Sad state of affairs…..

I know the info on that site is a bit outdated now but I am sure they could have at least repainted her … our lanc was outside for 30 yrs and she was repainted(not stripped) at least 3 times!

Thanks for finding the link Peter.

I cant believe the waste of time and effort surrounding the gloss paint episode. If the paint manufacturers and other museums had encountered problems in the past, why did the IWM know better.

As a large number of aircraft are displayed externally around the UK, will the durability of new solvent free paints become another problem that preservation groups will have to contend with. Health and Safety implications on the application of paints, has no doubt already hindered many conservation programmes.

Septic.

Yak 11 Droptank has more than enough time on his hands so I believe I heard he is in a right Fury at present something to do with an engine, I think he should pull his finger out

Maybe IWM needs to recruit some fresh blood.

Septic.[/QUOTE]

Fresh blood?

Mmmmm.

Maybe thats just what the 85 acre heritage complex needs.

Please leave her as a tanker! The role of the Victor as a bomber is insignificant compared to her use over the years in the tanker role.
Whilst it would certainly make her appear more warlike to have an empty bomb bay I am a firm believer in not messing with history for the sake of it.
She arrived as a ‘K’ -leave her that way!

I took this from the link above,it does’nt seem to be all doom and gloom as long as the plans are ” true and WILL proceed as promised”.
True, she’s not a pretty sight at present. First impressions are misleading though, for although she looks neglected and weather-beaten, nothing is further from the truth. Although the paintwork is faded and peeling, it’s largely a cosmetic problem and structurally she is quite sound. Moreover, XH648 is at the heart of the IWM’s plans for the new ‘Airspace’ hangar, a nineteen-million pound project that will double the floor area of the existing ‘Superhangar’ and present a history of British aviation through the ages.

Original hand-written ASI correction notes still in place from her last flight!
At the moment she is lovingly tended to by a small team, led by Conservation Officer Dave Upton and volunteer Sue Hopkins. Once a week ‘648 is opened up and restoration work carried out to the cockpit, which has suffered the extremes of many summers and winters since her systems were last operational. The biggest enemy is water seepage through the canopy seals – they would have been pressurised when in service, but obviously this is not possible any more, so many of them have been plugged with sealant. However, the cockpit is in remarkably original condition, even down to the hand-written notes that Tony Cunnane would have used on that last flight in 1976! It really is a little time capsule, the fifties technology seeming quite primitive when compared to today’s multi-functional display space-age cockpits. It is very much Sue’s baby – ironic, as she gave birth to her first child in November. “It was a bit difficult moving around in the cockpit at seven months pregnant”, she said in a classic case of understatement! When asked if aircraft were a particular interest for her, she replied “Not really – but I couldn’t bear to see her just rot away – she needs to be looked after.”

Dave, an ex-Vulcan and Victor Airframe Technician, explained that plans for ‘648’s restoration had actually been put on hold temporarily. “It had been planned to move her into Hangar 5 for a complete overhaul, but this would have meant removing the tail, not an easy job on a Victor as the CofG of the tail isn’t always where you expect it.” Part of this uncertainty is a result of all Victors being different – each one was hand-built by Handley-Page, and consequently panels aren’t interchangeable, some even having a different number of rivets between aircraft!

The plan to use Hangar 5 was abandoned when the Airspace project was announced, as the new ‘Super-superhangar’ will have its own dedicated ‘conservation’ area, where the public can see the work as it progresses. The area will be large enough to house the Victor and several other large aircraft at the same time. Work on the new hangar will commence towards the end of next year and is planned to be complete by 2005, when ‘648 will be moved to the conservation area. The refurbishment of the Victor is expected to take two to three years, and will go as deep as a ‘major’ would have done during her service – the undercarriage will come off, the engines out and of course a complete re-paint. Dave would dearly love to see her returned to pure B1A status (as would we!) and re-sprayed in her original all-white anti-flash scheme, but a decision has not yet been made.

