1954 Avro Shackleton Mr2
Discussion
richw_82 said:
As for pilots; we have a few people involved who have large piston engined taildragger experience, and there's also a couple of ex-RAF (BBMF) Lanc pilots that would jump at the chance. There's still a few Shackleton pilots around from the 8 Sqn years but none are current as we haven't had one fly in the UK since 1994 or worldwide since 2008.
How does "type certification" work? Do you have to be certified as competent to fly a specific type, for CAA purposes? If so, how do you go about getting it for an aircraft that has been out of service for a good while?Presumably the ex-8 Sqn guys would be able to point to a requisite number of hours in type when in RAF service, and that would be good enough for the CAA? Would the ex-BBMF guys be able to just point to requisite number of hours on a similar four engine taildragger type to be certified? How then do you go about getting certification for new pilots?
Just curious really. I've been following the updates with interest and really hope you're able to get the old girl airborne in the not too distant future. Perhaps with XH558 being grounded at the end of the summer, that may help channel at least some of the affection and support from enthusiasts towards another old stalwart of the RAF.....
Lurking Lawyer said:
How does "type certification" work? Do you have to be certified as competent to fly a specific type, for CAA purposes? If so, how do you go about getting it for an aircraft that has been out of service for a good while?
Presumably the ex-8 Sqn guys would be able to point to a requisite number of hours in type when in RAF service, and that would be good enough for the CAA? Would the ex-BBMF guys be able to just point to requisite number of hours on a similar four engine taildragger type to be certified? How then do you go about getting certification for new pilots?
Just curious really. I've been following the updates with interest and really hope you're able to get the old girl airborne in the not too distant future. Perhaps with XH558 being grounded at the end of the summer, that may help channel at least some of the affection and support from enthusiasts towards another old stalwart of the RAF.....
I imagine it is no different in terms of how its managed to a Single Engine Piston (SEP) rating on a pilots licence. The licence its self (under EAA regs) is for life as long as you have a valid medical. In civilian land (not sure about serving military) the SEP rating is valid for two years from the date the licence is granted or the rating is signed off. To re-validate you have to have done 12 hours flight time, 6 hours as pilot in command and 12 take offs and landings) plus 1 hour with an instructor on the year of the SEP rating expiry. If you don’t you can't fly that aircraft type until you have re-validated.Presumably the ex-8 Sqn guys would be able to point to a requisite number of hours in type when in RAF service, and that would be good enough for the CAA? Would the ex-BBMF guys be able to just point to requisite number of hours on a similar four engine taildragger type to be certified? How then do you go about getting certification for new pilots?
Just curious really. I've been following the updates with interest and really hope you're able to get the old girl airborne in the not too distant future. Perhaps with XH558 being grounded at the end of the summer, that may help channel at least some of the affection and support from enthusiasts towards another old stalwart of the RAF.....
Based on the SEP covering single engined aircraft up to 5,700kg I assume doing the conversion/rating on any large multi-engined tail dragger would count and allow you to fly the Shackleton.
FYI: the Shackleton (or rather the thieving scumbag scrotes that nicked the props) made it into the Hero’s and Villains section in the back of last months Flyer Magazine.
In an ideal world the pilots (as Shackleton is classed as multi engine, multi pilot) would have a type rating, but where none exists, the CAA can grant an Aircraft Type Rating Exemption. Its explained in more detail in Chapter 6 of this docuument here:
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20632%20Permit-to...
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20632%20Permit-to...
PanzerCommander said:
FYI: the Shackleton (or rather the thieving scumbag scrotes that nicked the props) made it into the Hero’s and Villains section in the back of last months Flyer Magazine.
Good stuff. We've not heard anything new and doubt that we will as once the decals are removed off the blade there's no way to see numbers without seeing the blade root where it fits onto the 'spider' in the centre of the hub. For every bad person out there though, there's many more good ones - we've been offered a number of prop blades from various sources which should help get us the full set again.
Well,
As many will have seen on Facebook, Sunday 13th September turned into rather a good day for us.
During the week leading up to the event, WR963 was positioned at the side of Dakota House to make room for the rest of the fleet. The purpose to this was that the hangar was needed to seat the large amount of VTTS Club members for lunch and entertainment, so with the Shackleton towed off the grass there was now space for some of the smaller aircraft of the CAF fleet. WR963 must have been liking the idea, as half way off the grass there was a towbar malfunction and she was rolling free and off towards the concrete by herself! Thankfully, as we always maintain a bit of pressure in the system, the brakes were applied and she came to a smart halt within a few yards. The towbar was fettled, reattached to the tug and the aircraft behaved herself for the rest of the move.
Sunday rolled around and with the addition of some temporary fencing we were ready to face the 2500 plus people arriving on site. Interior tours proved as popular as ever, with the queue from the door reaching back to the fenceline for most of the day.
But while people were enjoying their tours, we were busy with the spanners again, as the gremlins had struck. The first things we do when we know we are running later in the day is test and prepare various systems on the aircraft as early as we can. Priming pumps, pneumatic pressures, fuel drain checks, booster coils... oh. There lay the problem - No 2 booster coil had decided it wanted the day off! Ground power on, master start switch on, No 3 booster coil on, and no angry buzzing from the back of the engine. Drat.
So with the cowlings off it was time to start looking into it, with three hours until we're due to start up and taxy out. All of us were now hoping it wasn't going to be a repeat of the failure of the booster coil on No 3 a few months ago where the coils had packed up; as the nearest known working spares are 15 miles away through roads now jammed with cars and people. With the top off the booster coil box, inspection showed a little corrosion on the contacts, so a thin probe was inserted into the points and they were given gentle encouragement (If anyone has ever had an SU fuel pump apart, you'll be right at home, as these are just a bigger version of the same old pain in the arse.) Still nothing. Time for the big guns and head scratching, the multimeter goes across the terminals. Nothing. Double drat.
Back into the aircraft and with polite use of elbows to move visitors, the main electrical panel and fusebox are opened. Each of the booster coils has its own fuse, and No 2 is PP-1. Unsurprisingly, this little 5 Amp fuse couldn't handle the stuck points and blew. In goes a new fuse. Back out onto the port wing and clean the points. Flick the switch and... BZZZzzzzzzzz!! Angry noises from the points, and the multimeter showing lots of volts heading for the spark plugs. Everybody breathes a sigh of relief, and now we wait for 12.45 to roll around for the taxy run.
