Lindy’s LadI was there today and they were about to jack the aircraft to carry out OOPs (Out Of Phase maintenance) on the U/C legs – NDTing some trunnions. It was all hands to the pumps, and the atmosphere was upbeat. There was talks of the test flights being planned for the next couple of weeks – but as ever, no firm committment as to when. Nothing to worry about though, all is well and progressing.
From an engineering point of view, everything was progressing as planned.:)
Lindy’s LadPhil, sorry mate. The photo at work is not of 419, but of my other baby…
http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1051313/
🙁
Lindy’s LadIt can be put to bed – in fact I assumed it already had been. no posts since february…
I still don’t have a deffinite answer, although Cooks Transport are very helpful people…..;)
Lindy’s LadKarl Edmondson has an Auster which he transports around the country on a regular basis. Its not a flyer, but an excellent ground exhibit – and fits in two car parking spaces…..
Lindy’s LadVictor
Chipmunk
Vulcan
T33
Mystere
F86D
Lancaster
Dove
JP mk3 (x2)
Boeing 737-200 (preserved in a tech school)
Canberra TT18
Lightning
….. I’m sure there’s alot more
Lindy’s Ladheres the leeming image
but look at google earth only some fait aircraft images and there arnt as many
i saw them aug of last year
but there appeads to be something here
668
This has been discussed so many times on here…
Leeming used to have 3 phantoms – 2 were cut up around 2001, the last one survives complete (less engines). They were decoys located between AMF and XI(F) sqn HAS site.
The remaining phantom is being cared for to a degree, and yes, several museums are or have been in discussions.
The other aircraft which can be seen on various older satellite images are Javelins – one Leeming Gate guard, the other YAM’s example on loan.
Lindy’s LadNordjet, obviously I can’t comment on the specific project – there are far more qualified people than me (i.e. actually running the project).
However, as an aircraft engineer I can say with absolute certainty that anything can be made to run again providing the skills are present. Corrosion can be removed, and parts replaced or manufactured. Airworthiness is an altogether different subject, but ground running?… no problem.
All the best to the Viscount guys..:D
Lindy’s LadHow was the Hindenberg driven?….. by a german with a steering wheel…
coat, door, etc etc
Lindy’s LadDid I visit NEAM back in about ’90/’91 as a 11/12 year old aviation freak whose love of the venerable Chipmunk started with this picture? I know the museum was to the west of Sunderland and checking on Google Earth it seems NEAM is to the west…
Yes, it is me in the picture 😮
Thats our place… Lots has changed since you were last there (aside form puberty…)
The chipmunk is at Newcastle College in an array of bits, and the old entrace building is now a store room…. Quality pic!
Lindy’s LadLindy’s Lad,
Do you need to keep the end caps complete for any reason, or can you hack away at them? I’m guessing from the way you describe drilling the bolts, that you’re prepared to damage them anyhow. As you’re probably aware, the end caps are bolted through the rear ‘spectacles’ with the anchor nuts actually being in the end caps theirselves. The screws on the external skin are merely for added support. If you were to hacksaw, or Stihl saw through the gap between the cap and the airframe, this would allow the end cap to be removed and the bolt heads to be removed with far more ease than messing around with 90’s and Ezi-outs to remove the bolts. You’ll be pretty hard pressed to get them out that way anyway through the woefully inadequate access panels without damaging the structure, if 558 is anything to go by. Far better to mangle the end cap than to mangle the airframe.
Without an egg sucking lesson, have you considered filling the tyres with sand, or a similar solid substance? This would remove the worries about the rubber condition.
……………..
Cheers,
Flipflopman
The end caps are mangled anyway. With the one we have managed to remove it was a simple case of undoing the 6 support bolts which were left… the others had dissolved. The three remaining end caps have a grand total of 12 support bolts between them, and the heads are so badly corroded we have no choice. The main locating bolts have been removed – its just the crappy 2BA bolts on the support straps which are causing headaches. I don’t want to damage the airframe, but with the aid of a 90* drill we should be able to reach the inboard bolts easilly.
