When I started my first job in PNG with DZ; after doing the endorsement on the BN2 the Chief Pilot raised an interesting scenario.
"You're on a bush strip the other side of the Owen Stanleys and it's near enough to 'beer o clock on a Friday afternoon so all you want to do is get back to Moresby for the Friday night BBQ and have a few drinks and the starter motor on an engine goes u/s.......what do you do?:( :(
He then proceeded to demonstrate how to hand start the BN2's 260hp Lycomings. Brakes on, engine primed with both mags on and throttle fully closed. It fired on about the third swing.
Around 18 months later and with another company in PNG one Friday afternoon about 1630hrs local I found myself in precisely that situation!!!! I set everything up as I had been shown and started swinging, much to the amusement of the locals who were lined up along the side of the strip pointing and laughing at the 'long long balus man.' At somewhere around the 16th or 17th swing away it went and about 3 minutes later I was airborne and climbing for 9500' to slip through the gap back to PY leaving behind a stangely silent mob of villagers whom were busy picking their jaws off the ground!:D :D :D :D

Once watched a bloke attempt to hand start a Pitts special.

I had some experience at swinging a Tiger-moth but the height of the prop on the Pitts, coupled with the tall gangly pilot looked decidedly dangerous.

He was bent over in an effort to get the blade through the 9 oclock with some oomph behind it.

Looked very unbalanced (into the prop arc) throughout and thankfully he gave up after 15-20 swings and not a hint of a start.

If it was the LH engine on the Islander I don't think it would be much fun getting into the cockpit afterwards... :eek:


As for the compression stroke vs. prop position it's not hard to arrange at the time the prop is next removed & replaced. Used to do it for most of the types we operated.