Last Fri night Dakota and I went to start the plane in the dark. Didn't have a light. (was thinking of flying up to the Valley Airport Gar )
Did the same thing Paul was talking about, because I couldn't see the checklist. I sat there and thought for a min before I remembered the mixture. A few mins ago I was thinking that after I kill it with the mixture, I would just push it rich again, so it would be ready to start again next time. Thanks Kyle, you reminded me that this isn't a good ideal either, especially since I like to turn the prop a few rounds during pre-flight.
Owning a J3 as I do, I'm very comfortable hand-propping solo. As long as the mags are in good shape, you could wonder why electric starters were ever invented. The main precaution is to make sure the fuel valve is turned off after priming and before starting. Propping from behind makes all the difference.
I put the J3 on floats for the first time in July, and I was concerned about hand-propping while standing on a float out on the water. But it turns out to be even easier than on the ground, because the airplane can't roll away from you. I've taken to leaving the fuel on while starting the J3 on floats, but I'll continue to turn it off when it's on wheels or skis.
I've never hand-propped a 170, but I did need hand starting on my O-300 powered Swift last summer. That's definitely a two-person job. I stayed in the seat while a friend, who routinely hand-props his own C90-powered airplanes, swung the prop. It started very easily. The only thing is, it seems like every third pull puts the propeller at ten o-clock on a compression stroke where you want it. That isn't a problem with four-cylinder engines, of course.
John
John Renwick
Minneapolis, MN
Former owner, '55 C-170B, N4401B
'42 J-3 Cub, N62088
'50 Swift GC-1B, N2431B, Oshkosh 2009 Outstanding Swift Award, 2016 Best Continuously Maintained Swift
one has to very careful indeed.
ideally, i like the blade at the 11 o'clock position
before propping.
s.t.'s it's at the 7 o'clock position
and i has gently pushed it thru
the compression to repositon it
and it has started just by doing this.
now i make sure the mag is off.
in this age of computers, cell phones
and every other appartatus
to make life harder (i mean easier)
i think propping a plane is a lost art.
dave
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