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Graham Pool, CEng, MIMechE
Propulsion system
Quicksilver’s propulsion system specialist is Graham Pool; a modest, self-effacing man with the quiet assurance of one with a lifetime’s experience in his chosen field. –
Graham served in senior engineering positions with Rolls-Royce for a period of almost 40 years. He was the Deputy Service Manager for the military Spey engine installed in Royal Navy, RAF and South African Air Force Buccaneers and British-built Phantoms in service with the Royal Navy and RAF, then was promoted to Service Manager for the Anglo-French Adour engine installed in Jaguar strike aircraft and Hawk trainer/strike aircraft in service with squadrons throughout the world – including the Hawks used by the Red Arrows formation display team.
Graham's work in these two posts often took him beyond British shores, to the United States, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East.
The military version of the Spey was selected by the American aerospace company Ling-Tempco-Vought to power its A-7 Corsair II strike aircraft. Graham was a key member of the Rolls-Royce technical team which successfully brought this about.
Subsequently, Graham transferred to the civil-engine side of Rolls-Royce, to the sales department, with responsibility for Africa initially, and then the Middle East, and then finally the Far East, where he played an important role in successful bids which led to several of China's major airlines placing large orders for airliners with British-built engines, rather than American. During this period, Graham and his wife Diana resided in Tokyo, Japan, for four years.
In the main, Graham's successes in China involved the equipping of Boeing 757s with the RB.211-535 turbofan. But Hong Kong provided fertile ground, too, with Cathay Pacific selecting the RB.211-524 for its Boeing 747s and Dragon Air purchasing the Trent turbofan for its Airbus fleet. There were also sales of the Tay turbofan to customers of the Fokker 100 medium-range airliner during this time, and Graham renewed his long relationship with the Spey with sales of those to owners of Gulfstream 2s, Gulfstream 3s and Gulfstream 4s.
In spite of his enduring relationship with aviation, Graham is no stranger to things nautical. After serving his apprenticeship at the outset of his career with Rolls-Royce, he chose a two-year stint as a ship's engineer in the Merchant Navy to the obligatory alternative, National Service.
Quicksilver's Rolls-Royce Spey engine has been painstakingly cared for by Graham, who lives close to the Quicksilver team’s HQ, in the village of Newton Solney, near Burton-upon-Trent. He joined the team in 2007.