Ok, you thought when I said "finally did it," I meant I finally bought my first plane, or finally soloed, or something like that. Nope. Unfortunately, after two years of regular flying, I finally stuck a finger in a rotating prop and sliced it open.

Thankfully, damage was pretty minor, but it was a wakeup call nonetheless. I was helping a friend with a trainer that we had just resurrected after about 9 mos. of not flying it. As he was taxiing out to the runway. I noticed a the pressure line from the muffler was not attached. I said "wait a minute," walked up from behind the plane and reached down to reattach it. Somehow, I absentmindedly caught my finger in the prop. "THUNK". "Ow."

The fact that it was idling and I came in from behind prevented serious damage, but I still got a good slice. I take pride in the fact that I am very careful around props, so it was particularly surprising. Moral: never let your guard down.

-Scott