed Holyoke
 
problems not needed

Oh %#^^ NO. I'm not stepping in front of that meat chopping piece of prop. I've survived this long, been blown up twice and am still here with two eyes and badly ringing ears and all my digits. But I've got the tools, the money, and the brains on how to fix the juice supply.
Count me out.
Art
 
My saying

In general, I live by the rule of survival:
In a emergency, never do anything you haven't practiced.

So if I was to contemplate hand propping an RV, that means something happened and it must be an emergency. But doing something I haven't done before in an emergency usually doesn't end as intended.

So no,I never have, nor do I ever intend to hand prop a RV, (nor any other plane that I haven't been mentored on)
 
It would have to be a substantial emergency for me to resort to hand-propping instead of using a battery charger.
 
Hand Propping

Hand propping for over 60 years including Piper Navajo with three blade, 3 blade aerobatic airplanes with 10-1 pistons, etc. In my old age I would probably not try it on many nosewheel airplanes.
Couple of comments: this is best considered for a starter failure not a dead battery. The dead battery may or may not charge once the engine is started. If you're following Vlad around you would do well to have an external power receptacle and one of the little batteries that can be carried with you. They connect directly to the external power receptacle.
 
Hand Propping

EAA Vintage has in the past conducted hand propping seminars at the Red Barn. Highly recommended, you can learn to do this properly without danger of hurting yourself.
 
Once

Odyssey 680 wouldn’t turn it on a 23 degree morning. Started right up, a few more rpm than I planned for😬 Bought a jump pack shortly thereafter.
 
EAA Vintage has in the past conducted hand propping seminars at the Red Barn. Highly recommended, you can learn to do this properly without danger of hurting yourself.

Geometry plays a big part in this. Vintage taildraggers that shipped without starters were designed with safe propping in mind, whereas modern tricycle gear are not. Compression ratio also plays a big factor: the 6.3-1 of a C85 for example is much easier to swing through by hand than a hot rod 10-1 Lycoming. If you’re breaking form to muscle the prop through that can easily create a dangerous situation.
 
When I changed the compression from 7:1 to 9.5:1 my RV became noticeably more difficult to "prop". Then I went to the 3-blade. Never propped it after that.
 
I have never had to hand prop my 14A but “back in the day” when I flew a C-182 for a parachute club that had no battery to save weight we would hand prop it multiple times a day. The trick we used to make it safer.....more like a C-180.... was to have a heavy guy hold the tail almost on the ground by pushing down on the aft fuselage. This might work on a nose wheel RV if you are careful where you push on it.
 
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Hand Prop

I didn’t hand prop mine but a good friend did it for me when my solenoid failed at a fuel stop on the way home from OSH. My RV-8 has a 200 hp engine and a two blade prop. After several attempts I finally managed to get the fuel/air mixture correct for the successful start. He pointed at me and gave me a “you better keep it running” signal. We flew home together in formation. I won’t mention any names but his call sign is Jarhead. Thanks Buddy
 
I had a starter break once and hand proped with no problem. Having a tailwheel and the propeller on the correct position, tail tied down and wheel chocks. No problem.

A few safety measures and a little common sense and no problem at all.
 
Only once….

….my son and I were travelling the NWT, Yukon and Alaska, and I don’t recall where exactly we were, but it was an airport with self serve and not much else. Fortunately, carbureted O-320 with 9.5:1 starts extremely easy and consistently so a good one to “learn on” though not keen to ever have to do it again!
 
I hand propped my brother's RV9A at OSH one year. He'd left the master on for the week. The alternator never "kicked" in, so he killed it and we jumped, everything went fine from there.
 
RV-6, yes. Pawnee 235hp Low comp toothpick 2 blade, yes.

Nosewheels- no.

Oddest- 3 bladed O-290. Not comfortable enough to do again. Low inertia blades really move too quick to assure margin as sweeping away hands.

Near miss- old Tcart, 65 hp. Pulling thru to prime, pilot at seat, old blade switch mags OFF. Motor started second blade pulling through.

No danger up to this point. Motor idling, pilot animatedly motioning that switch blade is "OFF", come see it. Felt like a mile walking around the prop arc to go see it was off still.

He swiped it to both and asked if we could check it before he flew off. I said I was done propping for the day. His mag check was normal, no idea if "off" worked later.

Before asking or propping, know how the ignition is wired and how priming is best done. Impulse coupled mags only, breaker retard/slickstarts need some minimum voltage as does EI.
 
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Hand propped every airplane I've owned (except the L-39). My Taylorcraft is no electric, so hand prop 100% of the time since 1940.
 
No Chance. Well, Maybe

We have a regular ol’ 8.5 compression O-320 on our RV-6. The sharp trailing edges and low inertia of the Catto propeller makes hand propping seem pretty dicey, even though it starts easily with the Lightspeed III electronical ignition + Slick mag with impulse coupling. I’d much rather take extra time and/or expense to charge the battery or do a jump start, if a dead battery was the issue. On the other hand, if we were truly stranded with no way to charge the battery or had a broken starter, I might think about hand propping. I’d sure want a pair of gloves for those sharp trailing edges, and a smart pilot in the driver’s chair. I’ve hand propped lots of airplanes, from little Continentals up to a 450 horsepower R-985. Our RV-6 might be a challenge.
 
That why check dead mag before every shutdown

Near miss- old Tcart, 65 hp. Pulling thru to prime, pilot at seat, old blade switch mags OFF. Motor started second blade pulling through.

No danger up to this point. Motor idling, pilot animatedly motioning that switch blade is "OFF", come see it. Felt like a mile walking around the prop arc to go see it was off still.

He swiped it to both and asked if we could check it before he flew off. I said I was done propping for the day. His mag check was normal, no idea if "off" worked later.

Before asking or propping, know how the ignition is wired and how priming is best done. Impulse coupled mags only, breaker retard/slickstarts need some minimum voltage as does EI.

10 years ago when doing my transition training for the -7, my instructor admonished me for not doing a dead mag check prior to shutdown ….apparently he had a brother-in-law (I think??) doing a walk around checking blades when a live mag kicked a blade that struck his top shoulder and did permanent damage, the engine did not start or would have been fatal.

Loose or broken wire leaves the mag live, so always check. I’m sure many have seen this video, but a good reminder just the same https://youtube.com/watch?v=nmbAsO3b5x4&feature=share
 
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