>>Heavens knows what they were like mechanically and structurally come the end!<<

I was at Waddo from 73-80 on the Line and 101 before going to Saints for Vulcan Majors. Structurally they were in pretty good nick- remember Avro built them like brick outhouses. The only new structural mods we were incorporating on a regular basis concerned the rudder PFCU mounts and the rear spar at the transport joints. Mechanically it was RTS till the end even though many were stripped for spares before scrapping.

HTH
Cheers
Mad Jock

A-29 or B-34 or Hudson- you choose guys- good stuff though.
I would raise issue with AP taking credit for all of the photos as I know that the USN and USAAF have many of these in their respective archives as does NARA thus placing them in the public domain.

Cheers
Mad Jock

>>black is the worst colour for showing hyd leaks. The fluid used is a translucent red/pink (OM15) and shows up best against white<<

I beg to differ- oil has no colour in low light conditions and if your OM-15 is pink I would recommend changing it quick. So how did we know what it was- by its odour.

Cheers
Mad Jock

So who were those Latin American gentlemen that visited Saints in 1981? and wandered excitedly up and down the line of recently retired and delivered Vulcans parked on the lazy runway? Not sure if the senior RAF escort were there to stop then nicking the aircraft [not locked!] or answer questions. Made for a bit of a diversion on a hot sunny day while skiving for a smoke.

Cheers
Mad Jock

‘The FOBS Kid Syndrome’ by Barry Goodwin

Barry was a great bloke- used to pop into his telly shop in Lincoln when in town- I was quite upset when I heard of his passing. And yes the sight of DC-6 or 7 limping into Waddo with a load of horses was quite a sight. The aircraft ended up on Bravo for quite a while awaiting new engines. Great days.

Cheers
Mad Jock

The crew chief personna from the 1970’s to the 1990’s was officially known as the Aircraft Serviceing Chief. Most large aircraft were assigned crew chiefs many of whom held the aircrafts inventory. It was their job to make sure that the relevant number of wings etc were still fitted to the aircraft when it came back from any major long term absence, they were also rostered to go down route with the units aircraft although the chances of getting their ‘own’ were rather slim. Strangely enough a percentage of crew chiefs started as Sgt’s however most were later promoted to substansive rank after completing their training. Aircraft known to have had ASC’s include the Vulcan, Victor, Tristar ,Nimrod and C-130 and the VC 10’s of 101 Sqdn- not sure about the Skoda’s of 10 Sqdn.

HTH
Madus Jockus

Ah the joys of dispersed ops and scrambles- when I was at Waddo we went to Thurleigh, Coningsby, Cottesmore, Wyton and even to Valley once. The accommodation at Thurleigh was caravans although the mess area was a proper building. It always seemed to be misty or raining when we went. Our GE was kept on site although who maintained it I don’t know. When the squadrons reformed in 1975 the GE became the responsibility of each unit. Our dispersal was Cottesmore originally although we later decamped to Coningsby. Unlike previous dispersals we were allocated barrack block accom and ate in the mess.
The GE was kept in garage and on one occasion we turned up a Coningsby during their Taceval which caused a bit of chaos. Fortunately we went in Winter so had to drink the rum ration on the way home- a happy glow surrounded us all.

Scrambles were organised chaos. When the hooter/tannoy went we would leg it out to our assigned aircraft- if you had slot 1 you could stroll while finger 4 you had to run. By the time we got there the crew bus was well on its way- the crews running towards the aircraft which was ready for them by the time they arrived. With the crew strapped in and seat pins removed the crew chief would plug in his long lead while the two ground crew would move to the chocks and kick them clear of the mainwheels. If this was a high speed scramble the AAPP was started almost immediately which allowed the 28v power plug to be removed after which the chocks were pulled clear. Once readiness state had reached Zero two the engines would start [ think this the right number- it was a long time ago!] which would see the 200v plug pulled and the Houchin pushed clear. Once the scramble was called the crew chief would disconnect and we would leg it to the fixed power plinth to escape the blast. Depending on their state the aircraft would either use rapids to start although the unlucky ones had to use a Palouste which meant more graft.

HTH
Cheers
Mad Jock

Just a wee reply from earlier on

>>You can assess that from the ground?<<

Well from a pilots point of view the Oly 301’s were limited however for us Linies we sometimes got to run them
at full chat with the JPT limiters and governers switched off [ switches behind the Captains seat] and yes the earth
moved.

>>Well, for someone who was not on board some of the occaisions you describe you appear to know an awful lot about them<<

Good powers of observation. Much needed in TG.1.

>>I cannot tell whether an aircraft is in a max rate turn by watching it, how do you do that?<<

The moving things on the trailing edge appeared to be at full deflection.

>>A what kind of landing? How did you assess it?<<

Nose well up- bum well down and beautifully controlled to the last possible moment when the chute was popped
as the nose wheel came down.

>>You really had me believing that you were on board, how else would you have known the speed?<<

I think they are called pilots notes

Cheers
Mad Jock