We began the year with our work being published in the Jan - Feb 2001 issue of Aerospacio magazine, as eighteen years before thanks to Mr. Jorge di Paolo. We counted on the same people that helped us the previous year and on the promise of contributions from first level companies. We were also advised from the beginning of the year by the assistants of the Electrical Measurements' Laboratory to be able to measure RPMs and temperature suitably.
The School's Asociación Cooperadora gave us $45 to prepare seven metallic drums of 200 liters capacity because we had made contacts with two possible suppliers of JP-1 as donation. We were aided by a work group formed by students of 1st. year (perhaps the youngest that the Laboratory had counted with). None of these two conversations arrived at good end...
We must emphasize that the turbines' oil drum "misled" the previous year only could find the way to the School from the hand of its owner. Diego Turró had to bring it personally to us from Rosario!. Incredible...


We Also returned to visit the Taller Regional Quilmes Technical School to thank them for the advice that they gave us during the previous year. We were received by its Principal, Mr. Professor H. Alori and again by Professors L. Calienni and J. Juarez, with whom we returned to interchange data about our experiences and to take some photos. Those that are immediately to the right and down corespond to its Marboré IIc with its transport trail / control board.


By the month of May we received a visit from the Jorge Newbery Technical School who asked us about the necessary procedures to start one of its two Marboré IIc.
Since middle July "we were found" in Internet by Eng. Jeff Corr of the United States who has a Marboré IIc in his garage and also wanted to start it.
By the end of August we showed to the Rector of the Establishment our work plan, very limited by the already unfavourable economic situation of the country and after having explored all the possible ways to obtain the materials that we needed through donations.
In fact we arrived again at the Technical Education Week (November) and we chose to dedicate us fully to the School's Laboratory Electrical Power Station. With neither JP-1 nor real advance made (mainly in the matter of measurement instruments) during the year, it did not have sense to jeopardize our limited resources in those conditions.


By those days our work plan was approved; but the money ($326) still had to arrive. We would have had the consolation of being able to work from November 30th. with more comfort (the students would have finished their regular classes period). The shortage of free time was practically a constant throughout the 2001 year to let us assemble the previous work group, since the 6th. year Mechanical students worked all the year in their free hours for the rearrangement of the Engines' Laboratory Theory Classroom. We knew that they had his last classes day on December 7th. and we did not want them to leave School without having seen the turbojet in operation. They worked very much and very hard during the year on the reconstruction and we wanted in some form to repay the work after all the hours that they gave us.
We decided then that this would be the suitable date to try the year's first starting. Again we would buy the elements that we lacked to try to measure RPMs and temperature, in addition to a pair of new 12 Volts batteries; because there was not confirmation of the arrival of the approved money. They were immobilized due to the (then) new economic emergency measures.


There had been left some liters of kerosene not used in the test of the Laboratory's Electrical Power Station on November 15th. that we would turn into "JP-1 Krause" again. With the aid of Gustavo Tinello and Daniel Robles (both School's Electrical Measurements Laboratory teaching assistants) we could adapt two digital multimeters to read temperature (thanks again to the School's Ceramics workshop) and RPMs (thanks again to School's Mechanics Superior Cycle workshop). When we thought that at least by this year we would not get the money to buy the rest of the materials which we needed, on December 6th. morning we were told that our cash was available. Again doing what better knew... to obtain what we needed 24hs. before our starting deadline!. And even we had time to rest 45 minutes before the first starting attempt of the year. We could not obtain the new batteries of 12 Volts in time, thus we would have to count on those used the previous year for the attempt. Or at least we thought that until a careful overhaul of one of the batteries available showed that it did not serve for nothing else useful that an enormous paperweight... And all the Establishment already knew the estimated date and hour of the starting attempt.


But we already knew that to try a starting with a single useful battery was a very difficult task. Even with the two batteries in good condition in both previous years we had many problems to start the turbojet. Remembering that we warned all the presents (Regent, Mechanics' Department, Pedagogical's Cabinet, Laboratories' personnel, teachers of almost all workshops and pupils) that we would only make a couple of attempts and if it did not work we would wait until the following Monday to retry it again with the new batteries same as the previous year. We would use the batteries chargers - starters as "support" of the only working battery.
It would not be a minor problem a new fuel line of much smaller section that we would use for the first time along with a starting sequence different from the one used previously, in which basically we forced the turbojet starting after 30 seconds of rotation of the auxiliary electrical motor. Now we would count on a tachometer for a more precise control of the ignition stage. But, would both work well?.


On December 7th., 2:25 PM we initiated the new starting sequence which was interrupted when one of our assistants thought that something was going wrong on it when he did not see fuel arriving to the machine feeding line. False alarm. (We could at least verify that the auxiliary stage of ignition worked OK...). After such promising beginning, we initiated the sequence again wishing like always (now perhaps more than ever) that it would be fulfilled perfectly and the turbojet would start without problems. And most surprising is that by first time our aim was crystallized at 2:28 PM with a perfect starting, without flames, without smoke and without the extraordinary noise of the previous year. We could measure temperature and RPMs suitably for the first time, although a quite remarkable oil loss in the indicating pressure gauge gave the only sign to care about.


