Rocket Assisted Take-off





Victor spectre rocket assisted take-off test flight

'Never Again' Victory!

So, many weeks, copious amounts of sanding paper, litres of paint and untold amounts of elbow grease later, I am pleased to announce Lusty Lindy is better than new in her new hemp coat.

XL231 'better than new!'

There have been a few casualties along the way - I've lost count of the number of sanders that have 'bit the dust' - they really were tested to destruction!

To celebrate the end of 'Never Again' my trusty boots have gone out with a bang, they have been with me every step of the way but the end is nigh! Christine put her pyro qualifications into action and the team gathered to see the boots off in style - the result was pretty impressive!

The end is nigh!

The left boot!

The right boot!

So what are we going to do with all our free time now??????? Well the on going maintenance continues and we will keep you posted but in the meantime I'm looking forward to not obsessing about the weather and not having to see another sander for a long time!

Look out for our next blog post which will be a re-paint in detail special but first a hot bath beckons!

'Never Again' part 7

So with the sanding finished - I'm sure you heard the cheers wherever you are - painting and fine detail are the priorities.

We are racing against time and weather but I am please to announce the end is in sight, 1 more good day should see all the hemp and detailing finished - hurrah!


 
Focus turned to the nose - a real visual impact I hope you will agree. After painting the refueling probe last weekend we had to leave the red blank off to allow the paint time to go off, I returned the following day to carry on with the repaint to find that a 'Vulture' had decided to make the most of the 'unarmed' probe and %$£@ down the front of Lindy's nose - not amused! So after re-defending and cleaning the old gal up work could commence once more

Work continues............

What an improvement!

 With the starboard side of the nose finished, I turned the rollers to the port side -  XL231 really is looking better than ever even if she was without her name sake 'Lusty Lindy'.

XL231 without 'Lusty Lindy' nose art

It really is strange seeing her without her famous nose art, having carried it for almost 20 years it really is an important part of her history

But dont worry she had her identity back shortly......... To preserve her iconic nose art Ian had spent a long time masking 'Lusty Lindy' up. This enable us to get a really good finish on the hemp but preserve the original nose art.

XL231 'Lusty Lindy' masked up ready for painting

XL231 'Naked'!



'Lusty Lindy' 'Unveiled' following the repaint

I hope you will all agree that 'Lusty Lindy' really is looking her best and despite me saying 'Never Again......' after the last repaint the hard work really has been worth it.

Movember

Movember the month formally known as November, will see the Victor Team do their best impressions of Freddie Mercury, Charlie Chaplin and Tom Selleck by 'attempting' to grow beards and moustaches for charity!

We have chosen to support Macmillan Cancer Support due to the ongoing personal circumstances of a member of the team.

The Team: Andre, Ian, Graham, Rich, Ollie and Brian

Why sponsor the Team? One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer, and it's the toughest thing most of us will ever face. Macmillan are the nurses and therapists helping you through treatment. The experts on the end of the phone. The advisers telling you which benefits you're entitled to. The volunteers giving you a hand with the everyday things. The campaigners pushing for better cancer care. The community supporting you, any time. The fundraisers who make it all possible......

 

All monies raised will be split equally between Macmillan Cancer Support and XL231 for her winter maintenance.

 

Please support the team and donate now.

 

We will be adding photos to the blog and twitter to show how the teams efforts progress and will add a graph showing how much has been raised.

 

Please drop us a line if you would like to join the teams fundraising activities.


Meet the Team!

 

This is where you will usually find Brian - at the controls of the tug! After serving his time on Vulcan's in the RAF he really is V-Force all the way through. On leaving the RAF Brian rebelled and banished the razor to the back of the cupboard. But 40 years on and a hectic summer of sanding Brian has stepped up to the mark and shaved his beard off - much to the annoyance of his wife!

Brian with beard!



We think Brian looks 10 years younger but Brian is more concerned about his chin getting cold! My 'designer' stubble is coming on and Brian is trying to convience me that a beard isn't just for Movember!

1 week in - Brian clean shaven for 1st time in 40 years!



Rich is going for his 3rd stripe!



Ian trying to give me a run for money on designer stubble!

So one week in and progress is going well. Fundraising has topped £200 but we are not stopping yet please support the team and the great charity Macmillan Cancer Support and make a donation using the link at the top of the page.

