Having in my possesion two ( ECLIPSE ELECTRIC STARTER ENERGIZERS )I have
become with the types of starters used back when I wuz a kid.
I soloed in a PT-19 w/ a Ranger inverted 6 .. It was a direct drive hand
crank that turned the engine slowly (albeit jerkily) with one or two
manpower applied to the crank.
The stearmans had the Inertia type where the ground personnel started
(slowly) cranking up the flywheel, when the proper whine was reached,
one of them pulled the clutch actuator which engaged it, turning the
engine over rather briskly for a turn or two,

At a flying school with 50-100 planes this could get tiring, so they
came out with 110 volt electric motors with about a 3 ft shaft extending
to a 90° gear box that took the place of the hand crank---there were a
couple of models, Eclipse , and Jack& Heintz, The Eclipse had a spring
loaded clutch that slipped before enough torque was developed to spin
the ground person around the side of the fuselage.---J&H had a flimsy
3/8" aluminum tube in the drive shaft that twisted up & sheared
(hopefully before spinning the operator).. Needless to say, the J&H was
out of service for the rest of the morning until the unit was
disassembled & the shaft replaced.

Eclipse also made the inertia unit with an integral starter motor, AND
the crank hole ALSO.. so if your battery went dead, you could still
start.---Jerry

















ChuckSlusarczyk wrote:
In article mZIIf.558321$084.430955@attbi_s22, John Ousterhout says...

ChuckSlusarczyk wrote:

I think the plane was a Me-108 it was used as a civil plane then a trainer and
later a squadron hack.It had an inertia starter I believe.Wind it up and go :-)

Chuck(I was just a kid then) S

You still are just a kid Chuck.

and it's a damn good childhood you're having too.

- John Ousterhout -



Thank you kind sir but sooner or later I'll have to grow up but I'm having way
too much fun with my childhood to give it much consideration LOL!!

See ya

Chuck (had a confirmation now I'm going for a bar mitzva)S