Pilatus P2-first engine runs!

[soko121]

...well the first time we have run the engine anyway. This past weekend we somewhat successfully managed to coax the Argus AS410 into life. as you will see by the videos. i didnt post all the attempts at starting, just the exciting ones. it took about 15 minutes of fiddling. We eventually determined that it will run only on prime,not on the carb, but might be pulling air through a bad primer line, so more work to do. In any event we are quite pleased so far and hope to soon move onto the next step.
http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b333/ ... MOV003.flv

http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b333/ ... MOV004.flv

http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b333/ ... MOV00E.flv

http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b333/ ... MOV01D.flv

Cheers!

Simon

[CAPFlyer]

Great that you got it running.

What is the vaned, freewheeling part on the spinner for? I've seen a vaned spinner before, but not one like that.

[aerovet]

Could you please, for those not in your own private circle, reveal the present identity of U-142?
Its registration, owner and where it has ist home?
mtia
Aerovet

[Mike]

Not exactly a secret as you seem to imply, Aerovet.

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry ... rtxt=5241M

Formerly in the UK as G-BONE

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?c ... gmark=BONE

[jet1]

...you installed the dang engine UPSIDE DOWN!...

[ChrisDNT]

WOW, what a beautiful P2 !!!

And thanks a lot for having kept to this aircraft its orginal finish

[ChrisDNT]

I must have somewhere old pics of this aircraft when it was flying in the Swiss air force, will search for them.

[Augsburgeagle]

Excellent, Congratulations you must be very proud! I was expecting to see something in fake german colours so very pleased to see how it looks! Could you post some cockpit photos etc. Would love to see some more videos!
Cheers

[Jack Cook]

Peter Haughton had a really nice disassembled one at his shop in Arlington
a few years back. I believe it was used in the 3rd Indiana Jones movie.

[Mike]

Jack, I think that's the one Shawn Mulligan now has under restoration at Schellville. It still had the dummy guns and fake Luftwaffe scheme on it when he acquired it a couple of years back.

[Jack Cook]

That sure sounds like the one. Cool a/c!!

[Second Air Force]

Great that you got it running.

What is the vaned, freewheeling part on the spinner for? I've seen a vaned spinner before, but not one like that.

That vaned spinner is actually the device that controls prop blade pitch.

S

[CAPFlyer]

Thanks Scott. Actually, Simon responded via PM with the answer.

Somewhere in my vague memory that's what I thought it was for (something about a comment from a British Pilot about having a "perpetually run-away prop until you got going fast enough to create pressure"), but I wanted to be sure I wasn't dreaming that comment up.

[David Legg]

Ah nostalgia!! A glance back in my log book shows that I flew in G-BONE/U-142 as a backseater twice on the evening of June 25th, 1986 out of North Weald in Essex, England! This was with the late, great John Watts and the purpose of the flights was to practice a synchro aerobatic routine with Paul Warren Wilson in P-2 G-BJAX/U-108 (painted in a pseudo Luftwaffe scheme). The routine was subsequently performed by John and Paul over the next two days at the Fighter Meet Air Show at the same airfield. Great to see that U-142 is still in good hands - congratulations. I later flew in G-BJAX a number of times too and felt that, as a passsenger at least, the P-2 was a really terrific aeroplane.