AVPIN tales

[Weaver]

Just found this while surfing:

http://www.rhodesianforces.org/No1sqnavpin.html

[Aircav]

The Bristol Belvedere used AVPIN as well, horid stuff.

[nev]

I remember my dad telling me putting AVPIN in peoples cigarette lighters was a favourite jape

[Aircav]

Mine was telling me about a barrel of AVIPIN that got away from the RAF crew as they round it down some planks out of a Belvedere in Malaya and it ended up at the bottom of a small hill with everyone running the opposite way.
I seem to remember that some of the torpedos ran on a form of AVPIN.

[PR19_Kit]

Didn't Lighnings use AVPIN for something too? Perhaps starting, as they used big Avons as pushers.

There's a piccie on the Net somewhere of an F6 (maybe an F2A) with much of the spine fairing peeled back and signs of a serious fire having taken place, apparently due to some part of the AVPIN circuitry blowing up. Darned if I can find now though. 

[nev]

Yes Kit - from memory I believe the white section as seen on the spine of some Lightnings was where the AVPIN tank was.

[Weaver]

Didn't Lighnings use AVPIN for something too? Perhaps starting, as they used big Avons as pushers.

Yes, AVPIN was the standard starting mechanism on later Avons. Basically, it's a monopropellant fuel (like liquid rocket fuel). Put it in a closed space, compress it, ignite it and you've got LOTS of high-pressure gas. The Avon starter takes that and uses it to turn a small turbine which gets the main engine going.

Kinda related story from another site: one ex-groundcrew guy was relating how they'd "haze" virgin oiks by getting them to do the intake inspection on a Lightning, which involved crawling inside the intake. They'd then disconnect the AVPIN feed and ignition and hit the starter button: the oik would here the AVPIN pump spinning up, while they were inside the intake, and the bet was on how many seconds it took them to exit the intake again with their trousers filling.....