Heres another one……………

Originally posted by Guzzineil
I don’t believe that you need to be a manufacturer.. one of the operators over here act as DA for some of the De Havilland jets.. however British Aerospace still hold DA for the Spitfire Hurricane don’t they ?? presumably more profitable than providing support for Concorde (yes yes I know its those French’s fault too!)

Neil.

I’m pretty sure that BAe don’t have DA for the Spitfire, they may have for the Hurricane as Hawker was taken into BAC then BAe If my memory serves me.
There are many companies with DA’s but with the product liability laws in the States & now in this Country it is very difficult to get approval to make new parts. It would be very easy to make replacement parts for RR Merlin’s etc but Rolls Royce would never approve the parts I know, we asked!!
Cheers……….

Great pictures, even better because they show the invasion stripes as I feel most aircraft had them painted, ‘Rough!’ I don’t know the time scale between the order to paint them & when they were used but I would think it was not long so to paint all the aeroplanes with stripes would have been a mammoth task, I can’t see the care & masking that happens today to get the lines straight & 10″ apart etc etc It would have been for the most slap it on quick & get on with the next one!
Cheers…………..

Sorry to butt in, Janie, tried to send you a PM but your box is full! ?? 😉
Cheers………

Neither seem to work for me!!

Originally posted by Ashley
Extra tickets will of course be available (and their purchase actively encouraged!) 50p for 1 strip, 3 strips for £1.

I got into deep water once by doing this, & was told that I was allowing people with more money to gain an unfair advantage!!
& anyway who want’s to strip 3 times for only a Pound! especialy in October, far too cold!:D 😀 😀
Cheers………………

None of the MkIX Spitfires I have worked on had leading edge tanks fitted but that’s not to say It didn’t happen, although there is nothing in the MkIX pilots notes or indeed the repair manual that I have. I know the Mk8 at Filton has wing tanks but they are not in the LE either they are aft of the main spar. Looking at the C of G for the aircraft it looks decidedly dodgy having anything in the LE as it is forward of the Cof G which would need extra weight in the tail to compensate, maybe if you had a rear fus ferry fuel tank fitted you would get away with it! Hope this helps.
Cheers………:)

Yes Mike,
The Merlin has a reduction gear just behind the prop so the crank has a small straight cut gear running with a larger straight cut gear on the prop driver shaft so the prop will turn in the opposite rotation from the crankshaft, There is also an oil way that goes to the prop driver shaft for pitch control of the blades! So there is a lot going on in that area! Hope this helps.

The Griffon also has a reduction gear but I’m not up to speed on Griffons.

Janie,
I think the Merlin was the progression from the Kestrel as the early Merlin’s were a mono block as were the Kestrel If my memory serves, the Griffon is a much larger engine than the Merlin & to my eye looks to be round the wrong way compared with the Merlin as I seem to remember the cam drives are at the front of the engine while the Merlin has them at the rear, maybe this is why the Griffon rotates the other way, I don’t know I’ve not worked on any Griffons, only Merlin’s.

Cheers. 🙂