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me 262 with orginal engines set for restoration


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1 minute ago, TonyT said:

Just as well, the engines lasted hours.

 

 

Right. Exactly why I was asking!  The article even expands on initial testing and trials of the airframe being canned due to engine issues:

 

 

 

“On the 17th of May 1946 Colonel Watson flew the aircraft to Patterson Field for the start of this series of trials. It was flown at Patterson and Wright Fields on test work for 4 hours and 40 minutes (8 flights), being flyable at Wright Field in August 1946. Flight trials were discontinued after four engine changes were required during the course of the tests, culminating in two single-engine landings" 

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Well, the practical life of engines could be noticeably lenghtened according to the metal used for some components. The problem of wartime ones was the fact some rare metals were not available anymore for Germany and accordingly they had to use far less resistant ones for critical parts. This was documented during the war. So, it is possible to rebuild far more resistant engines. However, are they going to be reliable is another question...?

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https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/junkers-jumo-004-b-turbojet-engine

 


 

Quote

 

Because of inadequate heat resistant materials, the average life span of the first jet engines were only 25 hours at best.

 

Note the pull ring at the nose cone of Jumo 004. The engine could be started manually using a lawn mower–type pull cord.

 

 

Gulp........ imagine standing in front of a jet pulling a starter cord, what could possibly go wrong!

 

 

The replicas that fly have modern engines with an external casing to replicate the original engines, if I remember correctly they also have a detent on the throttle so you can use the wartime thrust, though you could move through that to use the engines full thrust.

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That and they would often be built by slave labour, I read of engines in FW190's bursting into flames and seizing up on start up or in flight, such was the sabotage carried out during construction, often at the risk of death.

Edited by TonyT
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5 hours ago, TonyT said:

The replicas that fly have modern engines with an external casing to replicate the original engines...

Only to the extent that the external casings replicate the weight distribution for balance purposes (the modern engines used are FAR lighter than the originals). The "replica engines" were never intended to look like Jumo 004 engines.

21_JAN_03_Left__side_view_of_Me.jpg

 

Just sayin'...

 

D

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Last I heard they were going to make one flight and save it for posterity afterwards. The engines have been rebuilt and have been run on a test stand. I believe many issues with the originals' durability problems have been resolved.

And to clarify about the replica 262s with modern engines: the dummy engines WERE intended to look like the original 004s, at least from the forward access panels when removed. Tischler's team replicated the outside of the main turbine casing of the 004, but smooth on the inside of course. That huge aluminum casting formed the counterweight needed to keep the aircraft balanced properly. The modern engines sit quite far back in the cowling.

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https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/paul-allens-warbirds-180967709/

 

 

First generation technology, the Jumo 004 engines that powered the Me 262 in 1945 had a life expectancy of about 25 hours. When the captured jet was flown in the United States, flight trials were discontinued after eight flights required four engine changes. The Germans had just invented the jet engine and “were learning how to refine it, let alone have it work well in combat,” says Jason Muszala, FHCAM’s manager of restoration and maintenance. A team at Aero Turbine in Stockton, California, working with the original two engines and five others acquired from around the world, has almost tripled their lifespans. Says Muszala: “We have a lot of blueprints, but we basically have to operate the engine, discover the weak points, and figure out how to fix them.”

Edited by dashotgun
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