"Rolls Royce" Olympus?
Rubbish about engine parts andrewman? "not something BAE and RR are bothered about"?
Rolls Royce never wanted anything to do with the engines in the Vulcan. When Bristol Siddeley folded up and the assets went to Rolls Royce, Derby only reluctantly supported the engine because the aircraft were still front line "national defence" aircraft and they were obliged to by the government. Likewise the BAE attitude towards the Avro [via Hawker Siddeley] Vulcan. It was mainly logistics that stopped the RAF continuing to fly them. Look at the VC10s for example. At the rate they are flown they would be good for at least another twenty years, but spare parts and other maintenance costs - especially for the ancient Conway engines - are causing the RAF to think hard about replacing them.
From the demise of Bristol Siddeley until at least the late seventies Rolls turned their noses up at Olympus engines and overhauls were contracted out to companies such as "The Standard Motor Company" (now also out of business) I don't know what happened after I left the RAF but I don't suppose Rolls Royce are any more enthusiastic about the Vulcan's version of the engines than they were when the V Force was operational.
The Concorde's Rolls Royce/Snecma "Olympus" engines are a completely different beast, a further development of Bristol Siddeley's massively updated version of their original design intended for the TSR2.
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Through difficulties to the cinema
Last edited by Blacksheep; 8th Oct 2003 at 10:19.