We have a Palouste starter sourced from Everett Aero set up and fully tested which will be good for starting the boat on outward runs. But since return runs are likely to be made from 8-9 miles away then something else is needed to start the boat for those runs. Although some are in private collections, all former military kit of that era has long ago been disposed of with even recyclers and specialist suppliers to the historic aircraft scene tending to deal with more recent equipment.
Luckily we tracked down a Libby start cart that was due to be scrapped by a recycler. Work to strip it and carry out checks proved that it could be made serviceable since key components were still with it. A deal has now been done with B Allsop & Sons of Nottingham to secure the Libby start cart which has been rebuilt for use on turn around runs. Now we know it’s functional we can smarten it up for operational use so a big thank to B Allsop & Sons.
Both the Palouste and Libby start carts are gas turbine engines optimised to give lots of extra air at max power. This is tapped off to drive an air starter fitted to the engine. The advantage of the Libby air starter is that it also drives a generator which supplies 115v AC 3 Phase which we will need to start the engine on the boat.
