Vulcan

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Alisoncc
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Re: Vulcan

#61 Post by Alisoncc » Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:22 pm

This may seem odd, but I have absolutely no recollection of ever checking the air pressure of any of the radar or wireless kit on our Vulcan B2's. Serious, and that is after spending nearly three years on the line playing with them. I can only suspect that it may have fallen under the remit of the instrument guys. They were always pulling various gas cylinders around.

Most of the kit was in the pressurised compartment so had little need. The STR-18B aerial coupler, Red Steer and Green Satin TxRx's were mounted externally, thus needed to be individually pressurised. But not by us radio guys, that was sum total of our responsibilities. The NBS guys did their own thing.

Have numerous memories of opening the STR-18 hatch at the back of the bomb bay to bash (tap) it when stuck on cold winters days, dropping the dielectric panel on the GS to change the unit when u/s. Plus getting soaked in glycol when dropping ECM cans. Even upsetting the Staish and others by running the ECM during the evening news on the telly. But never pressurised nuffink.

Equipment racks were either to the rear of the three passengers, or to the left and right under the pilots/co-pilots seats, accessed when climbing the entry ladder. Vague memory of some kit in the nosewheel undercarriage bay, but can't remember what.
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Re: Vulcan

#62 Post by llondel » Mon Sep 30, 2019 2:45 am

Some high power radar stuff, possibly not airborne, used sulphur hexafluoride in the waveguide to prevent arcing at the high pulse power in use. That's fun stuff, way heavier than air. I don't think it's toxic, merely the same warning as with other gases that if it displaces too much oxygen then you're going to die.

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Re: Vulcan

#63 Post by k3k3 » Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:14 am

The E3 AWACS aircraft use SF6 in the waveguides, the aft lower lobe door has to be opened for a while before you go in just in case there has been a leak. If someone does breath the stuff in the first aid treatment is to turn them upside down so the gas flows out of them.

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Re: Vulcan

#64 Post by Pontius Navigator » Mon Sep 30, 2019 8:36 am

K3k3, mmm, I wonder.

The Vulcan had a small blister behind the radome for the bomb aimer and small window. Last this iced up they had installed an anti-icing system. It was part of the turn round or before flight servicing to top up the system with ethanol, 96 pints I was told.

One morning at Akrotiri on reaching the aircraft we found the RAF Police guard was drunk. Naturally he was charged and despatched to the guardroom. I boarded the aircraft and went on to 100% oxygen for entirely different reasons 😉.

Presently the Chief boarded and said the flight was cancelled as the aircraft was drunk too. The tank was leaking.

As we rarely dropped bombs from high level and never experienced icing I believe a decision was made to drain the fleet of ethanol. Now if the Russians had known that 😀

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Re: Vulcan

#65 Post by k3k3 » Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:26 am

While SF6 itself is not toxic it decomposes into toxic compounds if there has been arcing in the waveguide. As far as I can remember the gas itself is about five times denser than air, hence the advice to prevent suffocation by pouring it out of someone who has inhaled it by holding them upside down.

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Re: Vulcan

#66 Post by ian16th » Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:02 am

Alisoncc wrote:
Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:22 pm
This may seem odd, but I have absolutely no recollection of ever checking the air pressure of any of the radar or wireless kit on our Vulcan B2's. Serious, and that is after spending nearly three years on the line playing with them. I can only suspect that it may have fallen under the remit of the instrument guys. They were always pulling various gas cylinders around.
This was the main part of the Radar Pre-Flight on the Valiant.

The tool we used was akin to a fat Stirrup Pump with a dial gauge on it.

The units outside of the pressurised bulkhead that were pumped up were the Orange Putter Tx/Rx at the extremity of the tail, this involved getting a safety raiser set up. It could be done from 6' flat top steps but you risked falling. The Tx/Rx and Tracker units of the Green Satin up the rear hatch, the High Level Radio Altimeter Tx/Rx in the bomb bay, the Orange Putter WFG and Low Level Radio Altimeter in the Organ Loft. Getting the pump up into the organ loft was the awkward part.
Cynicism improves with age

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Re: Vulcan

#67 Post by Pontius Navigator » Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:13 pm

And no one thought of a long hose for the pump 😀

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Re: Vulcan

#68 Post by Alisoncc » Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:52 pm

On our Vulcan B2's it must have been part of the instrument fitters remit. Which would make sense.
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Re: Vulcan

#69 Post by OFSO » Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:24 pm

It is the birthday today of Wing Commander Bryn Lewis (95), navigator of the first Vulcan to circumnavigate the world, 1959.

