Alot of great advice here. When iw as learnign to fly my instructor was very good about teaching me the in and outs of being safe at the field. I have been at this a long time but I am still in the habit of only starting the engine from the front then doing everything else from behind. I do not fly at a club anymore, just an open field really. So we have no run stands. I have a trick I use that may sound weird but works real well. I have an old cinderbock that sits in my garage and I use it as a weight during engine break ins. When i know I am going to be doing alot of tuning I just throw it in the truck to go out to the field with me. I have a thick bungee cord I wrap around the tail and it hold the plane really well. Since the plane is only about 1 foot from the block it really has nowhere to go. A bit unorthodox but it works really well.