The Vulcan XH558 & General Aviation Thread

[Mike Bull]

There was an incident with the Vulcan this morning- an aborted take off with 'loud bangs' and smoke coming from the aircraft- some reports say one engine affected, others say two. Martin Withers was at the helm.

[Mike Bull]

Some footage from You Tube- incident has already occurred and the aircraft is leaving the runway under it's own power.

[Mike Bull]

Official word-

'XH558 was scheduled to take off at noon on May 28th for a crew currency and display training flight. Just after the start of her take-off roll, she experienced problems with two of her Olympus engines. The crew immediately shut all engines down and everyone is safe. At this stage, we don’t have any further information but we will keep supporters informed. Unfortunately, this means that she will not be able to fly for at least two weeks, although we will not know exactly how long rectification will take until the problem has been thoroughly investigated. Many thanks for supporting XH558.'

I'm speculating, but the Vulcan was famous for one failing engine taking out it's neighbour, and there's quite a few comments now from witnesses who say that there were 'two loud bangs' and that there was debris left on the runway. Apparently Withers reported No.1 as a failure and said that No.2 was 'very hot'. Fire trucks attended but didn't spray anything at the aircraft's request. Sounds nasty! The problem is now, is it 'just' a matter of replacing the engines from their dwindling stock of spares, or is there airframe damage too, and what if Rolls investigate the failure/s and find something that will leave the Olympus grounded altogether...

Photo of the incident-

00.jpg

[Renegadenemo]

the Vulcan was famous for one failing engine taking out it's neighbour

That was due to uncontained turbine failure though, and the fleet was retro-fitted with heavy containment shields early in its life. So unless they've deleted them for some reason...

[Stuart Baker]

the Vulcan was famous for one failing engine taking out it's neighbour


That was due to uncontained turbine failure though, and the fleet was retro-fitted with heavy containment shields early in its life. So unless they've deleted them for some reason...

...when an engine surges after a compressor failure it is *possible* for LP blades to be thrown out of the front of the engine. On the Vulcan they *can* unfortunately then get caught up in the intake of the adjacent engine.

But of course we don't investigate these things from our armchairs. We allow the engineers to consider the actual evidence and reach conclusions based on facts...

[Renegadenemo]

...when an engine surges after a compressor failure it is *possible* for LP blades to be thrown out of the front of the engine. On the Vulcan they *can* unfortunately then get caught up in the intake of the adjacent engine.

I once crawled down the inlet trunks of the Vulcan at Sunderland and it was like going down a mine shaft! It must be an almighty bang to throw blades out the front of there and then how annoying if all they then do is get slurped straight down the trunk next door to knacker another engine.
I've read several accounts of white-hot turbine blades slicing their way to freedom on the Vulcan until the shields went in but not compressor blades. Every day is a school day, eh. Was the Victor similarly affected? It must have way shorter inlets.

[Mike Bull]

I once crawled down the inlet trunks of the Vulcan at Sunderland and it was like going down a mine shaft!

00.jpg

Bang!



Witnesses describe two distinct bangs, so I suspect that the video captures the second one?

[Renegadenemo]

Witnesses describe two distinct bangs, so I suspect that the video captures the second one?

Let's hope they don't have two broken engines then... The No.2 engine at Sunderland is absolutely mint and the story goes that the only hours it's ever flown were those getting it from wherever the engine was fitted to where it is now, but after 20-odd years of doing nothing I reckon there'd be something said if it was threatened with going flying again. Such a waste of an amazing piece of machinery.

[Mike Bull]

Official latest-

Engine Damage Update.
The failure occurred yesterday in the two port side engines (1 & 2) on the ground as the aircraft was easing towards full power at the start of her take-off roll. She is now back in her hangar where the technical team will investigate the problem. Our initial thought is that the symptoms are very much like those experienced when something is ingested by an engine so we will be investigating all possible sources. We would like to thank Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (RHADS) for their immediate assistance and professionalism yesterday. We should have a more detailed report for everyone fairly soon.

[Renegadenemo]

I was talking with a veteran aviation type tonight who reckons that Concorde could also throw stuff out the front of one engine and catch it with the other one.