Fast Taxy - view from the cockpit

Victor XL231 'Lusty Lindy' during a fast (and wet) runway demonstration. Hence the very noisy windscreen wipers!  They are hydraulically driven individually by their own pumps and motors.

Flt Lt Ollie Suckling was in the Left hand seat and Andre Tempest in the Right.  The AEO was of course Sqn Ldr Alan Stephenson.

6th seat and filming was Kay 'red' Bennett, Nav plotter seat was Belgian Avionics student Katleen Verhoeven and the Nav Radar seat was 'gleefully' occupied by new team member Tom Winter ex-55 Sqn INSTIE tech on Victor K2's specialising in the Autopilot, MFS (Flight Instruments) and the rear viewing periscope.

All engines were run at the JPT setting of 'Takeoff' for the high speed run. Due to weather constraints the tail braking parachute was not deployed and the display safety speed was agreed at 80 knots beforehand.

Pre-Taxy Prep for Aug 25th

XL231 is now prepared for the intended run on the 25th. However it was not without its 'trauma'. This morning during inspection and cleaning of the Stb'd bogie it was discovered that the Stb'd front outer wheel had a 13mm large head diameter bolt embedded in it sideways!

Bolt embedded in tyre

This naturally wasn't good news as spare tyre availability is now becoming critical anyway, especially on an aircraft with 16 mainwheel tyres! I suggested we deflate the tyre and inspect the damage for depth. This proved to be too deep to be acceptable as at least half of the 17ply layers were seemingly cut. We considered the tyre a 'write-off'. If the tyre had blown it would likely have taken its neighbour with it and damaged the brake piping and equipment in the wheel bay  That means following the last taxy run we have lost 2 tyres to damage and a 3rd written off to a deep cut apparently during towing out on the degrading perimeter track between the museum and the runway.

Therefore we have had to dismantle and rebuild a spare wheel with 2 replacement tyres in record time today in order to be ready for next week.

Engine run

Re-oiling engines with OX38 turbine oil

That aside, a full engine run and systems tests were carried out a week last Sunday and all went very well.
Subject to weather & serviceability we will be running after the Spitfire flypast at 14.30PM on Monday 25th August. Prior to this the Buccaneer and Nimrod will all be carrying out high speed taxy Demo's on the runway. Normal admission prices apply for the Museum but, for a further £10 there is access to a special close up area on Elvington Airfield. Revenue raised from this goes into fuel costs for the operating jets.

August 25th, Next taxy Demo

Subject to serviceability, weather and no natural disasters, XL231 will be carrying out a high speed taxy demo on Elvington's runway, courtesy of Elvington Event's limited, the owners of the Airfield.

Flt Lt Ollie Suckling will be in the Left hand seat, Myself in the right and the AEO will be dependable stalwart Sqn Ldr Alan Stephenson. Crew Chief will be Grant Sparks (former Chief Tech).

A dedicated viewing area will be available, for details please check out the Yorkshire Air Museum website. In addition, it is intended to taxy the Museum's Nimrod XV250 and earlier in the day Ollie Suckling and myself will taxy (subject to serviceability) Douglas DC3 Dakota KN353 (G-AMYJ) for the first time since restoration. Also running will be the De Havilland Devon.

When Victor met Lancaster

The current 'tour' of the UK by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Lancaster  Bomber FM213, restored as  KB726, in honour of Flt Lt Andy Mynarski VC RCAF prompted a memory from 1988 when this historic aircraft first flew again in the capable hands of Sqn Ldr Tony Banfield. Ex-Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Commanding Officer.

Tony Banfield has a Victor connection, he flew Mk1 Victor Tankers with No 214 Sqn at RAF Marham in Norfolk and later flew Lancaster PA474 the BBMF as well as an illustrious career with the AAEE at RAF Boscombe Down.

At the time of the first post-restoration flight of FM213, Tony was the only current pilot to have 2 Lancasters in his logbook.

Tony is perhaps more famous for advertising flying jackets for Aviation Leathercraft and this advert has been seen in magazines for many years.

Meet 'Fred' the Kiwi

I'm delighted to introduce the newest member of the team Fred. 

