My mom, when I was a younger lad, told me that the airplanes that don't have propellers are the ones you have to watch.
She didn't mean jets. For a time she worked weekends at Interflyte, a fixed base operator at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, and knew that if you could not see the propeller of a single-engined light airplane, it was probably turning. And while pilots are happiest when the propeller is turning, pilots try to avoid leaning on them when they're in motion.
Paine Field is home to Boeing's final assembly facility for the 747 and the 777, so it had its share of airplanes with no propellers. And one could on occasion see a light plane that clearly had its propeller removed, but most of the aircraft most of the people got near had nice visible stationary propellers.
The trouble comes when an airplane takes that first step toward flying, when the nice visible stationary propeller becomes an invisible working propeller.
From the beginning. pilot training emphasizes safety, risk assessment, and generally not causing injury or damage. And the checklists pilots are trained to follow normally include the following, or something similar:
- Throttle...................................... Open ¼ inch.
- Propeller Area........................................ Clear
- Master Switch.......................................... On
That middle step, "Propeller Area...Clear," is more than an instruction to look around for people leaning on the prop. The pilot is supposed to open the window and shout "Clear!"
If you are visiting a small airport and hear that word, step away from any airplane you may be near and look around. Someone on the field is about to take the first steps into the air.
And if you happen to be sitting in the left seat following the checklist, when you get to "Propeller...Clear," don't be shy about it. Open the window and shout. Make sure everyone on the field, including the instructor in the flight school's restroom, can hear you. You're about to take those first steps. Whether this is your first hour or your 10,000th, be heard.
"Clear!"
