Hall-Scott A-5 engine "air starters"

[flyby]

The Boeing Model C float plane trainer, 1917, was originally equipped with the Hall-Scott A-5 125 hp engine. The engine was equipped with a Compressed air "Air Starter". This engine and starter set-up was used on the first Boeing airplane as well the model 1 or B&W, 1916, float plane.

Can anyone tell me the mechanism, design, (Or lead me to a resource that describes it.) of the "Air Starter" utilized on the Hall-Scott A-5?

Thank you in advance.

flyby

[retread]

An interesting post. Unfortunately I can offer little help. From "A History of Aircraft Piston Engines" (Herschel Smith) I find the Hall-Scott A-5 was an inline 6 cylinder, water-cooled, 5"x7" bore vs. stroke,825cu.in.,525 lbs with an overhead cam which the author believes was first manufactured in 1914. Apparently the Navy favored Hall-Scott over Curtiss engines because of location, location, location. Hall-Scott manufactured in San Francisco so had the logistical edge over Curtiss's New York State facility as the Navy's largest airbase at the time was in North Beach near San Diego.
As far as the air start system I know exactly zip. My guess is it probably operated off a holding tank that was filled on the ground, so if you were lucky you could get a number of starts out of it.The library in the National Air and Space Museum may have some information. Also, the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York.
I know this is probably little if any help to you but I sure learned alot.

[flyby]

Thank you for your reply.

Hall-Scott's history is very interesting. Please see >www.northern.edu/diasr/hallscott/history.htm< for more info.

There is a photo of the Boeing Model C production line displaying several in-production Model Cs what clearly shows the tanks mounted in the aft fuselage section with a hose leading forward. (The photo is in the Boeing exhibit at the Museum of flight in Seattle.)

There are several references to the Boeing Model 1 (B & W) and the Model C being equipped with the Hall-Scott Model A-5 engines with the specifications you have listed.

So far I haven't been able to determine if the compressed air start system was a Hall-Scott feature that they added for float planes or if it was a Boeing invention.

I hope to find out how it functioned and who was responsible for it.

Regards,

flyby