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Reference JOB 07 / Year c. 2011 / Client Aviation Heritage Museum, Perth / Discipline Reverse engineering

Makeshift propeller for a Rolls-Royce Merlin

The Aviation Heritage Museum had acquired a working Merlin built by Rolls-Royce during the war. Running it required a propeller that no longer existed, and there was nothing on the internet or in the museum to work from.

Run the 3D modelA working model of this machine, in the browser, further down this page.

Without airflow through the radiator the engine overheated quickly, so the museum's manager, Mr John Park, asked ME&QC to design and build a makeshift propeller.

The first step was to visit the museum and take every measurement on site. There was very little information available anywhere — everything had to be designed from scratch. The plates below show the steps taken, in order, from the bare shaft end to a successful first trial.

The shaft end onto which the propeller has to be installed.
01The shaft end onto which the propeller has to be installed.
A sketch of the shaft end, made on site.
02A sketch of the shaft end, made on site.
General arrangement drawing of the propeller.
03General arrangement drawing of the propeller.
Exploded view of the propeller assembly.
04Exploded view of the propeller assembly.
Working drawing of the propeller hub.
05Working drawing of the propeller hub.
Initial fitting of the newly machined parts onto the engine shaft. Required a minimum amount of work — mainly cleaning protective paint off the shaft.
06Initial fitting of the newly machined parts onto the engine shaft. Required a minimum amount of work — mainly cleaning protective paint off the shaft.
The propeller assembled and installed.
07The propeller assembled and installed.
First trial. Everything works as expected.
08First trial. Everything works as expected.

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Demonstration Interactive model / Runs in The browser / Basis Our own drawings

Run the machine

A working model of a machine we designed and built, rebuilt from our own drawings and driven by the parameters that actually define it. Drag to orbit; move a slider and the geometry is recomputed.

Drag to orbit · move a slider and it rebuilds
The propeller assembly The most accurate model in the set: the hub, the 36-tooth spline and all fifty-one fasteners come off the dimensioned drawings on this page rather than off a photograph. Blade pitch and twist are estimated. The explode control reproduces drawing 50-1EV, one of the three drawings this job actually produced. Open full screen →

These are demonstrations, not design records. Each is built from what we hold — drawings where drawings survive, photographs where they do not — and it is a preview of the article, not a drawing of it. Nothing here should be used to order, manufacture or check a part. For dimensions, ask.