Narrative:

During engine start the engine went to full power and aircraft pitched over unto taxiway resulting in prop strike. The sequence of events to the best of my recollection was as follows: went through normal pre-flight and the starting checklist; and just prior to engine start the mixture was set to full rich; fuel pump set on for about three seconds (then off); then mixture full off; throttle was at full open then starter was engaged. Engine started and mixture was pushed full on. Engine then increased rapidly and aircraft started to move forward slightly against the brakes and then started to pitch over. While the aircraft was pitching over the rapid motion resulted in a loss of situational awareness. I then attempted to grab the mixture control with left hand (also inadvertently pulled on the prop control) and simultaneously also released the stick and attempted to close the throttle at the same time with the right hand; but before this could all be accomplished the aircraft had nosed over and the propeller had struck the taxiway. Contributing factors and other considerations: 1. Throttle had been set to the full open position from the last flight and during start checklist; this did not register as being out of the ordinary as have previously flown other aircraft with mixture out and throttle open at beginning of start-up sequence.2. Prop on front of console was pulled back instead of being pushed in from a previous flight; and since was also currently flying a DA40 at the FBO; where prop and throttle are on front panel; there may have been some negative transfer of the controls from the DA40 to the 8KCAB; which delayed getting to the throttle control when the engine revved up.3. Starting aircraft directly in full sun caused some glare during the process.4. Did not recognize nature of problem immediately as this never happened previously in 40+ years of flying; and was not expecting the aircraft reaction to pitch over on front wheels as had flown numerous other tail-draggers including 7KCAB; pitts; piper cub; for example; all with different engine starting procedures; and in situations with temporary high power setting while braked prior to takeoff there was never any noticeable tendency for the aircraft to try to pitch.5. Did not have copy of flight manual and custom checklists that were supplied with aircraft; so did not have proper resources to rehearse the normal procedures prior to flight. This is generally a procedure that I had followed previously on other rental aircraft due to not flying regularly and not having the procedure flows memorized.6. When reading the checklist; there was nowhere on the checklist to check the position of the throttle and prop prior to the engine start portion of the checklist (say on pre-flight). Also; there was no pre-flight checklist on board the aircraft. Corrective actions:1. After review of the situation it was apparent that the engine-start procedure was not followed accurately in that the throttle should have been set to 1/2' open for starting instead of being at full open.2. When being in the situation of being able to fly regularly (at least weekly); more preparation is needed prior to flight on reviewing the location of controls; instruments; and procedures for each individual type aircraft so that there is not any confusion during the actual operation; particularly if flying more than one type of aircraft.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Inexperienced in type and confused by differences between this aircraft an other similar types; a Decathlon Pilot started the engine with the throttle full open. After applying the brakes to stop the aircraft's forward motion but before he could retard the throttle the aircraft pitched over and the prop struck the taxiway.

Narrative: During engine start the engine went to full power and aircraft pitched over unto taxiway resulting in prop strike. The sequence of events to the best of my recollection was as follows: went through normal pre-flight and the starting checklist; and just prior to engine start the mixture was set to full rich; fuel pump set on for about three seconds (then off); then mixture full off; throttle was at full open then starter was engaged. Engine started and mixture was pushed full on. Engine then increased rapidly and aircraft started to move forward slightly against the brakes and then started to pitch over. While the aircraft was pitching over the rapid motion resulted in a loss of situational awareness. I then attempted to grab the mixture control with left hand (also inadvertently pulled on the prop control) and simultaneously also released the stick and attempted to close the throttle at the same time with the right hand; but before this could all be accomplished the aircraft had nosed over and the propeller had struck the taxiway. Contributing factors and other considerations: 1. Throttle had been set to the full open position from the last flight and during start checklist; this did not register as being out of the ordinary as have previously flown other aircraft with mixture out and throttle open at beginning of start-up sequence.2. Prop on front of console was pulled back instead of being pushed in from a previous flight; and since was also currently flying a DA40 at the FBO; where prop and throttle are on front panel; there may have been some negative transfer of the controls from the DA40 to the 8KCAB; which delayed getting to the throttle control when the engine revved up.3. Starting aircraft directly in full sun caused some glare during the process.4. Did not recognize nature of problem immediately as this never happened previously in 40+ years of flying; and was not expecting the aircraft reaction to pitch over on front wheels as had flown numerous other tail-draggers including 7KCAB; Pitts; Piper Cub; for example; all with different engine starting procedures; and in situations with temporary high power setting while braked prior to takeoff there was never any noticeable tendency for the aircraft to try to pitch.5. Did not have copy of flight manual and custom checklists that were supplied with aircraft; so did not have proper resources to rehearse the normal procedures prior to flight. This is generally a procedure that I had followed previously on other rental aircraft due to not flying regularly and not having the procedure flows memorized.6. When reading the checklist; there was nowhere on the checklist to check the position of the throttle and prop prior to the engine start portion of the checklist (say on pre-flight). Also; there was no pre-flight checklist on board the aircraft. Corrective Actions:1. After review of the situation it was apparent that the engine-start procedure was not followed accurately in that the throttle should have been set to 1/2' open for starting instead of being at full open.2. When being in the situation of being able to fly regularly (at least weekly); more preparation is needed prior to flight on reviewing the location of controls; instruments; and procedures for each individual type aircraft so that there is not any confusion during the actual operation; particularly if flying more than one type of aircraft.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.