This Forum's Shackleton project

Whatever happened to Dave T? I hope he’s safe and sound wherever he is

I think he morphed into Jack Ruskin

Whatever happened to Dave T? I hope he’s safe and sound wherever he is

Didn’t Camlobe post recently that he was considering putting it up for sale ?

I think this is the nose section that turned up today in Harderwijk (the Netherlands)…

Didn’t Camlobe post recently that he was considering putting it up for sale ?

Any updates on this one?

Fantastic News!

Hmm….think I shall suggest to my girlfriend we go to her parents place in Conwy one weekend soon and pop over to have a look!

Well done Camlobe…see you at CockpitFest??!!

Arrived at Henry Orchards at about 0830 Friday after travelling all night.

Druid, you do of course mean 08.30 on Thursday not Friday 😀

Any forecourt photo’s from the journey home or now that it’s been washed ?

😉

An interesting story camlobe, well done to all involved:D .

As an asside I think you should qualify for a new free clutch from Landrover as you have clearly advertised how strong it is:dev2: .

I wish you and all the project members all the best for her restoration.

Regards,

John.

Hi everyone.

A little update since now I have woken up.

On Wednesday afternoon at 4 o’clock, the trailer owner said I could pick it up. Off I went with a friend. An hour later we were there. Moved the horsebox and boat out of the way. Then spent an hour freeing off the brakes and fixing the lights. Back to the airfield to load up and off to St Austell we went. Arrived at Henry Orchards at about 0830 Friday after travelling all night. Henry had a few guys assist us in loading the nose. The guys were very patient with me, repositioning the nose at least half a dozen times until I was happy with the balance. Strapped up ready to go, I sent a picture to Dave T (wich he has kindly posted at the top of this thread. Thanks Dave). Extended many thanks to Mr Orchard and off we went.

Routing through rural Cornwall on the way to the M5, it became obvious that we were attracting considerable attention. Anybody would think the locals had never seen a Discovery with a trailer before!! One poor chap became so fixated with Mr Rusty that he hadn’t realised that the car in front of him had come to a halt. So he used the boot of the car in front as a brake. Ouch.

Progress was very appropriate for a Shack. Sedate and unrushed. We were able to enjoy the views at great length as they didn’t change very quickly. The GPS did show 55 kts on one downhill stretch, but the average was between 45 and 50 MPH. Until we hit a hill. Any hill. Ah, well. What was the hurry. Mr Rusty has waited for many years to be rescued from the torch. Another couple of hours was nothing.

We managed to get to the M5/M6 junction at 1705 hrs. Only a one mile queue. Not too bad. Funny thing was, no-one around us seemed to be in a rush as they all slowed or stopped for a look. Must have been appreciating the paint job on my Disco. All of you who transport your cockpit sections around the countryside to various meets are probably used to it. I considered it from a different viewpoint. The government should hire cockpiteers and their ilk to drive around the road network with their cockpits in tow. The most effective mobile traffic calming measure I have ever seen.

The first time we stopped for fuel, I had a bit of a suprise. This was the first time I had seen the Disco/Shack combo since we left HO’s place, and that had been in the rain. Standing head, shoulders and chest above everything on the forecourt, I suddenly realised just how big it is. The continual barrage of questions every time we stopped for fuel were followed by appreciative and positive comments from
‘I don’t know what it is but it looks interesting’
to
‘my uncle/dad/grandad/father-in-law used to fly those’
and
‘good luck’
We had a lot of the latter, as the whole trip was as straight forward as one could hope for.

The winds were as forcast i.e. strong. For most of the trip, the winds were side or tail. Until we turned West off the M6 onto the M54. Headwind all the way home. That’s 40 MPH to you. It took a very, very long time to travel along the North Wales coast.

Back safe at EGCK, we unhitched and went to bed. A 41 hour day, but worth every minute.

Today, the first bit of TLC in fifteen years. Cornish moss hangs on with superglue. A couple of hours later and the outside is now Faded Battleship Grey. A friend came along with his HIAB and we were able to able to lift the nose off the borrowed trailer and position it onto my four-wheel trailer, the intended permanent mount. Once the trailer has been refurbished to road legal standards, it will allow me to move Mr Rusty in and out of the museum and around to some events, should I get it a bit more presentable.

The collection of Shack items I have will slowly find their way into Mr Rusty. Pilots instrument panels, engineers panel, Bomb aimers cushions etc. Although not complete, the instrument panels will fill up with the passage of time.

If any of you have Shack gear that is cluttering up your garage/shed/attic and you are looking for a home for it, drop me a line. I know a welcoming home.

Hope I haven’t bored you all to death. Happy New Year to you all.

camlobe

Hi everyone. Just a quick couple of words. Been a long (41 hour) day.

Mr Rusty has arrived safe and well at Caernarfon. There were a few incidents that I will post about tomorrow.

Off to snore now. Thanks everyone for your words of encourage and support.

Nite nite.

camlobe

Shack wheels

Hi–

“The wheels and tires from the Shack”? In what condition? IIRC both flyable Lancs use Shack wheels/brakes/tires. I know for sure the CWH one does, as they went to great lengths to get Lincoln gear legs to accommodate the Shack wheels…

In any case, great to see the nose of that Shackleton evade the axe!

Cheers

S.

The wheels taken about 10 years ago.

Hi–

“The wheels and tires from the Shack”? In what condition? IIRC both flyable Lancs use Shack wheels/brakes/tires. I know for sure the CWH one does, as they went to great lengths to get Lincoln gear legs to accommodate the Shack wheels…

In any case, great to see the nose of that Shackleton evade the axe!

Cheers

S.

I’m pretty sure I probably have the last ever airborne picture of ‘756 taken when it made its final landing at St Mawgan in Jun ’91.

I’ll try and dig it out if anyone’s interested?

Dave, on saying that was there any other parts or sections from the cockpit in the yard?

No other avaition related items apart from a manky Mk2 ejection seat, an unknown jet engine, and the wheels/tyres from the Shack’.

They only kept the nose this long because at the time they also acquired/scrapped the one-off Shorts SC-9 XH132, and the interest generated by it’s cockpit section and subsequent sale to an Italian collector for a hefty sum, meant they thought that it could be profitable [ala Vulcan XL391].

Any news on that Varsity cockpit (WL627 ?) in the Hull area….?

.

parts

Dave, on saying that was there any other parts or sections from the cockpit in the yard?

Robert,

No 50mph winds here, they are currently gusting at 70mph 😮

Peter,

I’m afraid that’s how it comes, as neadorthol man has little or no knowledge of transport joints etc… they just cut ’em up to suit their transport back to their yard without getting involved in regulations (eg: anything over 9ft 6″ is a wide load)

Cheers……. 😉

Thanks for the update Dave!

They have their work cutout with this project. But the group is to be commended for saving this large section from the scrapper! Seems silly the way it was cut instead of being a complete cockpit section right up to the transport joint.

Thanks for the information and the photo. Hope the transport goes well. Not someting you do on the spur of the moment. Hope they are not getting the 50 mph winds we are at present!!

Blimey – that’s going to turn a few heads on the A55! I’d like to see the insurance claims …”when I was overtaken by a Shackleton in the outside lane, at which point I piled into the back of the person in front who’d braked because he thought he was hallucinating”…:D

Unless the Disco has been washed on too hot a cycle, it also gives you a rather better idea of just how much bulk there is in one of these things than standing next to one on it’s legs. Good job there’s some big sheds at Llandwrog!

Adrian