Victor K2 XL231

[Sploosher]

thanks for that great update Graham

you certainly managed to fit in some `work breaks` that day.....................

[Blue_2]

Looking at the last pic of Lindy, is Her nose leg "standing tall"?

She could maybe do with having some fuel pumped forward, but that's all. nowt to worry about.

Sploosher we run on NAAFI coffee, you know that!

[Sooty655]

Footage (and the pretty damn awesome sound!) of the Dak's first taxy here:

[Sploosher]

great video Graham.......................

that's sound is awesome........................hope to hear it again for myself sometime.............

[Blue_2]

Well next year she'll be back out to play again!

20/10/14 Update

Bit of a change of pace this weekend. After all the hustle and bustle last weekend centred around our 2 1940's transports taking to the runway, this Sunday's activity was on a far quieter museum site and involved a much smaller, much younger aircraft and only a few select members of the Victor team; Rich, John and myself.
Rich and Ian are, as you may recall, responsible for the Harrier as a side project from Lindy. With no jobs apart form the usual checks outstanding on the Victor, Rich summoned us for a spot of VTOL- fettling. On the list of tasks for the day was permanently securing the ailerons, repairing the damaged airbrake, and reinflating the starboard outrigger's tyre. All this activity is due to the fact that the jet might actually be coming indoors for a repaint over the winter months.
First job was to suss out how to secure the ailerons. This had originally been done a few years back by using aluminium tubing, but being aluminium these were soft and had pulled the bolts through. However they would do for patterns for a new pair of securing rods, so out they came. We then scurried off to the scrap bin and found a couple of surplus steel tubes. These were soon cut to size, crimped, and drilled.

Before being fitted at the outboard point of the aileron. You can see here how the rod will work; it is secured where Rich is working on the aileron, and to the linkages in the wing at the other end. This still allows the aileron to be tipped up manually to drain collected water but prevents it drooping under gravity.

Rich is getting that clever nowadays he doesn't even need to watch what he's doing!

Aileron rigged, and access panels back on

After lunch the port wing underwent the same operation, with similarly pleasing results

We then got on with the airbrake. The poor Harrier's airbrake has in previous times suffered the ignominity of being left down and consequently bounced off the floor several times in the past while being towed, which wasn't helped by the then-deflated main oleo leg. This had left the rear 2 inches of the brake looking very battered indeed. We found a way of securing it up and out of harm's way a few weeks back, so now our attention turned to panel beating the trailing edge of the brake back into shape. After a lot of hard work carefully reshaping the bent, battered, stretched, split and generally tired aluminium we got it something like. We did have to rivet a plate over and round the crack at the brake's lowest point, but I'm sure with a coat of paint it'll look fine. It certainly looks better than it did!

After this we summoned the Tractor God to pull the jet onto a ramp for us so we could reinflate the starboard outrigger tyre. With the compressor on, and some nifty footwork from the Tractor God, the tyre was popped back onto the rim and took 80 psi quite happily. After being pushed back off the ramp the jet sat much happier!

Altogether a successful day's work.
Can't have an update on this thread without Lindy though...!

[Ray C]

Thanks for the up-date....The Hunter looks good in blue.

[Blue_2]

It'll look even better with a new canopy and a working engine fitted, if and when we find said items that is...

[Sploosher]

It'll look even better with a new canopy and a working engine fitted, if and when we find said items that is...

working engine..................

does that mean more noise on thunder days then......................

[Blue_2]

That's the plan, once we find a working engine for her. I rather suspect the JP will be running first though.

[Ray C]

&&&&&&&&& the Lightning......?

[Blue_2]

&&&&&&&&& the Lightning......?

I wish! No chance sadly.

[Blue_2]

16/11/14 Update

Well Yorkshire is now well into the season of murky, damp, cold grey days. We call it Autumn, but in Lancashire I believe that is just the standard weather! After the usual brew and bacon, Andre had not arrived so we decided to get on with a couple of jobs on Lindy before he appeared with our Orders of the Day. The hatch under the nose has been bugging us as one of it's 2 release handles which normally sit flush had developed a tendency to droop a bit. Conveniently this was a job where we could take the hatch off and work on it in the comparative warmth and dry of the workshop, so after gathering the hatch and some tools our happy gaggle trooped off to find a workbench.
It soon became obvious how the latch handle came apart. After unbolting the handle, the handle just turns and drops clear. There is a piston and a spring in the handle, we were guessing the spring had snapped. However, after tapping the handle out the handle sprung back, so clearly the spring was just stuck! Rich and Sam cracked on cleaning it up, while Tom and I cleaned up the latch housing on the panel and greased it up ready for the return of the handle.

