Tornado

I remember getting blisters on my fingers from using a mechanical calculating machine in the 1960s. Is that what you mean?

 

I now have visions of a whole new field of re-enactment! See the amazing historical engineers perform calculations of els/peck with quill pens on parchment!

 

Totally agree. Would also add that 20year daughter who actually studies Law, but is fairly practical demonstrated that the other day by extracting the engine and gearbox from the Austin 7, splitting the gearbox off, and removing the clutch in about 2 hours.
The engineers we employ use all the modern tools, but are quite capable of driving a manual lathe or a milling machine when necessary. And hand drawing stuff is essential skill, a prerequisite for being a decent CAD engineer. I suspect we are doing with 20 engineers what 200 would have struggled to do 30 years ago.

 

A Facit?

 

A Muldivo I think.

 

CAD & FEA have moved technology forwards, what was once near impossible is now possible, however, the skills to utilise these tools, to deliver advanced engineering are as hard to acquire and refine as the skills of old. Becoming a competent engineer in the modern era is no mean feat. And then there are regulations that must be complied with.

Are you saying practical skills? If so, lay your blame at the door of academic institutions who do not mandate hands on skills as part of the process of becoming a qualified engineer.

Spoken like someone who works in industry and has a good appreciation of the various things that make modern engineering difficult.

The bottom line here is that engineering is not easy, it was never easy, and it gets no more easy as time goes on, because standards go up, customer expectations constantly go up, safety goes up and the process of designing and making ever more complex things to ever more demanding requirements continues un-abated. Engineers routinely rise to that challenge and deliver products that are a marvel of human achievement. Cars, computers, jet engines, all manner of things, deliver performance today that was unthinkable 40 years ago. Its because of engineering that these advancements continue.

In the context of Tornado, safety and regulatory burden are clearly making the task of running the machine more difficult than it would have been many years ago, even dare I say it 30-40 years ago.

 

However much of Tornado's troubles over the last few years have been due to bad management and however much to bad luck, it is certainly very bad luck to be prevented from running by this hot dry weather so soon after main line operation finally resumed.

 

AAonuced as being in Darlington in September: Hopetown - Titans of Steam Gala

 

Time for a few tweaks and tickles. Yon Riley fella will be casting his eagle eye over it.
Then, when the rains come, it'll be 100% fit and travelling the length and breadth of the land. Happy days.