Thursday, 31 October 2013
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Victor seat leg supports
V Bomber rear crew seats are notoriously 'knocked around' and well used. So, it was decided to refurbish the leg supports from two of the rear crew seats which, were showing their ages. These supports fit on the front of each seat and basically sit under the knee area. The height is adjustable to the seat occupants own personal comfort.
I decided to use black vinyl as I have previously refurbished the AEO's seat support in the same material and being a tight fisted Yorkshireman I have a roll of nice black vinyl from my Motor Trade days...
The colour is Ford Highland Green, which is closer to the original manufacturers colour, which I found when I rubbed back several layers of paintwork
Anyway they will now hopefully last for a good many years to come and they were the scuffiest parts in XL231's otherwise immaculate cockpit.
Friday, 25 October 2013
XL231 'Lusty Lindy' 20th Anniversary Display and tribute to the late Gerry Tempest
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| XL231 arriving November 1993 |
Weather conditions will determine the nature of the display on the day but the intention is for the aircraft to be started around 13.30 at the Eastern end of the airfield with a slow taxy demonstation down the runway. This will enable operations of the airbrakes, flaps and Hose Drum Unit (HDU) etc to be demonstrated for the visitors. Once at the Western end of the runway the aircrat will be turned and lined up for a high-speed run up to around 120knots (weather dependant) and crosswind limits permitting, the 80ft diameter brake parachute will be streamed.
The high-speed demo is scheduled to happen at 14.20 the exact time XL231 touched down at Elvington and will be in the same direction as the landing.
The brake chute will be carried as far as possible up the runway for photographic purposes and will only be dropped as XL231 turns into the dispersal. Once in dispersal the 'after landing and shut down checks' will be carried out and the aircraft made safe.
Once the Crew Chief is satisfied the aircraft is safely parked, the aircraft will be made available for visitors, including a rare opportunity to visit the flightdeck. Donations at this point will be gratefully received.
The crew will be available to talk about the aircraft during this period.
The delivery crew on the 25th November 1993 were;
Sqn Ldr Steve Jenkins, Captain (Officer Commanding Victor Disposal Flight)
Flt Lt Tim Butler, right hand seat
Sqn Ldr Pete Lambert, AEO
Sqn Ldr Bill Scragg, NAV
Chief Tech Paul Covell, Crew Chief
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| The delivery crew |
It is hoped some of the original crew will be present for the 20th Anniversary, one member has already confirmed his intention to attend. Contact details have been found for all of the flightcrew. However the Crew Chief is proving elusive, any details of the whereabouts of Paul Covell would be appreciated!
We all remember where we 'were' at historic milestones in our lives. Can you remember where you were on the 25th November 1993??
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| XL231 strutting her stuff 2010 |
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Unique piece of Lindy memorabilia up for grabs
To celebrate 1 year of #twitterVforce and 20 years of Lindy leaving the Royal Air Force we have teamed up with twittervforce.com to auction off a unique piece of Lindy history and raise vital funds for her ongoing upkeep.
The item in question is:
Victor main wheel tyre, Removed from the Port front outer wheel assembly after the run in May where Flt Lt Olly Suckling Captained XL231 ‘Lusty Lindy’ for the first time. Remove due to wear and the second set of chords showing. In RAF speak; WTL (Worn to Limits)
Visit blog.twittervforce.com to find out more and place your bid!!
All monies raised from the auction will go to the ongoing maintenance of XL231. Thank you
Monday, 24 June 2013
Gerry Tempest 1946-2013
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| Dad and I - just after my first run in the left hand seat |
Thanks to his 'investment' we were able to acquire XL231 'Lusty Lindy' and although he was not an aircraft enthusiast he was happy to go along with the plan and buy a Victor. I knew he was hooked when we drove through the gate at RAF Marham and he saw the Gate Guardian XH673. "What's that aeroplane?" he asked, I then replied "Its a Victor". He then responded with "Wow! We are having one!" The rest is history...
Unfortunately on the delivery date of the 25th November he was unable to attend the arrival as both my mother and him were on holiday in Fuji.
Over the years he was able to have the occasional ride in XL231, socialise with the guys and generally continue to show an interest in what was happening. He handed XL231 over to myself in 1995 but, continued to remain interested. The annual Victor crew barbecue at his home during the August Elvington Airshow's were always a memorable event....
Sadly, he was taken from us by cancer on the morning of the 23rd June 2013, after an unbelievable 3 year battle, that would have sunk a lesser person after the initial 6 month diagnosis. He took the disease 'head on' and fought it every inch of the way, he amazed the medical staff with his positive attitude but sadly he couldn't win. The family and some close friends were at his bedside over the final 24 hours.
