can anyone tell me what a chicken stick is, i know it's for starting
an aircraft engine but what dose it do & how do you use it?

It's anything (other than your finger) that is used to flip start your engine. most people just use a piece of wooden dowel rod.

I new too, but I would guess it is called that because you are chicken not to use your finger, so chicken stick???

does that do any damage to prop?

If it is padded with plastic or rubber then you will be fine. I made a large chicken stick out of some PVC, covered with PVC insulation. I found that my large plastic props were cutting the insulation, so I wrapped with with Duct Tape and it has worked great ever since.

Master Airscrews make good chicken sticks.

If you don't want to ue a chicken stick, use an welding glove. You need to protect your fingers and hand.

Duct Tape Application # 9,678,452,324 "Chicken Stick" has been logged, right behind "Bio hazard window defence treatment".

Hi mobil_racer

You should check out the RC Humor
room Here a sample of a chicken stick
lolllll

Take care the old guy

I prefer the term "Smart Stick"

'cause your a moron if you use your bare fingers to start any internal combustion engine.

IMHO

Piece of wooden dowel wrapped with electrical tape. When the tape starts falling off because it's getting cut to shreds...... re-wrap with new tape and keep on flippin!!!!!


Why buy when you can build with scrap from your shop???

Yes, the term "Chicken Stick" DOES derive from the days when men were men and fingers were missing. Only a "Sissy" wouldn't use his fingers to start a prop.

Fortunately, common sense finally prevailed.

Rcpilet is correct... "SMART stick" is what it SHOULD be called.

So did the guy with the shoe get the engine started?

Is that what you call a "running start"?

I just havnt figured out why he took the shoe OFF!?

Car heater hose on dowel. You still get buzz with welder gloves . Take foot from shoe.

It's obvious from some of the comments here that some modellers haven't got the first idea how to hand start an engine. Fair enough, they've been brought up only knowing electric starters but when the battery goes flat what can you do? Well, you can't touch a prop with your hand so give it a whack with a stick (or a shoe ).

But strangely, this attitude is limited to RC fliers who have engines that at idle put out about as much HP as a .049! Seriously! On the other hand (and with all fingers intact ) CL fliers will happily hand start piped .60's which naturally only run at full throttle.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with either electric starters or chicken sticks but if you've got half a clue how to start an engine then even by hand it's quite safe. The REAL danger is putting your hand through the prop once the engine is running.

This not a joke . If a motor back fires and you have a finger in the prop you are possibly going to get stiches. We like to joke some times but most jokes are a truth time tested and proven . Hope you do nodt learn the hard way .Been doing this fo 55 years and still not to old to learn. Good Luck.

I've found that the cheap $3 hobbico chicken stick works great.


It's end is made of hard rubber that will not tear up a prop, yet at the same time has enough stiffness to turn over an engine.

Yes, and if you are a good driver, you don't really "need" a seat belt. And as long as you're careful, why bother with a smoke detector in your home? And what's with those damn football helmets?

Last week, I was tightening a prop on a Saito 150 in my basement. After it was tight, i spun it through it's compression stroke. No fuel, no glow, I simply turned it over. Once it got past TDC, the prop flipped over and whacked the back of my finger so hard I thought it broke it. All I could think of was "I'm glad that didn't happen outside in the cold". I have been starting engines for over 40 years, I was hit by a prop once as a teenager (and you're right, it WASN'T while starting). You'd think I would know better, but it boils down to this:

ACCIDENTS HAPPEN!

Darn Bug

It was bad plane
not listen to master
and bit back
lollllllllll

forty years ago when garden hoses were made of rubber, the 12
inch sections of what was left after driving over the conectors
made great chicken sticks. The rubber was stiffer than current vinyl and had much thicker walls. with a search you can probably
find some and have a lifetime supply for free.

our own Marc (RCAdmin) was flipping his new 4-stroke for his ultimate (see review) with a chicken stick... well he flipped and it kicked back hard enough to snap the chicken stick in half and fling the padding 20 feet.

imagine. if that were his fingers he would have a hard time keeping this site up and running.

chicken sticks are a Good Thing(tm)

oh.. if I flip start I find broken wood props work pretty good.

If you don't know what "chicken stick" is by now you'll finger it out later.