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Re: Vulcan

#70 Post by Woody » Sat Jan 18, 2020 2:40 pm

When all else fails, read the instructions.

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Re: Vulcan

#71 Post by Sisemen » Sat Jan 18, 2020 3:03 pm

60 years :-o

Still looks magnificently malevolent though.
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Re: Vulcan

#72 Post by Alisoncc » Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:23 pm

Woody wrote:
Sat Jan 18, 2020 2:40 pm
Found this link elsewhere.

https://www.vulcantotheskystore.co.uk/n ... erm=rafim1
Names under XH558`s Wing - Diamond Anniversary of XH558`s First Test Flight

£30.00
Don't need me name on the wing. If they have an archive of all XH558's F700's they will find my name therein.
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Re: Vulcan

#73 Post by Pontius Navigator » Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:36 pm

Given the fuss about Dr Flemmings involvement in VTTS what are they planning to do now?

Who wants discrete? The Blue Bell at Tattershall Thorpe is not discrete and you don't have to pay, except for a pint, to sign the ceiling.

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Re: Vulcan

#74 Post by Sisemen » Mon Jan 20, 2020 1:56 am

And the other Vulcan. A Vickers product this time.

And not a lot of people know that.
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Re: Vulcan

#75 Post by Slasher » Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:23 am

This Avro Vulcan of which you all talk about is enough to give any red-blooded pilot a friggin’ hardon!

Play with volume FULL UP!....





Christ you could kill the enemy just by deafeningly scaring the sh!t out of him!

I reckon the GA throttle gate must initiate 100% pure testosterone injection. Something I’ll need buckets of later in life according to the Male Menopause thread.

I make that 6 secs to full spin up. Sound about right? 🤔

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Re: Vulcan

#76 Post by Pontius Navigator » Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:57 am

Our boss, in the early days of pop up attacks was supposed to pop at 350 kts, 500ft, and climb at 15 degrees about 15 degrees (in training). There was low cloud and they were at about 3,000 feet.

As they turned on to the target he spotted a hole and went for it. Having got under the cloud he then needed to turn onto the target and climb. Now the aircraft was both off track and too close. No problem. Full power and pull.

They were at about 150 feet over a field of cabbages. The farmer claimed compensation for the cabbages.

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Re: Vulcan

#77 Post by Capetonian » Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:14 am

That brought me out in goose bumps!

Reminds me of seeing, or rather hearing, the Vulcan at the Jersey Air Show on a very overcast day. I was in an office building in St. Helier and was looking out of the open window, much to the derision of the people to whom I was supposed be delivering a course. 'He's planespotting'.
This dark shape loomed out of the cloud and although we never really saw it, the earth moved as it spooled up and climbed away.


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Re: Vulcan

#78 Post by Pontius Navigator » Mon Jan 20, 2020 6:00 pm

We did a display in NZ. At the end we climbed out. Once safely established in the climb with only blue visible out 'top ' the AEO called me to look though his periscope at the airfield receding.

Very impressive, more so when I realised it was the upper periscope. We just snuck into clouds at 20k with the ASI down 170kts.

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Re: Vulcan

#79 Post by Sisemen » Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:21 am

Watching Slasher's posting reminds me of the night of 14 October 1971. I was 6th seat on XH 537 with Flt Lt Briggs as the OCU instructor in the RHS and the student, Fg Off Parr in the LHS. We were on OCU Exercise 9 and had done a practice diversion at Brize Norton, a high speed run and we were now at Finningley where we did 9 rollers where I was standing on the ladder between the two pilots and a jolly good view. One one, it may well have been the first of the series but memory fails me, the conversation and events went like this:

Sink rate looking awfully fast.

Not a lot happening apart from Briggs telling Parr to adjust the sink rate. The end of the runway lights and the threshold of 20 coming up quite quickly really.

Then.... "I have control"

"You have control"

The aeroplane shuddered - a lot - as we clawed our way back into the air.

Silence. For what seemed like a long while. Then Briggs ... "I bet they felt that on the ground!"

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Re: Vulcan

#80 Post by Pontius Navigator » Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:49 am

Or same event but this time without someone of Don Briggs skill - post flight in dispersal:

CC "Been low flying Sir?"

AJHT "?"

CC "You have a telegraph pole in the undercarriage"

Actually a runway approach light.

My skipper was the sqn QFI/IRE but not in Don's class. One night the colour he was checking hit a marker board - 3 feet high and 10 feet inboard of the wing.

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