AcroGimp
Cleared for Takeoff
So I recently completed my tailwheel endorsement and checkout in a couple of great Citabria's. A couple weekends ago I took one out solo for some practice before going over to join a friend for a loose formation flight to my EAA chapter for lunch.
Most of my time to-date is in Cessna's, Beechcraft's Piper's and others with conventional starter/mag switches - you might see where this is going....
When I went through the engine start checklist as we got ready to leave the hangar I found I had left the MAG toggle switches on - a MAJOR no no.
I am so accustomed to caging the mags with the starter key I skipped them in the shutdown even though I was following a checklist and had completed a grounding check before shutting the engine down.
When I was at the All Red Star formation event in April I met not 1 but 2 guys who had had run ins with Yak-52's and Mags left on - callsigns Blade and Mags. Both had been seriously injured when their engines caught on simple repositioning of the prop.
So be sure and follow the checklist, the life you save might be your own.
'Gimp
Most of my time to-date is in Cessna's, Beechcraft's Piper's and others with conventional starter/mag switches - you might see where this is going....
When I went through the engine start checklist as we got ready to leave the hangar I found I had left the MAG toggle switches on - a MAJOR no no.
I am so accustomed to caging the mags with the starter key I skipped them in the shutdown even though I was following a checklist and had completed a grounding check before shutting the engine down.
When I was at the All Red Star formation event in April I met not 1 but 2 guys who had had run ins with Yak-52's and Mags left on - callsigns Blade and Mags. Both had been seriously injured when their engines caught on simple repositioning of the prop.
So be sure and follow the checklist, the life you save might be your own.
'Gimp
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scary! Good lesson learned. I will only reposition the prop of the aircraft from the side as if I'm hand propping and while it's still tied down. I'm fully ready for it to catch even with the mags off as it can and has for others (switch fails closed, grounding issue). Imagine that happening while you're standing in front of the prop not expecting it? It could chew you apart in a second...