Fred travelled to the UK with a group of fellow kiwi's from New Zealand last week, for a tour of Bomber County. This was the second visit to Lindy by the group in two years, Fred enjoyed his visit so much he has decided to stay on! 

Some of the group remembered the Vulcan accident at Ohaka, when the visiting Vulcan B1, clipped the edge of the runway threshold, damaging the undercarriage leg, resulting in a long stay for repairs. Worse still, the crew blew off the canopy, so more headaches for the riggers and armourers! 

A special thank you needs to go to the group who's support has provided a quantity of ACF50 for Lindy's continued conservation. 

Thanks guys, we look forward to seeing you next time. 

June's Maintenance run

As part of the pre-season work up. XL231 had her monthly anti-det (anti deterioration) run on Sunday.  This was delayed by 2 weeks due to a snag with the APU Artouste engine that caused a bit of concern. Happily this turned out to be a partially sticking ADV (air delivery valve) that was soon cleared and the APU fuel control main solenoid valve was also removed and lubricated, as I was not happy with it.

APU slight wet start!

As a partial ant-det run the week previous and to thoroughly test the APU, I briefed Rich on how to 'dry run' the main engines and he carried out his first engine turns successfully, with myself on the the external intercom and John inside controlling the APU and other systems from the AEO position.

The main anti-det runs were carried out with Ollie on the external comms, John in the back and myself in the Left hand seat. Young Sam was sitting in the co-pilots seat and I wet-ran the engines. Basically, putting fuel through the burners and out of the back as vapour without actually igniting it. This ensures the fuel system is never allowed to dry out and that the engine has been turned to ensure oil pressure and lubrication. John also checked all 4 main engine alternators were generating AC power. I then let Sam dry turn the engines and he did this very nicely for his first time. A dry-turn is a full spin, but without fuel being introduced and it helps to dry the fuel vapour in the jet pipes.

We then carried out full hydraulic functionals, exercising the flaps to all 3 positions, air brakes to the full range of full out & full in and the Ram Air Turbine scoops (RATs) on top of the rear fuselage. The nosewheel steering was also tested and the Flight Refuelling Hose Drum unit (HDU) lowered and raised several times.  The flying controls which are fully powered and self contained were then all tested. No snags were noted, apart from the Starboard RAT sticking in the open position occasionally.

HDU lowered

Anti-det run

XL231 is now waiting eagerly for her next outing.

Mainwheel Tyre change

After the last taxy run we noticed that one of the mainwheel tyres on the port side had lost part of its tread and was showing signs of de-laminating further.

As the taxy run was the last one of 2013 we decided to leave the tyre until into the following season, the tyre was holding pressure and was fine for standing the aircraft on and it did not interfere with engine runs and other winter/spring maintenance.

Now the season is here and pending taxy runs are on us, we decided to tackle that particular wheel this last weekend. As far as taxy runs go this has been a late start due to events around the site and the Tour De France coming through the area 5th/6th July.

The Victor and identical Vulcan mainwheels are a single wheel with twin tyres and are of a split rim construction. The first job is to ensure the tyres are deflated and the valves removed. The outer locking ring is removed and the outer tyre with its two sliding removable beads is taken off first. Usually this involves a lot of cursing and sweating, with large rubber mallets and pry bars. If the outer tyre is the culprit (as in this case) then the inner wheel can be left alone. However, an inner tyre means a full wheel strip down and it is hard work. Under the sliding beads and between the main rim and bead are large sealing O rings, these can get stuck to the sliding bead and are difficult to sometimes free up. Especially if the wheel has been built up for a considerable time. Fitting new tyres usually means changing the O rings as well (if they are available). If the O ring is flattened then its unlikely to be re-useable. We have found silicone grease is the best product to smear the O rings with in order to help seal and protect them.

Outer tyre removed

Ollie returning the wheel to Lindy 'wheelie good!'

Once the wheel is rebuilt it is then test inflated to check for leaks. Because there are so many seals the tendency for leaks is very real and likely. 100% leak free wheels are a rarity when you don't have access to most parts in a new condition.