Wildcat cartridge start

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Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 1,772

Just came across this - how many restored radial warbirds are started this way?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65qrzgbTTcQ

Tim

Original post

Member for

13 years 11 months

Posts: 409

It is the only restored radial-engined warbird flying today with a working cartridge/Coffman starter (used as the only means of starting).

The aircraft debuted at Airventure Oshkosh last summer, following completion. A long thread here with its progress over years up until its first flights and display at Oshkosh last summer in the final pages: http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33045

Here's a brilliant photo from its arrival at Oshkosh last summer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brentc2/9427443929/sizes/h/

This article on the aircraft highlights some of the unique/authentic details of the restoration, including the Coffman starter: https://www.eaa.org/en/airventure/eaa-airventure-news-and-multimedia/eaa-airventure-news/eaa-airventure-oshkosh/2013-07-29-shotgun-starter-sets-the-tone-on-wildcat-restoration

Furthermore, it has been for sale at Courtesy (note a couple of the photos belong in the P-51 listing): http://www.courtesyaircraft.com/index.php/inventory/inventory/warbirds-fighters/item/n774fm-general-motors-fm-2

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 1,772

Very interesting - thank you for the links.

Tim

Member for

15 years

Posts: 1,712

Interesting that you found this, as there is an article on this Wildcat in the July EAA Warbirds magazine, infact it's pictured on the cover.

Member for

13 years 6 months

Posts: 629

I always thought shotgun starters fed the explosion gases straight into the cylinders and cranked the engine thusly. Now I've learned that the expanding gases actually work on some sort of worm-gear arrangement that does the cranking. Live and learn.

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19 years 7 months

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24 years 2 months

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So where does all the lead shot go? :)

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 1,772

;) Mike, that's why I referred to it as cartridge not shot gun start! My only in-cockpit experience of this system was back in the 1960s when in Provost G-ASMC which was then still using this type of mechanism - quite impressive, it started first bang.

Tim