B-17 Start Up AAF Film

Ha! That’s awesome! I wonder, did people really talk like that back in the ‘40s or was that just a Hollywood type thing?

It looks like the start/mesh switches on that ship were for the inertia type starters; the “starter” switch energizes and spins up a flywheel in the accessory case, while the “mesh” switch engages the spinning flywheel to the crankshaft to start turning the prop. Most (all?) B-17s these days have direct cranking starters, but the “mesh” switch is still used to power the ignition vibrator. Also, the manual primer pumps have been replaced by electric solenoid primer systems. But, the start sequence is pretty much the same; mags off, mixture cut-off, throttle cracked. Boost pump on, hit the starter, count 9 blades, mags on. Tickle the primer... when the engine fires and starts to run on the primer, bring to mixture to Auto-Rich and release the primer switch. One down, three more to go! If the engines are warm we can have all four running in maybe 2 minutes, goes much quicker than in that film.
 
jbDC9 said:
Ha! That’s awesome! I wonder, did people really talk like that back in the ‘40s or was that just a Hollywood type thing?

It looks like the start/mesh switches on that ship were for the inertia type starters; the “starter” switch energizes and spins up a flywheel in the accessory case, while the “mesh” switch engages the spinning flywheel to the crankshaft to start turning the prop. Most (all?) B-17s these days have direct cranking starters, but the “mesh” switch is still used to power the ignition vibrator. Also, the manual primer pumps have been replaced by electric solenoid primer systems. But, the start sequence is pretty much the same; mags off, mixture cut-off, throttle cracked. Boost pump on, hit the starter, count 9 blades, mags on. Tickle the primer... when the engine fires and starts to run on the primer, bring to mixture to Auto-Rich and release the primer switch. One down, three more to go! If the engines are warm we can have all four running in maybe 2 minutes, goes much quicker than in that film.
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You talking about their accent? It was a Hollywood/Radio accent called Mid Atlantic. It came across radio more clearly for people to understand. Film used it as early audio recording couldn't pick up some vocal ranges. It also was a marker for "High Class".

I still get a kick about how he checks the batteries. Batt 1? Yep, I hear a fan! Batt 2? Yep, it's still there!
 
ARFlyer said:
You talking about their accent? It was a Hollywood/Radio accent called Mid Atlantic. It came across radio more clearly for people to understand. Film used it as early audio recording couldn't pick up some vocal ranges. It also was a marker for "High Class".

I still get a kick about how he checks the batteries. Batt 1? Yep, I hear a fan! Batt 2? Yep, it's still there!
Click to expand...

Yep, the accent. It just sounds weird these days, but I get why they did it...

Checking the batteries like that did seem kinda weird; instead of checking the voltmeter, they listened for the inverter running... strange.
 
ARFlyer said:
I'm still surprised by a "Mesh" switch. What is the purpose of that switch on the starter panel? Only thing I can think of is it's engaging the starter gears to the prop fly gear??
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The ‘Mesh’ switch is pretty common on the old radials. Also frequently referred to as ‘shower of sparks’. I’m probably not explaining it very well, but the way I understand it is basically an electrical boost to the spark plugs to aid with ignition. It isn’t part of the starter motor itself.

My Beech 18 uses it. You first hold down the starter switch and count 4 blades, then mags on and press the Mesh switch along with the continued starter and then the third finger tickles the primer switch. Talk about a handful!
 
Fearless Tower said:
The ‘Mesh’ switch is pretty common on the old radials. Also frequently referred to as ‘shower of sparks’. I’m probably not explaining it very well, but the way I understand it is basically an electrical boost to the spark plugs to aid with ignition. It isn’t part of the starter motor itself.

My Beech 18 uses it. You first hold down the starter switch and count 4 blades, then mags on and press the Mesh switch along with the continued starter and then the third finger tickles the primer switch. Talk about a handful!
Click to expand...

My shower of sparks starts buzzing when I turn the key to Start, and the starter engages when I press the key in. Most times it's a single continuous turn-n-push, it goes round and fires, and when I let go, the switch spring returns back to Run.
 
jbDC9 said:
Checking the batteries like that did seem kinda weird; instead of checking the voltmeter, they listened for the inverter running... strange.
Click to expand...

Apparently back then DC generators fed (mechanical) inverters to generate AC. Nowadays, we have AC alternators feeding rectifiers to provide DC.
 
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