Rolls Royce meteor engine runup

I’ve never thought about it before, but I wonder if the convention dates back to the days of starting handles? A right-handed person would need clock-wise rotation to swing a handle.

The timing end is a good way of identifying the front, speaking vehicles again. Number 1 piston isn’t reliable as Jaguar, certainly with the XK anyway, numbered from the back. I found that far too confusing and found it much easier to time it 360 crankshaft degrees out.

Or he only worked on Old Honda’s :diablo: 😀

Eh? Every engine I’ve ever worked on (and that’s quite a few) rotate anti-clockwise as viewed from the front.

Roy.

You must have come across a very strange collection of vehicle engines.

Or your clocks are extremely odd.

Yes, but what is the front? if an engine is mounted transversely ,is the front the bit at the front or is it one of the ends? Our approach when building engines for a living was that the drive was taken from the back, and that invariably the timing gears were at the front; however nobody told Henry Royce this ,and as a consequence the merlin drives from the front, with the timing gears at the back! The reason for this is fairly obvious, as the propellor needs to be at the front rather than midships ,and as the engine is actually tapered ,and is substantially narrower at the “front” ,it really needs to go in that way round in an A/C; however in a tank, there is a bit more room, and as the rear of the crankshaft isn’t designed to out put drive (unless you include drive to the blower, which is deleted on the Meteor in anycase), and possibly for servicing issues it goes in the othe way round. Probably the easiest thing would to have modified the gear box to output the drive on the layshaft (as Scammells did ,(ironically on their tank transporters) thus theclockwise rotation of the drive train would have been restored.

How strange, when the “normal” rotation for a vehicle engine is clockwise from the front.

Eh? Every engine I’ve ever worked on (and that’s quite a few) rotate anti-clockwise as viewed from the front.

Roy.

My late dad used to drive Cromwells, and Comets. National Service at Catterick and Lulworth.

What, you just happen to have a few lying about?!? 😮 😎

Umm, yes…. I have a total of six. 🙂 Though I do fly, my other interest is tanks. I have a Cromwell to restore next and this is powered by a Meteor.

I’ve just checked a Meteor to make sure I wasn’t talking rubbish…..!

What, you just happen to have a few lying about?!? 😮 😎

That’s right. The Meteor engine is installed with the wheelcase at the front of the vehicle and the drive end at the back. Hence the ‘backwards’ rotation.

How strange, when the “normal” rotation for a vehicle engine is clockwise from the front.

A thought – Merlin drive-end is the front, Meteor drive-end is presumably the back?

AFAIK, the Meteor rotates the same way as the Merlin. It’s the reduction gear fitted to the Merlin that reverses the rotation and the Meteor doesn’t have one.

No, they do rotate in opposite directions, the reduction gear making it appear as though they are the same! Looking on the drive end of the crankshaft, i.e from front to back, the Meteor rotates anti clockwise. The Merlin is clockwise, the reduction gear giving an anti clockwise rotation to the prop. I’ve just checked a Meteor to make sure I wasn’t talking rubbish…..!

There’s a bit more to it than that… The Meteor rotates the other way to a Merlin and many of the parts are different.

Adrian

AFAIK, the Meteor rotates the same way as the Merlin. It’s the reduction gear fitted to the Merlin that reverses the rotation and the Meteor doesn’t have one.

I think he needs to check his piston rings as well, there’s a lot of smoke that shouldn’t be there! (Not really a problem mounted as it is, but I wouldn’t fly behind it 😀 )

It is, just modified for ground use.

But i wonder if anybodys ‘converted’ a Meteor back to a Merlin for static display and/or ground running ? Maybe ‘merlinPete’ knows ?

There’s a bit more to it than that… The Meteor rotates the other way to a Merlin and many of the parts are different.

Adrian

Holy crap! 😮

Rather him than me! 😀

Whilst looking at that (yes, I want one too!) I noticed this eejit from Finland 😮
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-926587825785526870&q=aircraft+engine

“flying, I like flying! 😀 “

lots of flames on the run eh?

Yes please! 😀

I can imagine the complaints now….! 😉

It is, just modified for ground use.

But i wonder if anybodys ‘converted’ a Meteor back to a Merlin for static display and/or ground running ? Maybe ‘merlinPete’ knows ?

Now I want one, that is not fair Peter posting things like that