Lancaster fire
Discussion
The parts went yesterday, not today.
Unfortunately the engine isnt really the big issue, they have spares (2, with 3rd 'vera' engine being checked over) its the bearer, which was twisted by the heat to an extent where it has been sent away for copying, also the nacelles and other parts were damaged quite badly.
Some very reliable folk have said they dont think she will fly again this year.
Unfortunately the engine isnt really the big issue, they have spares (2, with 3rd 'vera' engine being checked over) its the bearer, which was twisted by the heat to an extent where it has been sent away for copying, also the nacelles and other parts were damaged quite badly.
Some very reliable folk have said they dont think she will fly again this year.
Lincsblokey said:
The parts went yesterday, not today.
Unfortunately the engine isnt really the big issue, they have spares (2, with 3rd 'vera' engine being checked over) its the bearer, which was twisted by the heat to an extent where it has been sent away for copying, also the nacelles and other parts were damaged quite badly.
Some very reliable folk have said they dont think she will fly again this year.
I think they'll get a ferry flight in by the end of the year for its servicing. But I don't think we'll be seeing it displaying any time soon if at all this season. Unfortunately the engine isnt really the big issue, they have spares (2, with 3rd 'vera' engine being checked over) its the bearer, which was twisted by the heat to an extent where it has been sent away for copying, also the nacelles and other parts were damaged quite badly.
Some very reliable folk have said they dont think she will fly again this year.
Ledaig said:
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
Three engine ferry take off?
Re-arrange this well worn phrase: 'Off, F***!'
Three engine ferry take offs have a very nasty habit of killing people!
They are so dangerous that, on Albert, we required 38 Group Authority to do it and even then the Captain had the right of refusal.
I'll take that as a no then Re-arrange this well worn phrase: 'Off, F***!'
Three engine ferry take offs have a very nasty habit of killing people!
They are so dangerous that, on Albert, we required 38 Group Authority to do it and even then the Captain had the right of refusal.
There was an ex-Herc pilot working for Brymon who loved the Dash 7. I had a couple of jump seat flights with him.
Dr Jekyll said:
What is the ultimate limiting factor for how long a Lancaster can be kept flying? All parts can in principle be remanufactured but possibly there are intellectual property issues with some. Will AVGAS become unavailable?
Yup, very likely it will be either the MOD pulling the financial plug on the BBMF (a possibility once the 'last' WW2 veteran has departed within a decade or so) or the lack of 100LL, which as Eric has said has been talked about for quite a while. It is getting harder to get, especially now the enviromentalists have put pressure on the GA world to stop using it in newer gen stuff. There is very real concern in the USA warbird community as to just how long some fuel companies will continue to produce it.
aeropilot said:
Dr Jekyll said:
What is the ultimate limiting factor for how long a Lancaster can be kept flying? All parts can in principle be remanufactured but possibly there are intellectual property issues with some. Will AVGAS become unavailable?
Yup, very likely it will be either the MOD pulling the financial plug on the BBMF (a possibility once the 'last' WW2 veteran has departed within a decade or so) or the lack of 100LL, which as Eric has said has been talked about for quite a while. It is getting harder to get, especially now the enviromentalists have put pressure on the GA world to stop using it in newer gen stuff. There is very real concern in the USA warbird community as to just how long some fuel companies will continue to produce it.
ChemicalChaos said:
aeropilot said:
Dr Jekyll said:
What is the ultimate limiting factor for how long a Lancaster can be kept flying? All parts can in principle be remanufactured but possibly there are intellectual property issues with some. Will AVGAS become unavailable?
Yup, very likely it will be either the MOD pulling the financial plug on the BBMF (a possibility once the 'last' WW2 veteran has departed within a decade or so) or the lack of 100LL, which as Eric has said has been talked about for quite a while. It is getting harder to get, especially now the enviromentalists have put pressure on the GA world to stop using it in newer gen stuff. There is very real concern in the USA warbird community as to just how long some fuel companies will continue to produce it.
100LL is the low lead version of the 100 (but it's still quite high in TEL compared to old leaded 4-star etc!)
There's a newer unleaded, lower octane AVGAS for the newer gen GA engines, which won't be any good for a 'big piston'.
One of the major fuel companies has been doing development work to make a variant of lead free fuel which works with older large piston engines. Last I heard they were achieving performances similar to 100LL; we offered to let them use our Shackleton as a test bed in exchange for free fuel.
ecsrobin said:
Lincsblokey said:
The parts went yesterday, not today.
Unfortunately the engine isnt really the big issue, they have spares (2, with 3rd 'vera' engine being checked over) its the bearer, which was twisted by the heat to an extent where it has been sent away for copying, also the nacelles and other parts were damaged quite badly.
Some very reliable folk have said they dont think she will fly again this year.
I think they'll get a ferry flight in by the end of the year for its servicing. But I don't think we'll be seeing it displaying any time soon if at all this season. Unfortunately the engine isnt really the big issue, they have spares (2, with 3rd 'vera' engine being checked over) its the bearer, which was twisted by the heat to an extent where it has been sent away for copying, also the nacelles and other parts were damaged quite badly.
Some very reliable folk have said they dont think she will fly again this year.
Am I correct in remembering something said last year, that PA474 was due for a major service next year, with a spar relacement, so wouldn't be shown in 2016. How does a grounding affect that? could it be moved forward?
