"Maple1" wrote
Is that like the starter cartridges you see in the movies starting up
some huge radial engine?
Yes
Actually, no. The APU, or auxillary power unit, provides electrical power
while the engines are not running. Cartridge starts are a different matter
all together.
When I was at Offutt AFB in the days of Looking Glass, I was called out
because of a stuck "crossover valve". That valve allows air from the left
side over to the right. Normal starting procedure was to start the number 2
engine first, and then use the air off it to start the other three. Since
the crossover wouldn't allow air over to numbers three and four, we made the
decision to do a cartridge start on #3 and use its air to crank up #4.
Mission accomplished with on-time takeoff.
Been 38+ years since I walked off the flight line for that last time, but I
seem to remember in aircraft that were equipped with APU's, they were
generally in a wheel well. Not all fighters aircraft had APU's.
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