Taxy run
For those watching us start up you will have seen No 3 and 4 start as normal then No 2 attempt to start, cough, die, turn on the starter for about 20 seconds, then we start No 1 instead. You then see me hurtle (or as close as I get to that..) out the crew door, round the back and up to No 2 engine, before getting back in the aircraft again. No 2 then turns a few blades and starts.
There was a problem, but it wasn't the aircraft. It was me. Nervousness really got the better of me, and I overprimed No 2 engine. We then had to get rid of the excess fuel, and check that what our outside man saw coming out the bottom of the cowling was excess primer and not something more serious. Once we were sure that we wouldn't have to shut down, we had a second attempt at No 2 and with the throttle open and no primer, it behaved as you would expect and fired right up.
Then the magic happened, and I can't wait for the next time. We received clearance to taxy, the brakes hissed, and Jon Corley opened up the throttles and away we went. Pneumatic pressures held, the brakes worked superbly, so we stopped alongside the Nimrod on the return and opened all four engines up to 2175rpm and around 40" of boost to get a good 'growl' for those filming. Pneumatic pressures still holding, we made our way back to our parking and shut down.
The only snags were a volume problem on the Pilot's headset while switching between VHF and intercom and a slight amount of backlash on the No 1 throttle lever. Oh, and as we turned around on the way out we managed to blow our gazebo inside out and most of our stall away. Oopsie. Somebody said it would be okay there?!
As you can imagine, there were big grins all around from the SPT team, and we do plan to do a couple more runs again soon so those that couldn't see it this time get their chance.
The rest of the day was a blur of visitors, and then towards the end, what may be our last time seeing the Vulcan fly past and display. A little sad watching it from on the wing of WR963, as we'd all hoped we could get the funding together to get her flying and join her younger relative at least once, but even getting our aircraft this far has been a monumental amount of work, even so we think the effort was well worth it.
Thanks to VTTS and CAF for setting up the event and letting us be part of it. Thanks to the Classic Flight Ground Support Team for keeping it running, a lot of who do far more than people realise at the Airport for not a lot of recognition. Big thanks for Jon Corley for taking the controls of WR963 on her little wander about the airport. And thanks to all that came to see not just Vulcan, but another old Avro aircraft that we all are very proud of.
Next taxy dates TBC...
Regards,
Rich
As many will have seen on Facebook, Sunday 13th September turned into rather a good day for us.
During the week leading up to the event, WR963 was positioned at the side of Dakota House to make room for the rest of the fleet. The purpose to this was that the hangar was needed to seat the large amount of VTTS Club members for lunch and entertainment, so with the Shackleton towed off the grass there was now space for some of the smaller aircraft of the CAF fleet. WR963 must have been liking the idea, as half way off the grass there was a towbar malfunction and she was rolling free and off towards the concrete by herself! Thankfully, as we always maintain a bit of pressure in the system, the brakes were applied and she came to a smart halt within a few yards. The towbar was fettled, reattached to the tug and the aircraft behaved herself for the rest of the move.
Sunday rolled around and with the addition of some temporary fencing we were ready to face the 2500 plus people arriving on site. Interior tours proved as popular as ever, with the queue from the door reaching back to the fenceline for most of the day.
But while people were enjoying their tours, we were busy with the spanners again, as the gremlins had struck. The first things we do when we know we are running later in the day is test and prepare various systems on the aircraft as early as we can. Priming pumps, pneumatic pressures, fuel drain checks, booster coils... oh. There lay the problem - No 2 booster coil had decided it wanted the day off! Ground power on, master start switch on, No 3 booster coil on, and no angry buzzing from the back of the engine. Drat.
So with the cowlings off it was time to start looking into it, with three hours until we're due to start up and taxy out. All of us were now hoping it wasn't going to be a repeat of the failure of the booster coil on No 3 a few months ago where the coils had packed up; as the nearest known working spares are 15 miles away through roads now jammed with cars and people. With the top off the booster coil box, inspection showed a little corrosion on the contacts, so a thin probe was inserted into the points and they were given gentle encouragement (If anyone has ever had an SU fuel pump apart, you'll be right at home, as these are just a bigger version of the same old pain in the arse.) Still nothing. Time for the big guns and head scratching, the multimeter goes across the terminals. Nothing. Double drat.
Back into the aircraft and with polite use of elbows to move visitors, the main electrical panel and fusebox are opened. Each of the booster coils has its own fuse, and No 2 is PP-1. Unsurprisingly, this little 5 Amp fuse couldn't handle the stuck points and blew. In goes a new fuse. Back out onto the port wing and clean the points. Flick the switch and... BZZZzzzzzzzz!! Angry noises from the points, and the multimeter showing lots of volts heading for the spark plugs. Everybody breathes a sigh of relief, and now we wait for 12.45 to roll around for the taxy run.
Taxy run
For those watching us start up you will have seen No 3 and 4 start as normal then No 2 attempt to start, cough, die, turn on the starter for about 20 seconds, then we start No 1 instead. You then see me hurtle (or as close as I get to that..) out the crew door, round the back and up to No 2 engine, before getting back in the aircraft again. No 2 then turns a few blades and starts.
There was a problem, but it wasn't the aircraft. It was me. Nervousness really got the better of me, and I overprimed No 2 engine. We then had to get rid of the excess fuel, and check that what our outside man saw coming out the bottom of the cowling was excess primer and not something more serious. Once we were sure that we wouldn't have to shut down, we had a second attempt at No 2 and with the throttle open and no primer, it behaved as you would expect and fired right up.
Then the magic happened, and I can't wait for the next time. We received clearance to taxy, the brakes hissed, and Jon Corley opened up the throttles and away we went. Pneumatic pressures held, the brakes worked superbly, so we stopped alongside the Nimrod on the return and opened all four engines up to 2175rpm and around 40" of boost to get a good 'growl' for those filming. Pneumatic pressures still holding, we made our way back to our parking and shut down.
The only snags were a volume problem on the Pilot's headset while switching between VHF and intercom and a slight amount of backlash on the No 1 throttle lever. Oh, and as we turned around on the way out we managed to blow our gazebo inside out and most of our stall away. Oopsie. Somebody said it would be okay there?!
As you can imagine, there were big grins all around from the SPT team, and we do plan to do a couple more runs again soon so those that couldn't see it this time get their chance.
The rest of the day was a blur of visitors, and then towards the end, what may be our last time seeing the Vulcan fly past and display. A little sad watching it from on the wing of WR963, as we'd all hoped we could get the funding together to get her flying and join her younger relative at least once, but even getting our aircraft this far has been a monumental amount of work, even so we think the effort was well worth it.
