Two stroke Thursday

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 03/31/2016 at 19:00 • Filed to: Messerschmitt, Me 262, Planelopnik, Riedel

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Meet a Messerschmitt Me 262

Yes, it was a jet aircraft. No, it therefore wasn’t powered by a two stroke.

But.

You had to start the engines. Like modern jet aircraft, the 262 had auxiliary power units, one for each engine in this case. The chosen unit was the Riedel Anlassermotor , a two stroke, 270cc flat twin which lived at the front of the main engine in its own nacelle complete with a three litre fuel tank. Once the Riedel was running it drove the turbines until they built up enough revs to continue on their own.

Usually the pilot started the starters electrically but if all else failed there was a backup. By grabbing the ring you can see in the middle of the nacelle you could start the Anlassermotor with a rope, just like your lawnmower.

So there you have it. One of the most sophisticated planes of WW2 could be started with a recoil starter.

After the war many Riedels found themselves pressed into service powering all manner of terrestrial machinery.

Want one? They come up !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! occasionally.

Spaze > Cé hé sin 03/31/2016 at 19:04

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you know, I knew a LOT about these planes, and I never knew this. Well done!

bingham123 > Cé hé sin 03/31/2016 at 20:02

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i want one so i can build a motorbike around it

f86sabre > Cé hé sin 03/31/2016 at 20:54

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Neat piece. APUs are a pain in the ass. Good to see they were a pain back in the day as well.

ttyymmnn > Cé hé sin 03/31/2016 at 20:56

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This is the second day now, in a row I think, that I’ve had to pull out Mr. Spock. This post is

Thanks.

Speed > bingham123 03/31/2016 at 21:18

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My first thought exactly.

Cé hé sin > bingham123 04/01/2016 at 07:58

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This is the nearest you can get.

An Imme R100, built by a company owned by Norbert Riedel who designed the engine above. A wonderful looking thing but a commercial failure.