Gulf War Pilots Reunited

Andy Kellet (left) & Sid Buxton reunited with XL231

Andy Kellet was the last Captain to qualify on the Victor K2, he was also a Captain on XL231.  He visited by prior arrangement on Thursday 28th March and brought along former Victor K2 Co-pilot Sid Buxton.  Both are currently airline pilots flying for British Airways; Andy on the Airbus A320 and Sid on the Boeing 777.

Andy qualified as a K2 Captain at the young age of 26.  Both Andy and Sid operated the Victor through the Gulf War of 1991 and up to the end of operations in late 1993.  Sid had the honour of carrying the Standard of No55 Sqn at the Disbandment parade of the last Victor squadron.

Sid back in his familiar seat

Sid Buxton's flying career has been varied and interesting. He flew Douglas DC-3 Dakota's with the Rhodesian Airforce before joining the RAF and moving onto the Jet Provost and the Victor. Both subsequently flew the VC-10 at RAF Brize Norton before leaving the RAF.

Despite almost 20 years passing since both had been inside a Victor it was apparent that the memories were very clear and the flightdeck was becoming familiar again after an hour or so sat in there with the aircraft powered up. They said it was just the same, smelt the same but inside is too clean "bloody hell it's clean in here, they were never this clean, you must have a vacuum in here!!" - that spring clean last weekend certainly didn't go un-noticed!  Many tales were recalled and the day passed very pleasantly.

Andy back in the Captains seat

In August 1993 Andy had landed XL231 with one of the refuelling hoses stuck in 'trail' ie fully extended!  We looked at the entry in his Logbook and I then cross-referenced it with XL231's log book (MOD Form 700) and was able to enter Andy's name in as the Captain. It was only one entry for many in the aircraft's history but, it was gratifying to personalise that particular one.  Both Andy and Sid's names appear in the Form 700 records reporting many minor issues through 1990-93.

I am sure Andy and Sid will be back for another visit soon and may even do a guest article for the blog! Hopefully we will be able to share their Operation Granby tales in a later post. It is always an honour meeting ex-Victor crew; it really does make all the hard work worthwhile.

Please do get in touch if you served on Victor's we would love to hear from you.

Breaking News!!!!

We are pleased to announce that we will be taxying XL231 'Lusty Lindy' in May 2013.

This is intended to happen on Sunday May 12th during the annual 'Wheels and Wings' (Battle Group North) event http://www.wheelsandwings.co.uk/

The event will include the Military Vehicle Trust and various WW2 and Military re-enactment groups and is one of the largest and well attended events of this nature in the UK.  For the first time in many years this event will be mainly sited on Elvington Airfield although as usual activities will also be taking place on the Yorkshire Air Museum site.

We are still seeking sponsorship and donations towards the cost of fuel as we are currently around £750 off our £4000 target.

Any donations would be very gratefully received so please

 

See you there! 

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Me and my favourite V-Bomber!

Hi everyone!

So, this is my second guest blog for Handley Page Victor XL231 Lusty Lindy!

First of all, I would just like to thank Andre and his team for the warm (I say warm… It was extremely cold and snowy on Sunday!) welcome and generosity throughout the day!

I woke up, opened my presents, got ready and set off to Yorkshire Air Museum, or as most of us call it, Elvington. I live relatively close to Elvington; about an hour, hour and half away. For those who don’t know, you can see Lindy as you’re driving down Halifax Way… Now, I screamed my entire way down said road. I was extremely giddy; it had been 10 years since I’d last visited Lindy, so I was pretty excited about finally seeing her again.

Mum drove us to the museum, us being me, my sister, and my dad… and obviously mum, we parked up and I ran... I was however redirected to the hangar by my dad and sister; I think it’s fair to say that I was stunned by every aircraft in that hangar, especially the Lightning and the Buccaneers. I’d not seen Lindy yet, so I was still awaiting to be blown away by her, after running around the hangar for a good 20 minutes, we finally wandered over to Lindy.
Oh my goodness. I really had forgotten how beautiful Victors actually are. I walked over to the blue rope, where I was greeted by Andre and some of his other team members. I wasn’t sure what to say and honestly, I couldn’t get my head around Lindy. As peculiar as that sounds, it’s true and difficult to explain. I’d not felt that taken back by an aircraft in quite some time. I spoke to Andre, and I handed him a bag which had a box full of flapjack and some chocolates I’d brought back from a short trip to Belgium…


Andre popped over to Lindy’s cockpit and returned with a card and a lovely print of Lindy. The card was filled with lovely birthday messages which were from the wonderful TwitterVforce… Team Victor, Andy 617, Siobhan and Graeme, Jo (my adoptive mummy!), everyone from Hangar 3 (represeeeenttt!!!), Rod, and of course, Dave! The card really means a lot to me, it does… So thank you! Not forgetting that print of Lindy, blimey! It’s stunning and I love it. Thank you, Andre!

