Jump starting airplane with a truck!

Details? It wasn't like using the thrust of one jet engine to start another was it?

Alex.
 
Details? It wasn't like using the thrust of one jet engine to start another was it?

Alex.
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No. The battery in our cherokee is kinda weak and needs replaced and doesnt hold a very good charge. We are waiting for a new bigger battery. But the problem righ tnow is with this old battery if it doesnt start with in a few revs of the starter the battery is drained. Well that happened last night so luckily I had jumper cables in the airplane for this very reason, called one my old instructors who lives close to the airport I was at , and had him pull up his truck close to the airplane so I could jump start the plane. Its really a no event its just a hassle. The battery is under the back seat so you have to move the seat to get to it. Take the top off the battery box. Then replace everything once the plane is running.
 
Works the same on my C-140, too. Only had to do it once, though. Battery is mounted aft of the baggage area so all I have to do is roll back the leather partition between the cabin and tail and hook up cables. Makes for an easy disconnect once the engine is running.


Psshh...all these new-fangled aeroplanes with their fancy 24 volt batteries, I don't want none of that...
 
Been there, done that. Same deal, cherokee, batt under the backseat, had my car all the way up almost touching the trailing edge of the wing. This was at 5 in the morning though so it was a little annoying haha
 
Yea the truck was almost touching the wing and side of the airplane to get close enough for the cables to reach. We considered buying one those jumper systmes you can buy. its like the size a small suitcase and weighs only like 8 lbs to use for this occasion. But they are ilke 130 dollars. So we are just going to upgrade to a higer capacity battery. Like the ones they use up in canada for very cold weather operations to see if that works. But we have to have the battery box made bigger so its going to be alittle while before we figure this out.
 
I dont know? But it was reccomended by a A&P so I hope so? I looked it up and found articles of people doing it before.
 
I spent a lot of time flying a Diamond DA-20 this summer that would need a jump quiet often. Those brilliant engineers put the EPU plug between the wing and the prop. On a DA-20, there isn't a whole lot of room there, so I always worry about getting a line guy who messes up, and things getting ugly.
 
Yea I was going to ask tld how did you do that in the 172. If I remember right the battery is under the cowling?
 
Jbroz04 said:
Yea I was going to ask tld how did you do that in the 172. If I remember right the battery is under the cowling?
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I also had to do that once on a skyhawk. It requires very careful selections of which camlocks to undo. Fortunately for me, it was just a dead battery that was otherwise fine, and after half an hour I was able to shut down, re-secure the cowling then restart and be on my way. At 0-dark thirty by yourself there aren't too many options. I wasn't going to try handpropping the thing by myself, though the thought did cross my mind.
 
milleR said:
I also had to do that once on a skyhawk. It requires very careful selections of which camlocks to undo. Fortunately for me, it was just a dead battery that was otherwise fine, and after half an hour I was able to shut down, re-secure the cowling then restart and be on my way. At 0-dark thirty by yourself there aren't too many options. I wasn't going to try handpropping the thing by myself, though the thought did cross my mind.
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Dad has a pair of jump cables where one end are normal cables, and the other end is a wooden connection that plugs into the 3-prong GPU connection on the left side fuselage just aft of the cowling (C-182). Makes jumping convenient.
 
I'd have thought the GPU plug would have been the more standard way of doing it, depends if the FBO (more likely owner) has one or a long enough cable to an industrial outlet :)

Alex.
 
Did the same thing in an Arrow a few months back. That was after we drained the suitcase-like jumper system.
 
ahw01 said:
I'd have thought the GPU plug would have been the more standard way of doing it, depends if the FBO (more likely owner) has one or a long enough cable to an industrial outlet :)

Alex.
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A lot of old, small airplanes don't have GPU receptacles.
 
Jbroz04 said:
Yea I was going to ask tld how did you do that in the 172. If I remember right the battery is under the cowling?
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the access panel on a 1957 172 is about 1'x2'...pretty substantial. It takes a few people to commit this feat, but it can be done...
 
Speaking of trying to hand prop. I have alot of experience hand proping a cub that I rent. So the first thing I tried was to hand prop the cherokee with another pilot who was there at the controls. Let me tell you. Trying to hand prop a 0-320 (that has the 160hp upgrade which means high compression cylinders) isnt fun at all. First attempt I thought the blade was going to cut into my hand from the hard pull it takes to turn it over. After the second attempt I was just like this is stupid bring the truck over. Part of the upgrade we are going to do with the new battery that is going to be put in is a external jump port that would be behind the wing.
 
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