Originally Posted by India Four Two
semmern,
I've hand propped a few Citabrias (150 HP) and Scouts (180 HP) in my time. You have to do it from the front, in order to get enough momentum into the prop. Gloves are a good idea, because of the sharp trailing edge of the prop.
I was hand propping a tow-plane at my gliding club once and there was a lady watching me pulling through the prop. She told me afterwards that she nearly fell off her sunchair in surprise when the engine started, because she thought she was witnessing a horrible accident!
I've hand-propped several 172s with IO-360s, and always done it from behind. I feel a lot safer standing behind the prop and holding on to the cowling handles than in front.