Thanks to VTTS and CAF for setting up the event and letting us be part of it. Thanks to the Classic Flight Ground Support Team for keeping it running, a lot of who do far more than people realise at the Airport for not a lot of recognition. Big thanks for Jon Corley for taking the controls of WR963 on her little wander about the airport. And thanks to all that came to see not just Vulcan, but another old Avro aircraft that we all are very proud of.
Next taxy dates TBC...
Regards,
Rich
A couple of videos.
From inside, the gunners position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSC30ztXVYE
From outside. Slightly shaky camera, blame the Griffons! Yes, we know all about the poor safety drills by the chap at the end of the video, and he has been told.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BnR4SOv638&fe...
From inside, the gunners position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSC30ztXVYE
From outside. Slightly shaky camera, blame the Griffons! Yes, we know all about the poor safety drills by the chap at the end of the video, and he has been told.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BnR4SOv638&fe...
Evening all
A quick update on this to show where we are with the aircraft & our immediate plans for the future:
We have just ONE place left onboard on our first taxy run of 2016 on April 9th!
Still plenty of 'ringside' places available on the ground, but for that extra special day out, the place onboard offers the chance to become an honorary crew member for the day, helping prepare WR963 for her activities, then stopping for lunch with the crew, before climbing onboard and enjoying the spectacle of seeing how she comes alive and stretches her legs at Coventry Airport! Plenty of opportunities for photos too, and of course we will have our SPT merchandise available too! All those onboard also take home various momentos of their special day!
See our website for more details, and please remember this is a 'first come first served' offer!!!!!
Taxy Run Poster by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Due to unprecedented public demand the first Shackleton taxi run is fully booked, so we are launching bookings for our second taxi run on April 9th. Seats are expected to be filled rapidly, so book your seat now!
http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/latest-news.html
and the most important thing coming up for the very near future:
We have an important letter from our chairman Dave Woods to share please:
Hello all,
Avro Shackleton WR963 needs YOUR help as a matter of urgency, let me explain why....
We have been told by the Airport Management here at Coventry, who by the end of this month will have ownership of Hangar 7, that we CAN have time in the hangar to do the much needed NDT testing on the Wing Spars. The down side is that we will of course have to pay for it. As many of you will know, the successful “Kickstarter appeal” last year has covered the funding for the testing, but not the time in the hangar as we had an arrangement with Airbase which, given that they are now closed, is no longer in force.
Why is it urgent?
There are plans for the future of the airport, no it’s not going to close or be built on, but we may not have access to Hangar 7 after this year; and of course hangarage is on a first-come, first-served basis.
We need you to put your hands in your pockets and donate to this Hangar Appeal. Hangarage for half of Hangar 7 for the year is around £70k. Whilst this would be nice, it’s not what we need. Some of XH558’s engineers (yes that’s right – the Vulcan) have helped us in their free time, with the schedules for the NDT work, and it is estimated that the work could be done in around 14 weeks. This would bring the cost down to around £20k. WE NEED TO GET HER IN THE HANGAR as this work cannot be carried out in the open air. As you know, this is a significant step towards putting a Shackleton back in the air in the UK.
We need you to donate, so what will you all get out of it?
To all those donating £30 or more – you will receive a frameable certificate stating that you helped get 963 undercover for the NDT work. You will also get your name in a Supporters Log to be kept onboard 963 in perpetuity.
I hope you feel that you can help in this and put 963 back in her element.
You can donate here http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html, and please state “Hangar Appeal” so that we can put your name in the log.
Hangar Appeal Logo by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
A quick update on this to show where we are with the aircraft & our immediate plans for the future:
We have just ONE place left onboard on our first taxy run of 2016 on April 9th!
Still plenty of 'ringside' places available on the ground, but for that extra special day out, the place onboard offers the chance to become an honorary crew member for the day, helping prepare WR963 for her activities, then stopping for lunch with the crew, before climbing onboard and enjoying the spectacle of seeing how she comes alive and stretches her legs at Coventry Airport! Plenty of opportunities for photos too, and of course we will have our SPT merchandise available too! All those onboard also take home various momentos of their special day!
See our website for more details, and please remember this is a 'first come first served' offer!!!!!
Taxy Run Poster by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrDue to unprecedented public demand the first Shackleton taxi run is fully booked, so we are launching bookings for our second taxi run on April 9th. Seats are expected to be filled rapidly, so book your seat now!
http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/latest-news.html
and the most important thing coming up for the very near future:
We have an important letter from our chairman Dave Woods to share please:
Hello all,
Avro Shackleton WR963 needs YOUR help as a matter of urgency, let me explain why....
We have been told by the Airport Management here at Coventry, who by the end of this month will have ownership of Hangar 7, that we CAN have time in the hangar to do the much needed NDT testing on the Wing Spars. The down side is that we will of course have to pay for it. As many of you will know, the successful “Kickstarter appeal” last year has covered the funding for the testing, but not the time in the hangar as we had an arrangement with Airbase which, given that they are now closed, is no longer in force.
Why is it urgent?
There are plans for the future of the airport, no it’s not going to close or be built on, but we may not have access to Hangar 7 after this year; and of course hangarage is on a first-come, first-served basis.
We need you to put your hands in your pockets and donate to this Hangar Appeal. Hangarage for half of Hangar 7 for the year is around £70k. Whilst this would be nice, it’s not what we need. Some of XH558’s engineers (yes that’s right – the Vulcan) have helped us in their free time, with the schedules for the NDT work, and it is estimated that the work could be done in around 14 weeks. This would bring the cost down to around £20k. WE NEED TO GET HER IN THE HANGAR as this work cannot be carried out in the open air. As you know, this is a significant step towards putting a Shackleton back in the air in the UK.
We need you to donate, so what will you all get out of it?
To all those donating £30 or more – you will receive a frameable certificate stating that you helped get 963 undercover for the NDT work. You will also get your name in a Supporters Log to be kept onboard 963 in perpetuity.
I hope you feel that you can help in this and put 963 back in her element.
You can donate here http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html, and please state “Hangar Appeal” so that we can put your name in the log.
Hangar Appeal Logo by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrYou probably know about this already? This sale came up in another post on this forum, there appears to be loads of Shackleton and Griffon parts in it.
http://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogu...
Even some propeller blades although what state they're in is anyone's guess.
http://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogu...
Even some propeller blades although what state they're in is anyone's guess.
Just a reminder that our Hangar Appeal is still looking for your help!
We're some way off the target figure to be able to book the space to get WR963 inside for the vital NDT checks to be carried out!
