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When I went to my first Rotax class this came up. They said that knew of cases of the engine being hand propped. The people who had done it said they would not do it again, except in a life or death situation. Even then they still might not try it again.
A couple things to point out about the video. He states that it is a 912UL, which is the 80 horse version. The 80 HP engine has lower compression and a different gear reduction. Both of these make it a little easier to turn the engine by the propeller compared to the 100 HP version. Another thing is that it looks like he has a Warp Drive propeller, which has more mass than a lot of the other composite propellers in use. The extra mass makes it easier to prop as well.
I have been propping airplanes of all sizes since I was a kid, and I don't think I would try propping a 100 HP Rotax.
I have one more comment on hand propping a Rotax engine. Other aircraft engine tend to chug to life, taking a little bit of time to spool up. A Rotax will come to RPM much more quickly, just check out the video Warmi posted.
If the throttle happens to be set to a higher RPM the engine will jump to that RMP almost instantly. I know some of you with the soft start function might not realize that they will accelerate that quickly. If you were to hand prop the soft start functions would not come into play.
FWIW -
Last week I viewed a "everything you wanted to know about a Rotex" youtube video. The presenter was fairly adamant about not hand propping, as the prop speed needs to be higher to start, and it will kick up to an idle that is faster than the larger bore Continentals, etc.
Another comment was that as the electrical system was 12 volt, even a small 12 volt battery in a car or even motorcycle would suffice to jump start it.
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
Prof H Paul Shuch
PhD CFII DPE LSRM-A/GL/WS/PPC iRMT
AvSport LLC, KLHV [email protected]
AvSport.org
facebook.com/SportFlying
SportPilotExaminer.US
drseti wrote:Did it end with your student high-fouring you?
Cute.
But actually, it’s how he got the nickname “Lefty”!
No, just a strain to the rotator cuff. He had a Student Drivers license, so I considered charging him dual. Never driven a clutch before which kept my pain level up. At the ER, older couple backed into us... Quite a day.
Couple of weeks in a sling and I was back to propping that darn O-225 gain
rgstubbsjr wrote:I have personally done it. A 100hp with a 3 bladed prop, Maybe 4(?) times.
It's easier to hand prop a 77 year old Cub, and probably safer.