Avro Vulcan Nostalgia - more Haynes inspired stuff

[Cacophonix]

Caco, did you get the V Force operations manual? Some of my work is published therein.

Having been prompted by this recent post on the Haynes Manual Wessex helicopter thread

viewtopic.php?f=26&p=129627#p129627

I also fished out my copy of Haynes's Avro Vulcan 1952 (B2 Model) and re-read Tony Blackman's chapter entitled "The Pilot's View" having also bought his book 'Vulcan 'Test Pilot' at a recent trip to Duxford (more "nonsense" on the bookshelves" as my better half puts it).

His career makes for interesting reading and I was delighted to hear that his father would have had him cast as an accountant and equally delighted to know that he didn't follow his father's career wishes . By all accounts he was a bit of polymath, and like so many aviation minded folks, has a bent for technology such as computing and the like. Here he tells a little about himself and his remarkably versatile aviation career.

http://www.blackmanbooks.co.uk/images/t ... nspiel.mp3

Tony Blackman was educated at Oundle School and Trinity College Cambridge, where he obtained an honours degree in Physics. After joining the Royal Air Force as a Maths and Physics Instructor, he learnt to fly, flew Vampires and Venoms in Germany, trained as a test pilot and then joined A.V.Roe and Co. Ltd. where he became Chief Test Pilot. During his time at Avros/Hawker Siddeley/British Aerospace, he helped develop the Vulcan, Nimrod, Victor Mk 2 tanker and the Avro 748/RAF Andover.

Tony was an expert in aviation electronics and was invited by Smiths Industries to join their Aerospace Board, initially as Technical Operations Director. He helped develop the then new large electronic displays and Flight Management Systems.

After leaving Smiths Industries, he was invited to join the Board of the UK Civil Aviation Authority as Technical Member.

Tony is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Fellow of the American Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and a Liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.

He now lives in London and spends his spare time writing books.

http://www.blackmanbooks.co.uk/tony_blackman.asp

Avro Vulcan B1 Cockpit.JPG (96.19 KiB) Viewed 865 times

Caco

[Alisoncc]

I also fished out my copy of Haynes's Avro Vulcan 1952 (B2 Model ?)

The B2's only came into service in the early sixties with the first being delivered to 230OCU, my alma mater. "A" Sqdn still flew the B1's and the newly fomed "B" Sqdn had the B2's.

I think we were still building up to full strength when I arrived in '63 with new aircraft arriving from Woodford. Although some were going back for a new paint job - camouflaged topsides post the U2 incident with Gary Powers. Before that they were white overall.

The Vulcan B2's were the epitome of cutting edge electronics in their day, and I was in seventh heaven being let loose to play on my own with no supervision. Even, some twenty years later, as an applications eng with DEC playing with the latest PDP11's and VAX's wasn't a patch on my time with Vulcans.

Alison

[Cacophonix]

I also fished out my copy of Haynes's Avro Vulcan 1952 (B2 Model ?)

The B2's only came into service in the early sixties with the first being delivered to 230OCU, my alma mater. "A" Sqdn still flew the B1's and the newly fomed "B" Sqdn had the B2's.

I think we were still building up to full strength when I arrived in '63 with new aircraft arriving from Woodford. Although some were going back for a new paint job - camouflaged topsides post the U2 incident with Gary Powers. Before that they were white overall.

The Vulcan B2's were the epitome of cutting edge electronics in their day, and I was in seventh heaven being let loose to play on my own with no supervision. Even, some twenty years later, as an applications eng with DEC playing with the latest PDP11's and VAX's wasn't a patch on my time with Vulcans.

Alison

I love this site because no error will go unpunished!

B1 Caco, B1 duh!

Finger problem or brain fade on my part Alison (probably both) , thanks for the correction. Really interesting to hear your experiences with the B2. As a matter of interest, had the electronics and gubbins gone solid state by the time the B2 came into general use or was the Vulcan B2 technician's face still bathed in valve light?

Caco

[Sisemen]

I was walking past this one when it decided to fold up its legs

C77B64AC-6807-4C62-940C-87FB78A4922A.jpeg (87.14 KiB) Viewed 845 times

E2036AB2-7AB8-49A6-9D4B-8955D47BE431.jpeg (60.36 KiB) Viewed 845 times

[Alisoncc]

Sise, need to be aware I have a long and enduring love affair with the Vulcan. People who post pictures of broken ones are really tempting fate. The naughty corner beckons.

