I hand propped my Champ for several years with no mishaps, thank goodness. It's amazing what can happen if you do have a mishap. Check out this old film:

http://www.airvids.net/view/260/faa-han ... ent-video/

Great video. I have been hand propping my cub for years and so far so good but everytime I flip the prop I treat it like it's trying to kill me.

Very impressive!

A few years ago, a guy flooded his champ in Urbana, Ohio after filling the gas tanks. So then he turned the mags off, put the throttle wide open and turned it backwards 8-10 times, right?

Next he turned the mags on and propped it forward without closing the throttle any (wide open!).


Same thing except he didn't hang on. The plane took off and flew around, narrowly missing some hangars, then it climbed and flew straight for 2-3 hours until it ran out of gas. Even then it flew straight with a gentle glide. It ended up in a soybean field near me on it's nose only because of the soybean drag on the wheels. If they were harvested, everyone thinks it would have rolled to a stop!

I'm not calling you a liar...but man that was a long time for it to fly on it"s own without something major happening!

This exact same thing (the video) just happened to a friend of mine late last summer. Out of respect for him I won't reveal his name or airport. He is very experienced yet for whatever reason he got complacent.

While hand propping a 2 place taildragger that hadn't been run in a long time, the engine caught with the throttle open too much. Plane was chocked but not tied down with nobody else in plane. It jumped the chocks and taxied away into a hanger destroying itself. Luckily, no one injured. (Be careful).

Over the years seen and heard some real bad stories about prop accidents at OSH and other places. Have done some hand propping for myself and others...it is not a time to be complacant. Nice thing about hand proping the J3, I can reach the prop, the throttle and the mags while having each foot on the front and rear of the right tire. Usually use two people, preferably pilots, while hand proping.
HC

Happened to a Champ (why is it always a Champ?) just a few years ago near here too. It took off and flew about 3 miles then impacted into a field wing low and destroyed itself. I think it took off from Schellville in the norther San Francisco Bay Area. REALLY luckly no one was hurt, the bay area is pretty congested.

Ain't lost an Airknocker yet.

This is an Interstate, looking at breaks my heart!

Last year a fellow Luscombe pilot chopped off him arm while proping his 8A. Last I heard he was trying to learn to fly with one arm under light sport...in a Luscombe of course.

A pilot I know had this happen when he hand propped a Cessna 210 at Sea Tac a few years back. The plane got away from the pilot and almost got airborne. It went across the field and wound up taking out the VOR on the field. They said the saying in the tower was: " The 210 is cleared directly to the VOR". He actually wasn't trying to hand prop it but it had a bad spot on the flywheel and he was turning the prop so the starter would work.

hicountry, I think you were "implying" a liar maybe. Anyway, here is the story:

http://www.thisistrue.com/up_up_and_away_5696.html

Here in weed a few years back, a cheapskate with a 172 had a dead battery for a year or so. He hand proped it yery well until.....

Well it headed down the taxi way dragging him along. He was trying to pull hinself into the plane. After much pavement rash he let go and the plane took off, cleared my hanger by about 20 ft and made a slow half circle and crashed beteween the north and south lane of I-5

Total

Tim

patrol guy:
No No! I'm not calling you a liar. As I said it seems hard to believe. I will look at your link. Its' just hard to believe the unmanned plane could fly in trim that long. I believe a takeoff and maybe fly around a little as some of the other posts related. Sometimes the wierd does happen!
HC

Tim,

I remember that 172....first heard about it from another Weed pilot with a 172. Not much news coverage about it though.

Brian

Here's the NTSB report of the Champ that flew itself off the ground by Petaluma, and finally crashed 45 miles away.

Gump

LAX02LA058

On December 26, 2001, about 1510 Pacific standard time, an Aeronca 7AC, N83136, impacted mountainous terrain near Winters, California. The unoccupied airplane was destroyed, and there were no injuries. The airplane took off with no one aboard when the private pilot started the engine from outside the airplane by pulling the propeller. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight operated by the owner under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane departed from a private airstrip near Petaluma, California, at 1545, and the pilot's intent was to land at Gnoss Field at Novato, California. No flight plan was filed.

