... the Zero cranks up faster!

[Fielder 3,663]

 

[Penzoil3 480]

Nah, the Wildcat started faster with the cartridge. Nice video, thanks

 Sue

[n4gix 4,947]

It's a wonder that the starter motors on the Spitfire didn't burn up considering how long they had to crank those massive engines!

[HighBypass 2,339]

Looking through the comments on YouTube, one of them mentioned that back in the day they were not trying to start 70 year old planes. Also higher octane avgas was mentioned which was higher than the current 100/130 octane - that might have been a factor..

Watching this video reminded me of a spoof TV advert from Australia advertising easy-starting products - "Wynn's Start Ya Bast..."... and for the REALLY difficult ones.. "Fer Chrissake, Come On!"  (sorry Fr.Bill!)

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Yes aircraft rolling off an assembly line would be far different 70 years ago compared to this aging mishmash of rebuilt replaced parts and overall wear and tear. Amazing how Japanese Aircraft back then compared to US Aircraft still loosely compare to Japanese Cars and American Cars today. Japanese like smaller designs, lighter and high output engines and better maneuverability, but very nimble designs. Americans are bigger, heavier tougher more horsepower but not as maneuverable and gas guzzlers.  I've owned various Honda's and GMC's over the years and I've always admired the different concepts are still true with how each country makes things today, I think it is embedded in the culture.

The spinner on that Focke-Wulf 190 looks nice and intimidating as well 😎

Edited July 25, 2020 by Matthew Kane

[stans 702]

Back in WW II, they would not have been using the starter motor to clear cylinders, that would have been done by the ground crew, nor would they have been pre-oiling the engine.  Pre-oiler pumps were not installed on aircraft during WW II, that is a fairly modern device.  During WW II, spare engines were available and provided to squadrons as needed, today, a spare engine is a very expensive purchase and can be hard to obtain.  If you read the pilot's manuals that were published for these aircraft and then look at how they are presently being started, you will see that present techniques are different from what was done in WW II.  Much more caution is given to operating these aircraft today.

Edited July 26, 2020 by stans