Perhaps the headline should be changed to something less alarming !!!:(

Can I ask a (maybe stupid) question, but why are there only 5 exhaust stacks?

Mike

Cylinders 5 & 6 on each bank are pair up I guess to avoid getting heat too close to the wing and also to accommodate a shroud that that most bomber and early fighter versions had. This only applied to the single stage Merlin’s 21, 23, & 25 plus their Packard equivalents. For max performance the shroud was removed as in this example.

The 2 stage Merlin’s where longer and had six exhaust stubs. Their was no shroud for the night bomber versions that I aware of but the NF30 Night Fighters used a somewhat troublesome shroud.

No doubt someone will fill you in on the bits I have left out.

Do we actually know that all the parts will come from N.Z ? Seems a pity if the ‘People’s Mosquito’ isn’t actually created in any part in the U.K ! Do we have no applicable skills here now to carry out any of it?

I only assumed that the specialised wooden structure would be new and from NZ unless all that work is going to be recreated here. That would seem a waste of resource. Given that the Mossie had Australian Canadian and NZ squadrons in addition to the regular multinational RAF squadrons it seems fitting to me that it should be a multinational effort to get one flying and much like the BBMF do it could commemorate those nations in turn.

Hey Robbo I hope to be there Friday as well, long range forecast not looking too hot though

Harriers -how did all four propeller blades get broken if the engine was turned off?

It could have been windmilling. The engine certainly wasn’t seized. Can the spit completely feather its prop?

With today’s machine tools and excellent manufacturing processes getting a Sabre working is not a technical issue. It is more one of opportunity. The much missed Paul Morgan was someone in the right industry to help with project such as this. An organisation such as Ricardo may have the skill, but unlike their founder, they have very little intrinsic interest in a project such as restoring a Sabre and the prices we see quoted, real or otherwise, I suspect reflect this.

Even items such as blocks, cranks, cams and con rods are relatively easy to reproduce at a reasonable price in small numbers with today’s modern tools and methods. Perhaps will-power is another ingredient needed to realize one of these projects, for most of the effort would necessarily need to be spent with the CAA to ensure that the finished product would be fit for purpose.

On the matter of reliability, much rot gets repeated about how bad the Sabre was. The reality is that it was no worse that any other new engine in the early stages of its development. Many issues were related to the quality of the workmanship within the new shadow factory in Liverpool built to manufacture the engine, and other issues arose due to poor training of service personnel. None of this was due to a design fault. And there was the small matter of Bristol not willing to help with manufacture of the sleeves. This is stuff you couldn’t make up given that the outcome of the war was far from certain.

In the days following D day when the squadrons used the dusty temporary landing fields dust was a major issue. Given the RAF’s experience in the Western desert, that this was not anticipated was just another in a long list of MOD failures that often defy words.

What is not in doubt is that the Sabre, a no compromise fighter engine, was one of the engineering wonders of WWII. 3000hp from just 36 liters on 150 grade fuel and 3500 with ADI was outstanding. And post war a production Sabre was run at 4000 hp, numbers unequaled by any other production Piston engine. Compared to the woes of the Wright R3350 in the B29 the Sabre was a trouble free engine.

Why are people so certain that 1,2, and 3 are fake? They all look bloody obviously real to me!! Digital, too, IMO, probably from a compact. It seems to have struggled to expose correctly due to the bright sky contrasting with the dull foreground.

Exactly; and as I pointed out on page 1 As a photographer the photo’s are exactly what I would expect to see from the processed output of a compact, or even a consumer DSLR from a few years back.

What tosh.

Ive seen plenty of cracking displays at Duxford & elsewhere over the last couple years.
This is sounding like a severe case of hero worship.

Nice one, way to go 😮