Alison

[Cacophonix]

Siseman, that that incident where XH556 broke it back is also noted in the Haynes manual with the following detail.

Bad day at RAF Finningley 18 April 1966 - 52 years ago today to the day. Coincidence or what!

The crew had boarded XH556 and begun the pre-engine start checks when a freak electrical fault initiated the undercarriage retraction sequence. The main wheels started to fault and for a brief time the nose wheel bore much of the weight of the Vulcan before the structure collapsed and broke the back of the aircraft. One of the pilots jettisoned the cockpit canopy and the crew made rather undignified exits by sliding down the nose. Fortunately nobody was hurt but the aircraft never flew again.

I must say that I noted Sisemen's interesting comment about the Vulcan causing interference on his office radio on the radiation thread but now I am beginning to wonder. Is it possible that he induces random electrical currents in nearby electrical apparatus..?.

I was looking to use the eye wink emoticon but it doesn't work. Alison, please use your electronic and IT Kung Fu to fettle the emoticon - Actually I am kidding knowing that this is a bug in the software as it stands and something that is probably beyond even your power to rectify and please note how I even managed to get two electrical allusions in there as well!

On the other hand is it possible that the Vulcan's very own electronics suite (so beloved by Alison), radar or ECM kit actually induced the spurious signal that caused the main gear to retract? The EH556 mystery deepens and two of ops-normal's own have been drawn into it!

Caco

[Sisemen]

The pinging effect was when I worked on 1 Group Standardisation Unit at Scampton in the hangar that the Reds now use.

DSC00168.JPG (27.28 KiB) Viewed 818 times

When 556 crunched I was working at the electronics block at Finningley and was walking down the "Finningley Eight" to the Bomber Command Development Unit HQ behind 1 Hangar. I was about 50 yards away when she started No 3 and then started to settle back as the mains came up. The crew chief was underneath and only made it out by the skin of his teeth. The canopy blew as the back broke and 5 crew jumped over the windscreen, slid off the refuelling probe and legged it for the armoury. I just stood there gobsmacked. Fortunately, as a lowly SAC then, I was not deemed an important enough witness for the subsequent BOI

If memory serves me correctly the inquiry found that it was a sticking 28v DC microswitch that caused the problem. Maybe that has been corrupted with the passage of time.

[Cacophonix]

The pinging effect was when I worked on 1 Group Standardisation Unit at Scampton in the hangar that the Reds now use.

DSC00168.JPG

When 556 crunched I was working at the electronics block at Finningley and was walking down the "Finningley Eight" to the Bomber Command Development Unit HQ behind 1 Hangar. I was about 50 yards away when she started No 3 and then started to settle back as the mains came up. The crew chief was underneath and only made it out by the skin of his teeth. The canopy blew as the back broke and 5 crew jumped over the windscreen, slid off the refuelling probe and legged it for the armoury. I just stood there gobsmacked. Fortunately, as a lowly SAC then, I was not deemed an important enough witness for the subsequent BOI

If memory serves me correctly the inquiry found that it was a sticking 28v DC microswitch that caused the problem. Maybe that has been corrupted with the passage of time.

The 28v DC micro switch sticking finding seems to be a far more credible cause for the accident/incident than my wild (but more fun) hypotheses!

Caco

[Sisemen]

From The Australian today in an article about the F35.

j

[Pontius Navigator]

That would have been about 1968. Chances are the Vulcan was much higher too. I think his technology was the limits of his and not the considerably old technology of the Vulcan.

Once they got him in a close range climbing fight, game over as they would be outside his radar envelope. Do a couple of orbits, he loses height, we gained height, then he would be in a fuel burning tail chase.

[Pontius Navigator]

The B2 was still being delivered to Coningsby in late 64.

On 556, the first person out was Kim Bunting. Now Kim was the plotter who say in the middle of the back and designated as last year crewman to exit.

Now I had not seen the photos till now so the follow makes more sense.

He went 'up' the ladder and stood on the fuel console where the copilot was trying to shut down the fuel and then stood on him on the way out. He was reputedly in a crew room before the others exited.

[ian16th]

As it has been woken up I re-read this thread from the begining, and noticed that one of Caco's questions hasn't been answered.

This is about use of solid state electronics.