No NDT, NO chance of flying the Old Grey Lady.... it really is that vital that we can fund the costs of the hangar fees. Please donate if you can, and please share this post around on your profile, your friend's profiles, any aviation forums you belong to, in fact anywhere you can
http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html
Hangar Appeal Logo by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
[/quote]
We're some way off the target figure to be able to book the space to get WR963 inside for the vital NDT checks to be carried out!
No NDT, NO chance of flying the Old Grey Lady.... it really is that vital that we can fund the costs of the hangar fees. Please donate if you can, and please share this post around on your profile, your friend's profiles, any aviation forums you belong to, in fact anywhere you can
http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html
Hangar Appeal Logo by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr[/quote]
An update on a moment in history!
Since our last review of activities, a lot of work has been ongoing in the background by our incredible volunteers. Months of planning came to fruition on Saturday April 9th when we made a little bit of history when we carried paying passengers onboard WR963 for not one, but two taxy runs carried out by our Chief Pilot Jon Corley assisted by our highly experienced onboard crew.
Prior to this momentous day, preparations had included a big wash day to remove accumulated algae and residue which had settled over the winter period and changed the white surfaces into a slight camouflage appearance! Much work has also been carried out on the engine issues which had bothered the team recently, with magneto and fuel pump niggles to overcome particularly on No.2 engine. Luckily for us, not only do we have spares available, but our own knowledgeable ex-Shackleton Chief Engineer Druid Petrie able to pluck essential data from his memory as if it was yesterday, rather than 1991 when he last had the pleasure of engineering outside in all the weather that Scotland could aim at him and his colleagues....
Several test runs of all engines were carried out in the weeks prior to the big day, and all seemed good for us to have a special reason to enjoy our moment!
Not content with dealing with just the aircraft, huge strides had been made by our illustrious chairman Dave Woods at meetings with the Airport Management at Coventry who have helped us enormously since the demise last year of the resident “Airbase” and “Classic Air Force” operations. We not only received sponsorship from the airport which is helping financially towards the costs of being on site, but we were also offered the use of a large portacabin which had previously been the Visitor Reception for Airbase! The airport’s help means that we finally have somewhere undercover to act as a welcoming visitor centre and shop, but also a crewroom for our hard working team to have a much needed brew....
Saturday 9th April finally arrived, and the arriving volunteer team who had travelled from far and wide were greeted with pleasant sunshine! We were busy right from the moment of arrival with a quick set-up of our new shop and crewroom facilities, as well as starting to prepare the aircraft. Well that should have been the plan, but your ever-busy publicity officer had other ideas, and made everyone stop and stare by arriving in our brand new support vehicle which has been loaned to us by our other new partnership with SsangYong GB. The pick-up truck is complete with sign writing and will appear at events towing our Shackleton nose section amongst other duties!
After a crew briefing, we all set about preparing WR963 to be towed out onto the concrete ready for her performances later on, and also greeted the visitors who had started to arrive for their unique experience...
Part of our plan involved pairing up public with key volunteers so that they could take an active part in some of the vital pre-taxy preparations themselves! That was hugely enjoyed by all, and gave a small insight into how hard we work to achieve just one day in the life of our aircraft!
The next stage was another unique treat – lunch with some of our crew onboard the resident DC6 Diner which has recently re-opened as both a cafe and formal diner! The public really seemed to enjoy chatting to us whilst gazing out across the airfield and eating a fine meal...
After lunch, the pace quickened as we finished off a few tours onboard, and finally got the teams mustered prior to start for the first of two taxy runs! All seemed to be going well until one of our crew spotted a broken brake hose, which couldn’t be changed right away, and so was capped and isolated from the rest of the system to the satisfaction of our pilot.
The crew may have been nervous inside, but showed little sign of that as they climbed onboard with our first group of public. As soon as Jon Corley had obtained clearance, it was time to start those mighty Griffons! All went well, and after clearing the start crew and equipment away, Jon eased WR963 out onto the taxiway and trundled slowly down to Bravo Apron, turned, and then came back! Of course we couldn’t just leave it there, so whilst alongside the “Airlock” gate adjacent to the old Airbase hangar, Jon stopped, and opened up the throttles for a few minutes of “Griffon Growl” resonating across Coventry, and shaking the ground where our groundcrew stood....
Once back at our allocated parking area, the aircraft was shut down for a brief rest, and once the entire onboard crew and public were disembarked, a group photo was taken in front of the star of the day!
The crew carried out a turnaround check on the aircraft whilst the public passengers went off to get their souvenir certificates and have a brew with the rest of our team.
Second group were mustered, crew found from their hiding places near the tea urn, and it was time for the second taxy run, or so we thought!
Once we had got everyone onboard and secured the door, Jon started going through the usual pre-starting checks.... only to pause when it came to requesting our usual fire cover from the airport’s fire station only a few hundred metres away. After what seemed like an age, the welcome sight of a fire truck who had been rather busy on a tea break meant that we could carry on with our rigorous checklists.
Engine start seemed to go ok on the starboard side, but when it came to the port side, No.2 engine was reluctant to start! Knowing that we may have faced a ‘hot start’ situation with a small risk of exhaust fires, we were being extremely cautious with this second start. After starting No.1 engine whilst resting the starter motor on No.2 engine, this was tried again, and finally came to life, albeit with a resounding backfire that gave a brief scare to our crew-chief standing only a few metres away on the comms lead....
With all four running, it was time to go for another trundle around the taxiway, which followed the same pattern as the first, almost! On the return stop by the airlock gate and the higher rpm blast – the watching team wondered why No.2 Engine seemed to be running slightly rougher than the others, which soon manifested itself into a premature shut-down of that engine! With due consideration given by the team onboard to the prospect of slow taxying being made difficult with asymmetric power, it was decided to also shut down No.3 engine too, leaving both outboard engines to provide the means to taxy back the short distance to the parking area...
Once all had gone quiet again, the entire onboard crew and public posed once more for the group photo, and the public made their way over to our crewroom as the weather had declined somewhat during the late afternoon. This left the crew to debrief with our pilot on the engineering situation with our beloved aircraft...
Typically for aircrew, the engineers gave him a near perfectly serviceable aircraft to go and play with, and it came back with a list of ‘snags’ which aircrew expect to be easily fixed in time for their next sortie...... but we really like our pilot so we are only too happy to get dirty once again and repair the issues, test it all again, and get WR963 ready for her next starring role!
To summarise the issues left with us as our pilot made his way home:
No.2 engine ignition issues to be investigated as not only was it reluctant to start, but ran rough on the second run, before finally shutting down completely.
