gone till november -
xxx
Well, my memory fades at times... age problem... I need brains' viagra...
But yes, RR had terrible problems in the early 1970s...
Nearly killed the L-1011 program for Lockheed.
Mr. Boeing got smart, making all engines available on the 747s...
xxx
I have little experience with old 747-200 with RR power, and yes I like them.
During a layoff from Aerolineas, I flew a RR powered 200 with Southern Winds.
Engines were great, but their maintenance was bad.
Had to shut down one engine twice with them, as precaution.
One was because of oil leak, the other was high oil temperature.
Had to fly the plane on 3 engines from Madrid to Cardiff to get the fix...
The solution was to hire ex-LTU engineers to maintain the engines.
xxx
Funny thing, that Southern Winds 747-200 had RR decals on engines.
Well in view of passengers. Many said - "Really, is RR motors we have...?" -
We said "yes"... proudly saying, "best" and most "expen$ive".
Passengers were impressed by having RR on their (old) charter airplane.
xxx
You see, as pilot, we say P&W requires little precision maintenance.
Engineers can fix an FCU with a hammer and chisel.
CF6s, I flew for a short stint with Cargolux... They were good machines.
Nicer than the P&W as far as power and handling... More maintenance.
RR have excellent reputation, and often higher power.
But you need expert maintenance and sometimes parts are difficult to get.
Saudia hated RR (poor maintenance), and I was told LTU adored them.
xxx
Whatever problems airlines have, are generally because of... maintenance.
I am there to break the toys, and engineers to fix them.
And I hate engineers with a toolbox set, containing only pencil and rubber.
xxx
Happy contrails