Another propeller fatality - Gillespie field (KSEE)

Just saw it on the LA news. Nasty closeup of the prop blade. I'll prop an o-200 all day long. An o-320 is dicey, too much compression unless everything is perfect. A 200hp Piper Arrow? Not a chance. (It could have been a 180hp Arrow but I'd still not do it).
 
Lot easier on tail draggers, on nose gear planes, I would not do it. Actually, I just wont anymore anyway, lol.
 
I hand propped a 172 once. Not in any hurry to have to do that again. A high compression 3 blade on a tricycle? No f'n way! That third blade just comes through too fast and you have no leverage.
 
Itchy said:
Insane. Who needs it running that bad? They put an external power port on it for a reason.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. We used to have a cart with a 24V battery on it and jumper cables. Hook it to the external power connector - worked great.

RIP.
 
Just got off the phone with a buddy who fly's down that way. Terrible thing to have happen, RIP.
 
Pretty much my second home lately.

Hand propping is the one thing in aviation I haven't done yet and don't care to do so.
 
Ugh. I'll prop something if it doesn't have a starter to begin with.... but otherwise, find an electric solution.

Sad.
 
I've never done it, and when my PPL examiner asked me how I would go about it, I just flat out said I never would. He nodded and moved on.

Still no plans to.
 
Sad deal. I don't see it as dangerous as most do as long as you take the precautions. I don't view it as another way of playing Russian Roulette.

I've hand propped a J3 and a 172 a handful of times. You better have trust in the person sitting behind the controls when you do it though, or really good chalks.
 
Sad thing. I dont have much problem with hand propping, we even hand propped a plane for one of my checkrides not too long ago....but not many people are taught how to do it properly now days. A little bit of bad technique or lack of respect and very bad things can happen.
 
Exactly, technique and respect are the keys to it. I used to fly a J5 on a regular basis that didn't have an electrical system, and I was usually by myself and had to handprop quite a bit. That being said, if there is an electrical solution, that's really the way to go...
 
This is sad. You've got to treat these props like they're loaded!

As I posted in a different thread, while I was in Windhoek, Namibia just last year, I watched a guy doing his walk around on a C206. With passengers on board he pulled the prop through. One loud "pop" as a cylinder fired and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. That prop dug in about 3.5" on the right side of his skull leaving a 8" gash. After restarting his heart and stopping the bleeding, all I could do was wait for the ambulance that had to travel 25km.

Anywhere in the U.S. he might have lived (no discussion about his quality of life); in Africa...no way. He was 26yoa, 3 months on the job.
 
I had not really thought about it before this, but I have now made the decision to not prop any airplane, unless it is a life or death situation such as being stuck at the north pole with a dead battery and no cell phone signal!
 
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