The Rolls Royce Derwent 9 engines, which are used in the Museum’s Gloster Meteor F.8 are undergoing a major inspection. Temora Aviation Museum Engineering’s engine specialist David Finch is in the process of performing an inspection on the critical components. The aim of the one-off inspection is to allow for the identification of any component defects within the engines. This is necessary, as the manufacturer didn’t place a life limit on the rotating components when the engines were constructed back in the 1940s.
As the Museum owns the only flying Meteor F.8 in the world, this means Dave gets the lucky job of working on some of the rarest serviceable turbo jet engines on the planet. We asked Dave what it was like to work on the engines, he said, “The inspection is a challenge, but it’s rewarding because there are only a handful of engineers that get the opportunity to work on such a rare airworthy aircraft. So I feel very privileged.”
Parts from the engines that have required replacement have been mainly sourced from the UK, all other necessary parts were manufactured at various locations in Australia. The last time these engines were disassembled for inspection was in May 1968.