The development of the HP.80; the Victor
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
"Never Again" part 4
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| Work continues on the starboard wing |
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| Rich demonstrating his expert sanding abilities! |
The morale building homemade rocky road and flap jack really has kept us going - it doesn't take much to keep us happy!
So with all that sanding, sanding and more sanding, how do we get rid of all the dust?
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| Largest umbrella in North Yorkshire! |
This is where the good old British summer has actually come in useful. The monsoon weather washes most of the dust away - at times turning the ground hemp.
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| Vacuuming a V-Bomber! |
For those hard to reach areas like dzus fasteners and panel lines the Miele 'Cat & Dog' vacuum is put to the test - do you think we can persuade Miele to launch a 'V-Bomber' vacuum, must be a market there????
With a bank holiday looming we are expecting to be rained off this weekend. When painting a V-Bomber you do become obsessed with the weather. If the weather is kind we should see the starboard wing finished then on to the fuselage and the lady herself 'Lusty Lindy'.
Follow the progress of the repaint here Never Again part 5
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
"Never Again" part 3
Now summer has half appeared progress on the repaint is coming along well.
The port wing is finished, other than the roundel and is looking fantastic!
Whilst the rest of the team turned their focus to the starboard wing, Graham 'volunteered' to take on the tail - at 28ft high he's a braver man than me!
Progress was going well until............ out of know where lightning hit the ground about 100 yards away from where we were working, followed by the loudest sonic boom we have ever heard, scaring us all half to death! 
Then the rain came (yes, the great British summer strikes again!) we took shelter under the largest umbrella in Yorkshire and out came the morale building homemade rocky road cake.
Thankfully the rain didn't last long and with the increased humidity it didn't take long for Lindy to dry off and work could continue once more.You really can see the difference a lick of new paint has made.
With the tail now finished Graham has now returned to terra ferma but not before giving you this unique shot.
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| XL231 - rather you than me! Follow the repaint progress with Never Again part 4 |
Saturday, 4 August 2012
The Iron Maiden
I may need 'Sanctuary' occasionally but this isn't the famous English heavy metal band but another form of English heavy metal - a traction engine!
The Iron Maiden is the only traction engine to have starred alongside a V-Bomber in the 1962 film of the same name.
The film follows Jack an aircraft designer with a passion for traction engines. His boss is eager to sell a new supersonic jet plane, Handley Page Victor, Jack has designed to an American millionaire Paul. Their first encounter goes badly and tensions heighten when Paul's daughter damages Jack's prize traction engine 'The Iron Maiden', rendering it impossible to drive solo. Jack is desperate to enter a steam rally but his fireman is injured, when all seems lost Paul steps in and they become firm friends. After an 'eventful' journey they arrive at the rally but last minute Paul is injured and unable to participate, just when you think all is lost Paul's daughter arrives and they drive the Iron Maiden to take first prize. In true cliched style the two share a kiss and The Iron Maiden boils over!
Unfortunately there are very few stills from the film but I have managed to come across this one....
'The Iron Maiden' is a Fowler 7NHP Showman's Road Locomotive and now calls The Scarborough Fair Collection home.
The engine was built in September 1920 as a road locomotive of the R3 class, with the works number 15657 and the registration number FX 6661. It was supplied new to F Barnes Ltd of Portland, Dorset for various duties including hauling heavy blocks of stone from the nearby quarries down to Portland Harbour.
She was sent back to the Fowler factory for a complete overhaul and conversion to full showman's specification. Once completed she entered fairground service with Mrs H. Oadley of Alfreton, Derbyshire and passed into preservation in 1952 when 'Kitchener' as she was then known was sold to John Crawley, the highly respected steam engine preservationist from Bedfordshire.
She received the name 'The Iron Maiden' for her starring role and has carried it ever since. Mr Crawley sold her on to Mr George Hawkins of Wadebridge, Cornwall.
In the early 1990's she passed in to the ownership of Dr Tony Marchington who commissioned a restoration. Since being purchased by Graham Atkinson in 2003 much more additional restoration work has been carried out to keep her in fine shape.
Today, she still carries the famous legend 'Mighty In Strength And Endurance' and continues to attract considerable interest both at home and on her travels abroad. The Iron Maiden visited Elvington in 2004 for a photo with 'Lusty Lindy' reuniting with a Victor once more.