No.1 engine seen to develop a small oil leak underneath, which needs investigating by closer inspection with the cowlings off.
One brake hose to be changed
Hydraulic system to be investigated as we found that the handpump handle locating bracket had sheared off and caused the handpump handle to strike an adjacent hydraulic pipe resulting in a breakage and subsequent total loss of the hydraulic system.
Anyone familiar with aircraft will know that these engineering challenges are just part of what we expect when dealing with a 62 year old airframe, and we will just fix her up and carry on smiling as usual!
After an exceptionally long day, the last few team members left the site after 8pm leaving WR963 resting in her usual parking position on the grass. It took a few days for most of us to recover from this one, but we would do it all again without question!
By creating this event, we hope to have given an insight into just what is involved in maintaining our Shackleton, and given the paying public a real hands-on experience that they won’t forget in a hurry! Every single person onboard went home smiling, despite the weather change in the afternoon, and some are coming back for more now that they have experienced the appeal of the Avro Shackleton close up!
Without doubt, the day was a success, and raised vital monies towards keeping WR963 alive and moving towards our long-term goal of return-to-flight! We are fully aware that she needs to be run on a regular basis to keep all systems healthy, and are already planning more events like this throughout the year! Our website and social media will give more on these as soon as we can!
Finally, and on a nice note to finish with, it was especially wonderful to see Richard Woods pay is a visit to see how we were getting on! Richard had been a vital part of the team for many years before personal circumstances meant that he had to take a break from the constant travelling to Coventry, but couldn’t resist a return to see how the old girl was behaving!
George Aldrich by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Andy Rowlands 1 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
George Aldrich 4 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
George Aldrich 2 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Aaron Hiscock 2 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Ian Preece by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Andy Jones 1 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
George Aldrich 5 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
SPT Edit by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Hope you enjoyed this very brief review of our historical day, and we hope to see you all down at Coventry soon!
Since our last review of activities, a lot of work has been ongoing in the background by our incredible volunteers. Months of planning came to fruition on Saturday April 9th when we made a little bit of history when we carried paying passengers onboard WR963 for not one, but two taxy runs carried out by our Chief Pilot Jon Corley assisted by our highly experienced onboard crew.
Prior to this momentous day, preparations had included a big wash day to remove accumulated algae and residue which had settled over the winter period and changed the white surfaces into a slight camouflage appearance! Much work has also been carried out on the engine issues which had bothered the team recently, with magneto and fuel pump niggles to overcome particularly on No.2 engine. Luckily for us, not only do we have spares available, but our own knowledgeable ex-Shackleton Chief Engineer Druid Petrie able to pluck essential data from his memory as if it was yesterday, rather than 1991 when he last had the pleasure of engineering outside in all the weather that Scotland could aim at him and his colleagues....
Several test runs of all engines were carried out in the weeks prior to the big day, and all seemed good for us to have a special reason to enjoy our moment!
Not content with dealing with just the aircraft, huge strides had been made by our illustrious chairman Dave Woods at meetings with the Airport Management at Coventry who have helped us enormously since the demise last year of the resident “Airbase” and “Classic Air Force” operations. We not only received sponsorship from the airport which is helping financially towards the costs of being on site, but we were also offered the use of a large portacabin which had previously been the Visitor Reception for Airbase! The airport’s help means that we finally have somewhere undercover to act as a welcoming visitor centre and shop, but also a crewroom for our hard working team to have a much needed brew....
Saturday 9th April finally arrived, and the arriving volunteer team who had travelled from far and wide were greeted with pleasant sunshine! We were busy right from the moment of arrival with a quick set-up of our new shop and crewroom facilities, as well as starting to prepare the aircraft. Well that should have been the plan, but your ever-busy publicity officer had other ideas, and made everyone stop and stare by arriving in our brand new support vehicle which has been loaned to us by our other new partnership with SsangYong GB. The pick-up truck is complete with sign writing and will appear at events towing our Shackleton nose section amongst other duties!
After a crew briefing, we all set about preparing WR963 to be towed out onto the concrete ready for her performances later on, and also greeted the visitors who had started to arrive for their unique experience...
Part of our plan involved pairing up public with key volunteers so that they could take an active part in some of the vital pre-taxy preparations themselves! That was hugely enjoyed by all, and gave a small insight into how hard we work to achieve just one day in the life of our aircraft!
The next stage was another unique treat – lunch with some of our crew onboard the resident DC6 Diner which has recently re-opened as both a cafe and formal diner! The public really seemed to enjoy chatting to us whilst gazing out across the airfield and eating a fine meal...
After lunch, the pace quickened as we finished off a few tours onboard, and finally got the teams mustered prior to start for the first of two taxy runs! All seemed to be going well until one of our crew spotted a broken brake hose, which couldn’t be changed right away, and so was capped and isolated from the rest of the system to the satisfaction of our pilot.
The crew may have been nervous inside, but showed little sign of that as they climbed onboard with our first group of public. As soon as Jon Corley had obtained clearance, it was time to start those mighty Griffons! All went well, and after clearing the start crew and equipment away, Jon eased WR963 out onto the taxiway and trundled slowly down to Bravo Apron, turned, and then came back! Of course we couldn’t just leave it there, so whilst alongside the “Airlock” gate adjacent to the old Airbase hangar, Jon stopped, and opened up the throttles for a few minutes of “Griffon Growl” resonating across Coventry, and shaking the ground where our groundcrew stood....
Once back at our allocated parking area, the aircraft was shut down for a brief rest, and once the entire onboard crew and public were disembarked, a group photo was taken in front of the star of the day!
The crew carried out a turnaround check on the aircraft whilst the public passengers went off to get their souvenir certificates and have a brew with the rest of our team.
Second group were mustered, crew found from their hiding places near the tea urn, and it was time for the second taxy run, or so we thought!
Once we had got everyone onboard and secured the door, Jon started going through the usual pre-starting checks.... only to pause when it came to requesting our usual fire cover from the airport’s fire station only a few hundred metres away. After what seemed like an age, the welcome sight of a fire truck who had been rather busy on a tea break meant that we could carry on with our rigorous checklists.
Engine start seemed to go ok on the starboard side, but when it came to the port side, No.2 engine was reluctant to start! Knowing that we may have faced a ‘hot start’ situation with a small risk of exhaust fires, we were being extremely cautious with this second start. After starting No.1 engine whilst resting the starter motor on No.2 engine, this was tried again, and finally came to life, albeit with a resounding backfire that gave a brief scare to our crew-chief standing only a few metres away on the comms lead....
