Thanks for the advice. I actually noticed how dangerous it seemed for the people in youtube videos to be starting the machine on the ground. I will make sure to always start it on my back.
Yeah my instructor told me that most other instructors are just like that for exactly those reasons, but he actually encouraged me to buy used equipment (with good counsel before purchasing of course). The training cost did jump a little, but it is still a fair price
That wasn't an option since the machine is about 800 miles from me. I had him send me recent videos of it being started and running. It's the best I could do aside from spending 30 hours driving to go look at it The seller is an airplane mechanic so I have a fair amount of trust in him, and he seemed trustworthy.