Shotgun Starts

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.

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.

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

Lakeview Bill

Yep.

37mm.

Used to have one as a desk ornament.

I rode the training tower at Willie using these shells. All the jet
Pilots and students had to ride tahe ejection training tower.

Big John
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On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 21:35:40 GMT, "Lakeview Bill"
wrote:

From what I have read, the output of the firing mechanism, which was really
only a large column of moving air, was fed directly into one of the existing
cylinders.

If you can get your hands on a copy of the original version of "The Flight
of the Phoenix", there's a scene where Jimmy Stewart (who had been a B-24
bomber pilot in WWII), is trying to start a cobbled-together aircraft with a
shotgun starter. He only has a limited number of shells; naturally, it
starts on the last one.

BTW: Did you know that ejection seats were once powered by cannon shells?



"Dick" wrote in message
et...
Was talking with some WW2 guys who remembered the use of 10 gauge shotgun
shells to start an aircraft engine. I've seen several movies showing
something but my question is how did it work? shell in seperate cylinder
from pistons and how push crank over, etc??