Blackpool Vulcan (Zombie)

Sadly Peter, yes it was. I was lucky enough to have a bloody good wander around, as you can see, and probably could have grabbed anything lying in the pile (Olympus 301 anyone??:D ) but I just never thought to pick anything up.I had to stash the intake blank in a hedge for about 5 hours while I drove home and borrowed a bigger car off my mate to go and pick it up!! Under the cover of darkness, I drove back, picked it up, driving home with my neck cranked over to the right, and then threw it in the garage where it has been forever since. They weren’t even going to give me the blank at first but, hey-ho, bit of gentle persuasion… 😉

Was the intake blank the only thing you nabbed?

Nice set of pictures, in your garage clearout, don’t suppose you were chucking that tatty old car away were you 🙂

Not a chance!! 😉

My apologies for ressurecting this old thread from the dead. I was clearing the garage out last sunday and got some pictures of the blanking cover I got as XL391 was scrapped. As you can see, you don’t realize how big they are…:eek:

Nice set of pictures, in your garage clearout, don’t suppose you were chucking that tatty old car away were you 🙂

Sad to see it being scrapped, i remember going to see it shortly after it arrived when it was immaculate and complete, shame i live so far away now, when it was scrapped I probably could have afforded a rivet or two as a momento

Corrosion in the undercarriage componants is a serious issue that has sometimes resulted in the rest of the airframe being scrapped. Both Victor XL190 at St Mawgan and Phantom XV500 (498) at St Athan had serious U/C weakness. St Mawgans Shackleton could soon be on its third tailwheel, unless some local engineering works. It’s a shame that a permanant fix can’t be found for this special alloys corrosion, as such a small componant is vital to the health of a preserved aircraft.

Judging by those pics I am shocked she stayed up on her wheels all those years!I firmly believe that there could have been more parts sold off from her eg oxy or compressed air bottles noticed in one pic.

I also never knew that those intake blanks were reversible!

Hadn’t seen this thread before as it started long before I joined the forum but the thread does highlight the problems of maintaining aircraft outside.
As Melvyn Hiscock correctly stated there was a lot of speculation about the longevity of many of the “saved” Vulcans when they were first bought and flown in to various sites.
I saw both the Southend and Hendon Beverlies shortly before they were scrapped and the Southend machine was certainly dangerous as corrosion had destroyed much of the undercarriage bogie beams and it was obvious from close up that the Hendon airframe needed huge amounts of work and money as well.
I remember Bill Gent worked for Hanningfield Metals at one time and they broke up a Varsity (I think) at Duxford probably about 20 years ago. He said that one of the senior staff remarked at the time that further visits from the scrapman could be on the cards in the future – an acknowmedgment of the problems inherent in maintaining airframes outside.
Fortunately Duxford have since been able to bring much of their collection in from the cold but inevitably others aren’t so lucky.
I am sure that sadly the preservation movement will continue to suffer other losses simply because there isn’t a bottomless pit of money to preserve every old airframe no matter how significant some of them may be to the aviation world.

Seeing as this is back from the dead, here are my pictures from that day, ableit just over two years late!!

I was given her port FOD cover today by the scrappers but I couldn’t get it in the bloody car!! So, I stashed it in a hedge and i’ve just been back to get it!! Just about fitted in a Ford Galaxy!! You don’t realise how big they are… 😮

My apologies for ressurecting this old thread from the dead. I was clearing the garage out last sunday and got some pictures of the blanking cover I got as XL391 was scrapped. As you can see, you don’t realize how big they are…:eek:

i disagree, if we chop up birds like this for the scrapmans bentley fund we are all guilty of planeslaughter if we dont get on to the powers that be they will nothing left for our kids we dint chop up the beverlet did we?

Wildcat – Maybe if the numerous souvenir hunters hadn’t clambered inside her to remove parts and the weather had been arid in Blackpool for the last twenty four years she might have had a chance. The reality is that he is castigated for keeping something away from the smelters for twenty plus years -something the RAF wasn’t going to do and now because he has put her out of her misery people think he is a lesser individual than the rest of us who didn’t buy a Vulcan in 1982 !
As for the land that she sat on – I guess again as the owner of it he is pretty much entitled to do as he wishes!

I have plenty of pictures, old and new of this Aircraft. I was going to buy the cockpit, but its badly damaged inside. I climbed inside it as she lay on her side in the breakers yard. Will post pics soon.

hahahahah….. the ram air turbine

Peter, when you say rat, do you mean Ram Air Turbine or Bateson? :diablo:

dunno but the cost of the rat has increased

Shame he didn’t spend as much time and effort looking after her as he has on making even more money from flogging of bits.

I heard somewhere he is selling the Air Centre. Purely cynical of me but if thats the case it explains the need to finally let go of 391. What value do you reckon he has put on that peice of land where once 391 stood?

so are you going to go after that rat then?

Thanks will great pics

You’re welcome Peter!
😉

Thanks will great pics

And you know who the seller is don’t you….

Peter, send me your email address again please mate, the one you sent me isn’t working for some reason…