ORIGINAL: rcjake-RCU
scottrc,
SNIP
It is amazing the number of firewalls that have come out of the ARF fuses lately. Props can also get thrown from the engine and get your hand, chest, throat, eye, etc. I do not think that there is any reason to be in front of a running engine, except when starting.
Ahh. . . I must be out of step again because I have been teaching folks how to start their engines WITHOUT standing in front or in the prop arc for years. I include a good location for the transmitter based on watching others make SERIOUS mistakes that get the engine going WOT unexpectedly.
For what little it might be worth. . . .
Assume you are right handed. Place the plane at your 10 or 11 o'clock position and the radio at the 12 o'clock position. This keeps the prop arc away from you and you off to one side of the engine. If the FW fails, you very possibly will escape. Putting the TX at the 4 or 5 o'clock works, but allows you to bump the throttle as you reach behind yourself. When you reach for your TX, you need to be able to SEE it and avoid the throttle stick. Yes, if the plane comes forward the radio is blocked. But YOUR task is to prevent that and failure probably will not be terminal. A WOT with a damaged radio is dangerous.