Shotgun Starts

Cartridge start was also used on jets.

The British Camberra used them. It's a high altitude spy plane that we
licensed the design for, so that we could turn it into the U-2. One of
the changes we made was to get rid of the cartridge start, because the
huge mass of black smoke was considered "not high tech."

In article .com,
"jmk" wrote:

Cartridge start was also used on jets.

The British Camberra used them. It's a high altitude spy plane that we
licensed the design for, so that we could turn it into the U-2. One of
the changes we made was to get rid of the cartridge start, because the
huge mass of black smoke was considered "not high tech."

Canberra and U-2 were totally separate aircraft! U-2 was a
single-engine, indigenous Lockheed design, based on high-performance
sailplanes of the day.

Canberra was a twin-engined British design for a high-altitude bomber.
The Martin Co. modified the Canberra into the B-57; the special
reconnaisance aircraft was the "RB-57D/E," which looked somewhat like
the B-57, but with much longer wings and different engines.

I understand that the U2 was based on the F104 Starfighter.

Seemed unlikely to me too but then I compared the Fuselages.

wrote:
I understand that the U2 was based on the F104 Starfighter.

Seemed unlikely to me too but then I compared the Fuselages.

That was the original concept, but the production U-2 has zero
commonality with the 104. A completely different and much lighter fuse.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
snip


Canberra was a twin-engined British design for a high-altitude bomber.
The Martin Co. modified the Canberra into the B-57; the special
reconnaisance aircraft was the "RB-57D/E," which looked somewhat like
the B-57, but with much longer wings and different engines.

That's because it was a B-57 with much longer wings and different
engines. Actually there were two variants: one had four engines, two
monsters and two auxilliary engines IIRC.

First off, you are right. Don't know where I got THAT confused. We
worked on a TR-3 NASA aircraft (nothing to do with the "new" TR-3
triangle aircraft). back in the late 70's, which was also a variant.

FWIW, did find a picture of a Canberra starting up.


http://www.ramm.shacknet.nu/robant/a...to%20leave.JPG

jmk wrote:
First off, you are right. Don't know where I got THAT confused. We
worked on a TR-3 NASA aircraft (nothing to do with the "new" TR-3
triangle aircraft). back in the late 70's, which was also a variant.

FWIW, did find a picture of a Canberra starting up.


http://www.ramm.shacknet.nu/robant/a...to%20leave.JPG


The first time I ever saw a cart start up close was an F-4E in a tab
V shelter, I never could remember what tab V stood for, and was quite
impressed. Just before start we vacated the tab V and watched from
outside. A jet of flame and smoke appeared under the left engine and
within a couple of seconds the shelter filled up with dense black smoke
which obscured everything from the cockpits on back. When the engine was
up and running the smoke cleared in a couple of seconds.

One thing I wish I could see would be a B-52 cart starting all eight
engines at once.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired