“Without drifting this thread into “re-fitting” another radial into this airframe type thread, if an aircraft were to have an alternative type of powerplant fitted, in the UK would this effectively become a new type, and would it need type approval accordingly? Is there a process that exists that would cover this here?

For example in the world of light avaition, a particular airframe can support various types/makes of engines. If an an engine has similar torque + power output, revvs, adaptable systems, and is compatible with the sort of flight envelope originally intended for a type, can this also be substituted for another?”

Hello Mark,

Actually these two paragraphs you quote, were my question, not David Burke’s if you re-read the previous thread. However, as you say I believe it is a valid question to ask. We face the prospect of having plenty of ground-hogging Sea Fury’s, Tempest II’s, Walrus, etc. in the UK otherwise.

Hi David, sorry for not giving credit where credit is due, after all it is your initial query which sparked off this whole thread.

Kind regards

Mark

The thought of a Tempest flying with anything else is worse, but the tough question is, would I like to see a Tempest fly with the wrong engine, or not see a Tempest fly at all? – it is a tough call, especially when I can only base my argument on, ‘because it dosen’t seem right’.

I couldn’t agree more and it is a real dilemma for which there is no right or wrong answer. I also agree regarding the RNHF and at the end of the day as an organisation they probably have more Centaurus spares than anyone else in the UK and are therefore probably best placed to maintain a Centaurus engined Sea Fury even if they do seem to have a lot of reliability issues at present.

However, having never seen a Sea Fury fly I would also be happy to see one in the air even if it was with the “wrong” engine/ number of propellor blades.

So, back to the original question whether it be a Sea Fury or a Tempest, what would be the process for getting a non standard engined aircraft certified in the UK.