Battle of Britain Memorial Flight grounded.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66002596

 

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Doesn’t seem to affect privately owned Merlin powered aircraft so would be interesting to learn just what the problem is with the BBMF Merlins.

 

One was due to fly over the SVR, and was cancelled

 

The BBMF have standardised on Packhard built Merlins so I suspect they are checking for a fault specific to this type. Other Spitfires may use different marks of engine


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Are you sure about that? when the Canadian lanc was over here, they had to borrow an engine, and it needed modifications to the wiring harness before it could be fitted, because it wasn't an packard unit, the BBMF used to send their engines out for overhaul, to an overhauler in Germany, same one that used to overhaul most merlins used on Warbirds in this country, i'm not sure if the packard 266, will fit in an early spitfire, 2, or 5, or the Hurricanes, the last time the BBMF was grounded, was when they had a blocked filter, but they had to ground every plane to check it wasn't a common fault, its entirely possible its something of a similar nature as the had an engine fault on the mk2 recently,

 

The information about the Packard Merlins was from a lecture by the engineering officer for the BBMF I attended several years ago. The situation might be different now.

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The Packard Merlin was the equivalent to the RR Merlin as fitted to the Mk.IX so it won’t fit the Mk.I or Mk.V. Nor will it fit the Hurricane AFAIK.

 

Had a P-51 buzz my house earlier this evening and they are Packard Merlins. Also the Mk.II, Mk.V Spitfire and the Hurricanes on the BBMF can’t take a Packard Merlin AFAIK. I know someone on the Flight so I’ll ask him.

 

the merlin 66, is what the Packard built engine was based on is the duel supercharged version designed for the bombers, its larger, heavier and longer than the earlier versions, and won't physically fit the engine bay on any spitfire before the mk 9, I might be wrong, but at the time, there was only one factory overhauling merlin's, and it was in West Germany, and every warbird owner tended to send their engines there,

 

If they've grounded the Griffon Spits as well then it seems feasible its something in the maintenance environment rather than Merlin specific.

 

They’re just out for scheduled maintenance. The BBMF statement refers specifically to a Merlin issue.

 

Spoke to my friend on the flight and he tells me it’s currently RR Merlins in the Spits and Hurricanes with Packard Merlins in the Lanc.

 

Right, i get it now, Wasn't the lanc, one of the last batch built, for the far eastern campaign, so it might have been built with packard powerplants, as RR were building griffons, by then, the mk 16, was of course, powered by an packard 266, I'm guessing here, but at one stage, the BBMF, retro fitted merlin's, hence why the Canadian one was not compatible, when it needed an engine swop,

 

G-TFSI (currently Contrary Mary) flying back to Sywell from Paris - it also had an engine failure a few years ago and landed wheels mostly up in a field near Duxford.



There's this video from a couple of weeks ago of P7350 having engine troubles when landing at Coningsby, so I wonder if the grounding is related to that somehow.

 

Update from my mate. He’s double checking the info he gave me may not be 100% accurate.

 

Original Merlin engines fitted to UK built Lancaster's were the were the type xx, or 23'S
the Canadian built were Packard built 38'S OR LATER, 224'S

 

Of course there's one way round the engine issues. The BBMF could follow Herman's lead and fit the Spitfires with Daimler Benz 605a engines, which apparently improved their performance.....

https://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/germany-messerspit.html

 

As far as I am aware the BBMF Engines overhauled by Retro track and air in Gloucestershire The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight | How a family firm helps keep this vintage aircraft flying | By BBC West | Facebook

Home - Retro Track And Air

They supplied the spare Merlin for the Canadian Lancaster

A lot of Merlin Engines are also overhauled in California by Vintage V12, Good video here of a tour of their place. (7) Vintage V-12's - Engine Shop Visit - Part 1 of 3 - YouTube