The Victor which starred alongside 'The Iron Maiden' was XL230. Richard Thorpe better known for his roles in Emmerdale and The Dambusters portrays the test pilot.
XL230 and all the crew were lost on 10.5.1973 when the crew lost control and rolled over into the airfield during a night touch and go at RAF Wyton. Lest we forget.
The Iron Maiden is the only traction engine to have starred alongside a V-Bomber in the 1962 film of the same name.
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| The Iron Maiden |
The film follows Jack an aircraft designer with a passion for traction engines. His boss is eager to sell a new supersonic jet plane, Handley Page Victor, Jack has designed to an American millionaire Paul. Their first encounter goes badly and tensions heighten when Paul's daughter damages Jack's prize traction engine 'The Iron Maiden', rendering it impossible to drive solo. Jack is desperate to enter a steam rally but his fireman is injured, when all seems lost Paul steps in and they become firm friends. After an 'eventful' journey they arrive at the rally but last minute Paul is injured and unable to participate, just when you think all is lost Paul's daughter arrives and they drive the Iron Maiden to take first prize. In true cliched style the two share a kiss and The Iron Maiden boils over! Unfortunately there are very few stills from the film but I have managed to come across this one....
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| Victor starring alongside Michael Craig in 1962 film The Iron Maiden |
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| pre-The Iron Maiden days hauling stone from quarries to Portland Harbour |
The engine was built in September 1920 as a road locomotive of the R3 class, with the works number 15657 and the registration number FX 6661. It was supplied new to F Barnes Ltd of Portland, Dorset for various duties including hauling heavy blocks of stone from the nearby quarries down to Portland Harbour.
She was sent back to the Fowler factory for a complete overhaul and conversion to full showman's specification. Once completed she entered fairground service with Mrs H. Oadley of Alfreton, Derbyshire and passed into preservation in 1952 when 'Kitchener' as she was then known was sold to John Crawley, the highly respected steam engine preservationist from Bedfordshire.
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| Iron Maiden on display at The Scarborough Fair Collection |
In the early 1990's she passed in to the ownership of Dr Tony Marchington who commissioned a restoration. Since being purchased by Graham Atkinson in 2003 much more additional restoration work has been carried out to keep her in fine shape.
Today, she still carries the famous legend 'Mighty In Strength And Endurance' and continues to attract considerable interest both at home and on her travels abroad. The Iron Maiden visited Elvington in 2004 for a photo with 'Lusty Lindy' reuniting with a Victor once more.
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| XL230 SR2 with 'sniffer' pods on the underwing tanks |
XL230 and all the crew were lost on 10.5.1973 when the crew lost control and rolled over into the airfield during a night touch and go at RAF Wyton. Lest we forget.
Monday, 30 July 2012
"Never Again!" part 2
We are now well under way with the sanding, more sanding and even more sanding followed by painting and more painting.
With 2012 being the wettest summer on history progress has been slow as 'rain stops play' every week, dampening our spirits and our sanding paper. We are hoping that monsoon season has finally come to an end and we can crack on.
So with the port wing finished I'm sure you would love to see some before and after shots and hear the anecdotes which have kept us going when the cries of 'are we nearly there yet' ring out.
Where do you start with an aircraft 114ft 11ins long and with a wing span of 117ft? The port wing of course! XL231's port wing is more visible to the public plus it is slightly more accessible as no other aircraft are parked on that side.
Preparing the intakes is one of the most awkward, time consuming and dirty jobs to do. Once you've made your way to the top of the steps, then to the edge of the intake 10ft above the ground, you then have to manoeuvre yourself actually into the intake - easier said than done, as you feel yourself sliding towards the engine with nothing to hold on to!
I had just managed to manoeuvre myself deep into the port intake when my mobile phone rung......on the ground where I had left it "For f*$#'s sake" was greeted with "Ey lad i've 'erd worse from't Victor intake" after pulling myself out of the intake I looked down to see a south-Yorkshire ex-Victor 'liney' from the B2 days, at Wittering, smirking back at me!
With a 2,406 sq ft wing area you really do have to start at the edge and work in.......
With flaps this size it really is all hands to the deck - and just when I thought I had managed to avoid the camera! Just to prove a Miele cat and dog vacuum is just as effective on Victor sanding dust!
Harking back to her pre-hemp days we keep finding green paint, even though a so called expert claimed they were bare metalled before painting in hemp!