Lindy from the co-pilots seat of XV250

Andre said to me that Team Nimrod had offered to take me up into (Hawker Siddeley Nimrod) XV250 and show me around the aircraft. I just thought we’d just get to have little look around, but we got a full tour and I even got to sit in the co-pilots seat and experience stall alert; which was both exciting and hilarious! The tour was extremely informative, and really made my birthday quite special, so thank you, Team Nimrod!

I also got another gift, something that I’d always wanted to do, and something that made my day; if not my year. I won’t lie… I love Victors, Valiants, and Vulcans very much. Vulcans more than Valiants, and Victors more than both Vulcans and Valiants, I don’t often admit that, slightly due to the fact that I work with a Vulcan, more specifically, the last flying Vulcan. There’s something about Victors, I’ve always said it’s the way they look, and I think everyone has the same opinion. They look menacing, skeletal, and evil, however they are beautiful.

Anyways, onto this ‘gift’, after I’d left XV250, I’d walked back over to Andre and Team Victor, and I was asked if I’d like to go up into the cockpit… Now, my friends probably won’t be reading this… But if you are, me being asked if I want to go inside a Handley Page Victor’s cockpit is the equivalent to you being asked if you wanted to meet your idol. I couldn’t really believe what had just been offered to me!

After getting a warm, we walked back over to Lindy for a third time… This time, we headed up into the cockpit. Now, first thing that came to my mind was “how the hell do I get inside…” I’m quite short and I’ve only ever stepped foot into a plane via stairs, that are in someway attached to said plane. I’m not saying that Lindy is insanely difficult to get into but when you’re as short as I am, it can be a little tricky. There’s a set of stairs… and they are kind of attached to Lindy. The way we (we being me, dad and the kind gentleman who led us up into the cockpit) did it, was to climb so far up the steps, then crawl in. So now I’m standing inside a Handley Page Victor, and whilst I’m standing in there, I’m trying not to explode with excitement, and believe me, it was very difficult.

First thoughts, other than the incredible amount of exciting ‘feels’, from inside the cockpit were, ‘could it get any smaller?!’ I feel sorry for people who are slightly taller, that have to work in there! Like I said, I’m short. I’m 5ft 2, and I stood as far back as you can get inside the cockpit, and I was hunched over, quite far. Any who, I was told to go forward a little, a little bit more, and slightly further more, and plonk myself down in the co-pilots seat. Now, I don’t know if everyone who has been invited into Lindy’s cockpit has been allowed to do that, but for me, it was quite the moment. I had always wanted to just stand in there, but to actually be allowed to sit in her co-pilots seat… Well, that was just the cherry on top, and the sprinkles, and the whipped cream, and the chocolate sauce, and more. I really couldn’t believe where I was sitting, I’ll admit I wanted to press every button, flick every switch, and pretend I was bombing it down the runway, who wouldn’t want to! Obviously, I didn’t and it’s fair to say that I am quite jealous of Team Victor and what they get to do!

We were sat inside the cockpit for about 10-15 minutes, but it felt like a decade, it was amazing! We climbed into Lindy whilst she was up on the jack, and she was released whilst we were sat down in the front of the cockpit. I think someone said she was only about 6 inches up… When we dropped it felt more like 50ft!

I took quite a few pictures, and I really didn’t want to leave but I was just so happy that I’d finally got the chance to sit inside a V-Bomber… My favourite V-Bomber! Honestly, it still doesn’t feel quite real… You know, I bet those who have sat in Victors, and still do (I’m talking about you Team Victor!) probably think that I’ve gone mad, but it’s something I imagined I’d never get the chance to do. So thank you, Andre and Team Victor – You and Team Nimrod made my birthday the best one yet!

My #TwitterVForce Birthday Card

After climbing out of the cockpit, my family and I headed over to the NAAFI to get yet another warm, and a cup of tea. In the NAAFI, I’d finally got the chance to a have a look at the print Andre had given me, in peace without the blistering cold wind trying to rip the gift from my hands. It also gave me a chance to have a look at my birthday card properly. I just really wanted to say a big thank you for the card. I don’t think you lot really know how much it means to me! The print as well, I absolutely adore it.

All of above basically happened because of Twitter. If I wasn’t on Twitter, I wouldn’t know Andre, Team Nimrod, or the beloved TwitterVforce, and this also means that I may have never got the chance to experience sitting in both XL231 and XV250’s co-pilot seats. I’ve gained so many friends through Twitter, and I’ve recently gained some absolutely incredible experiences. I’m very honoured and lucky to have met Andre and some of his team both online and in person.

