I have to agree with you about the possibility of forgetting to close the throttle. I had just got back from flying when I made that post and while I was staring my engine I was thinking about that very same issue. I do use a holddown that easily holds my engine at full throttle, but I am concerned. I've watched a modeler start a giant scale at full throttle and get all his fingers chopped off because he did not have a hold down. The fingers couldn't be reattached because they looked like sliced salami!!

On the other hand starting the engine by your method, which I have used for the last two years, is also a problem. After a few flips it is easy to get complacent and not be careful about flipping over the engine, and when it does catch, you could have some very sore fingers. I saw that happen this week when one of the guys in my club didn't expect his engine to start and he left his hand in the prop arc. No serious harm done. Just some bruised nuckles.

No matter what method we use to start our big engines. We must be very careful.