hlminx 301 Posted August 17, 2017 Report Share Posted August 17, 2017 Very disappointing news about the Battle of Britain Memorial flight... A warbird flypast will never be the same without the mighty Merlins http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4797830/Most-Battle-Britain-Memorial-Flight-planes-GROUNDED.html Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted August 17, 2017 Report Share Posted August 17, 2017 Another case of government employees running amuck in the name of "protecting the public". I can think of dozens of things that are a greater risk to the public than that for which NOTHING is ever done. Don't get me started... Even if you could make a credible case for the Spits, how does that apply to a multi-engine Lanc that could no doubt be safely landed with an engine out? These aircraft are ferried very conservatively and only wring it out in air shows or practice sessions where there is arguably always a landing field within a short distance. Their operations are also generally carried out in good WX, making a successful forced landing, if necessary, the most probable outcome. Anyone who owns or is responsible for one of these treasures is not likely to engage in risky behavior. "Pin" covers a lot of ground and there's no indication in the story just exactly what kind of pin is involved. Worst case - it could be a wrist pin, or possibly even a crank-pin if it's a built-up crankshaft, which I doubt. So, a wrist pin fails and the engine packs it up. Not sure I see how that's any kind of serious risk to the public. John Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,285 Posted August 17, 2017 Report Share Posted August 17, 2017 It is sad that the planes are grounded as many people look forward to seeing them. I can understand not wanting to speculate what caused a crash but what's with all the secrecy going on here when they already know which part failed. The only thing that comes to mind is they are protecting the manufacturer of the part which would be business as usual in the world of aviation. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted August 18, 2017 Report Share Posted August 18, 2017 The problem seems to be BBMF specific. No other operators are reporting problems and the grounding is NOT CAA ordered. It seems to stem from one of the Hurricanes. Just the RAF being over cautious. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted August 18, 2017 Report Share Posted August 18, 2017 Ahh - misread that then. I thought it was the civil aviation authorities who stopped them flying. More technical details would be interesting, but that's just the engineer in me talking. John Link to post Share on other sites
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