I’ve just been reading about the Shackleton, in a mag a very interesing history and an interesting plane. Now it seems that there are a couple of examples that are possibly airworthy.
One in America that last flew in 2007 but needs a respar?? According to some info i found on google.
Then one in South Africa that is airworthy, but doesn’t have may hours left on the airframe? What does that mean then what happens to an aircraft that is near to the end would that mean they’d be grounded perminatley just imagining the possible Avro flight Vulcan, Lancaster and Shackleton.
I wasn’t old enough to see a Shackleton fly looks like a very impressive plane.
By: Peter - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
UK’s only shot at getting a Shack flying again…
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=86442&highlight=Classic+flight+Shackleton
By: Nashio966 - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
We have a huge amount of spares for 963′ the problem in getting her back into the air is the lack of readily available funds
having sat outside for 20 years she is in dire need of TLC which we are doing our absolute best to do, but she needs a lot of work and there arent many of us available to work on the old girl 🙁
As I understand it the CAA is happy for us to fly her again, but she will need pulling apart and completely resparring
we need a LOT of money to do it, but i dont think getting her flying again has been completely given up on
By: timuss - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
UK’s only shot at getting a Shack flying again…
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=86442&highlight=Classic+flight+Shackleton
Interesting thanks for that. It would be amazing to see her flying at some stage.
By: timuss - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
We have a huge amount of spares for 963′ the problem in getting her back into the air is the lack of readily available funds
having sat outside for 20 years she is in dire need of TLC which we are doing our absolute best to do, but she needs a lot of work and there arent many of us available to work on the old girl 🙁
As I understand it the CAA is happy for us to fly her again, but she will need pulling apart and completely resparring
we need a LOT of money to do it, but i dont think getting her flying again has been completely given up on
Yeah i’d imagine its a big job to sort, i’d love to see on in the air.
By: Nashio966 - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
Something between £2/3million has been tossed around for the cost of a respar, as well as the cost of a hangar and certified engineers to carry out the work. its a BIG job!
By: timuss - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
Something between £2/3million has been tossed around for the cost of a respar, as well as the cost of a hangar and certified engineers to carry out the work. its a BIG job!
eeeeek yeah a big job indeed. What about the one in the US?
By: J Boyle - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
eeeeek yeah a big job indeed. What about the one in the US?
Well, they flew it to the museum a couple of years ago…and thedesert is fairly kind to aircraft.
I’m sure with enough money, it could happen.
By: Nashio966 - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
She’s been gifted to the pima air and space museum, and is in need of the same treatment. Ive been told that 790 has been gutted, but im not sure how true that is?
By: timuss - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
Found some air to air shots from the last flight of the US one:
By: Peter - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
I doubt 790 has been gutted unless parts fitted for the ferry flight have been removed??
Link to an engine runup in 2007.
By: Nashio966 - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
ill hopefully have some new film of this up soon as we’re going to run her up tomorrow (i think) but only three engines, as we’ve not finished the engine swap yet 🙂
By: Moggy C - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
As I understand it the CAA is happy for us to fly her again
If this is the case why was the other Atlantique airframe flown to the US where it could operate rather than staying in the UK where it couldn’t?
What’s changed?
Moggy
By: AdlerTag - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
Keep up the good work Nashio! Sadly I haven’t seen her run for a couple of years, last time I saw her was a mightily impressive twilight run a couple of Decembers ago.
How often is she run as a rule? Is there still enough space for her to taxi at the moment with all the temporary fences etc that are up around AA?
By: Nashio966 - 31st March 2025 at 13:22
If this is the case why was the other Atlantique airframe flown to the US where it could operate rather than staying in the UK where it couldn’t?
What’s changed?
