Also, if the engine fails while flying, the airflow from forward movement will keep the prop (and thus the engine) spinning. So there's no need for a starter. As soon as you restore whatever was missing (spark or fuel) the engine will be running again. If the prop stops spinning while in flight, a starter won't help you because it means the engine is physically obstructed with serious damage, like a broken piston rod.
As a pilot who has flown vintage airplanes, I wouldn't mind hand-propping a 100 HP engine. So long as the pilot and the hand-propper both know the procedure, it's safe. But I would not want to hand-prop a 1000 HP engine.
That only works on small engines like on WWI planes. These have too much friction and compression to turn by hand. In the video there were two people turning the crank to store energy for more than 20 seconds (they started turning before the video starts). A direct hand start only has available the energy of one person for much less than a second.
Don't forget air. An iced up intake system will stall an engine.
Indeed. Or a bird stuffs itself into your intake, blocking airflow. So the prop will still be spinning, and you engage the carb heat (alternate air intake) and it roars back into life.
....or running a tank dry.
I don't think they were actually shotgun cartridges but they were similar looking. They clearly show the flight crew using them in both versions of the movie 'Flight of the Phoenix'. The later version also shows a close up of the starter cartridges themselves near the beginning of the movie. My father was crew chief in the USAF and told me about using them and still had a couple of them around before he died but I don't know what ever happened to them.
Yes, Flight of the Phoeninx......I love that old film, I had forgotten about it. THANKS for mentioning that.
A starter motor (especially one from back in the day), battery, and charging system probably weigh more.
