It’s a common misconception that the Viper fit on the MKIII Shack was originally a part of Phase III update. In fact it was a separate initiative that was later rolled into the Phase III fit. The earliest Phase III aircraft had to be returned to AVRO to have the Vipers retro-fitted.

The fuel was indeed AVGAS with a limited time allowed at full throttle. There are four gauges in the stbd side just above the Flt Eng that record total run time and take-off run time. The maximum allowable run time was 30 hours, after that they were removed and sent to the engine bay to be refurbed. The AVGAS burnt the compressor blades.

Although the original fit only allowed for idle or full throttle, later mods introduced an “inching” control to allow the throttle to be moved to almost any setting. All controlled of course by the Flt Eng, no throttles for the “drivers”.

There is another side to raising this amount of money for a single project. How much money has it siphoned off of the general funds that would be spent by people on other museums? In this current financial state, the amount of cash that is likely to be spent on historic aviation related activities is almost certainly a lot less than other years. You can only go so many times to the well. With this much money going to the Vulcan I can see that it will, inevitably make it more difficult for other organisations to raise the money they need to keep going

Whilst as an ex Vulcan engineer I applaud the work done and the achievement to get her flying again, I have always been uneasy about the amount of money going to this single project. My feeling is that for the relatively few people who will get to see her the money may be better used if spread around the general aviation community. The overheads alone of keeping this one aircraft flying would keep many museums/collections going for years. I have given money to this project, mostly because I, like many, have a sentimental affection for the Vulcan. Now, when I use my head I can clearly see that I may not have spent my money in the most cost effective way. Having looked at the accounts (such as they are) I will not be giving/pledging any more to this project. There are many deserving organisations in this country to whom a small fraction of what has been spent on the Vulcan would be wisely used and would make a big difference to them.

I wish them good luck, I hope that the people who have given so generously will be rewarded by the aircraft fulfilling all of its engagements this year. If that doesn’t happen the current mild disillusionment that I know exists may turn to something else.

Hi sagindragin,

Have you received the email(s) I sent you about the pictures?

I will leave them available until the end of the week, they’ll be removed on Sunday. If you’ve got them already would appreciate an email.

Thanks

Makes a refreshing change from the constant, relentless Spitfire postings!!!!;)

Aerial is quite correct, Green Satin was never fitted on Shacks, the only outside possibility is WR972 used for trials throughout its life. Blue Silk was the standard fit, it was a development of Green Satin and was designed to improve on Green Satins performance over water. All marks of Shack used Blue Silk.

Wyvernfan, sorry for the delay in replying.

Yes, I believe that our S.1. is the only one capable of running, and yes they are Gyron Juniors.
The port engine has a large crack in the compressor casing so it doesn’t get lit often! The starbd engine has quite a lot of vibration, although that was fitted by us a few years ago. The original was seized solid. We do have another spare in the engine shed, but I think that may have a few bits missing.

As for taxying, well very unlikely, the nose wheel needs replacing now. We have been promised a new one but haven’t seen it yet. I wouldn’t put it beyond the bounds of possibility, but!!!!

One of the first digital computers used in an airborne system was probably the Elliot 920B (8k core memory) at the heart of the mission system in the Nimrod MR1. This was in service in 1969, the operating program (not an OS!) was loaded using a very heavy box that read the mylar tape instructions. A later innovation was a program written to compute the figures derived from compasss swings, the Navs loved that one!