The Vulcan XH558 & General Aviation Thread

[quicksilver-wsr]

One thing everyone can agree on is that it's essential to have seats in a fully-serviceable condition, otherwise they are - at best - a cruel joke played on the hapless occupant. Same goes for any associated safety hardware.

Nigel

[Renegadenemo]

I understand what you are saying but all of the above could happen to any aircraft from a little Cessna to a Airbus 777

Cheeky of Airbus to name an aircraft a 777 when Boeing got there first...

[Richie]

Seems another tragedy has befallen our SAR colleagues.

R116 has gone in and taken all four of its crew.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0316/86013 ... er-search/

[quicksilver-wsr]

Russian aircraft violate our airspace now. A disrespectful try-on. What next?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-n ... d-40070746

Beware the Bear.

Nigel

[rob565uk]

I am not a pilot but initially, instinctively thought a touch down on the grass might have done less damage, but I guess is more risky because of a possibility of digging in. The pilot showed great skill here though.

[mtskull]

I am not a pilot but initially, instinctively thought a touch down on the grass might have done less damage, but I guess is more risky because of a possibility of digging in. The pilot showed great skill here though.

In the not very distant past when I was flying for a living, emergency procedures always stated that, in the event of a total or partial undercarriage failure, a landing should always be attempted on a hard runway if at all possible. Counter-intuitive maybe but correct for precisely for the reasons you stated.

Interestingly, in those photos it appears that the pilot has already jettisoned the canopy. Makes sense if you expect to have to get out in a hurry. I stand ready to be corrected but I don't suppose that an aircraft of that vintage is equipped with zero-zero ejection seats.

[mtskull]

The canopy is mid-air in the first photo

So it is! Didn't spot that at first glance. Doh!

[quicksilver-wsr]

I'd be surprised if it didn't have zero-zero seats, even though on this occasion they weren't used. The Sea Vixen was withdrawn from squadron service in 1972 while the first test of a zero-zero seat in this country with a human occupant took place as far back as 1961, with Martin-Baker's resident 'guinea pig' Doddy Hay providing the ballast.

I can heartily recommend his book Man in the Hot Seat, in which he recounts the development of the ejection seat in Britain from its early beginnings in colourful detail. 'Doddy' was a competition parachutist before he took up the dangerous job of testing seats and had a spine that really should have been donated to the medical profession. It had more breaks than a lazy plumber.

Nigel

[Jordangbr]

Get your hammers out Bill

[Richie]

I was thinking salvage the engine if it's still usable....