Yes, I too remember my first solo and wondered how the plane could climb so fast and if I would be able to fly it because it acted
so differently.
As for the tiedown and hand-proping, don't forget that some airports look down on people who start their planes IN the parking spot because of where the propwash goes -- they prefer the planes to be pulled out where, unfortunately, there are no tiedowns.
Ah, the world of trade-offs.
