Ok.Originally Posted by norris
The firing valve on the earlier Dragons were not properly case hardened steel and were prone to failure. Parker Hale reworked the valve using a stronger material and these rifles usually have a "H" stamped into the breech block.
Aidrian Wilkes did a custom rebuild on the Dragons, which included a modified firing valve using aircraft grade materials-it is my understanding that Ken Turner (who was one of Aidrian's closest friends) worked with and advised Aidrian on the early improvements.
After Aidrian's untimely departure, I, along with several other BBS members, helped to clear the rented bungalow where Aidrian lived. As I had large vans and storage facilities, connected to my business, I volunteered to remove and store Aidrian's equipment and also the complete set of spares which Aidrian had acquired from Parker Hale, when production of the Dragon ceased.
It was decided that this equipment and spares would need to be sold off-I duly purchased it all from Aidrian's estate. It was my intention to try and carry on Aidrians good work with helping Dragon owners, with the help of My Stepfather who was a very skilled engineer. Pressures of work and other factors led to me coming to the sad conclusion that I would probably never have the time to carry this out. I duly sold them to a member on this site, who I understand has kept Aidrian's good work
alive
I think Graham Bluck's original design and prototype rifles were fabulous-unfortunately bean counters run the engineering companies, not the engineers
Reply With Quote