[Minneapolis 109-509 Partial Motor]

This is a substantially complete motor, albeit with a number of parts missing or disassembled. The most obvious piece missing is the fuel pump / turbo-pump unit. Also gone is the electric starter and the tachometer for the turbo-pump.

The C-Stoff control plate has been cut away in several places, irritatingly, one of those places seems to be the manufacturer's data plate which cannot be seen.

The motor has not been regularly attended to, as it has a generous coating of dust, but it has been fitted to a suitable stand making it moveable (although the bolts holding the motor to the frame are reversed, the frame being on the trailing side, rather than the forward face, but that's not important). Interestingly, the curved pipe hanging over the side member of the thrust plate is the steam outflow pipe from the steam generator, which should have been attached to the turbo pump. This might mean that the other pieces of the motor are still within the Mechanical Engineering Department - they may be displayed, or used in demonstrations elsewhere.

Although not shown in this view, the combustion chamber has been sectioned, giving an excellent view of the internal structure.

The data plate is missing, but the pictures clearly show the accessories unit and gearbox, and even though the pump unit is not fitted, there are bolts for the electric starter motor and tachometer. There is no evidence of fuel line air ejectors. These factors make this model of motor most likely an "A-1" series, despite the label.


 
 
 
[Minneapolis 109-509 Partial Motor]

This close-up of the section of the frame without the missing turbo pump shows some interesting details. The two gear wheels connect to a toothed spline on the end of the turbo pump shaft. The furthest wheel drives the tachmoter, telling the pilot the rotational speed of the turbo pump. The nearest wheel (on the right) is the drive from the electric starter motor, which spins up the turbo pump to operating speed during starting. The connector on the top right of the picture is one of the connections for the starter motor.

Just visible between the gear wheels is a narrow strip which is the internal end of the dip-stick, for checking the oil level in the accessories gearbox.

 

Photographs © Mark Ganzer - used with kind permission -
 
 
 
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