Do commercial aircraft have keys tor Ingnition?

Question

Basically Want to know how the aircraft is started

Answer 1

they have a pushbutton to start the engine.

however the small planes have the keys to lock the cockpit, which sometimes are used to unlock the battery switches

Answer 2

Only key is for the keyed locks on the airplane...cabin door, baggage,etc. You will find most have push button start systems....and some have gated toggle switch type systems (the OLD Lear 25 I used to fly). Thats pretty much the basic outline...

Jonathan S

ATP-LRJET,HS-125

CFI/AGI

Answer 3

wow...I love some these peoples answers:)  No commercial aircraft don't have keys.  They have starter switches.  To start an engine on a 737, for example, you have 2 switches for each engine for a total of 4.  2 ignition switches on the overhead and 2 fuel cutoff valves on the throttle quadrant.  You would turn the ignition switch to the ground position and wait for the appropriate N1 spool up and flip up the fuel cutoff lever to start the combustion.  And by the way, there is no key for the cockpit door or any other door on a commercial airliner.  The cockpit door is locked electronically via a switch on the overhead panel, and the rest of the doors are locked/unlocked manually via latches.

Answer 4

no

Answer 5

nope.

Some have a button that says "Start" on it.  some of them simply have a button that says "Ignition" on it.

Aircraft are controlled a bit more closely than cars, so someone stealing an aircraft is not a huge problem.

Some Single-Engine aircraft do have keys both for the doors and for the ignitions.

Answer 6

First you would have to define "Commercial Aircraft".

Do you mean an A/C flown Commercially or are you talking Airline?

Answer 7

This is the sort of question that will get you checked out by the police.  Why do you want to know?  "Just curious" is a suitable answer for most of us, but be careful.

"Commercial aircraft" can mean anything from a Cessna 150 up to an Antonov 225.

Smaller piston engine airplanes usually have a key to open the doors, that may also operate the master switch or the mags.  Larger piston and all turbine machines can be locked from inside and have one door or hatch that locks with a key.

So you'll find it locked when you get there.  Newer types are easier to start, and some older airplanes are quite difficult to start, especially old radial engine propliners like the C-118 I used to fly.  Boost magetos, three different fuel pumps, oil cooler vanes, cowl flaps, three-speed mechanical superchargers...

I can't think of any airplane that you could just jump in and start without some instruction.

Answer 8

Most smaller piston engined aircraft DO have a key-operated starter switch, while larger jet and turbo-prop engined aircraft typically do not.

Answer 9

Lighter planes do. The key usually removes the ground from the magnetos and starts an electric starter motor. This spins the shaft, fuel is introduced, the capicatator sparks the plugs and you have ignition.

On large jets you can have an electric motor or compressed air(bleed air from the apu) spin the shaft up to speed. (known as max motoring.) Fuel is then introduced and is ignited.

Answer 10

Of course not. There's an engine fire starter button, and lots of other stuff, like the cross-feed valve etc.

Answer 11

There are no keys for jetaircrafts. Can you imagine trying to keep track of them with many pilots flying a plane everyday???

Answer 12

Some do some don't. Most twins have starter switches,most single engine airplanes have a key starter.In twins,you have dual magnitos that have to be switched on before pressing to starter switch.In singles,the starter (key) activates the magnitos as you turn the key to the start position.

Answer 13

Most of them have a starter button (not including fuel pumps, oil pumps master breaker switches etc) which switches on whatever method is used to turn the engines until they are self sustaining. Older aircraft have magneto switches which just switched on the battery and a man would turn the propellor by hand. The big jets use electric motors to turn one engine and then that engine is used to turn the rest. Or sometimes they use smaller jet engines to provide thrust to turn the bigger ones on the wings. There are many ways to start them but no ingnition key like your car. Smaller private aircraft might have a key but they are basically piston propellor light aircraft and use a starter system similar to a car and sometimes even a similar engine think of a VW flat four beetle engine

additional info

"Jet" engines work by pushing a mass of air through it, mixing it with fuel and burning it, this in turn produces a hot expanding mass of air which turns the central shaft which pushes in more air (not exactly but close enough) the engines needs to be turned fast enough to get enough air in to produce enough energy to turn the engine so a motor is used to get it started.

The vehicle you have seen is in fact a tractor because aircraft have no reverse gear and need to be pulled or pushed away from the terminal

Most aircraft dont have a "reverse gear" as they dont have any gears. The engine is not connected to the wheels. The engine produces thrust which is normally directed backwards some can change the direction of the thrust but only a very few can direct it forwards to give a "reverse gear"

Answer 14

i would believe they do and i think that the air traffic control tower has to put an ignition lock on all landed planes for safety reasons

Answer 15

No they dont have a starter key.