We waited for 30 seconds after the starting as the manual recommended, and also accelerated for the first time, taking the machine until 10 100 RPMs and obtaining an average temperature reading of 410 °C (One surprisingly low and equal to the one registered the last year...). Three minutes later we would stop the machine to avoid any possible damage by lack of oil in the lubrication system although at any moment the pressure indicated by the pressure gauge was better than good.
But... would the modifications introduced to the fuel system fulfill their assignment or we would have the same problems of previous years?. Only five seconds after cutting off the JP-1 passage the machine stopped.
The joy of all the presents (and ours above all) was enormous. We just obtained what was assumed we must have had three years before... complete control of the machine with adapted instruments of commercial industrial use, nonaeronautical.
We had already sufficient good news for only a day when the School's Mechanics Department Secretary suggested us to repair the loss and to try another starting. The proposal was so tempting that we did it immediately.


At 3:04 PM we were again starting at the first attempt and without problems like before, although the original oil loss was not totally eliminated. While we tried to take the machine to a higher RPMs number, at 11 000 RPMs approximately the temperature reading went from 410 °C to -400 °C. Evidently our glorious thermocouple donated by Aerolíneas Argentinas in 1982 was not working as it should in the last two years and now it was totally out of order. But even this fault, the only one that occurred in that day, happened in such a way that cleared all doubts and happened in the most opportune moment. A loss of oil added to the lack of temperature control at 11 000 RPMs is not something recommendable in this type of machines, and we stop it again as fast and easy as before. We then confirmed the problem with the thermocouple, and that our new systems of starting and stopping were effective. We finished the day with a small celebration in the School's Engines Laboratory, and as usual; reached by the rain.

What more can be requested?

Well, to begin with one new thermocuople. We reached the conclusion that it did not have sense to wait to the next year to replace the one that no longer works, so we confronted again the expenses that would generate one new thermocouple and a digital thermometer for thermocouples; and again the School's Asociación Cooperadora had the gentility to donate us the amount of the purchase ($100).

The following Monday (December 10th) was not an ordinary day for us. That day the students of 6th year Mechanics 2001 received their diplomas, and 19 years ago the same day students of 6th year Mechanics 1982 started the turbojet Rolls-Royce Derwent V for the first time hours before receiving their diplomas. We did the impossible to have all ready to do something of "noise" during the diploma delivery, but time was not enough and we preferred to play safe, making the new starting date December 14th., Friday; with some more added features: we would count on the new batteries, new thermocouple and new temperature measurement system and we would try for the first time to record the starting.


At 3:21 PM, counting with the presence of Mr. SubRector between us, and with the recommendation of Mr. Rector of not making anything blew up ; again we started at first attempt and without problems except our persistent loss of oil. Now we would take the machine to where it could and everything would be recorded. We accelerated slowly and we reached 15 900 RPMs (over 22 600 RPMs max. at the takeoff) and we stopped the machine after 3 minutes of run approximately. The meters worked as they should, registering the higher temperature as 590 °C. Again everything worked perfectly at high number of RPMs, which let us think about a thrust meter not only as a mere speculation. Our Marboré IIc can be used for something more than making noise.
The great surprise came a couple of days later when we found out that the "recording" had not left anything registered.... We thought then to take advantage of the days that were left to try to solve definitively the oil loss and to incorporate a servo assisted accelerator, but the unfortunate facts of December last weeks put an end to our proposal. We hope to materialize it in the last days of February of 2002 with the addition of an elementary thrust meter. Considering the facts happened until now, the 2002 promises to be more unusually hard than the previous year. If in doubt, we recommend to you not miss "Thus we did in 2002... " in the first days of March!


We are thankful same as last year to:

Teachers of Mechanics Superior Cycle workshops: Mr. A. Seguí, B. González and J. D'Agrosa. For be besides us as ever.

Asociación Cooperadora: For asisting us with money to buy materials and continue working.

Electrical Measurements Laboratory: Mr. Wögerbauer and Álvarez; Gabriel Nóbile, Daniel Robles and Gustavo Tinello. Materials for the electrical board, measurement instruments and advice.

Carpentry workshop: Mr. Allende. Materials for the electrical board.

Ceramics workshop: Mr. Enrique López, Juan Carlos Masi and Luis Villa. Use of the installations for thermocouples calibration and insulation materials.


We also thank to:

Graduated Students: Mr. Diego Turró. To bring us the turbines oil drum from Rosario. Mr. Alejandro Flagel and Roberto Laterra for the collaboration in the starting days. Again to Roberto Laterra for the collaboration with the translation of the page to the language of Shakespeare.

1st. Year Students: Fernando Brito, Mariana Fernandez Espasandin, Karina García y Cynthia Goitía. For the preparation of the 200 liters drums of JP-1.