There's no schedule of works as such. We have a whiteboard in our room that lists unserviceable items, so we have an 'at a glance' list to work from. We use this as some of our guys work on her whenever they have spare time (evenings in summer, weekdays) and everybody needs to know what the focus is.
You could in theory just concentrate on making sure the engines run, and the brakes work, and go taxying, but that's not our style. We won't be taxying until she is 100% serviceable, so theres a little way to go yet even without the obvious propeller, and the wheel change. For example - We have an inverter needs attention, a new generator to fit to No 2 engine, a noisy port side fuel priming pump, a No 1 engine that gets grumpy under load, seized aileron trim tabs, a small leak in the starboard air crate, V/UHF that receives but won't transmit... and the list goes on. Work gets recorded in new pages for the Form 700, though we are looking at converting to CAA logbooks.
Regarding servicing, there is an AP that we follow (number to follow later..) which is the anti-deterioration schedule for the Shackleton AEW2, which helps keep us on top of servicing as we can't really work by hours flown at the moment.
We've had surprisingly little asked of us by insurers or operators, as we exist in that weird grey area between a static aircraft and flight. We were asked by Classic Flight to get the propellers NDT tested, but other inspections we've initiated ourselves. The pneumatic bottles spring to mind, being x-rayed, boroscoped, etc.
When I tried to get an answer on what the Shackleton was classed as, the closest anybody was willing to classify her was as an engine test rig...
We said very early on that all work gets done as if we are going flying - as its the highest standard, and the safest. One rather good thing to come from the work done on our Shackleton is several members are now pursuing aviation careers and training. If we can get a little more funding in place WR963 has a very bright future.
Kind regards,
Rich
