Airplane not flown recently

[Newmooneyguy]

Is there any benefit in pulling the prop thru 2 or 3 revolutions before starting if the airplane hasn't flown in a while?

[KSMooniac]

Nope.  Just extra wear on the un-lubricated surfaces.

[Oscar Avalle]

Yes, better leave it as it is. I had to park my mooney for four years and I was recomended to just put it on some blocks, pickle the engine and leave it covered. March I brought her back to life...no mayor issue.

 

[FloridaMan]

I'm not qualified to comment on the subject in regards to the horizontally opposed engines, but my understanding of the rotating the prop on the old radials like you see in films is that oil would pool in the bottom cylinders and if you didn't "walk the prop," you ran the risk of doing something similar to hydrolocking the engine and doing major damage. I couldn't imagine that being an issue on our engines. 

[Lood]

Apart from the fact that it does nothing in terms of lubrication, it is never a good idea to pull the prop by hand. Even if you did do a mag dead cut check. Just last year the pilot of a C210 was killed in Windhoek when he moved the prop and apparently it just kicked over. Unfortunately, it struck him right on top of his head and he died as a result.
I'm very wary when it comes to props and I only move it when absolutely necesary.

[HRM]

Another negative to prop-pulling is that you may damage the vacuum pump. Once the vanes get set in their ways, they want to start moving quickly and in the right direction.

[1964-M20E]

I do not see any harm in rotating the prop several times in the normal direction. Right or wrong my instructor had me do it when I started flying old habits I guess. The theory is that you get the internals moving a little to make starting easier espiclly on a cold day and if the plane is outside you can drain any collected water in the spinner after a rain storm. I do not think it hurts anything IMHO.

[Hank]

I like to pull the prop through 2 compression strokes before the first start in the winter. It just seems to help get things moving inside; it definitely gets easier to pull. If I've already flown once that day, I don't generally bother. When I forget, the first revolution is slow, but it cranks up anyway.