How to get a rototiller airborne

So my wonderful mother-in-law sent us a rototiller, which arrived on our wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, I was concussed, and then we left on vacation (during which we had a very lovely time). We didn't have time to put it together. That changed this weekend.

The rototiller was really easy to put together, and we eagerly took it outside. Neither of us has ever used a rototiller before. It's a Mantis, and it was brand-spanking-new. We put in the gas, fired it up, and immediately decided that it was the scariest piece of machinery we've used thus far. Granted, it's not quite as deadly as a chainsaw (although almost), and it's not quite as big and capable of dealing head injuries as the backhoe, but good heavens, it's scary. The upper body strength required to control it is pretty surprising. It's not that big of a machine! As soon as we got it started, though, it was dragging me across the yard. It was much like walking a large, very eager dog. I managed to get it under control and began to till a patch of yard. It was doing fine until I gave it some more gas to speed up the process.

The thing actually jumped off the ground. I don't know if we're using it wrong, or it's because our soil is so rocky, or what, but that thing's like wrestling a greased pig! Or at least what I imagine wresting a greased pig must be like. I've never done that, even though I grew up in MT. *shrug* Anyway, the thing twisted and bucked like nobody's business. It was just BARELY under control the entire time.

Thing is, it WORKS! It works incredibly well! It churns up the soil perfectly, making it fine and lovely, and it's so easy to shovel and rake. We're picking out the big rocks as we go, too. Although it exhausted us to use (we got abot 128 square feet done today), it was totally worth it. We look forward to tilling the entire yard. If we can do a little each night, it's totally plausible we'll be able to plant grass seed before mid-October. We will have jungle and dust bowl no more. A reasonably-tame yard finally seems like it actually is in our future.