Pilotless Cessna takes flight
 

Downunder...

After a hand-start, the plane took off without the pilot!:{

Cessna takes off without pilot - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Blimey mate, you don't swing a prop without assistance!! At least it should have been chocked!! Even then you need someone to remove the chocks when you get back in the aircraft. :eek:
He's lucky he got out of the way before the aircraft moved forward!!!
Obviously left the parking brake off.

I have to say that I was rather distracted by the tagged news article about Miss Japan's short Kimono!:}

"The police said the aircraft is a write off"

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200908/r411368_1944378.jpg

It obviously took the Aussie equivalent of Sherlock Holmes to deduce that!

Pilotless Cessna attempted Take-off
 

Shades of the Auster that tried the same thing at Bankstown in the 1950's.


Tmb

A bit of speed tape 'll fix that!




Anyway, he wasn't the first and he won't be the last....


FAA training video clip
YouTube - Hand-Prop Accident FAA Training FIlm

Mmm...It hasn't taken long for someone to nick the engine:cool:

Gave Aged Aunt a flight in a Chipmunk to another airfield, on departure used up the two remaining cartridges for starting. Primed, set brakes, put Aged Aunts' left hand on slightly cracked throttle with instructions to pull BACK if the engine started. Swung it myself.

Had visions of Aged Aunt getting airborne !

Got away with it. Aged Aunt never knew that that wasn't what flying was all about. Thoroughly enjoyed her flight from Croydon to the Isle of Wight and back - in 1957.

The hand proping video was hilarious until the tail wheel hit him on the noggin, was wondering when his shoes were going to wear out!:ooh:

Perhaps I'm too stupid to understand this, but I don't get this story at all.

The pilot couldn't start the engine, so he tried swinging the prop. In a Cessna with an electric starter? Big no-no for starters. :hmm:

Were the parking brakes not engaged? One of the first things you check surely. :hmm:

Then the aircraft "became airborne". For that to happen the throttle must've been wide open - the aircraft wouldn't get airborne with 1/4" open and <1200rpm, which seems the normal starting setting for most aircraft. :hmm:

Is this story a wind-up?

A somewhat bemused Smithy

Obligatory reference: VH-KBZ

vh-kbz - Google Images
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought electric starters all had a "Bendix" drive (or whatever it is called) which physically disengages the starter from the engine when the starter is not engaged. This would mean that hand-propping an engine with an electric starter does not have any impact on the starter whatsoever. There may be other considerations, but damage to the starter motor is not one of them.

I also believe the same BP. That's why if the starter warning light stays on after starting, you shut the engine down straight away because the starter ring is still engaged with the prop, never a sensible idea.

As that sketch in Chewin' The Fat used to go - "I smell ****e..." :)

Smithy

Yes, you do. How do you suppose one does it when one is alone? There's nothing improper or dangerous about hand propping an airplane alone...if it's done correctly.

Proper procedure is to tie the tail (never a wing) and chock it, and before propping one always attempts to move the airplane to ensure it's going to stay put.

Handpropping an airplane equipped with an electric starter is not a big "no no," by any stretch of the imagination. It's done safely all the time.

Why should it be. This most certainly isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened.

What's shocking is that instructors aren't teaching students the proper technique to hand prop an airplane, given that it's basic propeller safety.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought electric starters all had a "Bendix" drive (or whatever it is called) which physically disengages the starter from the engine when the starter is not engaged. This would mean that hand-propping an engine with an electric starter does not have any impact on the starter whatsoever.

You are correct. However, it's not uncommon, especially with a dead battery, a weak bendix, or a damaged gear, to have the bendix stuck and engaged with the ring gear. Usually ensuring that it's disengaged is the first step in preparing to handprop, after making sure the airplane is secure and controls are set.

As far as a starter-engaged light....most light airplanes with which I'm familiar don't have them. One need only listen, and check the ammeter or voltmeter, to have an indication it's still engaged, however.

I fly an L4 Cub,A-65 engine.
No parking brake,in fact brakes used soley for taxiing, if at all.
Normally on my own and often no one else at the strip.
No electric starter,the only way to get airborne is hand start,known as the Armstrong Starter;);)
Chocks,tie stick back with harness,switches off, throttle shut (for me,others open a crack) Prime 2 pumps,pull through 6 blades,switch on 1,then swing.
Starts first time,every time.
Move round to put switch onto both and open throttle a crack,and jump in for run ups.
When all completed,throttle on tick over,jump out and remove chocks,get in and away we go.
We are on grass and we have several hand starters but no one ties down.
Been OK so far.
Lister:)

Of course, it's not without danger even if there are two of you:

YouTube - Plane Accident

And the dH82a at Goodwood earlier this year!

I know a number of pilots who start the cub from behind the engine, giving easier access to the cockpit in the event of cocking it up!

I thought it was a Stampe at Goodwood this year....

If you try to start a lycoming with a flat battery the bendix will engage. When you swing it you have to drag the starter as well because you can't swing quick enough to disengage the starter untill the engine fires.

If you know what you are doing ,its perfectly safe.

Believe it or not, there ARE actually lots of planes flying without ANY electrics. I have two , they are called FUN.:ooh:

In a Cessna? :D :D :D The parking brake is mainly for decorative purposes - well perhaps not quite that but it doesn't have a reputation for being very effective so tends to remain unused.