I'm new to gas engines, just bought a bme 50. Ive put about 1-2 gallons of fuel through it on the ground (its 15 degrees in wisconsin, way to dam* cold to fly...).

I'm getting worried about all of these reports I hear about prop strikes. I consider myself a good pilot (fly heli's, some jets, etc), but I do fly from a small field. On the smaller planes (ie saito 91, 180, os 160) propstrikes are common! You only need to hit one little rut in the ground and it noses over.

Am I to assume that if this happens with my bme 50, with the motor at idle, I will bend the crank???? That is a frightening thought???!!! Am I over reacting? Are we talking more about prop strikes at full throttle? I would think that a Zinger prop would break long before the crank was twisted...no?

Ive seen large warbirds have multiple prop strikes on the same day (don't those wonderful retracts fail frequently ), and no problems occured.

Should I be cutting the engine prior to landing???