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Post by efliernz on Jan 16, 2011 7:59:19 GMT 12
Doug Brooker's Sptitfire has developed an oil leak. It appears that an oil seal has been crushed on its installation (in the US I think) and being a great British design, requires the whole engine to be almost rebuilt. 50/50 chance next weekend I've heard.
What is it about Masterton and Doug???
Pete
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Post by baz62 on Jan 16, 2011 8:25:34 GMT 12
Doug Brooker's Sptitfire has developed an oil leak. It appears that an oil seal has been crushed on its installation (in the US I think) and being a great British design, requires the whole engine to be almost rebuilt. 50/50 chance next weekend I've heard. What is it about Masterton and Doug??? Pete Damn it Doug must be looking upwards thinking "Why Me?" Glad it wasn't another prang which was my first thought when I saw the heading as I couldn't see the word "engine" on the main page  Better to find the issue now rather than the week before Classic Fighters 2011!! I wonder what oil seal it is................... Thought I would look on the net and found this little snippet about rebuilding Merlins today written by Universal Airmotive in the USA who apprently rebuild Merlins for Historic Flying Restoring the Merlin Historic Flying based at Duxford has chosen Universal Airmotive of Chicago as its preferred supplier for engine restoration, both Merlins and Griffons. This is what they say about rebuilding the Merlin: “The Rolls Royce or Packard built Rolls Royce Merlin is one of the finest piston engines ever conceived. Employing technology fifty years ahead of its time, the Merlin engine is a true fighter thoroughbred. The Merlin is still state of the art in piston engine technology, far beyond any automotive technology today. Rolls Royce’s goal was to create an engine that produced as much horsepower as its weight and displacement, and do so at high altitudes. This goal was achieved through the development of exotic alloys and metallurgy, and through advanced design techniques. After a distinguished service history during the Second World War, the Rolls Royce Merlin continued in commercial service in Britain and Canada into the late fifties. These engines, most notably the six and seven hundred series, were the subject of intense testing and modification until as late as 1960. Commercial operators logged more time on their Merlins than the military operators did by far, and consequently they had problems military overhaulers never had to deal with. In addition, it was not cost effective to replace every part when it was worn past service limits, so Rolls Royce developed thousands of repair schemes and modifications to salvage otherwise unserviceable parts, and to extend the running life of parts within the engine. These repair schemes and modifications were the product of enormous amounts of engineering, development and testing before approval by the British Air Ministry. Warbird engines are now starting to accumulate the same time in service that commercial engines of the mid-fifties saw, making major rework necessary on some components. Some overhaulers are inserting automotive technology into the Merlin in order to meet this need. Sometimes with fair results, sometimes with disastrous results, but never with the same reliability as Rolls Royce parts and repairs, which still surpass most automotive technology today. No overhauler can expend the resources to engineer and test changes to the Merlin to the same level as they were tested by Rolls Royce, and most of the modifications and repair schemes that Rolls Royce developed for the commercial operators can be used to maintain the military engines with perfectly reliable results. No guesswork, and no lost aircraft due to questionable engineering or some overlooked variable. Rolls Royce did the testing on the ground so you won’t have to in the air. At Universal Airmotive Ltd. we install no automotive technology into our Merlin engines, only Rolls Royce repair schemes and modifications coupled with genuine Rolls Royce and Packard parts. We have the only set of genuine Rolls Royce overhaul tools in existence, not just the tools to disassemble and reassemble the engine, but tools to rework every component as well. “ Interesting eh? |
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Post by strikemaster on Jan 16, 2011 11:15:11 GMT 12
Am I right in remembering the first Merlins were 1000hp and the last variant, 2000hp? That's a hell of a jump in its lifespan. There is nothing that sounds as sweet as a Merlin.
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Post by baz62 on Jan 16, 2011 13:07:55 GMT 12
Started as 1000hp but the Griffon was the 2000 hp beast but still developed from the merlin, i think the merlin got to 1750hp before serious design changes were needed.
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Post by strikemaster on Jan 16, 2011 17:56:04 GMT 12
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Post by baz62 on Jan 16, 2011 18:12:40 GMT 12
No they are right, hell thats impressive, I see the Giffon 58 as used in the Shackletons was rated at 2,450 HP takeoff at 2,750 RPM!!
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Post by Gavin Conroy on Jan 18, 2011 18:23:09 GMT 12
An oil leak is one of those things that cannot be helped.
I saw the aeroplane on Saturday and the parts were being sourced from the US urgently so hopefully everything works out.
I know the guys are really keen to get it to Masterton and as they are miracle workers, I sure do hope they make it as it has been a while since we have seen two Spitfire's fly together in NZ.
Very exciting indeed and hopefully the crowd gets to see this wonderful sight at the weekend.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 18, 2011 18:47:28 GMT 12
Good luck to the team.
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Post by efliernz on Jan 21, 2011 12:28:31 GMT 12
Anyone heard anything about Doug's Spitty???
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Post by joesmith on Jan 22, 2011 15:22:04 GMT 12
When the first engine cylinder bank was removed to replace defective oil seals a broken oil control piston ring was discovered. A second broken oil control piston ring curtailed completion of repairs in time for WOW. Should be back in the air next week  |
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Post by ZacYates on Jan 22, 2011 15:37:37 GMT 12
Disappointing news for those hoping to finally see her in action this weekend, but hopefully means a healthy bird for Omaka!
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Post by lumpy on Jan 22, 2011 16:39:08 GMT 12
When the first engine cylinder bank was removed to replace defective oil seals a broken oil control piston ring was discovered. A second broken oil control piston ring curtailed completion of repairs in time for WOW. Should be back in the air next week Thats interesting about the broken rings . You dont happen to know what caused it do you ? I really dont know about Merlins , but normally an engine only breaks rings if there is some problem with clearances ( such as worn pistons , ring lands/ groves ) , unless they accidentally got broken during disassembly/ assembly , of course . Yes Zac , Im hopeing to see her at Omaka too , still plenty of time ! |
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Post by joesmith on Jan 26, 2011 21:47:09 GMT 12
Oil leak fixed. All back together and flying again late this afternoon |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 26, 2011 22:07:21 GMT 12
Well done guys!!
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