My 1/4 GP 300 extra should make it to the building table in the next 2 weeks or so. This will be my first gasser. It will have a ZDZ-50NG.

I always flip my small 2-stroke glow engines with a chicken stick. For the 4-stroke engines I'm forced to use an electric starter which I hate because they beat up my spinners.

Every time I see a gas model, the person starts it by hand flipping. Most people I know that fly 2 and 4 stroke glow engines would never accept this as a safe starting method on their engines. Why is it so accepted by the people who run gas engines? Is it impractical to use a chicken stick on such a large motor? Are any of the electric starters powerful enough to start a gas engine? Does wearing a glove really add any level safety to hand flipping?

Thanks, I just want to have all the info I need before deciding what method I will use. If I do end up hand flipping, I think I will wear a very heavy welding glove.

Doc, you will probably find that you don't need the glove. Your ZDZ-50NG has an electronic ignition system, probably a Falcon, that allows you to start your engine at idle with the timing near zero degrees before top dead center. For this reason you should never experience a backfire.

I like to set my engine up so that it just starts to come up on compression with the prop in the 12/6 o'clock position. As you flip the prop, use a downward to the left swing. Don't slowly flip the prop through compression, do it quickly like you mean business. This always causes your hand to exit the prop arc.

An electric starter is unnecessary with modern gasoline engines that have electronic ignitions with automatic spark advance. If you need an electric starter, there is something wrong with your engine.

Ken

I hand flip with a glove

All my ignition equipped gassers can be hand started with two fingers, a glove is necessary only if the edges of the prop are sharp, like an APC...

I've seen guys use paint rollers for a chicken stick on gas engines. I know a guy who had a plane jump from it's restraint while hand starting with a gloved hand. The prop broke in his hand and bruised it bad but no cuts or broken bones. He was lucky. I hand start some but also use a Megatron starter.

I used to use a gloved hand but after an accident in my club I got myself a chicken stick.

# 5 on the poll? Recoil starter.

A gas engine with ignition will backfire, if you get it flooded or if there is a problem with the pick-up. I used to swear you never needed a glove with ignition, untill I got my fingers bent back hard from a bad sensor. A few months later, I flodded a 4.2 and it really mangeled a couple of fingers. I always hand start my motors, but I use a glove. I also always choke with throttle closed and switch on so it will pop before it floods.

I use a stick on my Sachs 4.2. Just got a DA 50 and will probably use a bare hand. Have seen guys using hockey gloves! If I were to use a glove that would be the ticket!!!

Astrohog

I always start glow engines by hand. I might use an electric starter until I get the needles set properly. For hand starts on glow engines, I never flip the prop through compression. I back flip (not through compression) by grabbing a blade and throwing it up against compression, or grab the spinner and spin it like a top backward against compression. The safety trick is that your hand is out of the arc of the prop way before the prop bumps up against compression.

On gas engines I use a glove until I'm comfortable with the way the engine starts, and to make sure it doesn't surprise me by kicking back or take off running hard in the forward direction. If the engine is well behaved and predictable I get more relaxed with it and take off the glove.

From the looks of the poll, I guess I am a coward, but I always use a chicken stick when I start any engine glow or gas. I have had a Brison 2.4 backfire and chop a chicken stick in half. I had a ST 3000 do the same thing. I value my fingers too much. I have no intention of putting any of my appendages into the prop arc of any engine period!!!

Steve

I used a glove for the first time in about 3 years the other day, to start an OS-1.60 for the first time, and it had a VERY sharp 18-6W APC on it. It kicked back the first flip and sliced through one of the leather "fingers" and actually got my skin a bit!!! DAMN those things are like a knife!!! The second time I started the engine it ran backwards the first three times it started, so I slapped it backwards and it fired right up. Amazing how dull the LE of a prop is Every start since then, on that motor, a slap backwards and it ran fine.

Unless I'm using an APC prop (which means a glo engine), I barehand my gassers/glo motors, and if you slap the top of the blade on an APC, avoiding that really sharp TE, you can toss the glove away in that instance too. This holds true for 2 and 3-bladed props, on engines from 30cc's to 200cc's, and most any glo engine. Some glo engines just NEED an electric starter (like when it's 15 degrees out) I've never been "bit" the entire time I've been in modelling, except for ONE time, using a spring-starter to fire up a G-62. The ignition was even off, but the starter got me. I'll never start another engine that has one of those silly things on it.

Complacency is the biggest problem with props/engines/starting techniques. I don't get complacent.

Easy as pie hand flip no glove on both my Brison and DA.
4 or 5 choke flips, (wait for the pop) 3 or 4 start flips, every single time.

I use a Miller persuader on a standard Sullivan starter running on 24 volts. I can start a small Honda with that.
I once nearly lost a finger to a Rossi 60 and an APC prop. I don't stick my fingers in there anymore.
My starter may be a bit hard to tote around but I would rather do that than lose a finger.

I use the Sullivan DynaTron/Miller system to start all my gas engines, including the 100cc ones.

Electronic ignition or magneto, she gets the starter. I've witnessed too many accidents.

I stradle the fuselage ,feet planted behind the trailing edge of the wing, transmitter on the ground beside me, grip the right leading edge with my right hand and flip the prop with my gloved left hand.

Works with up to a 35% plane, maybe a 40% if u have a long reach. It works great and means that I can fly or start my plane by myself with out being in front of the plane and without depending on an inexperianced helper. 99% of my fellow club members fly glow planes .91 and down.

I once almost pulled an old fellow down when he assisted me in running up a ZDZ 80 [] My fault for not warning him that it would pull alot more than what he was used to.

With my technic, if there's ever a problem, i'm behind the plane , it moves forward and the stabs hit the back of my calves and stop it.

Mike

I can see me trying that and falling forward, either into the spinning prop or on top of the wing and fuselage, crushing it in the process

I'm scared of starting my little glow engines without a starter. I can't seem to do it without getting thumped. The gassers are a different story. I just give it a quick flip with my bare hand through compression. If the prop tips are in 1 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions as it hits compression there are no worries.