So after 6 years, can you spot the colour difference! With the port wing finished we have started on the starboard, then onto the tail, with the fuselage last.
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| Sanding, sanding, sanding! |
With 2012 being the wettest summer on history progress has been slow as 'rain stops play' every week, dampening our spirits and our sanding paper. We are hoping that monsoon season has finally come to an end and we can crack on.
So with the port wing finished I'm sure you would love to see some before and after shots and hear the anecdotes which have kept us going when the cries of 'are we nearly there yet' ring out.
Where do you start with an aircraft 114ft 11ins long and with a wing span of 117ft? The port wing of course! XL231's port wing is more visible to the public plus it is slightly more accessible as no other aircraft are parked on that side.
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| Port fuel tank rubbed down and prep'd |
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| Port fuel tank as good as new |
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| Graham getting down and dirty |
Preparing the intakes is one of the most awkward, time consuming and dirty jobs to do. Once you've made your way to the top of the steps, then to the edge of the intake 10ft above the ground, you then have to manoeuvre yourself actually into the intake - easier said than done, as you feel yourself sliding towards the engine with nothing to hold on to!
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| Port intake after sanding |
With a 2,406 sq ft wing area you really do have to start at the edge and work in.......
With flaps this size it really is all hands to the deck - and just when I thought I had managed to avoid the camera! Just to prove a Miele cat and dog vacuum is just as effective on Victor sanding dust!
And before you say 'You've missed a bit!', 'What you doing - painting?' or 'What colour is it going to be?' - we've heard it all before! Harking back to her pre-hemp days we keep finding green paint, even though a so called expert claimed they were bare metalled before painting in hemp!
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| Original green camouflage |
So after 6 years, can you spot the colour difference! With the port wing finished we have started on the starboard, then onto the tail, with the fuselage last.
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| Port wing finished! |
Read more at 'Never Again' part 3
Crew Chief Chris 'Sandy' Sands
Chief Technician Chris Sands was an Aircraft Servicing Chief or for short 'Crew Chief' and his allocated aircraft was XL231. Prior to the Falklands War he and his crew, of 232 OCU, RAF Marham, made a memorable trip to Houston in Texas in XL231.
The crew:
Flight Lieutenant Paul Gausden
Flight Lieutenant Ron Hendrick
Squadron Leader Ray Senior
Flight Lieutenant Rod Smith
Chief Technician Sandy Sands
Flight Lieutenant Dave Cherry
XL231 and the crew played a significant part in the Armed Forces Open House and Air Show at Ellington Air Forces Base on April 17th 1981.
"The members of the Victor crew were truly Good Will Ambassadors and should be commended for their exemplary representation of the Royal Air Force" Maurice H. Udell, Director General, Houston Chamber of Commerce
Chris graciously donated his 'memorabilia' for inclusion in the Victor XL231 archives.
XL231 at Ellington Air Force Base, carrying a few 'momentos' of her trip!
The crew:
Flight Lieutenant Paul Gausden
Flight Lieutenant Ron Hendrick
Squadron Leader Ray Senior
Flight Lieutenant Rod Smith
Chief Technician Sandy Sands
Flight Lieutenant Dave Cherry
XL231 and the crew played a significant part in the Armed Forces Open House and Air Show at Ellington Air Forces Base on April 17th 1981.
"The members of the Victor crew were truly Good Will Ambassadors and should be commended for their exemplary representation of the Royal Air Force" Maurice H. Udell, Director General, Houston Chamber of Commerce
The crew received a number of thank you letters from spectators of the show, who numbered more than 150,000.
"It was indeed a real treat to see that beautiful aircraft grace the runway alongside our aircraft and we wish to show our appreciation that you should send someone here to represent your country and show our alliance with one another. And the crew did a beautiful job of it, they were very polite, easygoing, very friendly and eager to show us their plane and how it works and to answer questions" David L Pena, Houston, Texas, 18th April 1981
Flt. Lt. Gausden said "There was a tremendous interest shown by the Americans in the Victor tanker. It was a very good public relations exercise from our point of view and we talked ourselves to death!"
A tour of the Lyndon B, NASA facility at The Johnson Space Centre was also included in the trip, after the crew had completed an air-to-air re-fuelling exercise to Goose Bay in Canada.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm
Original footage of the Victor fleet during Operation Desert Storm 1991
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