Fire-breathing Griffon…!!!!!

When Sabena was operating DC4s,6s and 7s, it was mandatory to have one fellow standing by next to the exhaust with the hose of the CO2 extinguisher at engine level. Same parctise for BAF C-119.

By hot sunny days, yes it happens in Belgium, unburned fuel ignition was common

hmmm,…how to change gloss paint to matt paint….INSTANTLY 😀

More like gloss paint to no paint under the circumstances 🙂

I did see the TFC Corsair set fire to the bottom of its fuselage on start up a couple of weeks ago and can confirm a fire extingusher was on the starter and the fire was out within seconds, no drama.

When starting the DBAF B-25 it is standard practice to have a fire extinguisher standing by. At least on one occasion this has saved some embarassment (and perhaps the aircraft) when a pool of fuel that had been vented overboard after an aborted start ignited during a second starting attempt. Of course this happened on a day when everybody was watching, including the fire brigade. I’ve got a great photo where you can see the firemen scrambling to get the hoses out while the fire is already out, courtesy of the DBAF fire extinguisher! 😀

It could’ve been different though, so I would strongly suggest to anyone who operates large piston engines to keep fire extinguishers nearby when starting!

Nice!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info, peoples !!

Very interesting subject !!

Nice photos, especially the Spitfire.

It is common practice to have a groundcrew member stand by with an extinguisher for any and all aircraft start-ups in the RNZAF and most (safe) air forces. I would imagine it would be very prudent to do so when starting 60 year old warbirds.

Have you ever seen the often published photos of RNZAF Corsairs that have burnt on starting? The Corsairs in question were left simply skeletal in seconds, and had a white powdery look about them. Certainly not rebuildable. Amazingly no-one seems to have been killed in these fires.

Starting an aircraft can be dangerous, and fire is awesomely and instantly destructive in this situation, especially when using cartridges as starters.

Speaking of which, my favourite to watch starting used to be the Venom, it is a wonderful sight and sound as the cartridges fire. I have some footage of a whole line-up of RNZAF Venoms firing at the exact same time. Magic.

You don’t always see a lot of flame, thankfully it is very rare and usually will only occur on a hot start with a little more fuel being primed through than neccesary. The fire will almost always blow itself out if the prop keeps turning. As for common practice, I can’t really comment on larger organisations such as those at Duxford however with the Mustang we don’t find it neccesay to stand by with a fire extinguisher on start up, however we always know where one is just in case.

Although I’ve only ever seen Spits and Hurris start up at close quarters once or twice (and VERY close to RACo’s Hurricane a few years ago :D:D) I’ve never seen a stack fire. Aren’t most of them simply the result of over-priming the engine?

For some people its already a rare thing to see warbirds nowdays. :rolleyes:

For the times I saw the start of a merlin or griffon, I didn’t see a lot of fire. But here in Belgium, you don’t see such planes often.

J.V.

Is it common practice still to have a marshall wielding a fire extingusher on Spitfire (or any Warbird for that matter) start up sequences or are engine fires on start-up a rare thing nowdays?

Interesting pics to see, not very nice when you are strapped behind a fire breathing Merlin however (or standing outside as ground crew come to that).

You’re welcome.. 🙂
I love seeing these sort of pics..

Here’s another couple of flamers….Yak 9U starting and a Connie in flight

That is the second pic of a SPIT-FIRE spit I see here. 😮 The other one was also from a Griffon powered spit. Great Image and thanks for sharing!

J.V.

hmmm,…how to change gloss paint to matt paint….INSTANTLY 😀

A step up from lighting ones farts 😀

Anyone got any sausages??

You’re only s’posed to blow the bladdy doors off!