My father touched many people, he had an ability to 'enthuse' people and situations, that is what made him a success in his business life. His influence helped many people in their own businesses. Sadly for him in 1986 he was taken ill and this turned out to be eventually diagnosed as MS in 1999. His general manner could sometimes be classed as 'difficult', awkward and a bit odd at times, however, he refused to beaten by MS.
Without the foresight by him to buy XL231 then, there is absolutely no doubt she would have been turned into Coca Cola cans. Because of this, the historic and preservation world has the benefit of a supremely rare and elegant aircraft and it has altered my life and many others on the team and otherwise in so many ways.
Thanks Dad.
Please support Macmillan Cancer Support www.macmillan.org.uk whose care of my dad was fantastic.
Monday, 3 June 2013
Thunder Day - Amy Parkin
Regan had never seen a Victor before so as we turned round the corner, towards the entrance of Yorkshire Air Museum, I bellowed "Lindy!" and I heard a slight mumble from the back seat of my car... "Woaaahh.." I think he was impressed. I parked my car and off we went looking for Andre and Team Victor.
We found Andre and Ian sat near the NAAFI...
"Hello!" I said,
"I have something in my car for you."
"If it's flapjack, we'll have it!" Both Andre and Ian said."Don't tell the others about it."
I'd taken the team the usual Flapjacks, but also took Haribo (Moralibo - As dubbed by Siobhan, VTTST's Official Photographer!) and the photos I'd taken at Battle Group North.
After giving the flapjack, Moralibo, and photos to Team Victor, I asked if Andre could sign some photos I'd taken - He did, and they look great! Thanks, Andre. :)
My former co-volunteers from VTTST, Andy, Terry, and Janet were also visiting the museum that day, so we went to meet up with them and have a quick chat as I'd not seen them for a while. It was really great to see them!
After saying hello to Andy, Terry, and Janet, we took homemade cake, more Moralibo, and photos from Battle Group North to Team Nimrod. Nimchick, AKA, Hannah, was stood on XV250's starboard wing, so I walked over and bellowed;
"NIMCHICK! I HAVE CAKE!"
To which Hannah replied; "Cake! I'll be right down, I'll meet you over the other side."
Hannah appeared from XV250's portside, with Phil, I handed them the cake, Moralibo, and photos (from Battle Group North). A bit later on in the day, Hannah was walking around with the most adorable baby in aviation, Nimlet! As she was walking around she shouted; "The cake was great, thank you!"
And whilst pointing at Nimlet, "Our official cake tester approves!"
Whilst waiting for G-AMYJ to fire up, we decided we'd go and take pictures and have a little chat. Bryony and Regan are still pretty new to aviation, so they told me to 'educate' them on the aircraft in the museum. It was fun! I love being able to pass on my knowledge to others. :)
Anyways, we spent a good 20 minutes taking pictures (mostly of Lindy and the Lightning!) then headed over to G-AMYJ ready for her engine run. She sounded wonderful, and she just sounds better and better every time I watch her fire up!
Up next was Hawker Siddeley Nimrod XV250's turn, plus a lovely RAF BBMF Spitfire flypast. I really enjoyed watching both - The Spitfire flypast was fantastic and XV250's engines definitely woke me up!
Just after XV250's run finished, we moved our way over to the right, just to be a little more in line with Lindy. We stood there for about 5 minutes or so... Richard walked over to us, and pointed at me then said; "You come with me..."
I looked at him, pointed towards myself... "Me?"
He replied;"Yep!"
He then pointed at Bryony and Regan; "You two have to stay here... Sorry."
As we were walking over Richard said 'Andre just wants a quick word with you before they start her
Richard looked at me and said; "He's up there somewhere..."
Andre just popped his head out of the door and waved me up... "Up here!" He said.
I was shaking! I didn't know where to place myself! "ME?! GO UP THERE?!"
He replied; "Yes, come up here!"
After a few girly screams, I handed my bag to Richard, and made my way up the ladder. In the teeny tiny cockpit, Andre told me to sit down in the sixth seat and gave me a head set. As he handed me the headset he said; "We can't fire her up full, it's just a dry run, because of the cars behind us, but you can listen to the intercom."
As I put my headset on, Graham, who was sat in the co-pilot position peered to the left and said;
"Hello, I'm Graham, Blue 2!"
I'd spoken to Graham on the TwitterVforce forum quite a bit, but never actually met him in person... So it was nice to finally meet him!
Andre squished passed me and sat in the 'captains' seat. As he sat down, I asked if I could
John was in the back, he was running through the systems alongside Andre and Graham.
Graham checked my headset was on and working, everyone was chatting and testing the intercom system. Andre turned round and said; "Amy, can you hear us?"
"Yep!" I replied.
Tests followed...
"Outside to inside, can you hear us?" "Yep, we can hear you."
"Do you want the door open or closed?" "Closed, then it's a little less noisy for us up here."
