Britannia Engine Starting
This thread reminds me of my first posting overseas to Cyprus. I was young and green and worked on TASF (Transit Aircraft Servicing Flight). One morning, I was sent out to the pan with the rest of the ground crew, to send off a Britannia transiting from Lyneham to Hong Kong. The chief of the ground crew saw me wandering around with my hands in my pockets and sent me to engine three.
"On start up, just hold the prop until the engine pulls it out of your hand and walk away".
I looked at him incredulously.
"You want me to do WHAT?" He repeated his instructions.
"Fu** Off!" says I, for which I got 3 days jankers.
I also got to hold said prop. I had visions of being shot like a projectile over to Limassol. In the event, it turned out to be the standard operating procedure, especially if the wind was turning the prop (gently) in the opposite direction to normal rotation.
And you really did wait until the engine had started, let it pull the prop out of your hand and walk away!!