The AvgasDinosaur
19th Nov 2006, 10:25
Learned contributors,
Can any one confirm that the two series 324 Britannias C/N 13516 and 13517 CF-CPD/ G-ARKA and CF-CPE/ G-ARKB were the only two built for civil customer Brits with water methanol injection?
Thanks in anticipation
Be lucky
David
ONE GREEN AND HOPING
21st Nov 2006, 20:28
.......................Sorry, this is not a useful response, but just to say I've got a couple of calls I can make, including an ex Eagle training F/E - I'll come back in a few days if anything found. By this time, maybe someone more useful will have spotted this post! Have you tried the Britannia Association? Additionally, as a pilot, I did the six week manufacturer's ground school at Filton. I still have the magnificent engine course manual from the seperate place over the road. Maybe I'll mount an expedition to the far reaches of my attic for old time's sake........Never did understand most of it, but it has lovely pictures. To put the aforesaid in perspective, the airframe manual as issued to pilots, if memory serves, gives detailed instructions on how to change a rudder.
My pal, who worked on these two aircraft as an apprentice during manufacture, then afterwards as a ground engineer at British Eagle, and later as a Flight Eng, doesn't recall sufficiently. ( He worked also on the Viscounts, which had Water Meth facility, hence over time masking the recall function) Must say that during the four years I flew on the Brit, I never heard Water Meth mentioned. I had just transfered to the 707 ( Caledonian ) when G-ARKB arrived via CCT leasing for our crews to operate on behalf of Tellair, so never flew it. My Wonder Book of the Britannia shows that not long after, and together with G-ARKA, it was broken up at Bagington by Airline Engineering ( Monarch owned? ) Oct 1971.
It would be interesting to know any detail of Water methanol use on the Brit, and how much difference it made in the event..............
brakedwell
21st Nov 2006, 22:15
RAF Britannias used de-mineralised water, not water methonal. In eight years I can only remember using it a few times in Bahrain for take-offs to Gan. (It came from the cocoa-cola factory) I don't think the 324's had water injection as only Proteus 255's installed in the 19 RAF Brit 253's were equipped for water injection.