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I understand some old radial airplane engines were started with what were essentially shotgun cartridges
by iancmceachern 1y ago
I understand some old radial airplane engines were started with what were essentially shotgun cartridges
- pacificmint 1y agoThey’re called Coffman engine starters [1]. Random fact: Those starters are a plot point in the 1965 film The Flight of the Phoenix, where the protagonists are trying to start a plane that’s stranded in the Sahara, but only have a small supply of starter cartridges left. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffman_engine_starter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffman_engine_starter
- iancmceachern 1y agoLove that movie!
- _whiteCaps_ 1y agoNot just radials. The Napier Sabre H24 engine in Typhoons used cartridges as well.
- swiftcoder 1y agoI lived for a while on a sailboat equipped with an ancient Saab tractor engine (8 whole horsepower!). Was designed for cartridge starts in cold weather, though someone had fitted an electric starter by the time I saw it