Mutley said:
Am I correct in remembering something said last year, that PA474 was due for a major service next year, with a spar relacement, so wouldn't be shown in 2016. How does a grounding affect that? could it be moved forward?
Yes.Not main spar replacement (that was done back in the mid 90's) it's work needing on the tailplane plus a major IIRC. Was due to go to Duxford to be done at end of this season IIRC.
I think the logistics of bring this forward are being looked at as an option, but, as already mentioned, it would require full break down for road transport to Duxford, or the Duxford team having to travel to do the work in-situ at BBMF, plus presumably, the staff that were scheduled to do it are currently on other projects, and thus probably not 'free' until the scheduled timeframe.
aeropilot said:
Mutley said:
Am I correct in remembering something said last year, that PA474 was due for a major service next year, with a spar relacement, so wouldn't be shown in 2016. How does a grounding affect that? could it be moved forward?
Yes.Not main spar replacement (that was done back in the mid 90's) it's work needing on the tailplane plus a major IIRC. Was due to go to Duxford to be done at end of this season IIRC.
I think the logistics of bring this forward are being looked at as an option, but, as already mentioned, it would require full break down for road transport to Duxford, or the Duxford team having to travel to do the work in-situ at BBMF, plus presumably, the staff that were scheduled to do it are currently on other projects, and thus probably not 'free' until the scheduled timeframe.
Update from the BBMF. Looks like good news to me. (Post is copied from their Facebook page, it doesn't link the photos)
Lanc Update
Here are a few pictures showing that all the damaged items have now been removed from the aircraft by our engineers. The investigation is still on going in to the cause but I can tell you that there is no damage to the wing as the fire bulkhead did its job. The main items engine panels and engine bearer are now with various companies for assessment, repair or new manufacture. No time scale as yet but we are hopeful she will fly again this year. Paul B
Edit, link here:
https://www.facebook.com/BBMF.Official/posts/83127...
Lanc Update
Here are a few pictures showing that all the damaged items have now been removed from the aircraft by our engineers. The investigation is still on going in to the cause but I can tell you that there is no damage to the wing as the fire bulkhead did its job. The main items engine panels and engine bearer are now with various companies for assessment, repair or new manufacture. No time scale as yet but we are hopeful she will fly again this year. Paul B
Edit, link here:
https://www.facebook.com/BBMF.Official/posts/83127...
Edited by Squawk1066 on Saturday 23 May 12:58
Eric Mc said:
G15 has a way with words.
I am not being a white knight or anything, G15 is perfectly capable of defending herself, but do people need to attack her quite so much? She has a direct, often italicised, often abbreviated style, but she also has experience of flying a four engined propeller driven military aircraft so can offer a unique (for PH) insight into the question posed. She could have said 'three engined flight would not be a wise choice' but how bland and uninteresting would that have been?
ChemicalChaos said:
aeropilot said:
Dr Jekyll said:
What is the ultimate limiting factor for how long a Lancaster can be kept flying? All parts can in principle be remanufactured but possibly there are intellectual property issues with some. Will AVGAS become unavailable?
Yup, very likely it will be either the MOD pulling the financial plug on the BBMF (a possibility once the 'last' WW2 veteran has departed within a decade or so) or the lack of 100LL, which as Eric has said has been talked about for quite a while. It is getting harder to get, especially now the enviromentalists have put pressure on the GA world to stop using it in newer gen stuff. There is very real concern in the USA warbird community as to just how long some fuel companies will continue to produce it.
The real problem would be getting it authorised/certified for that use by the campaign against aviation.
Edited after checking mixture figures again..pretty sure I tried it higher but it just ran hotter for no effect, the Mo has a 20l tank so you can faff about a bit...
Edited by Mojocvh on Saturday 23 May 15:02
Ayahuasca said:
Eric Mc said:
G15 has a way with words.
I am not being a white knight or anything, G15 is perfectly capable of defending herself, but do people need to attack her quite so much? She has a direct, often italicised, often abbreviated style, but she also has experience of flying a four engined propeller driven military aircraft so can offer a unique (for PH) insight into the question posed. She could have said 'three engined flight would not be a wise choice' but how bland and uninteresting would that have been?
Mojocvh said:
ChemicalChaos said:
aeropilot said:
Dr Jekyll said:
What is the ultimate limiting factor for how long a Lancaster can be kept flying? All parts can in principle be remanufactured but possibly there are intellectual property issues with some. Will AVGAS become unavailable?
Yup, very likely it will be either the MOD pulling the financial plug on the BBMF (a possibility once the 'last' WW2 veteran has departed within a decade or so) or the lack of 100LL, which as Eric has said has been talked about for quite a while. It is getting harder to get, especially now the enviromentalists have put pressure on the GA world to stop using it in newer gen stuff. There is very real concern in the USA warbird community as to just how long some fuel companies will continue to produce it.
The real problem would be getting it authorised/certified for that use by the campaign against aviation.
Edited after checking mixture figures again..pretty sure I tried it higher but it just ran hotter for no effect, the Mo has a 20l tank so you can faff about a bit...
Edited by Mojocvh on Saturday 23 May 15:02
So it can be done, As you say its if our authoritys say yes or not.
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