WL747No2 should hopefully have props by the 4th May. Lots of people were trying hard to get it built for today, (we had a good few phonecalls earlier this week about it) but time was against us once everything got sorted out.
All the blades, hubs, and manuals are in Airbase’s hangar in one place waiting for whoever has been tasked to build them.
We also got results of the first air bottle test today. it passed! Boroscope, X-ray, Ultrasound, the lot. The other four are going away asap, and with a little luck we’ll have pneumatics back before much longer.
Regards,
Rich
That’s great news!
All the best
Scotty
WL747Nice one – and you got the weather!
Looks really good guys, you all should be proud of yourselves!
When are you fitting the props to #2?
She looks stunning though, well done!
WL747I dropped all of the old oil out of number three, dropped all of the filters and cleaned them myself – one of the first jobs I was put down to do all that time ago.
There was no metal/glitter in the oil at that time.
don’t always assume that because you cannot see metal particles that things aren’t happening. I cannot speak for piston engines, but in the hydraulic equipment I use, seeing metal in the filters is the sign catastrophic and unrepairable damage has definitely occurred. The human eye can’t see much below 40 microns so there could still be a fair amount of metal particles in the oil. I do not know the filtration level of the Griffon oil system, I’d imagine it will be a larger micron value than a hydraulic system. The only true way to asertain engine and oil condition is having the oil analysed. All our deck equipment has this done, and visually good oil has failed due to metal contamination in the past…. If you an see metal in an oil system it is already too late……
Kind Regards,
Scotty
WL747It was a good show, but for the purposes of entertainment, it gave the impression that Mr. Blair had never so much as seen his purchase before it was shipped… it also gave the impression that it was th first spitfire to be in that hangar… who spotted the red and silver Spit well hidden at the back of the hangar?
Excellent programme, but laughable commentary as always. (Those animations were hilarious…)
I thought I was imagining it – was that the ex G-FIRE?
edit, I was imagining it, it is the ex G-BSKP / RN201
And yes, the animations were hilarious – especially the one showing the reassembly and the aircraft falling to bits if the shipping container was handled roughly!
Kind Regards,
Scotty
WL747Ah-ha!
PL344 has a Packard Merlin 266 installed during its restoration for the late Charles Church.
I’m glad I left it to those who know more! Cheers Roobarb!
It was just in the preamble, the way it spoke was as though all Spitfires were powered by Packard Merlins, that’s the only reason I picked up on it. Once you hear a Tiger Moth described as World War One, your ears prick up a bit!
Thanks for filling me in on the details.
Kind Regards,
Scotty
WL747Unless I am mistaken, PL344 is Mk 9, so would have thought it would be Rolls Royce powered, but like I said, I am not a Spitfire person, so will leave it to those who know best.
Kind Regards,
Scotty
WL747Yes, I watched it. Spitfire bits good, but bits of the commentary were enteraining. Such as the WW1 Tiger Moth, and the Spitfire having a Packard Merlin. Thought it was Rolls Royce, unless this one had a Mustang unit.
Oh, and there was this bloody awful song about the Spitfire along the lines of a hymn for which they put subtitles up for. Might float somebodies boat, but made me want to be sick.
I’m not a Spitfire person, but there was some lovely air to air shots, and it was interesting watching the disassembly, transit and assembly.
WL747Diseca, I understand the nicknames that BAe/BAE have been subject but perhaps you would like to make your statement to those at Woodford receiving their redundancy notices today. Most of us that worked on MRA4 worked bloody hard to make it work, despite the difficulties put in our way.
Aye, a sad day. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of cancellation, I hope people do spare a thought for those losing their jobs.
WL747Or is this photo a cut and paste-job?
To me, the lighting on the two are not much alike…
Jon
Nah, the difference in light is the fact the Bear is ‘bare’ (pardon the pun!) metal, and the F102 is painted, so does not reflect as much light. If you look at the glare on the F102 tail, it does seem the light is coming from the same direction. I’d also suggest that it is late in the day with a low, weak sun judging by the shadow on the bear.
Sometimes older black and white film does react like that, with not a great latitude of stops between correctly exposed and over exposed. If the picture is in focus, the outline of the aircraft may seem sharp, but lacks detail due to the glare. A polarising filter may have helped, but I doubt fighter jocks would be that worried…
Hope this helps,
Scotty
WL747WR985 ? Two engines were sold to cover it’s transport i believe.
