Bristol Britannia
I worked on the Brit 102's with Britannia Airways in the 60's and I can confirm that I was one of those people who had to hold those props on starting .
It was quite hairy when starting up in the dark .
Engine changes in those days were frequent but to make the job worse , corrosion was found in the hollow bladed paddle props and we had to undergo the conversion to steel ones . These were at first in short supply, so you had to change them frequently to ensure that no two of the old ones were on the one side and new ones on the other but had to be balanced out .
Work on the Brits was very heavy( even the engine cowls weighed a bomb ). Also, drive shafts to the gear box was very time consuming with fitting of shims. Because everything was high of the ground , you had to have legs of a mountain goat .
An engine feathered for various reasons, was a frequent sight on return from abroad ,more work for us,
Fuel bag tank changes were horrible ,the center one , the worst, with all the buttons to fit in such a confined space.
I did however , get to fly a few times, and to sit in the ex navigator's position was great,and providing that the prop syncronisation was done , very quiet.
On a sad note, I flew out with the late Geoff Parkins to attend to the Britannia crash in Llubjana (Sept 1st 1966 with heavy loss of life ) and returned back to Luton with the survivors.
Merv Tew