As someone who's hand bombed many a start, on many an engine I recently experience TOTAL failure in a skill that for me was previously "bombproof". So the question for I was faced with was why, what changed or just what the heck was I doing wrong.

So I sat down to analyze over a cool adult refreshment and came to the realization that it was possibly an failure due to advancements in technology. I know you are all saying how can something so basic and simple as flipping a propeller suffer from a change in technology, I'll try to explain my rational.

My engine a low compression 0-300 has been successful hand bomb many, many times so why am I failing at it now. In my zealous pursuit of lighter, more advanced aviation accessories I recently swapped out my 30 lb. aluminum prop for a shinny new approximate 12 lb. lightweight composite model, all good so far. After huffing and puffing for what seemed like hours and confirming I was hand bombing in the right direction; did that once on a Gypsy Major engine, I had to surrender. In analysis the only conclusion I could reach was that the shinny new, 12 lb. composite prop simply doesn't have enough mass to be successful at hand propped, in fact it was surprising how difficult it was just to get it thru the compression stroke let alone generate enough umph for a successful start.

I will now be FAR more attentive with the care & feeding of my battery.

I don't know the weight of the Hamilton Standard on the R-985, but I gave it a swing and immediately walked around to climb up on the lower wing of the Stearman and crawled into the open cockpit. This one had no starter or battery. Coughed and spit a bit on one then two then..., but started 100% of the times. Weight has value in gold and hand propping.

Likewise with the same engine on a DHC2

I've hand propped at least four airplanes with composite props on them. You do have to get the engine set up just right, but it works fine.

Send me a first class airline ticket and I'll come up there and show you how.....

MTV

Careful what you offer up

Deleted, double post

OK, the thread title fooled me... I eagerly read the first post, expecting tips on how to win the flour bombing contest at my next fly-in... Gotta admit, I was a little disappointed!

Seriously, I've been flying since 1975, and I've NEVER heard hand-propping called "bombing" before this thread. The things you learn when you hang out with backcountry pilots...!

Me too. I kinda like it. [emoji1367] [emoji378]

Am I the only one thinking this thread was going to be about the early WW1 practice of " hand bombing?" Back when they were also still using pistols and rifles, hand held, mounting them on the plane hadn't been invented yet. They also hand propped their planes....first I've heard the term bombing used for propping, I will now go out of my way to use it whenever possible!

If I'm not mistaken, the term "Hand Bombing" was originally an RAF term. I've heard it before from some Canadian friends....

MTV

I'm happy to have expanded everyone's aviation vocabulary a little bit more.

Mapleflt wrote:I'm happy to have expanded everyone's aviation vocabulary a little bit more.

Yeah, but I'm STILL looking for tips on improving my "flour bombing" technique!

JP256 wrote:

Mapleflt wrote:I'm happy to have expanded everyone's aviation vocabulary a little bit more.

Yeah, but I'm STILL looking for tips on improving my "flour bombing" technique!

Sorry all my summer flying is on floats, hard to get the bag of flour around a set of those.

JP256, loach pilots in Vietnam were incredibly accurate with smoke grenades from various altitudes. Like the drag it in approach, low altitude and seriously fast apparent rate of closure works against you and really high is tough as well. Of course we gunneys just wanted to increase the angle of dive to decrease the cone of fire, but the fly in guys don't allow that.

courierguy wrote:Am I the only one thinking this thread was going to be about the early WW1 practice of " hand bombing?" Back when they were also still using pistols and rifles, hand held, mounting them on the plane hadn't been invented yet. They also hand propped their planes....first I've heard the term bombing used for propping, I will now go out of my way to use it whenever possible!

That's exactly where my mind was headed