More engine fun. Now you have got me rummaging. I think I do know what this one is and again it has similar sentimental value / some family history. I do not think this has any markings or ID. It is Military and from a slightly later project if I am right. It is about 5.5cm long.
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$10,000 per blade? Wow! What are they made of?
Each engine must be worth millions.
Noticed this on the Daily Mail, I would certainly never call it a newspaper but that is another story 🤦
Imperial War Museum Duxford and the largest gathering of different models of Spitfires.
Found your blade, it’s from a Tornado. Somebody in the family had a deep reach into the British Aerospace industry. Click the photo in the link below.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbine_blade
Found your blade, it’s from a Tornado. Somebody in the family had a deep reach into the British Aerospace industry. Click the photo in the link below.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbine_blade
Haha, @Omegafanman was quicker with his reply. I was going to say:
There are are lots of candidates for that profile! Although first guess might be someone working at Rolls Royce Bristol (now confirmed?), where the RB199 was designed, it could just as easily have been one of Rolls’ control system suppliers such as Marconi Avionics, Smiths or, more likely, Lucas Aerospace who made the MECU/DECU engine controllers (amongst other equipment) for the RB199 as well as FAFC/FADEC for RB211s, Trents and various FCUs and amplifiers for Concorde’s Olympus engines. Lucas Aerospace even had their own in-house engine test facility at Honiley (ex-RAF Station, now ProDrive) in Warwickshire. I can recall blades like these on desks at various LA sites (York Road, Shaftmoore Lane, etc.) This website has lots of photos of that engine test facility. https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/lucas-aerospace-honiley-jan-2018.111500/
It’s sad to see the terrible state it is now in as I remember walking into this exact anechoic intake back in the day;
very disorienting experience to be in total darkness and not be able to hear echoes even from your own voice and that after maybe just five paces into the void.
Other possibilities would be someone from MoD Pyestock in Hampshire, another engine test facility, or perhaps folks at RAF Coningsby; a Tornado base with maintenance access to RB199s.
Rover even got into the engine building business with very Rover-esque results 😀
Please give it life again. That would be such an incredible piece
My plan is to one day bring it back to life. The easy part will be the APU overhaul as I have the support network and could bring in back for sub $5,000.00.
where I will struggle is the bus restoration as I truly haven’t got a clue how to fix cars. I was trained to overhaul large commercial aircraft and engines so am lost when it comes to something with four wheels, it sounds odd but that’s the way it is.
Networking, my friend. I'd be willing to bet somebody on the hangar row either has extensive automotive experience or knows someone that does.
My buddy the MD80 captain happens to have a really great skillet for auto body work. His brother is an excellent upholsterer too.
Just ask around! Christmas blessings to you and yours 😀
where I will struggle is the bus restoration as I truly haven’t got a clue how to fix cars. I was trained to overhaul large commercial aircraft and engines so am lost when it comes to something with four wheels, it sounds odd but that’s the way it is.
These people specialise in Type2 air-cooled VWs. https://type2detectives.com A friend does some machining & fabrication work for them. Three or four years ago he told me a typical rebuild could run to £25.000!
My friend also does some work for ARC at Duxford when they need top-class aluminium welding done 👎
That rebuild cost sounds about right. The other issue I face is Luxembourg won’t allow me to register it because of the APU and also because they don’t believe it’s never been registered before. I loaned it to Lufthansa for a few years and they confirmed it was theirs but could not give me any further information on it. Plan B is to have it registered in Ireland under my brothers name and drive it like that.
While we're on the topic: anybody else thing the Ford Coyote needs to be in n+1 1955-63 F series trucks?
My experience of the Irish is that if your brother can find the right person they'll think a VW with both an air-cooled four-banger and a jet-turbine will be seen as "mighty craic" and approved. Of course in Ireland there would be two identical adjectives added to that judgement 😉
