19. Starting with a hand crank

Speaking as a survivor from the “old days”, I've heard a lot of war stories about hand cranking myself, but I have never had much problem cranking engines whenever I had to do so (including the Atomic 4).

Be sure that the end of the crankshaft and the roll pin itself are relatively clean and free from burrs, etc. Then check the end of the crank for the same good condition, and I would recommend putting a little grease on the end of the crankshaft and crank. These precautions will ensure that the crank will pop right off the end of the crank as soon as the engine starts.

If the batteries are any good at all, engines will usually start amazingly well, due to the fact that the starter is not draining 800 to 1000 amps of power away from the coil. It's best to have a person in the cockpit to work the choke and throttle, just as if you were using the starter.

The Atomic 4 is rather gentle to start, and backfires are rare, especially if you use full choke so as to avoid a lean start. As with any other skill, it is good to practice a few times before you are actually in position to have to use the crank.

You need a minimum of 7 1/2” from the center of the crankshaft to swing the crank for timing the engine, etc., but you ought to have at least 9” for using the crank for actual starting of the engine (for safe knuckle clearance). - Updated: November 4, 2003