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Old 06-16-2011, 09:16 PM
Seadog Seadog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crumpp View Post
Quote:
Crumpp says:
Change the oil, oil analysis, filter changes, compression check, and over all inspection for cracks/leaks/function would be in order to ensure engine health.

That is about 3 hours worth of work on a Merlin engine. If they check crank bearing tolerances then you can add about an hour to it. If they find something then of course, it will get fixed or replaced.

Once that is done, the mechanic would enter into the logbook the work performed and return the aircraft to service. A few hours in the shop is certainly worth the pilots peace of mind. [/url]
Crumpp says it. The Merlin engine service manual doesn't. The service manual says check the oil filter after emergency boost, so does Dowding. The rest of what Crump writes is his own fantasy based upon the idea that RAFFC operated on the same lines as civil aviation. The reality is that most combat aircraft were destroyed before their hundred hour checks, and 25-40% of RAFFC pilots died before they achieved 100 hours of combat flying. The Merlin engine could be flown continuously at 12lb boost with a low probability of failure and this engine was cycled 100 times from 4.5 to 12lb/3000rpm and the bearings held up just fine:
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.o...bs-14nov39.jpg
without the need for repeated engine checks, since by definition the engine was being cycled multiple times per sortie.
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