XM655

[Bovril]

an excellent day had at welles today .. im sure sooty with be updating very soon

[Sooty655]

We had intended to start touching up the lacquer on the LP blades this week, but the weather is too cold at present, so that job will have to wait. Rather than lose too much time, we decided to put a minimum of bolts back in the LP casing to maintain structural strength, and get on with the HP inspection.

A lot of the HP casing bolts had already been removed, so it wasn't long before the casing was ready to lift.


No problems getting it to slide up, and soon we could see the blading.


Everything proved to be in very good condition. A little hot corrosion of the surfaces, but no sign of any deterioration of the clamping integrity of the compressor rotor. The blades were discoloured, probably by burnt-on inhibiting fluid, but no nicks or damage.

This is a general view of the HP compressor from the port side, looking forward.


A more detailled view of the HP rotor, taken from the starboard side.


This is the HP stator top half, showing the discoloured blading.


We decided that no remedial work was necessary for the HP compressor, and by the end of the day the casing was back in position and we were well on the way to completing the bolting work.

We have enough work to do with HP reassembly and general parts cleaning and preparation to keep us going for another week, and we hope that the weather will have warmed up enough in a couple of weeks time to allow us to do the lacquer touch-up work and get ready for re-installation.

All the photos were taken by Charles Brimson.

[Mayfly]

that's all good news Sooty

[Dan4th]

Wow!

You guys sure have cool toys to play with!

Oh, and for obviously having the brains
and attitude to do the job right!

Your Constant Admirer;

Danf.

[Sooty655]

Thanks, Dan4th.

Any chance of you getting over here to see us any time soon?

[Dan4th]

You Bet!

Actual dates still TBD, but you
can count on it! Plan on being
over long enough so you'll all
get sick of me!

Danf.

[RLN]

Nice pics. Always interesting to see engines in bits, especially when you are happy with the condition of them.

[Mackrick]

Nice photos sooty ... I never get to see them opened up like that... well done to all...

[Nickolas]

This is what we like...........

Able to see the ENGINEERING..... in bits!!!

Thanks for the images and the clip.

Brilliantly simple tool isn't it.

[Ramshornvortex]

Able to see the ENGINEERING..... in bits!!!

Thanks for the images and the clip.

Brilliantly simple tool isn't it.

Modesty will prevent Sooty from replying to that compliment......so I'll do on behalf of all at MaPS....

Sooty is a very rare beast; an accomplished engineer with a very detailed knowledge of jet engines (and Bristol and Rolls Royce in particular), who can turn his hand to anything! His ability to see his way through any problem put in front of him (and 45 year old aeroplanes that live outside tend to do that a lot) is second-to-none. The 'extra curricula' stuff that he does at home - such as the stator removal tool - is legendary.

I had better stop now, we still need Sooty to be able to do turbine disc checks before EGRs and he might not be able to squeeze his head down the jet pipe!

Keep up the good work Sooty

[Za150]

Great to see the engine is in great nick. Top quality british engineering standing the test of time!!

Glad to see all is going well.

[Crew chief]

Able to see the ENGINEERING..... in bits!!!

Thanks for the images and the clip.

Brilliantly simple tool isn't it.

Modesty will prevent Sooty from replying to that compliment......so I'll do on behalf of all at MaPS....

Sooty is a very rare beast; an accomplished engineer with a very detailed knowledge of jet engines (and Bristol and Rolls Royce in particular), who can turn his hand to anything! His ability to see his way through any problem put in front of him (and 45 year old aeroplanes that live outside tend to do that a lot) is second-to-none. The 'extra curricula' stuff that he does at home - such as the stator removal tool - is legendary.

I had better stop now, we still need Sooty to be able to do turbine disc checks before EGRs and he might not be able to squeeze his head down the jet pipe!

Keep up the good work Sooty

Indeed we could't do it without him.

[Mayfly]

655 couldn't do without you all.....

[Sooty655]

655 couldn't do without you all.....

I agree with Mayfly. 655MaPS is a team effort by a great TEAM.

Let's keep it that way.

[Xplumberlives]

Nice work Team 655!

[Dan4th]

Nice work Team 655!

I think there's Definitely a hat or a t-shirt in
there somewhere......

After the mugs sell out, that is......

D.

[Xplumberlives]

What colour do you suggest? As the SKY BLUE was used for the REBEL 558 shirt!

[Dan4th]

I dunno, but was thinking just simple
stenciled/sprayed lettering over Vulcan
Cammo! And whatever lettering colo(u)r
"Pops" the best on a cammo background......

Maybe RED....

D.

[Xplumberlives]

RED sounds good just on a plain white Tee Shirt!

TEAM
655!

[Bovril]

website news updated

http://www.xm655.com

[Xplumberlives]

Thanks Bovril

[Sploosher]

Thanks for the pics................

its great to know that 655 is in very capable hands......................

[Sooty655]

No pictures this week, and not a lot to report. The weather was still too cold to consider touching up the LP compressor blading, so we finished closing up the HP and concentrated on rebuild preparation work - cleaning parts, freeing off cast iron air sealing rings, replacing damaged helicoil inserts, etc. All rather boring stuff, but it all needs to be done.

Next week will be the last chance to do the blade lacquer work. If it is still too cold, we will give the compressor a coat of inhibitor and get on with the rebuild.

[RLN]

What is the temperature required for the laquer to go off. Could you not build a small frame tent with a heater in it? I'm sure you have thought out all the options and teaching/sucking eggs come to mind. Sorry.

[Sooty655]

What is the temperature required for the laquer to go off. Could you not build a small frame tent with a heater in it? I'm sure you have thought out all the options and teaching/sucking eggs come to mind. Sorry.

No problem, RLN. All comments and suggestions are welcome at Wellesbourne.

The recommended minimum temp is 10degC. We are concerned that we need a very thin coating to maintain the aerofoil shape, and we don't want to risk trying to put it on too cold and getting it "lumpy".

We have indeed thought about a tent and some heaters, but we are starting with 2.5 tons of metal which has been cold-soaked overnight. Not sure we could afford the bill, even if we could put in enough heat.

The compressor will be a lot better with the flaking lacquer removed and a coat of inhibitor than it was when we started, so there is no point in pushing too hard and spoiling the job.