Some peculiarities of high-altitude starting of engines of the RD-33 type

Some peculiarities of high-altitude starting of engines of the RD type using oxygen are described in the paper. Negative influence of oxygen feeding of spark plugs in reverse current zones of starting jets in the main combustion chamber has been discovered on the basis of analyzing the data of several flights. It is suggested that the engine start cyclogram be changed with the time of oxygen feed shifted. We propose to feed compressed air from the airborne pneumatic system instead of oxygen to the spark plugs. It is also suggested that the spark plug and the ignition system be modernized to improve flame elongation and the efficiency of break-down into the reverse current area of the starting jets.