Now that's what I call an engine!

[Dr H]

Now that's what I call an engine!



Just awesome.....


 

[rocketian]

Mk 5b ?? 

[Dr H]

21 minutes ago, rocketian said:

Mk 5b ?? 

TBH I have no idea!

Looking at the exhausts (2 into 1) it could be I guess.

[KurtB]

That looks incredibly like P7350 (MkIIa) to me. Naturally I could be wrong.

[Dr H]

You have much more experience in these things Kurt - so I'll go with whatever you suggest!

P7350 is the BBMF Spit isn't it?

 

[KurtB]

Hi Leigh,

Yes, P7 is the BBMF MkIIa. It's arguably the oldest (most original) flying Spitfire in the world, with continued provenance from new in 1940. When I worked on it, there were a couple of bullet hole patch repairs evident, but as P7 was reskinned a couple of years ago, these have been lost. Still, a quite beautiful machine, if baby Spits are your thing. 

[Alex B]

Gorgeous.

[El-ahrairah]

Very difficult to tell from that angle  Mk 5 and Mk 2 both had 2:1 exhaust and 3 blade prop - but looking at the BBMF website Mk 2A P7350 has a black nose cone and the Mk 5b AB910 has a white cone, so my money is still on the 5B.  

What are the bits that look like hinges either side of the cockpit, right at the bottom of the image ?

 

Whatever it is it is a work of art and delights me and whenever I see or hear one, and I have seen them at Cosford recently and again on Saturday at the Severn Valley 1940 weekend when the "clipped and cropped" TE311 Mk LF XVIE did a solo flypast.

[El-ahrairah]

Not sure how or why, but I appear to be logged in and have posted as someone called El-ahrairah.  That is not me - I am "Rocketian", don't know what's going on

[KurtB]

I'm now thinking its AR213 (G-AIST), def not a Mk5. The 'hinges' you see Rocketeer are the emergency canopy release, which sheds the Perspex from the frame. The pointy bit at the front is called a spinner, good spot on the colour! MkI  and MkII (Roman numerals until twenty series), are very similar, indeed AR213 is a MkI and a newer machine than the earlier serialed  MkII that is P7350. 

[rocketian]

I bow to your expert knowledge.

The hinges I was referring to are ringed below.  I looks as though the wings are not attached to the fuselage.  I don't really understand what I am looking at in that area, is there a fairing missing ?

 

[Dr H]

I think wings are attached. Just looks like covers have been removed. I think what you've circled there are possible where some of the pins go through that hold the wing in place. Kurt will be able to confirm. He know, I'm just making considered guesses!

You can see the covers removed on this view of a Spit. Bottom left where the curved bit for frame follows the shape of the leading edge of the wing

[KurtB]

That's correct Leigh, they are the main spar pintle pins. They're tapered bolts that attach the wings to the carry through spar which in turn attaches to frame 5 of the fuselage. In short, the main structural area of any Spitfire. Frame 5 also normally holds the manufacturers identity to that particular airframe, very often hidden between skins. If you've got one in your loft, frame 5 can be very valuable! 

Rocketeer (glad to see your username back :-)), the wing root fairings have been removed, allowing access to pintle pins, coolant ducting, control runs and extensive electrical cabling. 

Just thinking about all this lot again makes me miss it. I so enjoy explaining the engineering to others, it's all a bit clunky on a forum. (And I'm in fear of coming across as an anorak).

 

[Dr H]

I know you love explaining this stuff. That really shone through when you organised the BBMF visit.

BTW, are you going to Duxofrd Flying Legends? I'll be there with my boy on Sunday. My brother will also be there but this year he's a VIP guest n the Bremont tent!

[KurtB]

Thanks Leigh. 

I'm having a bit of a funny year to be honest, busy with the kids, changing jobs, moving house (if the chain doesn't break), me and Mrs B like ships in the night and life in general being busy. I say every year that "I'll give it a miss this year" and every year Helen gets us tickets for my birthday, and I'm always grateful that we go! This year, I've said that we should definitely give it a miss! Similar with LiTP, I'm relishing time with my family, so I'll sit it out. 

I hope you have a good time, it looks to be a good one!