On a rotary mower, the 'flywheel' is misnamed - it's not much more than a place to mount the mangneto magnets. The real flywheel is the blade - so the short answer is - yes - this is normal behaviour for a rotary mower engine with no blade. That does NOT mean, however, that the flywheel key isn't sheared - you still need to check it.
The blade adaptor is solid alloy. It is impossible for this to break unless the blade is subjected to a heavy impact - at which point it is SUPPOSED to break to protect the crankshaft.
Phil Saunders
September 2008