this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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What is it actually
It's likely aux power. A cable that big is carrying a ton of current so it can power most of the instruments and maybe even hydraulic pumps. If that jet doesn't have an APU, it needs something to get the engines started. (Jet engines aren't always self-start. They need something to turn them over while also getting fed a fuck ton of air. The exact mechanics are lost on me, but that is basically what is going on.)
If fixed wing aircraft are remotely similar to the piece of shit helicopters I worked on, they spend most of their life in a perpetual state of just barely being good enough to fly. This means they need plenty of power during troubleshooting sessions so hungover airmen can break even more shit.
Edit: An APU (aux power unit) on my helicopters (SH/HH-60's. Basically a Black Hawk, but dumber.) was a third engine. It provides electrical power and also provides the air needed to start the other two engines. It's also there to catch on fire at least once a year, as required by Navy regulations since all the leaking oil and fuel needs to be burned off on occasion.
I wish we had normalized this system for other industries besides aviation.
Cold day in the winter here on the farm, all the batteries are dead, the oil is -40C, the hydraulic fluid is practically solid. Instead of dragging around chargers and plugging in an assortment of dinky heaters, we should have a big shore power system capable of putting out full cranking amps to start a tractor (and no, the "200A start" charger doesn't count).
Bonus points if it could circulate and heat fluids. Oh man, it would be so great, but it would be a lot of work to build and retrofit to everything for lack of a standard.
At least we have one thing in common, I have air cooled Deutz tractors which usually catch on fire once a year and burn off the oil on the heads. You just bring up the revs and let the cooling fan blow out the fire. Get some funny looks from the road with more smoke coming out the side than the top.
Ground heater carts are also a thing. It blows hot air down 1ft wide collapsible tube ducts to warm up aircraft. Let that heat soak into an engine for a while and it would do some good I think
You can find drunk airmen just about anywhere, brother. They will break anything you need broke, so don't think that it's just limited to aviation.
On a slightly more serious note, but still kinda not, I have seen huffers on sale on government surplus sites. You could probably keep your eyes open for one of those and rig it for your machines. (I think it's just a V8 engine after all.) You could just keep it in your house all toasty by the fire for when you need it.
We mainly used them as makeshift blast shields, but they do actually start engines. They probably wouldn't circulate any other fluids that I am aware of.
(It has been a few years since I did any of that stuff, so details have probably changed.)
Hey a drunk (former) airman almost burned down my last job because he caught some solvent on fire and thought he could toss it on the ground and stomp it out.
It did not work.
And it only plugs in one way so pretty usb like tbh