As for the tyres – I’d love to have the time to get them filled with rubber, as we have doine with the Lightning nose, but as always we are limited by budget and the fact that TVOC want their jacks back…..
Lindy’s LadWell, the SAS use un-marked helicopters. There are several re-fuelling cards with made up registrations on them….. 😮
Lindy’s LadGood to hear the Vulcan got some work done on it! Just wondering, could you not replace the front tires with a modern replacement rubber inner tube inside the tires?
without some major surgery to the wheels themselves, there’s nowhere to put the inflation valves. The wheels are a single piece hub with two tyres on each with tapered pressure plates holding the pressure. It could be done, but I wouldn’t fancy drilling holes in the wheel……
Lindy’s LadUpdate 16 March 2008 (Happy birthday Mrs Lindy!)
Wow… so busy!
A hectic few weeks have passed since the last update: With TVOC, storms, AGM’s and Lightnings.
Lightning news: The fin continues to be bolted in – this is the first time since it was collected that it has been complete! The team are now prepping it for the re-paint.
Gazelle News: The Marines’ gazelle has gone back to Wattisham having been stripped, fixed and prepped for a re-paint. It should take its place on the gate at Wattisham fairly soon. (If anyone can take a pic of when it is instaled and post them here I’d be very grateful.
Vulcan news: The problem with volunteers is that we can’t donate every waking hour to a project even though we’d like to, so the last three weeks have been particularly busy for the Vulcan team.. In between work and education we have removed all four wheels from the rear of the main bogies, taken them to my little workshop at Newcastle College, and during lunch times we have stripped them to individual components, cleaned painted, repaired and cannibalised to produce 4 fully servicable wheel units. They have been refitted and charged to 100psi, and are holding pressure. The reason why I have not put full system pressure in them is twofold:
1: Our compressor is rubbish and can only hold 120psi anyway
2: I don’t trust the tyres to hold more than 100psi. The last thing we need is for the rubber to burst…..
The front wheels of the bogies have not been touched. This is entirely due to the fact that the inflation valves are damaged beyond repair and there are no spares anywhere. Without thye valves, there is little point refurbishing the wheels and tyres just to have the full weight put back on empty tyres.
During the jacking of the bogies, the main leg oleos have extended about an inch each, and have levelled the aircraft off. (It was slightly down on the port side…
The next job on the Vulcan is to fit the new spine panels on the stbd side, remove the exhaust end caps (3 remaining) – now that I have an angle head drill I can drill out the bolts with the aid of some stud extractors. I hate corrosion.
We are still waiting on news of the paint….. as soon as it arrives, we can start flatting back the paint, treat the corrosion, prime and finally paint the beastie. All of the markings have been recorded ready for their re-application.
Thats all for now!
Edit: Peter – as soon as we can fix the front wheels of the main bogies, and get the hangar base from the RAF, we are ready to move. Simply drag the aircraft onto the grass (which will have to be re-enforced with steel matting courtesy of the army), lay the base, and roll the aicraft back onto it….
Jim – Shaw’s Hurricane was lost in a training accident, and the remains were recovered several years ago. We hold 3/4 of the aircraft, but only have the engine on display. The force of the impact can be seen by virtue of the fact that the engine block split in half….. There is a brief description of the event next to the engine.
Lindy’s LadAll thats left of the NEAM example are two props and a slight stain on the ground. I believe the wings went to help another example, but I don’t know which one. Such a shame.:(
Lindy’s LadIts not much, but I had a fragment of the canopy of the first Tornado which had an accidental detonation of the MDC… Due to that incident it was discovered that the MDC cable could be pulled when the canopy was being closed hence the lineys (including me) always sheltered under the wing when the canopy was being shut… Its currently on loan to NEAM.
I have a cable connector given to me by the late Peter Avery from when he and others collected YAM’s Mirage 3 from France.
ask me the same question in two years…….;)
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