Moggy
happy for her to fly again, providing she has all the work done to respar her as i had said in my post that you cut the end off 😉 same applies for 790 which would effectively be grounded upon her return to the uk unless the respar was carried out
By: Chox - 31st March 2025 at 13:21
Been a while since this matter has popped-up but the last gossip I heard was that the one at Pima had been virtually abandoned and/or gutted? Not seen any information to confirm this though. As for bringing the aircraft back here, I believe the story was that Mr Collett claimed the CAA simply wouldn’t allow it, even for a one-off pre-restoration ferry flight. I believe he also said that although the CAA have made their usual noises about being “happy to co-operate” it actually means all the usual red tape (design authority responsibility and so on) which plagued the Vulcan’s restoration, so much so that Collett didn’t think there was any viable way of bringing the aircraft back to the UK. Whatever the precise reasons, it was a very, very sad affair. The one magnificent remaining Shackleton which left the UK without fanfare and was never to return – and then left to rot in the desert.
As for the one still at Coventry, I guess the same problems arise. If the CAA are going to wrap the aircraft up in expensive red tape (as I’m sure they will – don’t they always?), it will never fly. You’d imagine that a four-engined piston wouldn’t be a particularly big deal though, especially when DC-6’s have been chugging in and out of Coventry for years. But no doubt the fact that the Shack is a military machine will cause the usual hysteria in the CAA’s offices. Likewise, I guess the chances of raising money must be slim when so many people have been worn-out by the Vulcan saga.
It’s even more sad that there’s a potentially flyable Shackleton sat out there in South Africa, rapidly becoming in danger of being pilot-less! If there’s no ability or will to fly it any longer, maybe some effort should be made to persuade the SAAF to bring the aircraft back to its country of origin while it is still technically a military aircraft – and therefore able to avoid the scrutiny of the CAA. Maybe this time the flight wouldn’t end in the desert?!
Anyway I wish the folks at Coventry good luck with their endeavours. I’d be truly delighted to see (and hear) the magnificent Shackleton lumbering around again. Truly, there was no other aircraft that sounded quite so impressive – that delicious moment as she sweeps by and the Griffons buzz and growl… truly memorable! Then again I once remember getting my ears de-sensitised on a very long ride out over the sea, with the rear fuselage window open – now that was just silly!
By: minimans - 31st March 2025 at 13:21
Something between £2/3million has been tossed around for the cost of a respar, as well as the cost of a hangar and certified engineers to carry out the work. its a BIG job!
How many man hours are needed to do a spar change? I restore Motor Cars for a living and I can do an awfull lot work at $100 per hour for 4.8million dollars!!!
By: Peter - 31st March 2025 at 13:21
The one magnificent remaining Shackleton which left the UK without fanfare and was never to return – and then left to rot in the desert.
Highly unlikely Chox!! If the Shackleton was simply going to be left to rot in the desert, then PIMA museum would not have been chosen for her final flight. Are you not aware of the dry conditions that preserve aircraft in the desert of the USA? It is a multi million dollar business storing aircraft in the desert and I am not talking about Pima.. Dry conditions preserve aircraft much better than the wet conditions that the UK do sorry,but that is a fact.
By: Feather #3 - 31st March 2025 at 13:21
It may help that I was inside the Pima Shack for an inspection in May08 and she looked in pretty good nick, all things being equal, to me.
G’day 😉
By: TwinOtter23 - 31st March 2025 at 13:21
I believe that the Restoration Manager and volunteers that look after WR977 at Newark are currently liaising with the Shackleton Team at Pima over detailed markings / stencils that are applied to both versions of the Shackleton.
Strange course of action for something being “..then left to rot in the desert” :rolleyes:
By: Kenneth - 31st March 2025 at 13:21
Stating that
… the CAA simply wouldn’t allow it…
is different to stating that
…the CAA have made their usual noises about being “happy to co-operate” it actually means all the usual red tape…
Did they ban it or did they ask for a certain – albeit probably complicated – procedure to be followed? These are two different things!
It’s interesting to note that this Shackleton was operated by the same company which claimed that EASA stopped DC-3 joyrides. These nonetheless continue in Germany and Holland, amongst others.
You’d imagine that a four-engined piston wouldn’t be a particularly big deal though, especially when DC-6’s have been chugging in and out of Coventry for years
The DC-6 is a certified aircraft, the Shackleton isn’t. A paperwork difference, perhaps, but an important one.
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January 26, 2010 at 10:04 pm