About mid
May 1963 at Tennant Creek, Hudson aircraft VH-AGE had a starter
motor failure. VH-AGE was equipped with Pratt and Whitney twin
row Wasp engines – I would never have considered doing what we
did had it been a Hudson with single row Cyclones. The significant
difference in this situation is that the Twin Wasp had a starter
motor separate from the feathering motor whereas the Cyclone’s
starter motor also doubled as a feathering motor. The only function
of the starter motor of the Pratt & Whitney engine was to turn
the motor for starting and if we could do this and get the affected
engine started, we could make good use of the existing brilliantly
clear atmospheric conditions. The weather was excellent for photography
and looked like staying that way for some days. To get a replacement
starter motor from Sydney to Tennant Creek would take about 5
days. The crew was enthusiastic to make the most of the clear
conditions and absence of cloud. Mike Wood and the engineer, Skeeter
Clayton, made a guestimation that the engine could be primed with
about a half a film tin lid of fuel drained from the fuel tank
drain points. Mike climbed onto the wing and deftly threw the
fuel down the air intake. Then with me in the cockpit and all
other crew members on the end of a rope, the other end of which
was looped loosely over one propeller blade, they “swung the prop”.
The blade moved through about 60 degrees, until it was pointing
downwards, the rope fell to the ground as was intended, and the
engine started every time! From memory, we started the engine
on five separate days of excellent weather, until a serviceable
replacement starter motor arrived from Sydney. Needless to say
we parked the aircraft away from prying eyes when we used this
starting technique!
Wal Bowles
11th February 2003
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