Turning #2 first????

[DC10FE]

One time, we were off-loading cargo in Malange, Angola when the UNITA rebels began mortaring the airport. We started #2 first so we would have steering & brakes to taxi out while starting the remaining engines. Fun times over there.

Don R.

[Graywolf88]

I don't think it really mattered which engine was started first on the E-models. We hardly every had any ground power units in-country and usually started engines with the GTC if we even shut them down at all for loading or off loading. If any engines were shut down at forward fields it was usually the 2 outboard engines. The engine start procedure in the check list is what was supposed to be the correct sequence, but after all these years I just do not remember what it was. It seems like it was 2/1/3/4. Some of the other models could have had different procedures for some of the reasons already listed.

[US Herk]

4th Generation Monkey Theory

Take four monkeys, put them in a small room with a bowl of bananas in the middle. Whenever any of them try to go for the bananas, you hose them down with a fire hose. You keep doing this until the monkeys take matters into their own hands and attack any of the other monkeys that try to go for the bananas.

Once this behavior is established, you take out one monkey and replace him with another monkey. The new monkey doesn't know the rules, and quickly goes for the bananas. The other monkeys all attack him and beat him up. Pretty soon, he learns the behavior as well and will enforce it against any of the other monkeys.

After the new monkey is socialized into the "proper" way to do things, you replace each of the original monkeys one at a time. Each time, you allow the monkeys to socialize the new monkey to the proper behavior.

Eventually, you will have replaced all the monkeys. They will still each enforce the behavior; none of them will go for the bananas because the rest of them will attack them. They do this without any of them having ever even seen a fire hose, much less been sprayed down and "disciplined". They do this, because that's the way they've always done it. None of them knows why they do it that way, or if the original reason is still even valid, yet by the time you get to the 4th generation, the behavior is so well ingrained it is done without question.

This explains 90% of military behavior...it also explains why we start #3 first. The A-model required a person (loadmaster, scanner, crew chief, etc) to physically close the GTC door. It's a good habit to maintain in case you do have ground power or if you have to get a blow-start from a huffer/palouste.

But you can start any engine in any order...most dash-1s have a recommendation to alternate starts during desert operations or hot operations. This does reduce wear on starters and ultimately turbines...

[Hedjhopper]

#3 unless for some reason the others needed to be cranked first!

[DC10FE]

4th Generation Monkey Theory

Ernie,

Your analogy can also be used for another military habit. How many time have you been jumped on for walking through the static prop arc? A holdover from the days of the recip.

Don R.

[mark18mwm]

Ernie,

Your analogy can also be used for another military habit. How many time have you been jumped on for walking through the static prop arc? A holdover from the days of the recip.

Don R.

You ain't going to believe this but, in the mid 80's some rocket scientist at Rhien Main thought we needed a reminder to not walk through the prop arc, particularly between inboard engines and fuselage. The solution, a bungee chord strung from the bottom blade tip of the outboard props (when tee'd) under the bellyof the aircraft, decorated with a dozen or so remove before flight streamers. It was a pain in the axx and the but of many jokes from visiting crews. I don't know when they stopped using them but I left in 86 and the were in use then.

[Graywolf88]

You ain't going to believe this but, in the mid 80's some rocket scientist at Rhien Main thought we needed a reminder to not walk through the prop arc, particularly between inboard engines and fuselage. The solution, a bungee chord strung from the bottom blade tip of the outboard props (when tee'd) under the bellyof the aircraft, decorated with a dozen or so remove before flight streamers. It was a pain in the axx and the but of many jokes from visiting crews. I don't know when they stopped using them but I left in 86 and the were in use then.

It could have possibly happened, but you would think that if it had we would have heard the story as with the other old stories of stupid things people did...... I have never heard of a Loadmaster or Crew Chief walking into a turning prop on engine start. I did hundreds, maybe thousands of engine starts and was always very aware that the spinning blades would take my damn head off if I walked through them.

[donwon]

There was an old C/C,c tale of a young airman getting hypmotised by one of the spinning props and walking into it and getting all cut up and kilt.

I don't know if it was true or not.

Anyone else ever hear that?