Avro RJX - Manchester
Discussion
And even more so the Antonov 148.
I flew the RJ85 for 3 years, other guys I flew with said it was a vast improvement over the 146. It was far more complicated to operate than it needed to be and burned as much fuel as a 737 with half the passenger capacity. Must say though it was really nice to hand fly and incredibly forgiving to land. From what I heard the RJX would have made many further improvements, shame it never got off the ground.
Spent a full day on it with sunburn to prove it, spent most of the day trying to get the nose cone fasteners to work as one of them was stuck out at an angle, mainly as it had been butchered a little, must have had it open and shut 30 times, ended up removing the locking pins from three of the four clips so it just shuts on one but they all now sit flush, after all, its not going anywhere.
Loads of work to do, paint is looking a bit ropey, tyres are flat, front gear has lost pressure, just a general air of dishevelment about it.
Apparently there is scope to work on the other aircraft there as well.
Loads of work to do, paint is looking a bit ropey, tyres are flat, front gear has lost pressure, just a general air of dishevelment about it.
Apparently there is scope to work on the other aircraft there as well.
I did my initial Avro RJ Type rating at Woodford and was fortunate to walk the assembly line with the last few RJ100's in production and was fortunate enough to fly the last few brand new ones made.
Roll on a few years and I came across most of them in store at Cotswold Airport. One of these has a second lease in life with Boscombe Down and I saw her doing touch n go's only on Friday.
RJX would hav been a lovely aircraft, but with ERJ145 and now the 170/1890, not sure of its market. As it was, the end of the UK's era designing and building it's own commercial aircraft is a sad passing. Anyone notice the B787/A350 drooping nose is the same as the Comets...we knew our stuff....
Roll on a few years and I came across most of them in store at Cotswold Airport. One of these has a second lease in life with Boscombe Down and I saw her doing touch n go's only on Friday.
RJX would hav been a lovely aircraft, but with ERJ145 and now the 170/1890, not sure of its market. As it was, the end of the UK's era designing and building it's own commercial aircraft is a sad passing. Anyone notice the B787/A350 drooping nose is the same as the Comets...we knew our stuff....
We have done a few days on the RJX now and work is going well, a definite improvement and further work being planned, the airport are fully on board and are helping where they can, they have repainted the lines on the fake runway that the plane stands on and the whole thing is starting to look a lot less neglected, still loads to do though. We want to make this aircraft look like it did back when it was built, its the last airliner built in the UK, seems a shame for it to go to wrack and ruin and get chopped up, other countries tend to have a bit more pride in their heritage, ok, Concorde is tucked up but this is far rarer than one of those, common as much those things in comparison 
We have sourced new wheels and are looking at getting the Oleo (suspension strut type thing) at the front jacked up, they have lost pressure over the years so the aircraft is sitting low, new steps have been donated as have various other parts.
We are struggling with the paint side at the moment, getting a match for 15 year old airliner paint from Halfords isnt that easy, neither is painting outside, we are also struggling with the heights involved, health and safety is paramount, we cant have anyone get hurt so we are going to need some ideas around working at height, lots of rules and regs, plus we need the equipment to get us up there, it is however early days.
The airport are pleased like I said and have said that potentially we will, when the RJX is complete, may be able to work on the other aircraft at the AVP, they are also showing their gratitude via the medium of Bacon butties and tea.
If anyone can offer any advice, equipment or anything else that may help us preserve these historic aircraft for future generations then please drop me a line, this is very much a volunteer thing, we have very limited equipment and are providing tools and materials, a lot of the time from our own pockets.
Also, feel free to volunteer if you would like to get involved and like spending your weekends T-Cutting large aircraft for free !
Or just come down and have a nosey, there is a "Prestige and High Performance Car" day this weekend (19th - 10 til 6)
Details below,
The “Show us your metal” event will be open to visiting Prestige and High Performance cars from 10.00hrs til 16.00hrs. Over 100 cars have already accepted their personal invites from the Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porche stables. One of the famous “Missing Six” E Type Jaguars (Value £8.6 m) will be appearing at the event together with a unique gathering of old and new high performance motor vehicles.
The vehicles will be displayed in the Concorde Hangar and on the RVP Lawns outside the Hangar / Concorde reception.
If you are coming, get there early, it gets busy !
We have sourced new wheels and are looking at getting the Oleo (suspension strut type thing) at the front jacked up, they have lost pressure over the years so the aircraft is sitting low, new steps have been donated as have various other parts.
We are struggling with the paint side at the moment, getting a match for 15 year old airliner paint from Halfords isnt that easy, neither is painting outside, we are also struggling with the heights involved, health and safety is paramount, we cant have anyone get hurt so we are going to need some ideas around working at height, lots of rules and regs, plus we need the equipment to get us up there, it is however early days.
The airport are pleased like I said and have said that potentially we will, when the RJX is complete, may be able to work on the other aircraft at the AVP, they are also showing their gratitude via the medium of Bacon butties and tea.
If anyone can offer any advice, equipment or anything else that may help us preserve these historic aircraft for future generations then please drop me a line, this is very much a volunteer thing, we have very limited equipment and are providing tools and materials, a lot of the time from our own pockets.
Also, feel free to volunteer if you would like to get involved and like spending your weekends T-Cutting large aircraft for free !
