Disappointed that
Meikleour didn't detect my feeble attempt at flippancy. Never mind...
Originally Posted by
Gipsy Queen
[...] Only three 104s still airborne? - I remember when they were just about everywhere. This rather dents visions of my continued youthfulness . . . .
Yes. Sadly, the days of rushing out into the garden in reaction to the first, distant rumblings of an approaching pair of Gipsy Queens (or, for that matter, Twin Wasps) seem to be over...
Originally Posted by
Gipsy Queen
My last encounter with a Queen involved a zero-houred engine which was unusually rough running and not long after installation, swallowed an exhaust valve in flight. Big arguments with Rolls Royce who by then had assumed responsibility for DH engines. My contention was that the Silphenuz (like Teflon) coating of the exhaust valve stem had lost adhesion, rolled up and jammed in the guide. There was ample evidence to support this contention but Rolls were obdurate. Later discovered that the unit had been supplied to another Dove but the Coal Board pilot had rejected it. Something a bit naughty somewhere.
[...] I wonder if the CAA has established a connection with the valve seat recession associated with the absence of tetra ethyl lead in automotive fuels. Of course, that's just idle musing and probably not relevant to current avgas formulation.
Did Silphenuz replace the Stellite listed in Janes, or are they one and the same? (I hasten to admit knowing nothing about valve-stem coatings, except that they are relevant to the lead content of fuel.)