Quote:
Originally Posted by m9a3r5i7o2n
Starting the Hisso is usually a fairly straightforward procedure, although if the engine is hot and the magnetos are weak you can wear out your prop-swinger in no time as the big V-8 obstinately refuses to fire up. Normally, you give the engine a couple of shots of prime, call, "Switch off!" to your helper, and wait while the propeller is turned through three or four revolutions. Then the booster mag comes into play. This is a small, hand-cranked magneto at the lower right corner of the instrument panel that sends extra current to the spark plugs for starting. If the engine is juiced up just right, and the propeller is in just the right position, you can put the mag switch to Both, crank the little handle on the booster mag, and the engine will start instantaneously. Usually this doesn't work, and you have to call the prop-swinger back to his task. You call, "Contact!", wait until after you see him start to swing, never before, and then start to crank the booster. Hopefully the Hisso catches and settles into a low, rumbling idle. It will idle below the last mark on the tachometer, but it's better to bump it up to 650 rpm or so to keep some cooling air moving through the radiator. This is especially true when the engine is warm, like in between rides.
M.L. Anderson
From; PilotWeb |
Not sure I can add much to the discussion, but I wrote the above as part of a pilot report on a Travel Air 3000 w/180 Hisso (E?). I had the good fortune to fly another Travel Air 3000 yesterday, and from a pilot's point of view the Hispano-Suiza is a magnificent piece of equipment, great sound, smooth, and lots of power. Probably the closest I'll get to flying a H-S powered SPAD, unless Butch gets on the stick.......