Or just come down and have a nosey, there is a "Prestige and High Performance Car" day this weekend (19th - 10 til 6)
Details below,
The “Show us your metal” event will be open to visiting Prestige and High Performance cars from 10.00hrs til 16.00hrs. Over 100 cars have already accepted their personal invites from the Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porche stables. One of the famous “Missing Six” E Type Jaguars (Value £8.6 m) will be appearing at the event together with a unique gathering of old and new high performance motor vehicles.
The vehicles will be displayed in the Concorde Hangar and on the RVP Lawns outside the Hangar / Concorde reception.
If you are coming, get there early, it gets busy !
Edited by J4CKO on Tuesday 15th August 10:08
Eric Mc said:
What airline scheme do you want to paint the aircraft in?
Airliner model builders usually have a good handle on paint shades and modern paint equivalents. I use Halfords paints quite a bit in my model building.
Eric, not painting the whole plane, its in its promotional livery from when it was built, its just getting a bit flaky from 14 years in the elements, so its just a case of tidying up the bits that have flaked off and perhaps re-doing the coloured bits so they stand out, the red "RJX" ont he side has a hint of 1998 Corsa paintwork, i.e. going more towards the pink end of the spectrum.Airliner model builders usually have a good handle on paint shades and modern paint equivalents. I use Halfords paints quite a bit in my model building.
The Avro Heritage Trust would be my first stop - Harry Holmes is the president, and I remember him being a larger-than-life figure in the Woodford PR department when I worked there in the early 90s.
I fondly remember working on the fore-runners of the RJX during stints as a lackey in Future Projects and Aerodynamics at Woodford. Somewhat amusingly, it oscillated in development between a stretched, twin-engined 146 configuration, and various low-winged twins much like the now common Embraer 170 series. It was sad that the project was scaled back to the RJX, but not nearly so sad as the project being killed off completely. It's lovely to see the old girl being looked after :-)
I fondly remember working on the fore-runners of the RJX during stints as a lackey in Future Projects and Aerodynamics at Woodford. Somewhat amusingly, it oscillated in development between a stretched, twin-engined 146 configuration, and various low-winged twins much like the now common Embraer 170 series. It was sad that the project was scaled back to the RJX, but not nearly so sad as the project being killed off completely. It's lovely to see the old girl being looked after :-)
Looking good.
Not been to the AVP for years, not since my mate stopped working there. Pity really, it took a lot of hard work (and money!) to move Trident ZK there, I ought to drop in to take a look how she's doing these days.
Some photos of the RJX on a grim November night in 2004 ...
Not been to the AVP for years, not since my mate stopped working there. Pity really, it took a lot of hard work (and money!) to move Trident ZK there, I ought to drop in to take a look how she's doing these days.
Some photos of the RJX on a grim November night in 2004 ...
J4CKO said:
We are struggling with the paint side at the moment, getting a match for 15 year old airliner paint from Halfords isnt that easy, neither is painting outside, we are also struggling with the heights involved, health and safety is paramount, we cant have anyone get hurt so we are going to need some ideas around working at height, lots of rules and regs, plus we need the equipment to get us up there, it is however early days.
http://bit.ly/2xtOXHuMight be bit late, but the corporate colour scheme is on the net
StephenP said:
Looking good.
Not been to the AVP for years, not since my mate stopped working there. Pity really, it took a lot of hard work (and money!) to move Trident ZK there, I ought to drop in to take a look how she's doing these days.
Some photos of the RJX on a grim November night in 2004 ...
Cool photos, will upload them to the renovation groups shared drive.Not been to the AVP for years, not since my mate stopped working there. Pity really, it took a lot of hard work (and money!) to move Trident ZK there, I ought to drop in to take a look how she's doing these days.
Some photos of the RJX on a grim November night in 2004 ...
We are done for the year now, plane look a whole lot better, still work to do but we are pleased with progress made.
Just thought I would resurrect this.
We are still there and are now working on all the aircraft, apart from the very special pointy one thats inside.
Aside from the RJX we have the first 30 feet of a DC10, a Nimrod and the Trident.
I share responsibility with another chap for the Trident, its been there a good while and time has taken its toll, it has an overpowering mouldy smell which seems to be down to poor ventilation and the dehumidifier not draining properly. Plans are general tidying and repainting the BEA livery to make it look less weathered. We would also like to make it so the public can access if without needing a tour.
The Nimrod is in much better order, just a bit grubby really.
Always open to suggestions, help and anyone wanting to get involved.
We are still there and are now working on all the aircraft, apart from the very special pointy one thats inside.
Aside from the RJX we have the first 30 feet of a DC10, a Nimrod and the Trident.
I share responsibility with another chap for the Trident, its been there a good while and time has taken its toll, it has an overpowering mouldy smell which seems to be down to poor ventilation and the dehumidifier not draining properly. Plans are general tidying and repainting the BEA livery to make it look less weathered. We would also like to make it so the public can access if without needing a tour.
The Nimrod is in much better order, just a bit grubby really.
Always open to suggestions, help and anyone wanting to get involved.
Krikkit said:
J4CKO said:
Always open to suggestions, help and anyone wanting to get involved.
I'd be interested - when does it go on?https://www.facebook.com/Rjx100/
Thats me, second from left, message the group or me via PM on here, its not glamorous but a belting bunch of people and you get to fanny about with old planes for free !
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