08/2009: Like the aircraft itself, the Lockheed L-1649A engines also set new standards in aircraft design at the end of the 1950s. Directly before the start of the jet era in the North Atlantic, which began with the Comet 4 in October 1958, Curtiss Wright delivered his masterpiece in the form of the 988TC18EA2 piston engine. In its day the up to 3,400hp engine was viewed as the pinnacle of civil engine design. The complex entity is made up of 14,439 individual parts, bolts and screws.

The Lufthansa Technik Super Star team dismantled eight of these power packs from the L-1649A with tail sign N7316C in Auburn and the former Lufthansa D-ALAN in Florida and sent them to Anderson Aeromotive. The FAA and EASA Part 145 certified engine repair station will initially overhaul six TC18EA2’s.

Ray Anderson recently succeeded in acquiring a large stock of new parts, so that all six engines ordered can now be fitted with brand-new crankshafts, piston rods and bearings. The engine assembly work, including the Quick Engine Change parts (QEC), has been under way since July and is due to be completed by the beginning of October at the latest.