Quote:
Originally Posted by BazMason
I remember one of my old engineers telling us about the JATO on the 8 sqn Shakletons - "4 turning, 2 burning" must have made the take off roll....interesting
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Ah.......nostalgia!
The '20,000 Rivets Flying in Close Formation', (AKA Avro Shackleton) had four Rolls Royce V12 Griffon engines (most RR piston engines were named after birds of prey - Kestrel, Vulture, Eagle, Merlin (No - not the wizard!), producing 1,960 hp (2,345 hp with water-methanol injection) and on the MR3 version two 2,700lb thrust Armstrong Siddeley Viper engines buried in the nacelles.
The Shackleton, when so configured, could fly on the two Vipers only. Its party piece at a Farnborough air show (or two) was to take off and fly a circuit returning with one engine feathered, then another circuit when a second engine was feathered, and so on until after the last circuit when the the aircraft returned over the airfield with all engines feathered, flying only on the Vipers. Much consternation at first from lovingly gullible crowd - probably only spoiled by a knowing 10 year old.
Jet Assisted Take Off is one thing but the solid fuel propellant Rocket Assisted Take Off is something else. Especially when it concerns a 'Zero Launch Length' F104 Starfighter!
http://www.militaryimages.net/photop...tarfighter.jpg