Pobjoys and Sharks
Of course the Pobjoy engine is happy in its lack of knowing if it is over water (Sharks included) or not,as the sharks will not be intererested in munching on its
aluminium and steel.
However this fine engine will give good service if given the required servicing it requires; but has to live with mags that rev twice as much as normal and then deliver a spark to a rather insecure distributor cap.
In fact it was a failing rotor arm that put me down in Iran,and forced a return (over the shark infested Gulf of Oman) back to Dubai on only one mag with a very much 'spare' arm.
It was either that or leave the machine at Jask (not much of a choice).
As an exercise in power to weight and actual thrust the Pobjoy has little equal.
In order to give some chance of survival in event of a ditching (no dinghy) the Comper's empty space was filled with polystyrene blocks.
The engine would be an excellent candidate for electronic ignition.
Prangster, ABTC had had a bit of a prang in the sixties up that way,and was rebuilt by Jeremy Menzies down south.
Last edited by POBJOY; 31st Oct 2012 at 22:38.