.
I do believe Mark12 might be able to fill you in on the full story, as IIRC he bought them about 20 years ago. Why they were sold I do not know, but I don’t think it was to cover any transportation costs of the Shack.
WR965 was the Shack that hit a hill on the Isle of Harris, 30th April 1990.
Kind Regards,
Scotty
WL747William Wallace only came as far south as Yorkshire, just so we could show him how to go on in the tightness stakes! :p
Wallace never got as far as Yorkshire. But the Jacobites took Manchester and got as far as Derby on the 4th of Dec 1745, bypassing you Yorkshire softies.
Best learn your history if your going to use it as an argument!;)
WL747Us Yorkshiremen are far tighter than the Scots, and I can prove it. You can survive in a sealed room with a Scotsman, yet you can’t with a Yorkshireman. Why? Because a Yorkshireman only breates IN! 😀
As to moving a Shack, as long as there’s nothing that can’t be kept within width and height restrictions (rough guide-width, anything over 10ft is notifiable, over 14 needs escort, and you can’t go over 16ft 6in height) you should be ok. As I only deal with wide loads I’m not quite sure of the rules re. being over length…
Aye, anecdotes are well and good, but I can back it up in fact which would give an ethiopian a lesson in thrift. You think you are northern but you BRITISH southerners need a lesson in being tight…
WL747Too right!
It’s certainly not on the NASA list, Fairford is the only one and that is even on the very improbable category.
I remember years ago people saying Mawgan and Boscombe were set aside for Shuttle emergency landings, but I think it is just folklore which arises from the lengths of runways at these places.
I dare say that if any runway was in the right location, long and strong enough, then it would be better that the Shuttle uses it and is saved, and suppose these bases come under that umbrella, but there is no evidence that they were choosen sites.
With you 100% on that one.
The crucial thing about shuttle landings though isn’t the length of runway, although an important consideration, the other is its runway orientation. The orbiter has to re-enter at a certain degree from a pre-planned orbit, and due to being an expensive glider, doesn’t have the same positioning capability ad a powered aircraft. There are many orientations of runway would necessitate an impossible re-entry trajectory.
Pretty pointless hypothesising IMHO….
Kind regards
Scotty
WL747Very nice Scotty, she’s a real beaut eh!
Thinking aloud I wonder how many preserved military aircraft have been lucky enough to have been preserved indoors straight after coming out of service and without being restored or repainted etc?BTW I do like your signature line!
Aye, she is a cracker….. I’ll make a point of taking an SLR next time with a wide angle lens, this opportunity to take a photo of Shack in such good condition is brilliant….
The radar tech at an avionics company I used to work with in Aberdeen was ex 8 Sqn in the 70’s and used to work on the AN/APS 20. Some of the tales he used to tell raised the air on the back of my neck, especially when telling me the HV for some of the components was as high as 63KV! Normal CRT tubes we worked with were between 8-16KV, and magnetrons around 7.7KV IIRC! So to see the set running alongside WR960 was an eye-opener to see all of the equipment there. The radar tech I knew was an Irishman called Greg Downes, sadly no longer with us, passing away prematurely with heart failure.
Other guy I worked with offshore with, also ex 8 Sqn, was on the RAF team who helped reassemble WR960 in 1983. Andy Chalmers was his name, but I’m no longer in touch with him. The care in putting the airframe back together, and the care she has received since has ensured the high quality of this exhibit.
In response to your thinking out aloud, I can’t think of many others that have been retired from RAF service and been preserved indoors immediately and kept in such good condition.
Kind regards,
Scotty
WL747get your facts right who was it invented the word Tight ?. A Yorkshireman.
Where did they end up sending the Shack for its major upgrades and overhauls because no one else had the umph to do it ?. THE GREATER YORKSHIRE EMPIRE
You Scotsmen keep to chasing Haggis (poor things cant even defend themselves roaming free in the glenns until some herbert in a skirt chases after them shouting incoherent words ending for the most in Hey You Jimmy ).
You believe what you want, but the real reason 8 Sqn were finally based in the North East of Scotland was because they knew that NOTHING would be wasted and the RAF wouldn’t have to waste any money on something that was just a ‘temporary’ expedient. One that lasted almost 20 yrs….;)
Believe it or not, I’ve had a few Yanks believing haggis were real, with 2 legs shorter on one side so they didn’t roll down hills. Neither male or female, but clockwise or counter clockwise.
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