Griffon Engines For Sale
Discussion
58's are not particularly rare - they are ex Shackleton and were still in RAF service with RR support in 1991!
They can be modded to go in late Spitfires but its a lot of work and expense. Wartime Mk.65's are a different matter - and the early short ones super rare (SeafireXV, XVII, Spit XII).
They can be modded to go in late Spitfires but its a lot of work and expense. Wartime Mk.65's are a different matter - and the early short ones super rare (SeafireXV, XVII, Spit XII).
Edited by Mark V GTD on Sunday 31st October 14:11
No idea how rare they are, but someone was selling one of Ebay last year for $65,000. They were used on late Spitfires, Fireflys and Shackletons
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolls-Royce-Griffon-engin...
https://silodrome.com/rolls-royce-griffon-v12-engi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Griffon
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rolls-Royce-Griffon-engin...
https://silodrome.com/rolls-royce-griffon-v12-engi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Griffon
V41LEY said:
Anyone else spot that the Auctioneers Cheffins are selling 7 Griffon engines from a guys collection. One is crated, boxed and wrapped with no hours !
Are these engines hard to come by ?
As said, the ex-Shack 58's are not especially rare......but with no airworthy Shack's about, it doesn't really matter.Are these engines hard to come by ?
I'm sure BBMF would mind the zero hours wrapped one as a spare for their Mk.19's if it was going for peanuts
However, one of the engines is stated as being a Mk.101 which was a fuel injected version used for a late mark of the Spiteful, which probably is rare........but again, with no airworthy ones of those around.....hardly in demand.
aeropilot said:
However, one of the engines is stated as being a Mk.101 which was a fuel injected version used for a late mark of the Spiteful, which probably is rare........but again, with no airworthy ones of those around.....hardly in demand.
Oh I'm sure with a bit of improvisation it could fit into all sorts of things!Simpo Two said:
aeropilot said:
However, one of the engines is stated as being a Mk.101 which was a fuel injected version used for a late mark of the Spiteful, which probably is rare........but again, with no airworthy ones of those around.....hardly in demand.
Oh I'm sure with a bit of improvisation it could fit into all sorts of things!
FourWheelDrift said:
Simpo Two said:
aeropilot said:
However, one of the engines is stated as being a Mk.101 which was a fuel injected version used for a late mark of the Spiteful, which probably is rare........but again, with no airworthy ones of those around.....hardly in demand.
Oh I'm sure with a bit of improvisation it could fit into all sorts of things!It was severely damaged by a fire while taxiing out for a flight just a few days before the start of the 2015 Reno races.
aeropilot said:
Sadly, some were 'pimped' a little too far, the poor mods being which caused Galloping Ghost to crash into the crowd at Reno in 2011 
The spiritual successor to the GeeBee I suppose...https://www.historynet.com/ultimate-racing-machine...
Sort of. In the 1930s the specialist racers that were built to compete in the National Air Races at Cleveland were very much special and often one-off builds, often by individuals or small companies operating under limited resources. Despite this, in many ways they were more advanced than most of the mainstream aircraft built by the larger manufacturers.
After World War 2, when the National Air Races recommenced, the availability of war surplus fighters meant that there was less incentive to build racers from scratch for the Unlimited Class and instead use was made of these war surplus aircraft.
On the odd occasion, someone has had a go with designing a brand new and advanced aircraft for the Unlimited Class but by and large, they are still using these old highly modified World War 2 aircraft.
I would classify this as a true successor to the Gee Bee (and similar) aircraft of the 1930s, the Pond Racer. Unfortunately, it proved to be as equally lethal -
After World War 2, when the National Air Races recommenced, the availability of war surplus fighters meant that there was less incentive to build racers from scratch for the Unlimited Class and instead use was made of these war surplus aircraft.
On the odd occasion, someone has had a go with designing a brand new and advanced aircraft for the Unlimited Class but by and large, they are still using these old highly modified World War 2 aircraft.
I would classify this as a true successor to the Gee Bee (and similar) aircraft of the 1930s, the Pond Racer. Unfortunately, it proved to be as equally lethal -
I still find it hard to comprehend how seventy six years after the Second World War, unlimited class pylon racers are still based upon airframes of that period, designed to carry fuel for a trip to Germany and back, plus guns and ammunition, or in the case of the Sea Furies, they started with folding wings and to withstand carrier landings. Sure, the Unlimited racers have been extensively modified, but the fact that they started with a fighter must have severely compromised the designs for pure pylon racing.
The two designed for racing from scratch, the Pond Racer and Tsunami, both crashed before their full potential could be established. Will we ever see another clean sheet design unlimited racer? I have my doubts.
Some interesting detail here about the engine modifications required to get the massive horsepower increases over the standard engines.
Unlimited pylon racers - Engine modifications
Here's Tsunami:
The two designed for racing from scratch, the Pond Racer and Tsunami, both crashed before their full potential could be established. Will we ever see another clean sheet design unlimited racer? I have my doubts.
Some interesting detail here about the engine modifications required to get the massive horsepower increases over the standard engines.
Unlimited pylon racers - Engine modifications
Here's Tsunami:
Edited by GliderRider on Sunday 31st October 11:07
Edited by GliderRider on Sunday 31st October 11:08
Apologies for being a bit ignorant about this but I didn’t really understand the whole P51 and sea fury racing but in Reno.
In the unlimited class, could someone enter a completely different design? I thought he had to be based on old aircraft for some reason.
Also are the P51s actually originally P51s and modified or are they modern aircraft made in that shape.
In the unlimited class, could someone enter a completely different design? I thought he had to be based on old aircraft for some reason.
Also are the P51s actually originally P51s and modified or are they modern aircraft made in that shape.
Pond Racer crashed because the runway at Reno was in use and an emergency landing off field was taken, but overshot into rougher land. Tsunami crashed on approach on a ferry flight due to a flap failure causing a unrecoverable roll when low to the ground. Neither of them race crashes of which there have been many at Reno, so I'm not sure why others have not been tried. Money maybe, but even a wreck of a P-51 for restoration can be upwards of $1m they have to have the money to race the old warbirds. Although most of the owners/fliers are old guys perhaps bought the aircraft when they were cheap and only need a reasonable amount of money to pay for engines (cheaper Curtis Wrights instead of complicated Centaurus in the Sea Furies) and services, but maybe not quite enough sometimes and the failures happen.
I had the very great pleasure of attending Reno in 2014. I am a sucker for contrarotating props so was very interested in Precious Metal. Chatting with the crew chief was fun, "where did you get the prop gearbox from?" "we designed it ourselves" "Its not from a Shackleton then?" "foul look"
I guess he doesn't meet too many Brits!
But it was a pleasure to see her fly, and this was the last year before she was lost.
There isn't much original metal left in many of these racers, but then the same is true of most flying warbirds. As long as the data plate is original, its legit. This sport was popular when the government was selling surplus aircraft off for peanuts, the way that warbird flight has blossomed means there won't be many original aircraft converted to air racers now. So if the sport will grow, there is room for someone to bring in a new design.
It really is the most exciting racing I have ever seen, it seems too wonderful (and too dangerous) to be real, but year after year it keeps happening. Go and celebrate it before it is inevitably forced to bow out due to H&S, insurance, etc...
And the Harmsworth Cup for boats.
Keeping it Griffon related, Griffon engined Hydroplanes were raced from the 1950s - http://thunderboats.ning.com/page/rolls-royce-grif...
Keeping it Griffon related, Griffon engined Hydroplanes were raced from the 1950s - http://thunderboats.ning.com/page/rolls-royce-grif...
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