Warbird Information Exchange

I found this little illustration whilst perusing popular DC-3 site...
http://www.douglasdc3.com

So anybody tried this at home?



Rope Starting...



http://www.douglasdc3.com/prop/prop.htm

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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I have seen a B-25 pull started with a tug and a rope.

Around the prop dome right????
I saw a movie once of a C-47 being started with the boot over the prop tip with the line attached to a jeep. To bad the boot didn't come off like it says in the manual because the ol' Gooney bird ate the jeep

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Don't touch my junk!!

Fresno-

You must hav the same tape I have, of Carl Scholl pull starting a B-25 engine with a Jeep for the Doolittle flyover back in like 90 or 91 or something....the rope broke a few times but they got the engine going...

Mark

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Mark Morris

Yeah that was the one. After taking off for the Doolittle Flight we heard that Carl blew a starter and wasn't coming along. After about 50 minutes when we made it up to Pebble Beach and watched the B-25s drop their flowers for the Doolittle tribute. We then started heading towards San Fransisco for a bay area fly over and sure enough we heard Carl on the radio and in minutes he caught up with us in the slow C-41. He mentioned that he pull started it and of course nobody believed him until we saw the video when we got back to Fresno. Then we asked what he did with the flowers and he said he dropped them while he was flying over the valley and all I could envision was some farmer driving his tractor in the field minding his own business and all of the sudden 500 lbs of carnations start raining down around him lol.

Ryan

Seen it also done on a B-25 using a long rope and a VW bus. First attempt pulled the bumper of the VW, second attempt was successful.

-wc

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real airplanes have round engines

Doesn't the B-29 manual have instructions for doing this as well?

Yes, it calls for a sherman tank and battleship chain.

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Hang The Expense

In his book, Bill Lear talks about hand propping his P-38 with a human chain of guys.

Steve G

Having spent the last month and a half on the ramp crew, I have to say that I'm amazed you can hand start a B-25. Walking the props on the C-47 is a breeze, doing them on the B-17 isn't exactly fun, but the B-25 is a royal pain.

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Phil K.
Yankee Air Museum
Systems Admin / Ramp Crew / Professional Photo Ruiner

I have heard about a P-51 started that way. Hand prop a metal prop on a J-3 is bad enough

Lynn

Not exactly a warbird.
I was talking to a guy a few weeks ago, and he mentioned being in South America and watching a guy start his Cessna with a rope and a Donkey.

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Curtis Block

I've seen too many airplanes destroyed by the term "Static Restoration."

The rope was wrapped tightly around the hub and then the end was attached to the tug. The tug pulled on the rope which tightened the rope to the point where it grabbed the hub a rotated the prop sort of like the old gasoline small engines that were rope start where you wrap the rope around the crank.


Ryan

i guess you can practice with a balsa wood & rubberband model for practice

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Towards the end of the war the Japanese were so short of batteries, they to get 20 troops and pull the rope, and that was their starter.

Regards

Col

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Vietnam Vet and proud of it.