Phantom "Black Mike" XV582

[ChemicalChaos]

I thought I would start a thread on this seeing as there doesn't appear to be one

I was talking about this aircraft today with a friend of mine, who is very heavily involved in the Phantom scene (for those in the know, he's the owner of XV490's cockpit amongst other things). For a general gist, Black Mike is the last British (i.e. RR Spey engined) Phantom still in operable condition. It currently lives at Leuchars, but a preservation trust has been set up to bring it to Bruntingthorpe to live with, and do fast taxi displays with, the other cold war jets there.

here's come more information - I'd love to see this come to fruition, imagine the noise!
http://www.xv582blackmike.co.uk

Said friend was up at Leuchars to help dismantle it for the trip, and they have apparently run into a snag. It has been decided that to remove the wings, the engines need to come out. To do this on a Phantom, they are dropped out from underneath into a special cradle then pulled backwards out from under the aircraft. This requires a special rig, and even then is apparently a sod of a job. Easy, I said - buy/borrow/steal one from one of the air forces still operating Phantoms. Here's the snag: the Spey rig is totally different to the Pratt and Whitney rig still in use, and we were the only air force to use Spey engines over the American specification. All the RAF gear has long since been scrapped and no-one knows where to even find the drawings to recreate it. Uh-oh....

[motomk]

Navy don't have one?

[Hainey]

If it's the cradle I'm thinking of a lot of those went to air museums to allow them indoor static display of said engine.

I'd be calling around.

[motomk]

I am nowhere near over there so I am only using Google.
I am always reminded by my mother that the noise they made used to scare me when I lived near Yeovilton back in the ...(long time ago)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Spey
Trolley in the picture in the top right?
With more goggling, the picture looks like it might be at this place.
http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk/

[Steve_D]

Looks like Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum have one or more of the ex Thrust SSC engines pictured on a trolley.

Steve

[Simpo Two]

Sounds like a job for Edd China!

[PAUL500]

What would a Phantom like this set someone back £££ wise?

I remember my dad telling me about the time the army took over St Athan from the RAF and wanted the old Phantom in front of the mess shifted asap, I think they threatened to drive over it with a tank!

Not sure where it went in the end, probably over to the scrap heap at Picketston, he was in the super hanger at the time working on the VC10s

[ChemicalChaos]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions but those are display/storage cradles.
From what I can gather, engine removal uses a different, more complex jacking cradle as seen here:
http://maybach300c.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/jet-engi...



I'd imagine that if any were still extant in UK museums they would have been found and acquired by now - I believe the current hope is that one might reside somewhere in an eccentric aviation hoarder's scrapyard collection


Paul - I have no idea I'm afraid what the price of a working Phantom is!
However, I can tell you that a near-mint cockpit section like this (with all the fittings and instruments inside) is probably worth about £20k:



There is a dismantled but flyable MiG21 (a contemporary nemesis) for sale in Poland at £150k:
http://flightplanet.com/jet-aircraft-for-sale/miko...



And that Jet-Art aviation want a "POA" sum for the mint condition for the several running Tornados they have for sale......

[14]

I'd ask Richard Noble or Andy Green if they used any for SSC Thrust.

[aeropilot]

I can't help with the location a Spey cradle, but I did witness Black Mike's last ever flight.

[anonymous-user]

Cone on, wheres the cold war spirit? An old car trailer, a forklift, some bailer twine, and an old trolley jack and the engine's will be out in a jiffy..........

[Hilts]

We had a small hangar in the UAS where we kept the Bulldogs and the instrument trainer.

Also in there was one other aircraft. Black Mike.

Of no help whatsoever I know but good luck.

[grumpy52]

Contact people like Air Salvage ,I think they are at Cotswold Airport .
They might know where one is hiding or who to contact .
I brought a cradle back from Tarbes Airport for some sort of commercial airliner .
The cradles get moved all over the world .

[grumpy52]

Also thinking the cradle may be generic but the mounting brackets will be type specific.

[aeropilot]

I suspect this is what they are looking for......??

[eccles]

The other one to try might be Everret aero. http://www.everettaero.com/

[wildcat45]

What other jets used the Spey? Buccaneer? BAC One-Eleven?

It may be that there may be another aircraft based but if kit that could be worked around.

The RN still uses Spey in GT firm in Type 23 frigates. A different beast I know but there may be similarities and the Arab have to lug them out if awkward ship innards and transport them.

I'd be surprised if the Fleet Air Arm museum couldn't advise.

How about contacting various ex-RAF/FAA groups. There's probably a wealth of knowledge out there in the shape of old blokes who either remember work arounds to the problem or who could help you knock up a plan to make a new cradle.

Finally have you tried Rolls Royce? There's probably a blue print in a dusty office somewhere. Or BAE? Nice little job for their apprentices fabricating something?