Grew up with a dismantled Kestrel laying around the workshop which my dad had acquired for the purpose of using the two to one reduction gear in a cabin cruiser he built in the late 50’s. Still have pieces of it packed away. The engineering has always had a profound effect on my thinking all my life. Recently used two of the RR gears to adapt a steering system in a 60’s replica F1 Ferrari I’m building.
Just landed on this site, what a gem ,great watching these old Merlin’s given a new lease of life . My Dad lived not far from the Castle Bromwich plant where spitfires and Lancaster’s were built and test flown at the Castle Bromwich aerodrome , looking forward to see this great piece of engineering finished and working 👍
Spitfires are one of the coolest planes to ever be made, Hats off to all the brits that died and may they rest in peace and thank you for rebuilding such a beautiful machine!
The preservation of the engine in the peat bog is really amazing. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in these series and showing us quite detailed the inside of the piece of history! Looking forward to the next episodes.
Absolutely fascinating , I was hooked from the first video so I have subbed , so many times I have looked at pictures and videos of Merlin’s and wondered what goes off inside , your explanations are superb and make it easy to follow .
Hard to realize there were thousands of these engines built and used during the war! Each engine assembly required a large amount of special tools just to put the together. When you find bits in the screens large enough to have part numbers on them, then there may be a problem.
That triple gear had its gear teeth cut on a capstan mill, and probably in a multi-step process. The three gear wheels were probably cut on a lathe first.
Thanks for some very nice videos... Amazing engines you are working with..Amazing Engineering back then. Do you know where to get main bearings for the metheor or Merlin?.... Best regards team gators tracktorpulling Denmark👍
As we marvel at the engineering and admire the craftsmanship involved, we must remind ourselves that these things were made to kill innocent people. Stavros
In memory of the crew, I can't figure out why you're not rebuilding this engine to actually run. Why go through all this effort if you're not going to run the engine that doesn't make any sense at all to me or to the dead crew, RIP
He's not said it won't run, just that this rebuild is not to the standard needed to certify for flight. Ground running can be a great way to experience the noise of a running motor. Clearly if it's the only thing keeping an 80 year old air frame in flight the consequences of any issue can be fatal, so there's very strict standards needed for all components, which he's aware of as he's calling out the differences vs a money no object rebuild.
Grew up with a dismantled Kestrel laying around the workshop which my dad had acquired for the purpose of using the two to one reduction gear in a cabin cruiser he built in the late 50’s. Still have pieces of it packed away. The engineering has always had a profound effect on my thinking all my life. Recently used two of the RR gears to adapt a steering system in a 60’s replica F1 Ferrari I’m building.
Very interesting engine, esp that 3 drive sproket, considering the year it was manufactured without CNC machines
Just landed on this site, what a gem ,great watching these old Merlin’s given a new lease of life . My Dad lived not far from the Castle Bromwich plant where spitfires and Lancaster’s were built and test flown at the Castle Bromwich aerodrome , looking forward to see this great piece of engineering finished and working 👍
Cracking video nice to hear the "Halifax" mentioned so many times its the Lanc. Thinking of my old mate John,rear gunner of a Halifax 578 SQN Burn.
Spitfires are one of the coolest planes to ever be made, Hats off to all the brits that died and may they rest in peace and thank you for rebuilding such a beautiful machine!
The preservation of the engine in the peat bog is really amazing.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge in these series and showing us quite detailed the inside of the piece of history!
Looking forward to the next episodes.
It's marvellous to see inside these intricate masterpieces, thanks for another great video!!
That's an amazing piece of technology.
Absolutely fascinating , I was hooked from the first video so I have subbed , so many times I have looked at pictures and videos of Merlin’s and wondered what goes off inside , your explanations are superb and make it easy to follow .
Why not use a crow foot open end wrench to fasten the nuts which don't have enough clearance to fit a normal socket over them?
Most interesting project well done and explained. Thanks for posting. Go well
Hard to realize there were thousands of these engines built and used during the war! Each engine assembly required a large amount of special tools just to put the together. When you find bits in the screens large enough to have part numbers on them, then there may be a problem.
Another very informative video Peter..
I have raed a lot of books but its not the same as actually seeing the parts in the flesh so to speak,thanks.
That triple gear had its gear teeth cut on a capstan mill, and probably in a multi-step process. The three gear wheels were probably cut on a lathe first.
Thanks for some very nice videos... Amazing engines you are working with..Amazing Engineering back then. Do you know where to get main bearings for the metheor or Merlin?.... Best regards team gators tracktorpulling Denmark👍
Ref the oil pump nuts and the ones you mentioned that were a pain on the jet engine housing, were we not using cap head bolts back then? I guess not
I prefer some grease on the gears because it’ll be a long time before start up.
So you put grease in the oil ways! Clever.
As we marvel at the engineering and admire the craftsmanship involved, we must remind ourselves that these things were made to kill innocent people.
Stavros
No one is innocent.
Where did you gain all this knowledge about Merlin’s , by the way , love the videos.
Peter has 30 years of experience on Merlins, and is the HAE most experienced Merlin wizard.
RR designs seem to be saying: bet you can't do this.
Hi Peter. You've got the castings to a very good state of cleanliness. How have you achieved this ? Thanks in advance.
Apart from the usual scrubbing, vapour blasting is an option.
In memory of the crew, I can't figure out why you're not rebuilding this engine to actually run. Why go through all this effort if you're not going to run the engine that doesn't make any sense at all to me or to the dead crew, RIP
I'm pretty sure the last thing on the dead crew's mind is a running engine
He's not said it won't run, just that this rebuild is not to the standard needed to certify for flight.
Ground running can be a great way to experience the noise of a running motor. Clearly if it's the only thing keeping an 80 year old air frame in flight the consequences of any issue can be fatal, so there's very strict standards needed for all components, which he's aware of as he's calling out the differences vs a money no object rebuild.