I guess the RB211 was the last hurrah of the generation of engineeres who'd cut their teeth in and immediately after World War 2, during that fantastic period of development in jet engines. Thank goodness it survived the bankruptcy! Pretty good thing to have as the last chapter of one's CV.

The rumbling noise of an RB211 on a Tristar is something else, working at LHR in the 70's when the first BA one's appeared was incredible -
and the spool up of of an E4 on a 757 is the sweetest music

My particular memory of the RB211s is that the smell of fuel was always prevalent on start-up, more so than other types of engine.It was as if the pilots had left the choke on too long!.

Anilv

They may not have foreseen it, but there was some pretty conclusive evidence that the blades were not yet up to scratch emerging from the service trials on the VC10 engines. See here for an account of how they fared in heavy rainfall: https://www.vc10.net/History/nigeria..._the_vc10.html
(originally published in 'Silent, Swift, Superb', Henderson, 1998).