I can't speak for the Vulcan, but as an Air Radar Fitter (Bomber), who worked on Valiant and Canbera PR9 kit, when I was demobbed in Feb 1965, I had never worked on any transistorised kit in the RAF!

[izod tester]

Took grandson to the Jet Age museum recently. They have a Vulcan cockpit and crew section available for visitors to climb into (under supervision). Having installed him in the LH cockpit seat and myself in the RH seat to talk him through the instruments and switches. When I pulled out the retractable centre console the Jet Age volunteer supervisor said, "I didn't know that came out like that."

[Cacophonix]

Duxford occasionally invite ex Vulcan crew to give interested gawkers like me the opportunity to ask questions of those who know about flying the beast and the last chap they had there (his name alludes me for the moment) was very interesting and passionate about his subject and even brought his log book down to share with us and clearly relished some technical questions about flying the beast.

Caco

[Sisemen]

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have done a number of trips in the B2 when I was on the Group Standardisation Unit.

[Alisoncc]

I can't speak for the Vulcan, but as an Air Radar Fitter (Bomber), who worked on Valiant and Canbera PR9 kit, when I was demobbed in Feb 1965, I had never worked on any transistorised kit in the RAF!

The UHF - ARC52, was partially transistorised Ian. And IIRC from the course at Yatesbury, so was TACAN.

Alison

[ian16th]

I can't speak for the Vulcan, but as an Air Radar Fitter (Bomber), who worked on Valiant and Canbera PR9 kit, when I was demobbed in Feb 1965, I had never worked on any transistorised kit in the RAF!

The UHF - ARC52, was partially transistorised Ian. And IIRC from the course at Yatesbury, so was TACAN.

Alison

Never worked on either.

[Alisoncc]

Never worked on either.

To be expected, Ian. Yous was a plumber - radar, waveguide stuff. Whilst both UHF and TACAN were "Wireless" kit. Looked after by the fairies.

Alison

[ian16th]

Never worked on either.

To be expected, Ian. Yous was a plumber - radar, waveguide stuff. Whilst both UHF and TACAN were "Wireless" kit. Looked after by the fairies.

Alison

In an earlier existence, when I was at Lindholme working on Lincoln's and Varsity's, we all mucked in and I happily worked on the wireless kit, but by the time I was working on Valliant's, we weren't allowed to touch the wireless kit.

I once had a strip torn off for taking the initiative and marshalling a Valiant into its pan on the grounds that 'fairies don't marshal'.

While at Istres/Orange I was well indoctrinated in all aspects of general a/c handling, including re-fuelling and re-oiling.

[boing]

There were three separate problems with the life of the Vulcan, airframe fatigue due to low level operations, out-of-date avionics and management incompetence.

Airframe fatigue was bound to be the final limitation on the life of the aircraft but the problem was exacerbated by the management incompetence, both political and military.

Clearly the Vulcan should have been replaced or at least provided with a credible life extension plan long before its final demise but we all know the list of horrifically poor decisions made during this time. In no particular order, the British ICBM fiasco, the F111, the TSR2, Skybolt, the Buccaneer 2star. All of these fiascos which should have resulted in a Vulcan replacement or upgrade led to extending the life of the Vulcan with no significant upgrades because the powers-that-be always thought that a shiny new toy was just around the corner so why should money be spent on the old lady.

Of the possible choices the most useful upgrade to the Vulcan would have been the Skybolt program. A wing-full (4) of stand-off missiles using modern guidance systems would have made the aircraft more effective and extended its life considerably as there would have been far less need for intense low-level operations. Frankly, I think that a Vulcan fleet equipped with four Skybolts per aircraft probably scared the US so much that they engineered a termination of the program. Somebody has probably written a book about the Skybolt mess. Interestingly the fact that some Vulcans were actually modified to carry Skybolt was directly connected to the success of the Black Buck operation.

Interim upgrades.

I was involved in pilot visual bomb-sight trials - a bloody piece of perspex with lines drawn on it. If anyone had intended to set up a trial that would fail this was it.

Gyro systems. The Vulcan was eventually fitted with an inertial gyro but this was used to provide a heading reference to the navigators only. It would have been relatively simple to use the roll and pitch outputs of the gyro to increase the accuracy of the Nav. Bombing System (NBS) but this was never done. Coupling the pitch channel of the gyro to the pilot's visual bombsight (above) could have produced a useful bombsight.

So many ignored opportunities.

.