Dedicated to those who flew behind Round Engines
We’ve got to get rid
of those turbines, they're ruining aviation and our hearing...
A turbine is too
simple minded, it has no mystery. The air travels through it in a straight line
and doesn't pick up any of the pungent fragrance of engine oil or pilot sweat.
Anybody can start a
turbine. You just need to move a switch from "OFF" to "START" and then remember
to move it back to "ON" after a while. My PC is harder to start.
Cranking a round
engine requires skill, finesse and style. You have to seduce it into starting.
It's like waking up a horny mistress. On some planes, the pilots aren't even
allowed to do it...
Turbines start by
whining for a while, then give a lady-like poof and start whining a little
louder.
Round engines give a
satisfying rattle-rattle, click-click, BANG, more rattles, a couple of coughs,
another BANG, more clicks, a lot more smoke and finally a serious low
pitched roar. We like that. It's a GUY thing...
When you start a round engine, your mind is engaged and you can concentrate on the flight ahead. Starting a turbine is like flicking on a ceiling fan: Useful, but, hardly exciting. When you have started his round engine successfully, your Crew Chief looks up at you like he'd let you kiss his girl!
Turbines don't
break or catch fire often enough, which leads to aircrew boredom, complacency
and inattention. A round engine at speed looks and sounds like it's going to
blow any minute. This helps concentrate the mind!
Turbines don't have
enough control levers or gauges to keep a pilot's attention. There's nothing to
fiddle with during long flights.
Turbines smell like
a Boy Scout camp full of Coleman Lamps. Round engines smell like God intended
machines to smell.