Firefly Mechanics 101
POSTED BY: Zoot
UPDATED: Sunday, June 19, 2005 16:46
VIEWED: 8802
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I know I’m a mechanical imbecile – I can’t even fix a car – unless the problem is with the fuses in an MGB or windscreen washer tubes (and I don’t even know what they’re really called)… But I have a question for you budding mechanics out there and it’s this:
Every time the crew start up Serenity’s engine (even from a flying start) they have to pull what looks like a big starter handle at the end of the engine’s turbine to get it started again e.g. Jayne in Serenity when they go for full burn in atmo; Mal at the end of Out of Gas after he’s plugged in the catalyser.
But when Mal first meets Kaylee in the flash back in Out of Gas – Kaylee simply just “plugs the g-line straight into the port-pin-lock” and the engine starts right up. Now why didn’t she need to turn the starter handle thingumy??
Now I’m sure there’s a rational reason for this that I’m just too dumb to get – so could someone please explain it in Captain dummy Talk??
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I suspect it's just a big 'ON' switch. I somehow don't think it's likely even Serenity wouldn't have some sort of starter motor to get the engine spinning.
Most likely Bester had left the engine in 'ON' while he was testing/trying to fix it, not the safest practice I admit, but one that allows you to instantly know when you've got something right.
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Kaylee: "No call to be snappy, Jayne."
Jayne: "Are *you* about to jump onto a moving train?!"
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But that doesn't really explain why Jayne had to pull it in the pilot to go to full burn as the engine must have been "on" then 'cos they were already in the air .... but am probably just thinkign about this way too much ....
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Quote:You're sure, huh?
Originally posted by Zoot:
Now I’m sure there’s a rational reason for this ...
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:Quote:You're sure, huh?
Originally posted by Zoot:
Now I’m sure there’s a rational reason for this ...
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
Well, no, you got me there - I'd like to think it was all part of logical and carefully thought out reasoning as to how a firefly's engine works, but yes, could just be director's choice hence the discrepancy ... sigh!
P.S. He who desires peace should prepare for war???? really??
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Quote:Fret not. Sooner or later some Browncoat mechanical engineering student with way too much time on his hands will write a Firefly technology manual and then all your questions will be answered. Presumably.
Originally posted by Zoot:
Well, no, you got me there - I'd like to think it was all part of logical and carefully thought out reasoning as to how a firefly's engine works, but yes, could just be director's choice hence the discrepancy ... sigh!
Quote:Yep.
Originally posted by Zoot:
He who desires peace should prepare for war???? really??
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
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Quote:Yep.
Originally posted by Zoot:
He who desires peace should prepare for war???? really??
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
Seriously, how d'you figure that?
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Flavius Vegetius figured that in 390 AD. I just quoted him.
Makes sense to me though. You won't get the bad guys to play nice unless they think they've got something to lose.
More recently, another great orator rephrased this as:
"Peace through strength"
-- Ronald Reagan.
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
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Hmm. Maybe the handle is a transfer switch that links the main "full burn" engine with the smaller always-running (so we can have life-support and manoeuvring) engine. This allows the pilot to throw a single switch and get everything working (as opposed to shutting down the manoeuvring engine, routing power to the main drives, then spinning up the main drives). It sets it up so the main drives automatically kick in, overriding the sub-drives.
When Kaylee did her "job interview," the ship was grounded; nothing moving, no need to get the two engines working in tandem.
In Serenity, Wash was in the middle of manoeuvres, so they couldn't shut down one engine then start the other.
In OoG, the ship was in space and barely functioning. Also, it was Mal, Mr. shot-of-adrenaline-to-the-heart.
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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