According to a spokesman for the owner/pilot, the aircraft was not equipped with an electric starter motor and the pilot normally and routinely started it by "propping" (pulling the propeller by hand). The pilot (who was alone) stood behind the propeller when pulling on it.

The pilot reported that, after "propping" the engine about 4 times without achieving engine start, he perceived the engine was "flooded" and returned to the cockpit where he turned the magneto switch "off" and advanced the throttle to the full throttle position. He then turned the engine backwards 10 revolutions. He next returned to the cockpit again and turned the magneto switch back to the "both" position; however, he forgot to retard the throttle back to the idle position. When he next "propped" the engine it started at maximum power. The pilot attempted to restrain the airplane but was unable to do so and the airplane moved forward and took off with no one aboard.

The airplane was located the following morning about 45 miles northeast of the departure point, having crashed in mountainous terrain near Lake Berryessa.

[q. The pilot attempted to restrain the airplane but was unable to do so and the airplane moved forward and took off with no one aboard.

The airplane was located the following morning about 45 miles northeast of the departure point, having crashed in mountainous terrain near Lake Berryessa.[/quote]...........That is awesome !!!!!!

I had a Champ catch fire when hand propping one day, it was winter and quite cold out. We over primed it and had a fire start in the carb air box.

The best way to put out an intake fire like this is to suck it up into the engine so I cranked and cranked that little bastard till I was about to puke before it finally started.

After it warmed up we shut it off and checked for damage, all was OK so off we went.

Shane

The petaluma Champ was initially seen heading West towards the ocean. The pilot who luckily had his 8 yr old grandson get out of the plane while he handpropped, gave chase in the farmer's pickup but lost it.
I understand Oakland partially tracked it. The fuel onboard was enough for 2 to 3 hours of flight.
Champs don't need no stinking pilots.

Way back when, I guess about '69 or so, big fun was to climb up a few thousand feet, shut off the engine, stop the prop and glide like a bird back to the airport, only to get out, start er up and do it again... Gliding down with the window open and the door off, you could hold your arms out and it felt like you were really flying.

I still remember pretty damn good, standing in front, and swinging the prop on my ol Champ, right in the middle of the runway, after one of these glider rides.

The engine came to life at about 7/8 throttle, I must have unknowingly bumped it in with my knee, while getting out. It really took me by surprise, and by the time I had backed up, kinda regained my footing, jumped aside, and ducked under the wing strut, it was going at a really good clip. I ran behind it, with my big furry arctic parka blowing back like Superman's cape, saw I was getting left behind, and finally just jumped and sort of caught the door with my fingertips. SHIT.....Dragging along on the toes of my boots, fighting to hang on...SHIT... Well, after what seemed like forever, and was probably 3 seconds, I was just barely able to do a sort of chin-up, and finally, reach in as I was dragging and cut the throttle. Then it was just hold on for dear life.....SHIT.... as we bounced off the runway and through a bunch of brush.

Whew.... Shit....If there had of been a door on it, she would have been a gonner... Puff Puff.... Shake Shake...

Previously, I would have bet any amount of money that, that would never happen to me.... But,....SHIT.... happens.

svanarts wrote:Happened to a Champ (why is it always a Champ?) just a few years ago near here too. It took off and flew about 3 miles then impacted into a field wing low and destroyed itself. I think it took off from Schellville in the norther San Francisco Bay Area. REALLY luckly no one was hurt, the bay area is pretty congested.

Ain't lost an Airknocker yet.

If that's the one I'm thinking of, it happeded more like 8 years ago. An old guy was hand propping it at a private strip (I think) near Santa Rosa, CA. If flew east sans pilot all the way to just south of Lake Berryessa, crashing into a small canyon there.

I was up over Berryessa in my 7AC Champ that day, and about the same time as the pilot-less Champ. Never saw it though. I flew over the wreck the next day. It went way more than 3 miles, more like 30 miles!

I also heard about that Champ back east that flew for several hours and almost landed itself. That one's not an urban legend either.

bumper