Back to my visit – I had visited Lindy for a fourth and final time, the museum was getting ready to close and I was getting ready to collapse due the possible frostbite and exhaustion from all the excitement. I’d walked back over with my sister, I was too afraid to cross the blue rope, so I called Andre over to tell him I was leaving and that I’d hope to be back soon. He told me to stay in contact and I had my photo taken with the team.

I didn’t want to leave, as always. Even though I was extremely cold and tired, I could have quite happily stowed myself away somewhere in or around the museum. I felt really rather happy and content there. I cannot wait to go back, hopefully when it’s a little bit warmer.

Once more, I would like to thank Andre and Lusty Lindy’s fabulous team!

Don’t forget – Team Victor is hoping to taxy Lusty Lindy this summer, however… In order to do that they need fuel and jet fuel ain’t cheap! So pleeeeeeeaaaaaseeeee, The Roving Reporter is requesting that you give whatever you can, even if it’s just £5… It’s something.

Also, if you’re visiting Lusty Lindy at Yorkshire Air Museum… Team Victor run on flapjacks, that’s their fuel…

Thank you for reading,

Amy

AEO Systems trainer

AEO Procedures Trainer prior to restoration

My latest restoration project is the ex-RAF Marham AEO systems trainer/simulator for the Victor K2. The trainer was donated by RAF Brize Norton in 1994 for use with XL231 but has been in storage for many years.

The Victor AEO's duties are very labour intensive regarding setting up and monitoring the electrical systems and hydraulic systems of the aircraft. The main AC electrical system is synchronised and paralled manually rather than automatically as on some later large aircraft. Post 1985 the AEO also had to handle the Air- to -Air refuelling equipment for receiver aircraft as well as radio communications on both VHF and UHF, as well as HF. As you can see he was a very busy man!

The health of the aircraft apart from the main engine instrumentation was monitored by the AEO and therefore 'synthetic training' was a very necessary part of Victor K2 operations.

All Victor AEO's learnt their 'trade' on this item of equipment and any combination of faults could be simulated as well as currency checking.

In the days of the V Force the AEO also had to handle all forms of ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) in order to jam enemy detection equipment and also the electronic defence of the aircraft. The duties of the AEO were always very specialist and very highly trained.

In order to complete the renovation the following equipment is being sort;

Morse key; Vulcan/Victor
RWR screen (used in a number of RAF aircraft for the ARI 18228 system)
RWR control panel (ARI 18228)
Tacan Indicator (pos. same as Buccaneer?)
1 x Mk20b fuel pod control panel (we have one)
1x angle poise lamp Victor type

John in the AEO's position of XL231

Please drop us a line if you can help out with any of the items and help bring this rare artefact back up to prime condition and you never know you may even see it at a cockpit event near you!



Me at the AEO position in XL231

Victor Repaint

The repaint of XL231 took over 6 months to complete, a mountain of sanding paper and gallons of paint but the hard work was certainly worth it.

 

It's Not Impossible - by Amy Parkin

Welcome to our first guest blog of 2013, by HUGE V-Force fan Amy Parkin.

I often visit museums and drive past airfields to be faced with unloved planes. I read articles about neglected aeroplanes and aircraft graveyards; it breaks my heart seeing some of my favourite planes in terrible condition. One example of terrible condition is the infamous A1 Lightning, XN728. I saw this old girl in person when I was little, and it was heartbreaking to see her like that. She was eventually scrapped in 2011, after spending many miserable years on a yard in Balderton, Nottinghamshire. The poor girl was in fair condition when she arrived at the yard 30 years ago, however she was gradually stripped down and became victim to vandalism. It’s a relief to see she’s been scrapped, not usual vocabulary I’m comfortable with but I feel aviation enthusiasts, like myself, may feel the same way. I won’t lie, I felt wounded by her state, that’s why it is such a relief to hear she’d been scrapped.

 

I understand that not everyone loves planes, and they don’t really care what state they’re in, or how they should look… But I don’t really understand what drives a person to want to treat something so beautiful, so badly. However, lots of Lightnings have been restored, including XS417 (based at Newark Air Museum). She has been restored to noteworthy status and I must say… XS417 looks absolutely stunning.

I took this picture on August 4th 2012, and I believe she was about half way through her restoration and she looks just absolutely wonderful.

There are a lot of planes that could do with just a little polishing off or even just a couple coats of paint. But for some reason it just doesn’t happen enough. Most of the surviving Vulcans, with the exception of XH558, XM655, XL360, XL426 and XM607 (I apologise if there are other Vulcans that are well looked after but those 4 are the only ones I’ve seen looked after…) aren’t really looked after… Or I don’t think so anyway. All they need is a little scrubbing down… Surely owners, museums, whatever, can just give them a spring cleaning?! I don’t know… Maybe they do, but I don’t see any clean pictures of certain Vulcans and when I’ve visited some museums, their Vulcans aren’t clean! There should be like a team of volunteers that just go around air museums and such places and just clean the aircraft, maybe even do the painting and all that jazz. I understand it must be a difficult task trying to fix and restore an aircraft… But it’s not impossible.

