Cranking a Stearman?

[Diana]

On our way home from OSH at an airport we landed at we watched an interesting way to start a Stearman. The pilot was in the cockpit while his friend attached a bent metal rod to the side of the front of the airplane and turned it several times. It looked REALLY hard to turn and made some funny noises. It looked like how they used to start those old Model Ts. We'd never seen an airplane start that way. What was actually being turned? Was that some kind of add-on, or was that standard in some models?

 

[Anthony]

On our way home from OSH at an airport we landed at we watched an interesting way to start a Stearman. The pilot was in the cockpit while his friend attached a bent metal rod to the side of the front of the airplane and turned it several times. It looked REALLY hard to turn and made some funny noises. It looked like how they used to start those old Model Ts. We'd never seen an airplane start that way. What was actually being turned? Was that some kind of add-on, or was that standard in some models?

Sounds like an Inertial Starter. I beleive, you crank a flywheel that spins, then the starter is engaged using the inertia from the flywheel to start the engine. I'm sure T.D. will give a better description.

 

[gkainz]

Sounds like an Inertial Starter. I beleive, you crank a flywheel that spins, then the starter is engaged using the inertia from the flywheel to start the engine. I'm sure T.D. will give a better description.

google "inertial starter" yields a number of hits, but I haven't found any detailed "how that works" explanations, just a few descriptions of using it.
http://www.pilotfriend.com/aircraft performance/new site2/s_page/stear_gallery.htm about halfway down the page, search for inertial starter

 

[Len Lanetti]

It looked REALLY hard to turn and made some funny noises.

Well, when the rubber band is that big....

:<)

Len

 

[Diana]

google "inertial starter" yields a number of hits, but I haven't found any detailed "how that works" explanations, just a few descriptions of using it.
http://www.pilotfriend.com/aircraft performance/new site2/s_page/stear_gallery.htm about halfway down the page, search for inertial starter

"As we got ready to fly, Luft got into his flying jacket and walked forward to start cranking up the inertial starter. I lost count of the number of times he turned the crank to energize the starter's fly wheel, but it was around 50, with the last 10 merely picking the airplane up off the ground.

As the starter engaged, it made a sound that can be described only as beautiful. The high-pitched whine of the fly wheel dropped sharply as the clutch engaged with the engine and the geared starter turned it over. One blade came by, then two. It belched a little blue smoke and coughed its way to life. Intertial starters may be a pain, but they're almost worth having just for that sound."

Yep, that was what he did. Didn't know you could start airplanes that way. Thanks Greg.

 

[sshekels]

Hmm, sounds like a good time to mention the National Stearman Flyin!

http://www.stearmanflyin.com/

Come join us! My friends and I will be there, and I have been "adopted" as a Stearman-Carr by his family!

S.

 

[Anthony]

"As we got ready to fly, Luft got into his flying jacket and walked forward to start cranking up the inertial starter. I lost count of the number of times he turned the crank to energize the starter's fly wheel, but it was around 50, with the last 10 merely picking the airplane up off the ground.


Yep, that was what he did. Didn't know you could start airplanes that way. Thanks Greg.

Hey, that's exactly what I described without reading the article. You're very welcome Diana.

Well Greg is better looking than I am.

 

[Diana]

Hmm, sounds like a good time to mention the National Stearman Flyin!

http://www.stearmanflyin.com/

Come join us! My friends and I will be there, and I have been "adopted" as a Stearman-Carr by his family!

Hey Scott, how do you get adopted? Sounds like fun!

I looked at the sight and found my mechanic, Dave Corsaut in the list of award winners from last year:

"Short-Field Takeoff (450-horsepower engines):
(shortest distance from start of take-off roll until airborne): First: N54896, Dave Corsaut, Greenfield, MO, 342 feet"

 

[Diana]

Hey, that's exactly what I described without reading the article. You're very welcome Diana.

Well Greg is better looking than I am.

Well, I WAS going to give Len first prize for best answer, but now it will have to go to you.

