Sara
Senior Heliman
Location: Yorkshire, England
| Gentlemen,
I appear to have acquired a new title "The woman of the east" ... I suppose it make a change from "The wicked witch of the west" which is how some people seem to regard me.
Yes, I know what Peter is doing - he bought the engine direct from the factory and told me what he was planning, and I thank him for his credit card's contribution to keeping British engineering alive.
This is an interesting project. We have many more years experience in two-stage engines, but JetCat have excellent electronics. They have tremendous in-house expertise dating from long before they started making turbines (they were originally, and still are, a manufacturer of sophisticated medical equipment). We have to buy in our ECUs because we don't have the expertise in that area. It's not as simple as just hiring an electronics expert to make an ECU, it would have to be someone who really understands how turbine engines work and there aren't many people who have this level of ability. Gaspar Espiell does a good job for us and is a valued friend and colleague, but we know it's not the same as having someone in the factory doing the ECU work.
As for it spoiling AngloAmerican relationships, maybe not everyone realises that Peter is originally from the UK and has sensibly opted for much better weather. We have been exchanging emails for several years and I have received mails signed "from Peter in sunny Florida" on the nastiest British winter days - I really can't fault his decision to move.
Contrary to what some people seem to think, we try not to fight with JetCat - although our supporters seem to. OK, JetCat are our competitors. Yes, there were some major problems a few years ago over Simon Peckham and JetCat UK but they have now been resolved. Yes, I would rather people bought our engines than theirs. But being competitors doesn't mean that when I see Marcus Zipperer I punch him on the nose - we endeavour to be polite to each other. When I met Bob Wilcox at JetPower last September we had an amicable chat and he accepted a piece of my home-made cake - and it didn't poison him.
Wren are watching Peter's progress with interest.
Sara Parish
Wren Turbines |