Take Lusty Lindy, Handley Page Victor, XL231 for example; Look at what Andre Tempest and his team of volunteers have achieved!

Here’s Lindy 10 years ago…

(Photos taken by my dad)

She still looks fantastic in these photos… But after a good sanding down and a full repaint and she looks stunning. Now, I’ve only seen the pictures but even they blew me away!

Here’s Lusty Lindy present day…

From this -

To this! -



Lindy all masked up during the repaint, to preserve the original and iconic nose art!

Here she is without her nose art… She doesn’t look right!

Not bare for long… :)

The last time I visited Lindy, I was 9 and I was taken back by her beauty. Futuristic yet menacing, however she still looked graceful. I’m 19 in 2 months, and I plan to visit Lindy within the coming months and I’m excited! Even though I’ve never actually seen a Victor fly, they’re still one of my favourite aircraft. There’s just something about Victors.

Rich, one of Andre’s dedicated volunteers begins sanding on Lindy’s fuselage.

Ollie is a Hawk pilot, who supported the 2012 Hawk Display team, he is also another dedicated member of Andre’s team! Here he is sanding down the intakes!

Back to my point… Andre and his team have proven that it is not impossible to clean up an aircraft, now I’m not saying that Lindy was in horrible condition, because she wasn’t, but it’s clear that the team looking after Lindy are enthusiastic, passionate and most of all willing and that’s refreshing to see that. If there was anything ‘abnormal’ upon XL231, like corrosion, so on… It was dealt with correctly. Stripped bare and fixed, the team have been hands with Lindy’s repaint for the majority of 2012 and their constant hard work has really paid off.

Graham, one of the braver volunteers in Andre’s team! Here he is working on Lindy’s tail at 28ft!

Dusty Lindy, following lots of sanding down!

Lindy getting a wash down, even in the bad weather!

I’m very thankful to the dedicated team that have fixed Lindy up, because as a part of the younger generation involved with aviation, for me and having never seen a Victor fully operational, it’s wonderful to see such a beautiful aircraft being restored, well looked after and often powered up.

Finished!

This year, Andre and his team are looking to fast taxy Lindy, to display their fantastic efforts. Personally, I am super looking forward to seeing Lindy taxy at high speed because it’s something I’ve wanted to see for such a long time and just when I don’t think it can get any better…. They’re taxying her in Yorkshire… OOOOSH. My Home County, baby! I cannot wait for this event!

However, there is a slight downside… Aviation fuel is A LOT more expensive than regular fuel… Andre and his team are looking to raise around £5,000 so that they go forward with this event. Right now, I don’t have the money, but as soon as I do, I will be donating… Please, if you can… Just spare some money and donate it to the team, they deserve this, and so much more! For more information on Lindy’s high speed taxy run and information on donating please click here!

Also, a big thank you to Andre for allowing me to use his photos!

Back to my idea of a voluntary cleaning team, I am genuinely willing to do something like this. I seriously cannot think of anything better! If someone asked me “Amy, I have this plane, it needs cleaning and a coating of paint, can you do it?” I would be so excited! I’d pretty much bite their hand off to do it.

Now I understand that some times it’s nice to just leave something as it is but it just breaks my heart to see planes being mistreat/improperly looked after. Like I already said, I know that not everybody is a fan of aviation but seriously, but I don’t understand why the owners won’t even do it? Again, it is not impossible.

Would you become a part of a voluntary team who shares the passion of aviation? Would you be willing to clean and restore aircraft voluntarily?

Amy x

P.s I’m so proud that I came up with, ‘Dusty Lindy’ I’m still laughing. I’m an idiot. Hahaha.

2013 Appeal - Funds4Fuel

We are looking to perform a high speed taxi run but in order for 'Lindy' to achieve this we need fuel for her tanks.

2013 will be a land mark year, after owning Victor XL231 for 20 years, her owner, Andre Tempest & her devoted volunteer crew are very proud to say that she is more serviceable than ever.

To mark this significant occasion we would like to display XL231 in all her glory with a high speed taxi run! Unfortunately aviation fuel is expensive so we are seeking sponsorship and donations to help cover the associated costs of this taxi run display.

Any donations would be very gratefully received so please

We are hoping to raise £5,000 which would go a significant way towards covering the costs of a high speed run.

Lusty Lindy has the capability to carry 41,000kg of fuel!

 Keep an eye on the blog or follow us on twitter @victorxl231 for details of the run as they become available.

Thank you