With all four running, it was time to go for another trundle around the taxiway, which followed the same pattern as the first, almost! On the return stop by the airlock gate and the higher rpm blast – the watching team wondered why No.2 Engine seemed to be running slightly rougher than the others, which soon manifested itself into a premature shut-down of that engine! With due consideration given by the team onboard to the prospect of slow taxying being made difficult with asymmetric power, it was decided to also shut down No.3 engine too, leaving both outboard engines to provide the means to taxy back the short distance to the parking area...
Once all had gone quiet again, the entire onboard crew and public posed once more for the group photo, and the public made their way over to our crewroom as the weather had declined somewhat during the late afternoon. This left the crew to debrief with our pilot on the engineering situation with our beloved aircraft...
Typically for aircrew, the engineers gave him a near perfectly serviceable aircraft to go and play with, and it came back with a list of ‘snags’ which aircrew expect to be easily fixed in time for their next sortie...... but we really like our pilot so we are only too happy to get dirty once again and repair the issues, test it all again, and get WR963 ready for her next starring role!
To summarise the issues left with us as our pilot made his way home:
No.2 engine ignition issues to be investigated as not only was it reluctant to start, but ran rough on the second run, before finally shutting down completely.
No.1 engine seen to develop a small oil leak underneath, which needs investigating by closer inspection with the cowlings off.
One brake hose to be changed
Hydraulic system to be investigated as we found that the handpump handle locating bracket had sheared off and caused the handpump handle to strike an adjacent hydraulic pipe resulting in a breakage and subsequent total loss of the hydraulic system.
Anyone familiar with aircraft will know that these engineering challenges are just part of what we expect when dealing with a 62 year old airframe, and we will just fix her up and carry on smiling as usual!
After an exceptionally long day, the last few team members left the site after 8pm leaving WR963 resting in her usual parking position on the grass. It took a few days for most of us to recover from this one, but we would do it all again without question!
By creating this event, we hope to have given an insight into just what is involved in maintaining our Shackleton, and given the paying public a real hands-on experience that they won’t forget in a hurry! Every single person onboard went home smiling, despite the weather change in the afternoon, and some are coming back for more now that they have experienced the appeal of the Avro Shackleton close up!
Without doubt, the day was a success, and raised vital monies towards keeping WR963 alive and moving towards our long-term goal of return-to-flight! We are fully aware that she needs to be run on a regular basis to keep all systems healthy, and are already planning more events like this throughout the year! Our website and social media will give more on these as soon as we can!
Finally, and on a nice note to finish with, it was especially wonderful to see Richard Woods pay is a visit to see how we were getting on! Richard had been a vital part of the team for many years before personal circumstances meant that he had to take a break from the constant travelling to Coventry, but couldn’t resist a return to see how the old girl was behaving!
George Aldrich by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrAndy Rowlands 1 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrGeorge Aldrich 4 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrGeorge Aldrich 2 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrAaron Hiscock 2 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrIan Preece by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrAndy Jones 1 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrGeorge Aldrich 5 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrSPT Edit by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrHope you enjoyed this very brief review of our historical day, and we hope to see you all down at Coventry soon!
zsdom said:
An update on a moment in history!
Since our last review of activities, a lot of work has been ongoing in the background by our incredible volunteers. Months of planning came to fruition on Saturday April 9th when we made a little bit of history when we carried paying passengers onboard WR963 for not one, but two taxy runs carried out by our Chief Pilot Jon Corley assisted by our highly experienced onboard crew.
Prior to this momentous day, preparations had included a big wash day to remove accumulated algae and residue which had settled over the winter period and changed the white surfaces into a slight camouflage appearance! Much work has also been carried out on the engine issues which had bothered the team recently, with magneto and fuel pump niggles to overcome particularly on No.2 engine. Luckily for us, not only do we have spares available, but our own knowledgeable ex-Shackleton Chief Engineer Druid Petrie able to pluck essential data from his memory as if it was yesterday, rather than 1991 when he last had the pleasure of engineering outside in all the weather that Scotland could aim at him and his colleagues....
Several test runs of all engines were carried out in the weeks prior to the big day, and all seemed good for us to have a special reason to enjoy our moment!
Not content with dealing with just the aircraft, huge strides had been made by our illustrious chairman Dave Woods at meetings with the Airport Management at Coventry who have helped us enormously since the demise last year of the resident “Airbase” and “Classic Air Force” operations. We not only received sponsorship from the airport which is helping financially towards the costs of being on site, but we were also offered the use of a large portacabin which had previously been the Visitor Reception for Airbase! The airport’s help means that we finally have somewhere undercover to act as a welcoming visitor centre and shop, but also a crewroom for our hard working team to have a much needed brew....
Saturday 9th April finally arrived, and the arriving volunteer team who had travelled from far and wide were greeted with pleasant sunshine! We were busy right from the moment of arrival with a quick set-up of our new shop and crewroom facilities, as well as starting to prepare the aircraft. Well that should have been the plan, but your ever-busy publicity officer had other ideas, and made everyone stop and stare by arriving in our brand new support vehicle which has been loaned to us by our other new partnership with SsangYong GB. The pick-up truck is complete with sign writing and will appear at events towing our Shackleton nose section amongst other duties!
After a crew briefing, we all set about preparing WR963 to be towed out onto the concrete ready for her performances later on, and also greeted the visitors who had started to arrive for their unique experience...
Part of our plan involved pairing up public with key volunteers so that they could take an active part in some of the vital pre-taxy preparations themselves! That was hugely enjoyed by all, and gave a small insight into how hard we work to achieve just one day in the life of our aircraft!
The next stage was another unique treat – lunch with some of our crew onboard the resident DC6 Diner which has recently re-opened as both a cafe and formal diner! The public really seemed to enjoy chatting to us whilst gazing out across the airfield and eating a fine meal...
After lunch, the pace quickened as we finished off a few tours onboard, and finally got the teams mustered prior to start for the first of two taxy runs! All seemed to be going well until one of our crew spotted a broken brake hose, which couldn’t be changed right away, and so was capped and isolated from the rest of the system to the satisfaction of our pilot.
The crew may have been nervous inside, but showed little sign of that as they climbed onboard with our first group of public. As soon as Jon Corley had obtained clearance, it was time to start those mighty Griffons! All went well, and after clearing the start crew and equipment away, Jon eased WR963 out onto the taxiway and trundled slowly down to Bravo Apron, turned, and then came back! Of course we couldn’t just leave it there, so whilst alongside the “Airlock” gate adjacent to the old Airbase hangar, Jon stopped, and opened up the throttles for a few minutes of “Griffon Growl” resonating across Coventry, and shaking the ground where our groundcrew stood....
