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Well today I got a surprise, that this photo of me which I had never seen before is going to be on the front of a Calendar.
I did respond to this photo giving them an insight to that night and that photo.
The chap that ran the night shift asked me to try to find a oil leak, from one of the cabin superchargers as he hoped running the engine would show it up. It all sounded simple enough, except I had no idea that he was going to take that Rolls Royce Dart engine up to 12000 rpm. At that speed even with the prop locked as we would say in "ground fine" that is, the blades almost flat. However at that high speed they were actually kicking in a certain amount of pitch... "thrust"...I felt I was sliding of the wing, I dropped my torch/flashlight and inspection mirror into the gearbox tray, as my leader was happily revving the engine. I hung on for dear life and still remember to this day, the vision in "my" mind of flying of the wing past the jet pipe.
My boss in time pulled the throttle back and shut the dart engine down. He came up to me and asked if I had found the mystery oil leak. I was really ticked of with him, never mind that oil leak.
He did say sorry and we never did that kind of thing again.
If he had taken the engine up to 15000 rpm its max, then I most likely would have been blown off the wing. I really don't think he thought the prop blades in the "locked position" would do what they did, what a night that was. That must have been around at a guess 1994
.
Funny thing though after my reply, one of the guys I worked with replied to me saying he remember me that night also, I wonder if my old boss will read it
...ah! memories is saying all that they were good times.
PS.....Think this particular aircraft CWJ went to Air North in the Yukon, Canada, they did buy some of us, when we retired them in favour of the ATR72
I did respond to this photo giving them an insight to that night and that photo.
The chap that ran the night shift asked me to try to find a oil leak, from one of the cabin superchargers as he hoped running the engine would show it up. It all sounded simple enough, except I had no idea that he was going to take that Rolls Royce Dart engine up to 12000 rpm. At that speed even with the prop locked as we would say in "ground fine" that is, the blades almost flat. However at that high speed they were actually kicking in a certain amount of pitch... "thrust"...I felt I was sliding of the wing, I dropped my torch/flashlight and inspection mirror into the gearbox tray, as my leader was happily revving the engine. I hung on for dear life and still remember to this day, the vision in "my" mind of flying of the wing past the jet pipe.
My boss in time pulled the throttle back and shut the dart engine down. He came up to me and asked if I had found the mystery oil leak. I was really ticked of with him, never mind that oil leak.
He did say sorry and we never did that kind of thing again.If he had taken the engine up to 15000 rpm its max, then I most likely would have been blown off the wing. I really don't think he thought the prop blades in the "locked position" would do what they did, what a night that was. That must have been around at a guess 1994
.Funny thing though after my reply, one of the guys I worked with replied to me saying he remember me that night also, I wonder if my old boss will read it
...ah! memories is saying all that they were good times.PS.....Think this particular aircraft CWJ went to Air North in the Yukon, Canada, they did buy some of us, when we retired them in favour of the ATR72
in a pile of stuff 
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