I seem to recall whilst on detachment at RAF Valley 2 RAF F4J’s using the buddy system to start up after being left behind whilst being repaired.
They used to use a different kind of air starter unit instead of the ordinary Palouste. the new kind was the size of a small caravan, but had gone back with the rest of the squadron.
The groundcrew borrowed our palouste (on the rare occasion that it was serviceable after spitting blades out of the exhaust!) to get the engines spinning, and the other phantom provided the extra bit of oomph to get the engines to fire up.

The F4J’s used what was called direct air impingement starting. The hot air was blown directly over the turbine, winding the engine up to speed. There was no actual startmotor. It used a large volume of air which is alright if you have the USS Enterprise parked somewhere handy.

I would imagine that it would have been as useful as a Lightning with an IFR pod.
I can’t see it having enough fuel to spare for another a/c.

The speed of sound does eventually increase again as you get around 70,000 feet. It does have to do with changes in air temperature, that part is correct. Once you hit the stratosphere, the speed of sound increases gradually until it hits around 640 knots at 155,000 feet.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/q0112.shtml

Would that have something to do with the composition of the atmosphere at that altitude ie; the medium through which the sound travels?

Oh, the speed of sound is a function of altitude? That might surprise some members here.

Well simply put the speed of sound is a variable dependant on a number of things, amongst others medium through which it travels, and ambient temperature. As we all know (South pole excepted) with altitude rise comes a drop in density and temperature so affecting Mach which of course is defined as ‘the local speed of sound’.

But then, you know that already so perhaps you’d be so good as to explain it to others who are less up to speed. I know you could explain it far better and in greater detail than I can.

Thanks.

[QUOTE=bloodnok;1260893]

He probably got through multi jet training hoping for Phantom or Tornado, only to be told he would be passing on fuel in a truck.
/QUOTE]

Somebody was telling him porkies if he was expecting to get on phantoms or tornados after doing multi jet training!
He wouldn’t even have been doing ‘heavy’ training unless he’d asked for it, or got chopped from fast jet training.

While there was a certain element of ‘failures’ being posted to the tankers, not all were there unwillingly. Some had known nothing else but V-bombers. I knew one pilot who had been dropped from Lightnings because he couldn’t hack the multi tasking, but he thoroughly enjoyed flying the Victor.

I say claimed, because he didn’t know about that famous supersonic flight!-is it likely that a Victor pilot wouldn’t know about that?

By rights if he had flown them then he would have practised in the crew egress trainer. Said trainer was the cockpit section of the offending Victor complete with plaque placed clearly in view describing the date, conditions of the flight and tail number of the a/c. I do believe that the cockpit is still extant.

There’s a series of photos on the web somewhere of a Boeing 767 which has a turbine disk failure. The whole disk ejected complete from the engine, through the casing, through the FUSELAGE and into the engine on the OPPOSITE side!

Treat all jet engines with caution. Perhaps a few dry runs would be advisable after as thorough inspection as you can manage. Above all, FOLLOW THE MAINTENANCE MANUAL and pilots notes.

Having seen the results of XL232 shedding a disc I can only agree whole heartedly.

Its unlikely to happen don’t you think? The calorific value of alternative fuels is just not enough for these high octane warbirds.

The Rolls-Royce ‘R’ engine in the S6 achieved a speed record in 1931 using a fuel mixture of 30% benzol 60% methanol and 10% acetone plus 5cc TEL per gallon.