Richard came and closed the door, then the team proceeded to run through all of Lindy's systems.
I didn't really know what to expect to be honest. I've never experienced anything like that before!
I sat there quietly, filming and taking photos, listening to what the crew were saying. Andre and Graham ran through the cockpit systems, and gave the hydraulics a 'good work out' - Graham did seem to struggle a little with the controls, he said they were heavy... They looked it!
It was strange, when I got home and I watched my sister's videos, I didn't realise how loud Lindy actually was! In the cockpit, I heard none of the noise, even on my videos, it was loud. But at the time, on the inside, it was quiet and quite serene, whereas on the outside, Lindy roared!
It was really hot in the cockpit, my makeup had pretty much melted off my face, and my hair had frizzed out like crazy (damn 'AvFemGeek' problems!), but all in all, I will not allow myself to complain. It was a fantastic experience, and I'm a VERY lucky girl!
After everything had been checked, Richard came back and opened the door, let me tell you, I have never been so happy to feel a breeze! I thought my car was hot, but it's even worse inside aircraft! Lindy was like a sauna. :) I clambered out of the cockpit and Rich was stood at the bottom, "Did you enjoy that?" He said. "Very much so!" I replied.
Andre climbed out, and I thanked him. He said; "Hot in there isn't it! And we weren't even wearing bone domes and flying gear!"
I thanked him once again... And made my way back over to Bryony and Regan. I even had a little 'victory' dance on my way back across!
Bryony and Regan greeted me, and Bryony said to me 'I'm really proud, I didn't think you would have gone up!' And to be honest, a year ago, I probably wouldn't have gone up.
After talking to Bry and Regan about being sat in the cockpit, I was still buzzing, but we decided to have a little walk around then go home, we'd looked at everything in the museum, and we had to get Regan home so he could revise for his GCSE's! (good luck, kiddo!)
Before we left, we nipped into the NAAFI and the shop, then we decided we would head home. I headed over to Andre and Team Victor before we left, we said goodbye and thank you once again.
We headed back to my car, and I rang my mum; "MUM GUESS WHAT!"
"What? Is everything okay?!" She said with slight worry in her voice.
"I SAT IN LINDY'S COCKPIT FOR DRY RUNS!!!"
"That's good but what's a dry run?"
I proceeded to explain, I don't think she had a clue about anything I was telling her, but she seemed very pleased for me! I drove home, absolutely buzzing!
This year has been a year of so many firsts and Team Victor have played a massive part in that. I really cannot thank them enough! As always, I left Elvington feeling really happy, content, and after yesterday, on a really big high. Sitting in a cockpit of your favourite V-Bomber during dry runs is certainly one way to end your weekend, if not the best way!
No doubt I'll be back at Elvington soon... With flapjack and Moralibo!
Once again, massive thank you to Andre and Team Victor, you guys rock!
Amy
Sunday, 19 May 2013
The #TwitterVForce revolution
@victorXL231 first joined Twitter around three years ago. In an age where people share their every waking moment on social media we thought we better join the 21st century.
With scepticism and little idea of how Twitter worked we took the plunge and who would have guessed that we would have ended up here; with over 2300 followers, some great 'Twitter' friends which have turned into many 'real' friends and our own #TwitterVForce revolution.
Through the magic of Twitter, below are just a few of the fantastic people we've had the pleasure of "meeting" some of them in person and some of them virtually!
@alexbirtwisle the nephew of Wing Commander Barry Neal, who played a substantive role during the Falklands Black Buck Raids and who has taxyed Lindy on many occasions. Read his story here!
@Reay75 who first met XL231 over 50 years ago whilst serving with the RAF at Wittering. We have since been able to reacquaint Ray with the aircraft he learnt his trade on. Read Ray's story here
@JamesBlatch who's father John R Blatch was a Victor Test Pilot. James very kindly shared his father's story HERE
@FlyingPodcast who introduced me to the world of podcasts - another new experience! My first podcast!
@Scoutbloke who photographed the disbandment of the Victor Fleet at Marham.
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| Victor Disbandment photo by Steve Cockayne (@Scoutbloke) |
The Twitter revolution continues with the formation of #TwitterVForce to promote & raise awareness of the V-Force preservation projects, of both the Avro Vulcan & Handley Page Victor.
Vulcan XH558 (@XH558)
Vulcan XM655 (@XM655)
Vulcan XL426 (@XL426)
Victor XL231 (@VictorXL231)
iRod Holmes (@ROD558)
XM655MaPS (@XM655MaPS)
If you haven't already signed up to Twitter I hope this blog may have motivated you to check it out and find some of the fantastic Tweeters I haven't named in this post (you know who you are!)
And just to prove how the Twitter V-Force revolution is continuing to grow, whilst writing this piece I've been followed and tweeted by @42BTYRA who's father served as ground crew on Victors!
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