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Correct Starter Sounds?

gecko

gecko

Charter Member
I am trying to get more accurate starter sounds specific to the kind of starter each plane was equipped with. There are plenty of good sounds available, so that's not a problem, but I'm having trouble finding info on which ones are correct for which aircraft. For example, I know some marks of Spitfire used the Coffman starter, but what about the others? Inertia? direct cranking? Videos of modern warbirds are suspect as many use updated equipment and may not use the same starter. Any help or sources for determining the correct starter for any of our aircraft will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Daniel
 
From what I know Daniel, Mk.I Spits used an electric start, Mk.IIs and onward had a Coffman starter up to the Mk.IX, where early versions had the Coffman but most two-stage supercharged IXs had an electric start. Much later Merlins such as those fitted to the DH.103 Hornet used an electric start from an external battery.

Griffons I know less about, just that early ones used the Coffman starter and later ones used an electric start.

Cogs shift again and he remembers Pilot's Notes! The Mks VI, VII, VIII and PR.X had an electric starter (Merlin 63, 64, 66, 70, 71 and 77) and could also be hand-started with a crank stowed behind the pilot's seat. I don't much fancy trying that on a 27-litre V12.
 
Do you know what kind of electric starter it was? Direct cranking starters will sound more or less like a heavy duty car starter as they are basically the same device. An inertia starter uses a flywheel and sounds distinctly different. Both of these can be either hand cranked or electrically driven.
 
Further digging says both Mk.XII and XIV Spits used Coffman starters edit and more digging says the electric start was direct-drive: very low-ratio (slow) with the Mk.I so could be tricky to start. Hope this helps.
 
Excellent! Thanks Tom! I've been doing more research which correlates with that. Also finding nearly every Luftwaffe engine used an inertia starter, which was also common on US aircraft, along with the Coffman on many of the Navy types (still trying to sort out what had what). I'm having less luck on the British radials and French, Japanese, Italian, etc. Still digging!
 
Fascinating, though a bit frustrating as it will be impossible to simulate.:mixedsmi: It makes perfect sense though, given their obsession with making their designs as light as absolutely possible.
 
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