Sea Vixen AAR Tanker Panel

Blimey not often one encounters Scimitar crew, would love to hear any experiences of the type.

No pics I,m sorry,
Info based on a 50 year old memory, I finished my three years on Scimitars long before the Buddy pod came along.

Pod and HDU Panels

Next question,
Has anyone got a photo, illustration, or information of the S.Vixen camera pod / recce control panel (I promise that I don’t have this myself!) ?
This fits in the same hole as the tanker control panel when that isn’t fitted.
Also a picture of the recce pod and buddy refuelling pod would be appreciated, heck while I’m here a pitcure of the Harley light pod would be great aswel.

Going back to the Victor tanker, has anyone got a picture of the tanker control panels situated in th rear cockpit? I can’t find anything anywhere!

Try The Handley Page Victor by Roger R Brooks in two volumes from Pen and Sword it has many pictures of the crew positions etc

Thanks for that Lihpsir, sounds like the right area and panels, if you find any pics…;)
On the SV the same hole could be occupied either by the Tanker panel or reccon panel, and possibly a bomb control/fusing panel.

AFAIK the only detachable panel on the Scimitar was on the starboard console between the CWP and the Oxygen regulator.
The panel fitted depended on the type of ordnance carried.

Thanks Matt, I should be getting copies from FoxVC10 aswel sometime.

i have the electronic scans of the AP’s here (thanks FOXVC10) so i’ll trawl through them when i get a chance and try and copy

Hi Dai, the tanker & reccon control panel are operated from the dark observers hole, the sim has the same (very restricted!) view as the actual aircraft. Both of these roles were practised in the sim syllabus and the wiring and connectors are there to accept these role panels behind the fitted blank.
When tanking it is hard to imagine anyone but the reciever aircraft having any view of the process anyway, it seems the tanker aircraft just held at a certain speed and height while the receiver formed up behind.

TBH I’m not expecting to find these panels, but it would be nice to see some info as I haven’t seen much about them.
You might be surprised at just how complex this beastie created by your old emlpoyers is!:)

Thanks for that Matt, can you reproduce those SV illustrations here?
I have seen the refuelling pod on the Bucc site, and it also has a pic of the afore mentioned control panel in the rear port side cockpit.

there are pics of the refueling pod and recce pod in the topic 1 for the vixen i’ve seen them, i think the refuel pod is the same as the one they are trying to get a pylon for to possible fit to bucc xx900 at brunty (there’s a pic on that bucc site of it)

Hi James
With no visual system on the Sea Vixen Sim , it is difficult to imagine inflight refuelling either as a tanker or receiver in pitch darkness !!!

Still it all adds to the illusion if the interior fit is correct
Good hunting Dai

Next question,
Has anyone got a photo, illustration, or information of the S.Vixen camera pod / recce control panel (I promise that I don’t have this myself!) ?
This fits in the same hole as the tanker control panel when that isn’t fitted.
Also a picture of the recce pod and buddy refuelling pod would be appreciated, heck while I’m here a pitcure of the Harley light pod would be great aswel.

Going back to the Victor tanker, has anyone got a picture of the tanker control panels situated in th rear cockpit? I can’t find anything anywhere!

That’s fantastic Andy, there were two Vixens together, and I’m guessing the pic was taken from one of them. I will try and find the where abouts of the trials.
It must have been quite a sight to see, I’ve heard 135 crews describe the effect of a B-52 nudging up behind them, it must have been something else with these two, and not sure how long the transferrable amount of fuel would last in a Valiant!

Pagen01, I don’t know where that pic of the Sea Vixen/Valiant was taken but it really made me sit up and take notice!

I have a clear recall of seeing one Sea Vixen refuelling a Valiant over Hailsham (north of Eastbourne) with another Sea Vixen off to port (I think?) flying over Hailsham in East Sussex at around 1962 or 63. I don’t think they were terribly high and were on an east-west track. I would have been about seven. I can still recall exactly where I was standing with my two older sisters who told me the bigger plane was being towed! I rushed home to identify the types in my Observers Book of Aircraft and then saved my pocket money to buy the Dinky Sea Vixen!

It was a defining moment in the aeronautical interest of the young Saunders, and so that image was especially evocative. I have never seen it before and sometimes have thought I imagined what I witnessed!

Same here please Bruce!
Thanks for the Victor confirmation Robert.

I shall ask the question!

oh pooh if only i’d known id have got one for 494

Bruce do you have a list of wants for your vixen other than the aileron we discussed ref the glass

I sold two on ebay this year…..

Bruce

Hi Pagen
They were indeed fitted to the K2 Victor on the stbd side, Nav rad postion on his left. Two side-by side above the HDU panel. I believe that they were moved to the AEO position when the a/c were modded for a four man crew.
Sorry no pics though.

Hi Matt this is from the Pilots Notes which has a whole section on tanking,

Give me a PM if you require the FAW.2 PNs.

As an aside, this same control panel was universal to all ‘buddy’ pack tankers, does anyone know where it was fitted in the Scimitar (the only British single seat tanker?) and where and if it was used in the Victor K.1s or 2s?
Thanks

Just out of interest have you any photo’s of what this one looks like ???