Once back at our allocated parking area, the aircraft was shut down for a brief rest, and once the entire onboard crew and public were disembarked, a group photo was taken in front of the star of the day!
The crew carried out a turnaround check on the aircraft whilst the public passengers went off to get their souvenir certificates and have a brew with the rest of our team.
Second group were mustered, crew found from their hiding places near the tea urn, and it was time for the second taxy run, or so we thought!
Once we had got everyone onboard and secured the door, Jon started going through the usual pre-starting checks.... only to pause when it came to requesting our usual fire cover from the airport’s fire station only a few hundred metres away. After what seemed like an age, the welcome sight of a fire truck who had been rather busy on a tea break meant that we could carry on with our rigorous checklists.
Engine start seemed to go ok on the starboard side, but when it came to the port side, No.2 engine was reluctant to start! Knowing that we may have faced a ‘hot start’ situation with a small risk of exhaust fires, we were being extremely cautious with this second start. After starting No.1 engine whilst resting the starter motor on No.2 engine, this was tried again, and finally came to life, albeit with a resounding backfire that gave a brief scare to our crew-chief standing only a few metres away on the comms lead....
With all four running, it was time to go for another trundle around the taxiway, which followed the same pattern as the first, almost! On the return stop by the airlock gate and the higher rpm blast – the watching team wondered why No.2 Engine seemed to be running slightly rougher than the others, which soon manifested itself into a premature shut-down of that engine! With due consideration given by the team onboard to the prospect of slow taxying being made difficult with asymmetric power, it was decided to also shut down No.3 engine too, leaving both outboard engines to provide the means to taxy back the short distance to the parking area...
Once all had gone quiet again, the entire onboard crew and public posed once more for the group photo, and the public made their way over to our crewroom as the weather had declined somewhat during the late afternoon. This left the crew to debrief with our pilot on the engineering situation with our beloved aircraft...
Typically for aircrew, the engineers gave him a near perfectly serviceable aircraft to go and play with, and it came back with a list of ‘snags’ which aircrew expect to be easily fixed in time for their next sortie...... but we really like our pilot so we are only too happy to get dirty once again and repair the issues, test it all again, and get WR963 ready for her next starring role!
To summarise the issues left with us as our pilot made his way home:
No.2 engine ignition issues to be investigated as not only was it reluctant to start, but ran rough on the second run, before finally shutting down completely.
No.1 engine seen to develop a small oil leak underneath, which needs investigating by closer inspection with the cowlings off.
One brake hose to be changed
Hydraulic system to be investigated as we found that the handpump handle locating bracket had sheared off and caused the handpump handle to strike an adjacent hydraulic pipe resulting in a breakage and subsequent total loss of the hydraulic system.
Anyone familiar with aircraft will know that these engineering challenges are just part of what we expect when dealing with a 62 year old airframe, and we will just fix her up and carry on smiling as usual!
After an exceptionally long day, the last few team members left the site after 8pm leaving WR963 resting in her usual parking position on the grass. It took a few days for most of us to recover from this one, but we would do it all again without question!
By creating this event, we hope to have given an insight into just what is involved in maintaining our Shackleton, and given the paying public a real hands-on experience that they won’t forget in a hurry! Every single person onboard went home smiling, despite the weather change in the afternoon, and some are coming back for more now that they have experienced the appeal of the Avro Shackleton close up!
Without doubt, the day was a success, and raised vital monies towards keeping WR963 alive and moving towards our long-term goal of return-to-flight! We are fully aware that she needs to be run on a regular basis to keep all systems healthy, and are already planning more events like this throughout the year! Our website and social media will give more on these as soon as we can!
Finally, and on a nice note to finish with, it was especially wonderful to see Richard Woods pay is a visit to see how we were getting on! Richard had been a vital part of the team for many years before personal circumstances meant that he had to take a break from the constant travelling to Coventry, but couldn’t resist a return to see how the old girl was behaving!
George Aldrich by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Andy Rowlands 1 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
George Aldrich 4 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
George Aldrich 2 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Aaron Hiscock 2 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Ian Preece by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Andy Jones 1 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
George Aldrich 5 by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
SPT Edit by Pete Buckingham, on Flickr
Hope you enjoyed this very brief review of our historical day, and we hope to see you all down at Coventry soon!
Excellent to read and see the photos.Since our last review of activities, a lot of work has been ongoing in the background by our incredible volunteers. Months of planning came to fruition on Saturday April 9th when we made a little bit of history when we carried paying passengers onboard WR963 for not one, but two taxy runs carried out by our Chief Pilot Jon Corley assisted by our highly experienced onboard crew.
Prior to this momentous day, preparations had included a big wash day to remove accumulated algae and residue which had settled over the winter period and changed the white surfaces into a slight camouflage appearance! Much work has also been carried out on the engine issues which had bothered the team recently, with magneto and fuel pump niggles to overcome particularly on No.2 engine. Luckily for us, not only do we have spares available, but our own knowledgeable ex-Shackleton Chief Engineer Druid Petrie able to pluck essential data from his memory as if it was yesterday, rather than 1991 when he last had the pleasure of engineering outside in all the weather that Scotland could aim at him and his colleagues....
Several test runs of all engines were carried out in the weeks prior to the big day, and all seemed good for us to have a special reason to enjoy our moment!
Not content with dealing with just the aircraft, huge strides had been made by our illustrious chairman Dave Woods at meetings with the Airport Management at Coventry who have helped us enormously since the demise last year of the resident “Airbase” and “Classic Air Force” operations. We not only received sponsorship from the airport which is helping financially towards the costs of being on site, but we were also offered the use of a large portacabin which had previously been the Visitor Reception for Airbase! The airport’s help means that we finally have somewhere undercover to act as a welcoming visitor centre and shop, but also a crewroom for our hard working team to have a much needed brew....
Saturday 9th April finally arrived, and the arriving volunteer team who had travelled from far and wide were greeted with pleasant sunshine! We were busy right from the moment of arrival with a quick set-up of our new shop and crewroom facilities, as well as starting to prepare the aircraft. Well that should have been the plan, but your ever-busy publicity officer had other ideas, and made everyone stop and stare by arriving in our brand new support vehicle which has been loaned to us by our other new partnership with SsangYong GB. The pick-up truck is complete with sign writing and will appear at events towing our Shackleton nose section amongst other duties!
After a crew briefing, we all set about preparing WR963 to be towed out onto the concrete ready for her performances later on, and also greeted the visitors who had started to arrive for their unique experience...