So, she’ll continue to look a bit bedraggled for another year or two, but she’s in safe hands and has a secure future – send your votes in now for that sixties all-white paint scheme!

Thanks to the staff and volunteers of the IWM for their help in compiling this article.

Id like to know what happened to the husband and wife team that was working on the victor?!

They seemed to leave shortly after the Victor was repainted last time. Last heard of involved with another Victor in the UK.

Trust you will be volunteering your services?
Thought not…

I have a feeling Mr Droptank may have enough to keep him occupied without getting involved with the Victor. Could be wrong though!!!!!!

just found this link
http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/hangar/2002/victor/xh648/xh648.htm

Id like to know what happened to the husband and wife team that was working on the victor?!

we could offer our assisstance maybe art time and restore her outside any ideas would help her?
stewart.

great idea but here are some problems with this, firstly distance for some of us, personaly i am about 170 miles away from duxford. also timing, finding a day say each month when most of us will be available to participate.
not trying to be a “party pooper” here, just some thoughts i had when i read your post mate.
i agree that this airframe looks in a deplorable state, and a good clean up will do wonders for its apperance. but stopping the rot must be priority, remember what happened to Cosfords Vulcan B1? last of its kind and reduced to a nose section because [quote] it will cost about £1million to put right and even if that sort of money became available it would be spent on other projects [unquote] (can’t remember the source btw but i belive it was in Flypast)
Greg

guys lets not forget there are plans in place but without financial support how can they look after the treasures of GB. Duxford is doing a great job but whilst airspace is erected there is littlke room for the giants, yes the state of thevictor worries me but at the moment the collection has out grown its space. we could offer our assisstance maybe art time and restore her outside any ideas would help her?
stewart.

Will- the Air-Space project is indeed about ‘home grown’ products . That does
however include the CF-100 which was born in Canada and I am sure other
Commonweath products will feature.
Whilst I broadly support the principle the money being spent on the project is vast whereas a few hours with detergent and pressure washer
would cost a tiny amount in comparison.

They need to get rid of some management first!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[QUOTE=Yak 11 Fan]Good grief the poor old thing looks worse than ever!!! I really hope it doesn’t go the same way as the Convair and the Varsity.

Duxford also scrapped the Comet 2 XK695 just prior to the Convair and Varsity.

Does part of the problem stem from a lack of volunteers and health and safety issues. When I first started going to Duxford in the early 80’s there were many DAS crews looking after the static exhibits, cleaning, repainting and polishing there way through sundays. Now when you go there seems to be very few people actually working on the aircraft. Maybe IWM needs to recruit some fresh blood.

Septic.

Even if someone went at it with a pressure washer to tidy it up a bit and remove the moss growing onit…! I remember reading about her having some of her systems operational at one time… doubt that will ever happen again………:0(

There was a bit of debate about the Victor on this forum a while back, and if memory serves, it’s in better condition than it looks from the outside.
I’m sure someone can give more on this, but wasn’t there an issue with the matt paint?
The Shackleton,on the other hand, is quite another thing….

I don’t very often enter into a debate about things like this, howerver, Many moons ago I made a comment on this site regarding Duxford and American built aeroplanes, that comment seems more apt now than ever before. “Unless it has Stars and Bars it will not get any attention at all.” Having been part of the “V” force myself many years ago, I feel for the Victor, it looked b—-y shaby when it was painted last time, as to how many K1s will be left in 5 years. If its left to this lot – NONE.

[QUOTE=Will J]Steady on ! Remember that …. etc etc QUOTE]

Ooops, sorry I did not mean to cause offence or wind anybody up 😉

If its not American let it rot thats the rule i think 😀

Maybe you could look and find that (not fully knowing the whole story) many of the American exhibits were financed by Americans and therefore they will look in better nick than those British exhibits not being ‘assisted’ by British money.

Trust you will be volunteering your services?
Thought not…

Flood