“To limber the oil up” was the answer (no, I’m NOT making this up!) given recently when asked why we do this on the pre-flight.  Then he was asked, “What would you do if you detected a hydraulic lock”?  The first answer was great, “Remove the lower spark plugs”.  But then he was asked if you could turn the propeller backwards to clear the lock?  “Yeah, that'd work too!” was the answer!

Seems to me that we need to open this can of worms once more!

A “question and answer” entry noticed within a major aviation publication reveals an appalling example of unknowing or misperception, to put the best face on it!  No, the purpose of pulling the prop through on pre-flight is NOT to clear the cylinder, it is done simply to detect that a lock is present!

R. Sohn   © 2000

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