The Vulcan XH558 & General Aviation Thread

[rob565uk]

I knew the Stirling was very large with a bigger than normal undercarriage, but had no idea it was SO big! The animation shows just how well it was designed too - even the mudguard/deflector tucks in close to the tyre on the final few inches of retraction.

Do we have any idea of whether the metalwork is newly-fabricated to pattern or genuine WW2 material (NOS?)

I wonder if this is part of what the Stirling Project is doing?

http://www.stirlingproject.co.uk

[sbt]

The real thing being lowered in a test rig



Lots of shots of riveting and tin bashing in the rest of the video.

[richw_82]

Hi chaps,

One last little plug for the fundraising effort for the Shackleton. We have 6 days to go and less than £1500 to hit the target! Please help us if you can by pledging or sharing the link, it makes all the difference.

First public engine run of the year is on May 2nd for Airbase's reopening, so if you haven't heard the Griffon growl this year now's your chance! This is only a static run-up - WR963 has moved under her own power a couple of times since September, but not far due to being unable to maintain the pneumatic pressure on the failed side. We intend to have the port brake sorted shortly, so taxi runs will resume asap.

Kind regards,

Rich W

[quicksilver-wsr]

Rich, don't PM me - I'm not the best when it comes to PMs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, crowdfunding and all that - I haven't a clue, I can't stand it, I'm too much of a dinosaur!

Just send an e-mail to [email protected] to make contact and see if you can accept a Debit Card payment over the phone (I don't use internet banking either).

We'll happily chip £25 in. It's all we can spare, as we have our own targets pressing. I'm not interested in getting my name or our name on anything or winning any goodies. It's just a straight chip-in, as time for you is tight.

A tiny bit, but it all helps - and I hope you meet your target! Drop me a line, mate.

Cheers,
Nigel

[Renegadenemo]

Interesting - considering its performance, is it limited by the paint scheme? Concorde was only properly certified to fly in white so limits were placed on her when they did this...

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pepsi ... QsAQ&dpr=1

[Renegadenemo]

Cracking little doco here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o53u0X0Ik0w

I was never a fan of the TSR2, politics or no. It always looked to me like a lot of fuselage and engines with next to no wing and the Lightning had already proved that that was less than ideal but no matter. Some good footage and interviews all the same.

[quicksilver-wsr]

I have to say I'm one of those who think the TSR2 was wonderful. But, then again, for me that feeling is wrapped up in the romanticism of that particular era of aviation history, when Britain still held sway on the world stage. The films I've seen of the aircraft being built and test-flown give me goosebumps even now, yet when I walk around a real TSR2 - as I did again just the other day, whilst calling in at Cosford on my travels - I get a very empty feeling, as all it represents now is "what might have been" and "a golden era ended and long-gone."

Anyone who has empathised with the sentiments expressed by James Hamilton-Paterson in his excellent book Empire of the Clouds will know what I mean.

There is a saying that there are two sides to every story and then there is the truth. With the TSR2, there are so many sides to the story that it is impossible to unravel fully, especially with the passage of time. All of the key figures involved say something slightly different, although there are of course two broad camps, of "For" and "Against".

I was a kid in Preston at the time of the project's climax and cancellation, and its demise hit the proud little town very hard. A lot of talented folks lost their jobs and departed these shores to find alternative work and made America fatter.

Preston is one of the places you don't find many in the "Against" camp.

My Dad and younger brother saw the aircraft flying at Warton. My brother insists to this day that I was there too, but I don't recall it at all and I think I would have remembered it if I had. I probably ducked-out of the chance to go that day and see TSR2 in the air because I had something much more important to do - like play football on the waste ground behind our house.

Truly, youth is wasted on the young!

Nigel

[quicksilver-wsr]

... and on a lighter note ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32248594

N.

[sbt]

Talking earlier of paint jobs, of interest to Bill will be this scheme to be found on the tail of a CF-18-

Is part of an April Fools joke BTW.

http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/ ... Glory.aspx

[Jordangbr]

Each to their own I guess regarding TSR2 but for me it was always 'what could have been' for what was clearly an astonishing aircraft. With only one of its two Olympus engines on reheat it could outrun a lightning which had reheat on both Avons!
Not bad for a bomber.
It's lines are quirky but still quite futuristic to my eye and certainly must've been to the folks who first saw it back in the day.
Still, if only.....