 

[Diana]

When I was a kid the local cropdusters had a huge black guy crank their Stearmans up in the morning (they never shut down during the day while refueling/reloading) using that fly wheel starter. They let me try it one time. I got about 1-1/2 turns before I gave out.

Steve, it looked very, very hard when this guy was doing it.

There was a yellow Stearman at OSH this year on the trainer line that used the same flywheel start procedure, parked next to the N2S with the floats on display. It took several tries before the engine caught.

I wonder if this was the same one. They were headed home to TX from OSH. One guy was flying a Little Toot (I think that's the name of it).

 

[gkainz]

Hey, that's exactly what I described without reading the article. You're very welcome Diana.

Well Greg is better looking than I am.

Yeahbut, Anthony's Tiger is way better looking than anything I have available to me on the rental line (now that the Mooney's no longer available, that is)...

 

[sshekels]

Hey Scott, how do you get adopted? Sounds like fun!

My friend Frank mentioned in passing that his Aunt was related to "some guy who made aircraft a while ago..." I was curious and asked a bunch of questions. Turns out she is Madeline Stearman-Carr, and her dad was Lloyd! He then further mentioned that they have this flyin every year, but it was too far to drive to go...

OMG! Sign me up! I'll fly Frank! So we fly down, meet her, and she is walking royalty! Her kids (about my age - kids?), then proceed to show us all the family pics in the hotel!!!! VERY COOL!!!!!!! Talk about history in action!!

If anyone comes down, I can introduce you to some of the coolest, nicest folks you'd ever want to meet!

S.

Pic 1 - 75731 with Bud horses
Pic 2 - Sunset 1st night
Pic 3 - Scott getting ready for some stick time!
Pic 4 - My "all area" pass!

 

[Len Lanetti]

Well, I WAS going to give Len first prize for best answer, but now it will have to go to you.

Diana,

That's OK, I have way better answers than that. I'm just waiting for the right questions.

Len

 

[Diana]

OMG! Sign me up! I'll fly Frank! So we fly down, meet her, and she is walking royalty! Her kids (about my age - kids?), then proceed to show us all the family pics in the hotel!!!! VERY COOL!!!!!!! Talk about history in action!!

If anyone comes down, I can introduce you to some of the coolest, nicest folks you'd ever want to meet!

Wow, you lucked into that one, didn't you! Very nice pictures. Love that sunset! You look happy waiting for that stick time.

So, did you get to fly one?

 

[sshekels]

So, did you get to fly one?

Yup - Even got to log it, past 2 years in a row!! LOL!

They rock! Not practical, but VERY cool!

S.

 

[gismo]

Yup - Even got to log it, past 2 years in a row!! LOL!

They rock! Not practical, but VERY cool!

S.

Frank mentioned that he's going with you to Galeburg prior to attending the Ames waterski tournament that weekend. I might have to see if I can find the time to go to the fly in this year as well, especially if I could get a flight or two in a Stearman.

-lance

 

[Tom-D]

Yup - Even got to log it, past 2 years in a row!! LOL!

They rock! Not practical, but VERY cool!

S.

Inerta starters are better than hand propping ,,,,,,,, but not much.

 

[sshekels]

Frank mentioned that he's going with you to Galeburg prior to attending the Ames waterski tournament that weekend. I might have to see if I can find the time to go to the fly in this year as well, especially if I could get a flight or two in a Stearman.

-lance

going with Frank pretty much guarantees it!

 

[L10MAN]

I don't know Tom, our A&P school had a BT13 with an inertia starter. In that case it was easier to hand prop it.

Ron

 

[Tom-D]

I don't know Tom, our A&P school had a BT13 with an inertia starter. In that case it was easier to hand prop it.

Ron

The difference between hand propping and the inerta starter is where you do it.

If you really want to see a busy guy, watch a guy inerta start his own aircraft.

But a BT 13 ??? otherwise known as the vultee vibrator, bad carma.