barnstormers and the military could engine. They learn about the acces- engines and aircraft will be around
literally maintain in a field.” sories and ignition. We do a lot of for a long, long time.”
However, using the maintenance cross-training here.” “More and more classic aircraft
manuals is not so straightforward. “What we look for is a person with are being dragged out of barns and
For today’s technicians, they’re not good eye/hand coordination and who rebuilt every year,” Curry adds. “The
always helpful. “The things that is eager to learn how to build these attrition rate of these things is not
were assumed that you know [about engines,” says Dalton. “Desire is very very high. Pilots damage them and
engines] back in 1940 or 1950 are no important to us. We want to find then rebuild them.”
longer taught at the schools,” Curry people who are willing to get their There are even new aircraft being
explains. “So there are a lot of blanks hands dirty.” built with radials. “Companies like
to fill in for the average A&P.” In the world of radial engines,” Waco Classics – they make new
Regarding the “average A&P,” like getting their hands dirty” is synony- 1934 YMF Waco’s,” he continues.
the rest of our industry, both Dalton mous with loving what you do. In “They’ve built 120 of them so far
and Curry say attracting and keeping Dalton’s case, he knew he was home and we’ve supplied the engines for
good technicians is a major challenge the day he walked out of the U.S. 87 of those airplanes.”
today. Consequently, both companies military and into a dingy hangar at Curry points out that his compa-
provide in-house training for their Anchorage International Airport. “I ny has made major improvements
next generation of technicians. walked into this run down-looking to the engines they supply owners.
“We are fortunate here to have hangar and saw a radial engine on “Several years ago we started intro-
people with 20- to 30-years of expe- a stand – I knew I was home,” he ducing upgrades to the radial engines.
rience with these engines,” says recalls. “My friends said I was com- We’ve optimized the Jacobs engines
Steve Curry. “We put the younger mitting career suicide by going back- for more horsepower, reliability and
guys side-by-side with our crafts- wards and not forward.” lower fuel burn,” he says. “They burn
men, say, building the gear-reduc- two gallons less per hour and have
tion system. Once they learn that, Radials’ Future 10-percent more horsepower.”
then we move them on to the power Both Bob Dalton and Steve Curry see “We also balance the engines now.
section, then to the cylinders and very long lives for the round engines. That’s something they never did
the rear and blower sections of the While no one currently is manufac- before,” Curry adds. “It makes them
turing large commercial aircraft with run a lot smoother and that will make
radials, Dalton sees continued need in them more popular with owners.”
the warbird and commercial markets. “Radials are wonderful engines,”
“Overseas is especially good. With he concludes. “If it weren’t for the
the economy the way it is, you can fact that they have such huge fron-
get a DC-3 for a quarter the cost of a tal areas, they would still be making
comparable turbine,” he says. “These them today.”
AM
Howard Aircraft Corp., established in 1937, built
single-engine aircraft, some of which served the U.S.
Navy and U.S. Army Air Corps in a variety of missions, Amelia Earhart’s last, fatal flight was in a Lockheed Electra. Most Electra variants were powered
including training. by Pratt & Whitney radials except one, the 10B, which was powered by Wright engines.
30 Aviation Maintenance |
avmain-mag.com | Oct/Nov2009
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