 

Almost 3 weeks down and we are starting to look a motley bunch!

Rich, Ian, Andre and Graham

Fundraising is going well but every penny counts so please donate anything you can spare. We must add that Flt Lt Suckling has failed on his bid for Movember, so will be paying the fine!

Thank you 





"Never Again" part 6

Winter has decided that it is going to arrive early this year; snow in October, dark nights and generally cold, wet misserable weather are some of the things that we are now having to contend with on the final stretch of the repaint.

With both wings and the tail finished progress turned to the fuselage but when the temperature doesn't rise enough to dry up the condensation on the airframe until 11am and its starting to go dark just after 5pm we are having to squeeze a lot of work into a short time.

I am now VERY pleased to announce that we have now completed all the sanding!

Lots of dust!

I really cannot underestimate the amount of sandng that is required in order to get a good quality finish and ensure future preservation. But with lots of sanding comes lots of dust....... we use a number of different methods to remove the dust; dustpan and brush, vacuum and jet wash.



Note the team hiding from the rain
as I wash the old gal!

Along with the jet wash the bad weather has given us a helping hand on occassion, to wash the dust away but in hind sight we probably did choose the worst summer in history to repaint a V-Vomber! 

But with the end in sight the hard work really has been worth it - XL231 'Lusty Lindy' is starting to look better than ever - I hope you all agree.

 

 

 

Port air brake painted

 





RAT Scoops painted



Adding the finishing touches

XL231 back to former glory

Fitting a repair patch

During the repaint we took the opportunity to fit a repair patch to the starboard trim tab. Pete did a fantastic job making and fitting the patch, with over 50 rivets it kept him out of mischief for a while. Once painted it looked like the patch had been there since her RAF days.

XL231 fuselage painted - just the nose left

So with the fuselage finished we are just left with the nose and 'Lusty Lindy' to paint. With the huge radome sanded and filled, the glazing frames preped and Lusty Lindy traced it is all hands on deck to get the paint on before the weather gets too cold. Whilst the temperature is still around 10 degrees we have a chance but if it drops unfortunately we will have to call it a day for 2012.  

 

  

Hopefully the next time you see 'Lusty Lindy' she will be in all her glory

 



Cockpit Tour

Last weekend we were delighted to receive a visit by Tony Elms. Tony is an incredible 3D Artist with a passion for aviation - see his amazing work HERE

During his visit Tony produced a 360 degree view of XL231's cockpit - CLICK on the photo below to 'visit' 'Lusty Lindy's' cockpit.

We would like to thank Tony for has amazing work and support of XL231

"Never Again" part 5

 

Starboard wing progressing well

The end is in sight!

After a lot of hard work the starboard wing is now finished - 'hurrah' I'm sure half of Yorkshire heard the cheer as the last roller of paint was applied! 



XL231's repainted starboard wing

I am also proud to announce that the tail is also finished. It now feels like we are on the home stretch with 'just' the fuselage and finishing touches to apply.

But with approximately another 50 litres of hemp paint to apply and a fuselage 115ft long the repaint isn't over just yet!

 



Rich starting the fuselage sanding

Over the past few weeks and months we have received a lot of very positive feedback which has really kept us going. We have also received a number of visitors and it is their reaction to seeing and visiting XL231 that really makes everything we do worthwhile.


Sanding continues for Graham

Two such visitors have been ex-Victor B2 armourer Mike Prime, with his dulcet south Yorkshire accent and amusing anecdotes his visits always bring a smile. Ex-Victor Crew Chief Bob Pope made his first visit to see XL231, since she came out of service, only last week. Bob Pope has the title of being the LAST RAF Victor crew chief. This was the first time Bob has been with a Victor since his time in service and it certainly brought a lump to his throat after sitting in 'his' seat once again. Bob spent many happy hours on XL231 and we hope he will be a regular visitor.

 

With colder weather and darker evenings drawing in we will be focusing our time sanding and getting it fully preped just leaving the hemp paint to apply. There will still be plenty of finishing touches to do; roundels, serial numbers, petrol pumps etc and of course the famous lady herself 'Lusty Lindy', so keep your fingers crossed that Autumn will be kind to us.

Wings & tail complete just the fuselage to paint!