Sea Vixen down
Discussion
BrettMRC said:
Wonder how long it will be before there is word one way or the other? 
I would imagine that the aircraft has to be partially taken apart and inspected before you will get an answer to that question.Also if the impact was strong enough to damage the frames as per above, it could also have affected the other engine mounts, pipework, wiring, etc, etc, etc.
I wonder how that will test the titanium frames - just visually or by x-ray or some such tech?
Another pertinent question - had this not been the last remaining aircraft of its type, would the pilot still have chosen to land it, or would he have ejected?
If the latter, does it suggest that he took excess personal risk, and that flying these 'one of a kind' aircraft with complex, hard to maintain systems, is not really viable?
(I appreciate that ejecting might have created additional risk to those on the ground, so maybe that was a factor too..? )
Ayahuasca said:
Another pertinent question - had this not been the last remaining aircraft of its type, would the pilot still have chosen to land it, or would he have ejected?
If the latter, does it suggest that he took excess personal risk, and that flying these 'one of a kind' aircraft with complex, hard to maintain systems, is not really viable?
(I appreciate that ejecting might have created additional risk to those on the ground, so maybe that was a factor too..? )
I suspect if at any point he lost control, he would have banged out. But given he was flying an aircraft that he was comfortably in control off (albeit with no gear or flaps) the joint PIC/ground decision was to give it a go with landing her. As per the RNHF Sea Fury many decades ago, if it was decided to abandon the aircraft regardless he would likely have flown it the short distance to the coast and abandoned it over the sea.If the latter, does it suggest that he took excess personal risk, and that flying these 'one of a kind' aircraft with complex, hard to maintain systems, is not really viable?
(I appreciate that ejecting might have created additional risk to those on the ground, so maybe that was a factor too..? )
There is another factor, in that the Vixen will have older design bang seats, and unlike the newer seat design designs, you don't want to have to resort to crushing your spine unless you REALLY have to.
The bang seat in the Sea Vixen is a variant of the Mk4 (specifically Mk4 DSA).
This is a 3 cartridge 'gun' seat.
Yes they can ruin your back (compression fractures of the spine), but with a pre-meditated straight and level ejection (with time to tighten the lap and negative G straps and time to adopt the ideal ejection posture) then the risk of injury is fairly minor.
This is a 3 cartridge 'gun' seat.
Yes they can ruin your back (compression fractures of the spine), but with a pre-meditated straight and level ejection (with time to tighten the lap and negative G straps and time to adopt the ideal ejection posture) then the risk of injury is fairly minor.
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
The bang seat in the Sea Vixen is a variant of the Mk4 (specifically Mk4 DSA).
This is a 3 cartridge 'gun' seat.
Yes they can ruin your back (compression fractures of the spine), but with a pre-meditated straight and level ejection (with time to tighten the lap and negative G straps and time to adopt the ideal ejection posture) then the risk of injury is fairly minor.
On the other hand, if you're injured in a forced landing on a runway at least you are surrounded by rescue crew and medics, not dangling from your parachute stuck in a tree on Salisbury plain.This is a 3 cartridge 'gun' seat.
Yes they can ruin your back (compression fractures of the spine), but with a pre-meditated straight and level ejection (with time to tighten the lap and negative G straps and time to adopt the ideal ejection posture) then the risk of injury is fairly minor.
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
The bang seat in the Sea Vixen is a variant of the Mk4 (specifically Mk4 DSA).
This is a 3 cartridge 'gun' seat.
Yes they can ruin your back (compression fractures of the spine), but with a pre-meditated straight and level ejection (with time to tighten the lap and negative G straps and time to adopt the ideal ejection posture) then the risk of injury is fairly minor.
Which even in that time available situation, there's still a chance of getting it wrong as experienced BAe TP Craig Penrice did when vacating Hunter F.6 ex-XF516 over Wales back in 2003, as he instinctively pulled the seat pan handle as per modern rocket seats, instead of the face screen as primary which former old n bold Hunter drivers later informed him would have given better posture, and may have not resulted in him having crushed vertebra. Although it didn't help that it was CP's 2nd abandonment, having had to vacate an uncooperative Lightning F.6 during his RAF days nearly 20 years earlier. This is a 3 cartridge 'gun' seat.
Yes they can ruin your back (compression fractures of the spine), but with a pre-meditated straight and level ejection (with time to tighten the lap and negative G straps and time to adopt the ideal ejection posture) then the risk of injury is fairly minor.
IIRC, the injuries sustained from the Hunter ejection ended his fast-jet flying career.
Anyways, all moot points as Si Hargreaves walked away from the jet uninjured, and no one on the ground came to any harm, and he also still has the same amount of landings in his log book as take-off's......
Eric Mc said:
What role does the gearbox play? Is it part of the wing fold system?
The Sea Vixen has a fully powered control system supplied by four hydraulic pumps driven from a Rotol gearbox mounted between the two engines.Some more photos on here - http://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/595186-sea...
BrettMRC said:
Good news.
Is there anything that would prevent a properly certified remanufactured gearbox being used?
No.Is there anything that would prevent a properly certified remanufactured gearbox being used?
They may well have another one anyway?
When Glyn originally acquired the Vixen I believe he also acquired all the stock of lifed/certified spares held by MOD/RAe/what-ever it was called back then that had operated the Vixen for many years in its target role from Llanbedr.
Sylvaforever said:
Component damage may be the show stopper.
It could be if they don't have lifed spares on the shelf for all the damaged bits, and need stuff to be made. I would hope they may get some OEM/Industry support for some stuff, but I suspect that the money needed to be raised will be too much to get her back in the air....??Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff