Shackleton WR963

[LightningMk6]

You see a galley on the right, bunkbeds to the left, and a small table/rest area just in front. The longest Shackleton mission on record was 24 hrs 13 mins, so the crew needed feeding.

Never mind 24hrs before feeding, the aircrew usually had the bacon butties on the go, before taxing for take off, speaking from experience of 8 Squadron, Lossiemouth 74-76

[Xplumberlives]

Similar way of doing things on the Nimrods!

[Richw_82]

Just a quick message to say Merry Christmas to you all.

All the best for the coming year,

Rich

[Sploosher]

Just a quick message to say Merry Christmas to you all.

All the best for the coming year,

Rich

and a merry christmas to you and your gang of engineers Rich...............

see you next year sometime.................

[RLN]

Same to you, Rich. Keep up the good work and hope to get there next year.

[ThePropKing]

Guys it's brilliant to hear about the return of No.2's props and fantastic if 2012 gets the Growler prowling the tarmac again! We shall be there to watch given the chance.

To Rich et all... A very Happy Christmas and New Year. All the best everyone for 2012

[Richw_82]

Thanks guys.

some of us have decided to have a wander down to Coventry tomorrow to check on 963 and make sure the covers are all still on after the strong winds. Well, thats the excuse anyway... we all just miss tinkering with the old beastie and can't stay away.

A brand new old stock control yoke arrived in a box over xmas; ready to be fitted to the MR1 cockpit, and that brings us to a total of two new yokes to replace the stolen ones. I never thought we'd find even one, but the kindness of some people in donating cherished items is astounding. They are both genuine MR1 items which is amazing.

The hymatic pneumatic compressor I took home has been rebuilt, so that will get fitted on to WR963 in the new year and hopefully bring one half of the pneumatic back to life (its a split system, port and starboard working off No 2 and 3 engines). It should give us limited brakes and a couple of other services.


Regards,

Rich

[Xplumberlives]

More great progress, this just gets better!

Well done guys

[Richw_82]

7 Jan

First work day of the new year, and it wasn't too bad yet not great either. It was one of those days where even the tiniest of jobs seem to take forever, and lucky me - I got that job!

On the last couple of runs we had a fuel leak from the drain under No 3 engine (its always 3...) it wasn't the slow running cut -off issue, just that the drain on the bottom of the intake had a rubber collector cone on it that had perished.



Getting it off looked simple. It really wasn't.

The six bolts weren't captive. The ends had been punched over in three places to lock them off. There was about an inch gap to get your hand into if you stuck your arm in the intake throat.

Perseverance won.





We got the new one on but lost quite a bit of time persuading it all to go back together. Fuel should now be dumped down the drain pipe, and not onto the tyre.... something that would not be desirable when we get the new wheels on.

Other tasks going on today were covered by Vic and Rich Marriott, who are slowly getting replacement leather armrests, seat panels, and control column gaiters fitted in the cockpit.

A nice interlude was the arrival of a new friend of ours, named Tim. He had a large chunk of Bristol B.17 mid upper turret with him (Thanks again!) which will be getting fitted on WR963 before long.

Speaking of turrets, negotiations have been under way with places and persons that may see us get a front turret; so watch this space. We also have the ASV scanner arriving in the next week or so, so the hunt for hydraulic rams, locks and bungees will begin!


Speaking of parts hunts;

WR963 could really use an Undervoltage Phase Sequence Unit. It is AE5600 Mk 1, stores ref 5UC/6398. If anybody has one or knows where I can get hold of one, please contact me.


Next week... pneumatic compressor replacement.


Kind regards

Rich



(thanks to Anthony Stewart, of the Classic Flight GST for taking the photo's posted above, and his permission for me to use them.)

[Xplumberlives]

Thanks for the update rich, nice to see you're not resting!

[Dan4th]

Speaking of parts hunts;

WR963 could really use an Undervoltage Phase Sequence Unit. It is AE5600 Mk 1, stores ref 5UC/6398. If anybody has one or knows where I can get hold of one, please contact me.

5UC/6398?

I think Mayfly has one she's been using
as a doorstop!

Great to see your progress continuing!

I did two (2) oil changes today and felt
like I'd accomplished a lot!

Nothing at all compared to you guys!

Danf.

[Ducati Boy]

Rich_82 Away from work at the Vulcan at present (family bereavement) but I seem to remember the part number from redundant tanker hose unit equipment removed from Vulcan XH 558 during restoration phase. Will check out our stock and see if we have anything you can use.

[Richw_82]

Ducati Boy,

Sorry to hear of your family's loss, more so at this time of year.

Thanks for the offer to check your stores, If '558 has a spare she doesn't need, '963 could definitely make use of it.

Regards,

Rich

[Ducati Boy]

Ducati Boy,

Sorry to hear of your family's loss, more so at this time of year.

Thanks for the offer to check your stores, If '558 has a spare she doesn't need, '963 could definitely make use of it.

Regards,

Rich

Checked my records from when I ran the TVOC Elect Bay at Bruntingthorpe during the restoration of 558 and found several listed, some U/S and some S. There is an alternative number: Section Reference No. 6625-99-1096486, thats a Nato Stock number which would also appear as 5UC/1096486 in RAF stock records. You may be able to trace in your own spares lists.
No guarantees mate, as not sure if they are still needed as spares or if they are redundant for the Vulcan, but will look into it and let you know whats what.
It may of course be possible to repair one for use, but then there may be unavoidable costs. As I say will research for you and hopefully you will drop in lucky.

[Xplumberlives]

It would be great if this all falls in to place!

[Ducati Boy]

It would be great if this all falls in to place!

It would be great if I don't fall on my ar** at the wake tomorrow.

[Xplumberlives]

It would be great if this all falls in to place!

It would be great if I don't fall on my ar** at the wake tomorrow.

Oh of course your Irish side will come out and you might over imbibe! I'm sure you wont be alone!

[Richw_82]

Co-operation between groups is a great thing, it helps out all the different aircraft scattered around the country. As yo'll all remember, we have quite a bit of support from the Cornish Aviation Society (caretakers of the St Mawgan Shackleton) and we've sent parts their way to help out.

Today, I've been over to Newark to drop off the first of a couple of bits for their Shackleton, parts that they can use that are surplus to our needs.

While '963 is the focus, we do try to help out the others where we can.

[Ducati Boy]

It would be great if this all falls in to place!

It would be great if I don't fall on my ar** at the wake tomorrow.

Oh of course your Irish side will come out and you might over imbibe! I'm sure you wont be alone!

Whats all this MIGHT??? I did and now must pay with pain

[Richw_82]

Evening all,

With Coventry doubling for an Antarctic Research Station, we didn't get much done this Saturday with it being a battle in itself to gain entry to the aircraft! I had no wish to repeat last years 'Dancing on Ice' scenario by trying to get in off the wing, so we shot some deicer into the door lock and handle and went for a coffee.

On my return the handle had popped, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that there was very little condensation inside '963.

Work started on the pneumatic system with the oil and water traps being opened, some pipework removed for checking, and the compressor removed from No 3 engine. We're starting right at basics here to find out where the air is going, and why she isn't getting a proper charge.

Happily the gearbox is still in good condition, with good oil levels, and the drive to the compressor hadn't fractured. The compressor itself needed cleaning, the fins and inlet being clogged with dust and dead grass, but checked out okay when tested, so was re-installed on the aircraft.

Next week is turn of the oil and water trap, the pressure relief valves, regulator valves and piping. I have my suspiscions on whats happening, next weekend should prove it.

In other news... we're looking at armaments.

As a result of that for those of you that use Facebook, I'd ask you take a peek on our page:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001102965648

...as we have located a mid upper turret, and could use a little funding help. We're chasing a front turret too, but thats an entirely different story and one I can't say too much about yet.

Theres also updates on the facebook page that are a little more live regarding '963 and other Shackletons.

Assuming you like that sort of thing...

Kind regards,

Rich

[Xplumberlives]

Thanks Rich, thanks for the good news! Nice to hear about the WEAPONS!

[Richw_82]

Its great, but its made things a little crazy over the past week or so!

We have 4 x replica Hispano's on the way, the first are arriving next week. These are getting fitted into the nose without need for a turret, but mounted in such a way that if our current negotiations pay off they can be fitted into one.

[Xplumberlives]

Super!

[Dan4th]

Replica Hispanos and Turrets are all well and
good, but what I want to know is:::::::::::::

Is that GALLEY functional and do you use it to
whip up a nice hot luncheon or the odd cuppa?

Food and drink are, after all, requirements for
aircraft maintenance, especially during winter
conditions!

I assume that the engines do NOT need to be
running in order to use the food preparation
equipment..........

Bear with me, Rich, I just know what's Important!

Danf.

[Richw_82]

Dan,

Of course the galley works... but with the DC6 Diner and a cafe on site, its not really worth cooking anything in there. The aircrafts water tanks need cleaning out too if ever we wanted to use the galley properly.

Most things on the aircraft work if I'm honest - even the Orange Harvest radar warning receiver still works, though it fades after a couple of minutes.

Rich