Part of our plan involved pairing up public with key volunteers so that they could take an active part in some of the vital pre-taxy preparations themselves! That was hugely enjoyed by all, and gave a small insight into how hard we work to achieve just one day in the life of our aircraft!
The next stage was another unique treat – lunch with some of our crew onboard the resident DC6 Diner which has recently re-opened as both a cafe and formal diner! The public really seemed to enjoy chatting to us whilst gazing out across the airfield and eating a fine meal...
After lunch, the pace quickened as we finished off a few tours onboard, and finally got the teams mustered prior to start for the first of two taxy runs! All seemed to be going well until one of our crew spotted a broken brake hose, which couldn’t be changed right away, and so was capped and isolated from the rest of the system to the satisfaction of our pilot.
The crew may have been nervous inside, but showed little sign of that as they climbed onboard with our first group of public. As soon as Jon Corley had obtained clearance, it was time to start those mighty Griffons! All went well, and after clearing the start crew and equipment away, Jon eased WR963 out onto the taxiway and trundled slowly down to Bravo Apron, turned, and then came back! Of course we couldn’t just leave it there, so whilst alongside the “Airlock” gate adjacent to the old Airbase hangar, Jon stopped, and opened up the throttles for a few minutes of “Griffon Growl” resonating across Coventry, and shaking the ground where our groundcrew stood....
Once back at our allocated parking area, the aircraft was shut down for a brief rest, and once the entire onboard crew and public were disembarked, a group photo was taken in front of the star of the day!
The crew carried out a turnaround check on the aircraft whilst the public passengers went off to get their souvenir certificates and have a brew with the rest of our team.
Second group were mustered, crew found from their hiding places near the tea urn, and it was time for the second taxy run, or so we thought!
Once we had got everyone onboard and secured the door, Jon started going through the usual pre-starting checks.... only to pause when it came to requesting our usual fire cover from the airport’s fire station only a few hundred metres away. After what seemed like an age, the welcome sight of a fire truck who had been rather busy on a tea break meant that we could carry on with our rigorous checklists.
Engine start seemed to go ok on the starboard side, but when it came to the port side, No.2 engine was reluctant to start! Knowing that we may have faced a ‘hot start’ situation with a small risk of exhaust fires, we were being extremely cautious with this second start. After starting No.1 engine whilst resting the starter motor on No.2 engine, this was tried again, and finally came to life, albeit with a resounding backfire that gave a brief scare to our crew-chief standing only a few metres away on the comms lead....
With all four running, it was time to go for another trundle around the taxiway, which followed the same pattern as the first, almost! On the return stop by the airlock gate and the higher rpm blast – the watching team wondered why No.2 Engine seemed to be running slightly rougher than the others, which soon manifested itself into a premature shut-down of that engine! With due consideration given by the team onboard to the prospect of slow taxying being made difficult with asymmetric power, it was decided to also shut down No.3 engine too, leaving both outboard engines to provide the means to taxy back the short distance to the parking area...
Once all had gone quiet again, the entire onboard crew and public posed once more for the group photo, and the public made their way over to our crewroom as the weather had declined somewhat during the late afternoon. This left the crew to debrief with our pilot on the engineering situation with our beloved aircraft...
Typically for aircrew, the engineers gave him a near perfectly serviceable aircraft to go and play with, and it came back with a list of ‘snags’ which aircrew expect to be easily fixed in time for their next sortie...... but we really like our pilot so we are only too happy to get dirty once again and repair the issues, test it all again, and get WR963 ready for her next starring role!
To summarise the issues left with us as our pilot made his way home:
No.2 engine ignition issues to be investigated as not only was it reluctant to start, but ran rough on the second run, before finally shutting down completely.
No.1 engine seen to develop a small oil leak underneath, which needs investigating by closer inspection with the cowlings off.
One brake hose to be changed
Hydraulic system to be investigated as we found that the handpump handle locating bracket had sheared off and caused the handpump handle to strike an adjacent hydraulic pipe resulting in a breakage and subsequent total loss of the hydraulic system.
Anyone familiar with aircraft will know that these engineering challenges are just part of what we expect when dealing with a 62 year old airframe, and we will just fix her up and carry on smiling as usual!
After an exceptionally long day, the last few team members left the site after 8pm leaving WR963 resting in her usual parking position on the grass. It took a few days for most of us to recover from this one, but we would do it all again without question!
By creating this event, we hope to have given an insight into just what is involved in maintaining our Shackleton, and given the paying public a real hands-on experience that they won’t forget in a hurry! Every single person onboard went home smiling, despite the weather change in the afternoon, and some are coming back for more now that they have experienced the appeal of the Avro Shackleton close up!
Without doubt, the day was a success, and raised vital monies towards keeping WR963 alive and moving towards our long-term goal of return-to-flight! We are fully aware that she needs to be run on a regular basis to keep all systems healthy, and are already planning more events like this throughout the year! Our website and social media will give more on these as soon as we can!
Finally, and on a nice note to finish with, it was especially wonderful to see Richard Woods pay is a visit to see how we were getting on! Richard had been a vital part of the team for many years before personal circumstances meant that he had to take a break from the constant travelling to Coventry, but couldn’t resist a return to see how the old girl was behaving!
George Aldrich by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrAndy Rowlands 1 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrGeorge Aldrich 4 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrGeorge Aldrich 2 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrAaron Hiscock 2 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrIan Preece by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrAndy Jones 1 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrGeorge Aldrich 5 by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrSPT Edit by Pete Buckingham, on FlickrHope you enjoyed this very brief review of our historical day, and we hope to see you all down at Coventry soon!
richw_82 said:
Thanks to all that made it happen, we hit (and surpassed) the target! As soon as the Kickstarter ends, we'll be cracking on sorting the rewards out, and also getting things organised to get deep inside some parts of WR963 that haven't seen daylight since her last major.
Regards,
Rich
Were the public the rewards for those that gave to this kickstarter project a year ago? Co-pilot seat ride, etc?Regards,
Rich
The majority of the Kickstarter donators have had their experience on board, I'm not sure if the P2 taxi has been redeemed yet
These (and future taxi event places) are available to buy from us, we're hoping for another run out in July for her 25th anniversary of arriving into Coventry.
Thank you as ever for the kind words, I cant recommend everyone to get themselves down to visit us at Coventry
These (and future taxi event places) are available to buy from us, we're hoping for another run out in July for her 25th anniversary of arriving into Coventry.
Thank you as ever for the kind words, I cant recommend everyone to get themselves down to visit us at Coventry
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