- Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:51 am
#76512
I wonder how long it took to change the plugs - did they gap them all? Also, would Avro have switched to (American) Champion plugs when the USA decided to join the fray? I tried googling what type of spark plugs were used in the Lancaster/Merlin engine. No joy, but I did find a reference to an issue that was resolved by changing the type of plug. One wonders whether the technicians checked the plug colour in each cylinder.... As an aside a friend of mine, who is forever messing around building kit cars and used to be a successful stock car racer, has a number of sheds in his back garden. These are full of all sorts of weird stuff collected over the years (he's from a farming background so never throws anything away. Amongst all this he has a starter for a Lancaster engine. It's a weird device that generates loads of random sparks. Apparently it operates on the basis that, on a Merlin engine with multiple cylinders, at any given crank position one cylinder will be at, or at least close to, firing point. The starter therefore blitzes the cylinders with sparks until one or more catch and the engine starts. Not a very technical description, but hopefully you get the drift. It's only a small device but sparks like a good 'un.