I am currently reading the book VULCAN TEST PILOT, and its very interesting and also tells how Roy Chadwick died, Im sure you chaps know this but i was suprised that he died in an aircraft incident where the ailerons had been connected “in the wrong sense” , in my limited knowledge ailerons control the roll of an aircraft……How did this apply to the accident….
By: AdlerTag - 7th November 2010 at 23:32
The two major factors which caused the accident were firstly the fact that the ailerons couldn’t be seen from the cockpit during the ‘full and free movement’ check, and secondly that the airspace close to the airfield was being used for a military exercise.
During the aileron movement check, one of the crew was sent back down the fuselage to see if they were moving correctly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t realised that the yoke was being applied in the opposite direction, so all appeared well.
The airspace restrictions in place at the time of the accident meant that the crew were given instructions to execute an immediate 90 degree turn after take off to avoid the exercise area. This led to the aircraft being put into the steep bank at low level which ultimately lead to the accident. If they had gained more height before executing any turns, as was the more normal procedure, they may have had the height and time to recognise the problem.
By: low'n'slow - 7th November 2010 at 23:10
The pilot of the ill-fated Tudor was W. A. ‘Bill’ Thorn, former 1930s Brooklands engineer Lancaster production test pilot at Castle Bromwich and close friend of Alex Henshaw.
His son, Peter Thorn went on become one of the first BBMF pilots to fly the Lancaster.
By: efiste2 - 7th November 2010 at 23:10
Great info thanks fella’s 😉
By: TonyT - 7th November 2010 at 18:33
The aileron was actually connected up the wrong way round due to cables being crossed, so when the wing dipped to the right on take off the pilot would put aileron in to lift that wing up, unfortunately because this ailerons were reversed it actually increased the drop and the wing struck the ground resulting in the aircraft cartwheeling……
Chadwick who was supposed to be not to have been strapped in, but walking up the cabin and was catapulted fwd in the resulting crash through the windscreen and ended up face down in a pond or muddy puddle and drowned
if memory serves me correctly………
A sad demise and tragic loss to a great man, but lessons were learnt and duplicate inspections were introduced so two licenced engineers would check all flying control systems to ensure they were tensioned, locked and worked in the corrrect sense….
By: Propstrike - 7th November 2010 at 17:32
Try riding a bicycle with your arms crossed to grip the opposite handlebars.
Once you have fallen off (which you will ), your understanding of the Tudor captain’s problem will be greatly enhanced.
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November 7, 2010 at 4:50 pm