It was soon all refitted, and we decided to drop the other handle while we were at it to give it similar treatment, the logic being if one has seized then the other one inevitably will soon!
It too came out happily without even a tap from the percussion adjuster, and once cleaned up by Rich and Sam it was found to be in really good condition

The piston in it even still showing it's part number!

It too was soon greased and reassembled

And refitted. Job done!

We took the hatch out to the aircraft, but decided to leave it off for a couple of hours to let the lower nose compartment air. By this time Andre had appeared, and declared an early lunch. But not before he'd asked us to make a start removing the starboard RAT's selector! And no further morale was seen that day...
The RATs have been an ongoing saga on Lindy. While the port one seems to behave well, the starboard one has given problem after problem. We thought we'd cured it with stripping the scoop out, but now the selector has decided to play up. This is an electrically controlled hydraulic valve mounted in the roof of the rear fuselage, and is a right pain to get to! So for the first time in a while we had the back hatch open

It's snug in there. The part we need to get to is just out the top of the shot below, in among the snake's wedding of ducting

The cover has to come off it first. It is some sort of composite material and held in place with bolts and captive nuts, many of which actually chose freedom over captivity many years ago! Here Tom is taking a spell of this fun job, while I have a rest having done half of them. Sam as usual observes closely

While we got the cover off, and I removed the lock wiring from the hydraulic unions and was able to crack them all off, the selector itself defied us. Partly due to its location we just could not get the screws holding it to the roof undone. So, after much trying, deliberating and cursing, the screws were given a dose of penetrating oil and will be left to think about it for the week.
So one job done, and one job well on with. Not bad, really. At least the nose hatch looks better with its floppy handle cured...

[Blue_2]

01/12/14 Update

After the last few weeks of varying levels of rain, fog and general murky miserable weather Sunday dawned clear and bright, which made a lovely change. Lindy and the Nimrod seemed to enjoy the winter sunshine!

After bacon and a mug of NAAFI coffee it was to work. Tom and I were intending to carry on our attempts to remove the starboard RAT selector after the securing screws had had a couple of weeks in a WD40 bath to think about things. I had a go but to no avail. While I had a break Tom had a go at the *insert expletive here* thing.



You can see how awkward access is! Add to this that the pics were taken with flash and you are normally working in the dark, apart from my pit lamp I'd brought from home. Not an easy task. We decided to use some 'percussion persuasion' on it too...

But to no avail. By this time it was nearly time to declare lunch and clean up wounds from carelessly left wire locking tails, of which there are many in the back hatch area of the jet.
After lunch we had a go at stripping down the selector 'en situ', but again it wasn't having it. This component really is defying us at every turn! So we decided on another cunning plan, more on that later. We went off looking for tools, hyd pipe blanks and other useful things while Andre and Rick had a bit of a play with the Green Satin nav gear



After this we continued to attack the selector, using a very different approach. I took the hydraulic pipes off and blanked as many as I could (it would appear that our supply of hyd pipe blanks has been disposed of by persons unknown. Much anger resulted from that discovery, I can tell you...) before flushing then filling the selector with avtur. The theory goes like this. The selector is gunked up with old, gooey hydraulic oil. the avtur will break it down. Simples! The selector can sit with a belly full of avtur for the week, then have another flush out with clean avtur, before new bonded seals are fitted and the hyd pipes re-fitted. And hopefully that'll see it right. Fingers crossed...
While all this was occurring, the weather took a turn for the worse sadly. The sun had been replaced by the all too familiar winter grey overcast

But the sun snuck under the murk as it was setting, giving a shot of Lindy dappled with late Winter sun




Locking wire wounds are now healing, slowly...!

[Blue_2]

08/12/14 Update

Quite a quiet day on site. for various reasons we couldn't get on with the jobs we hoped to, so after a bit of general housekeeping I went for a wander with the camera to get some shots of activity around site. it seams Ian had the same idea!

In the hangar, the Bucc is getting some winter servicing, and the Devon and Dak (as seen in this month's Flypast!) are having new windows fitted.

Outside, some of the Cold War jets are hunkered down for winter

The site looks quite bare with most aircraft tucked away under cover!

Tom re-acquainting himself with clambering atop a Victor, after quite a few years away from such activities!

The Nimrod was enjoying the evening (half past 3!) sun



As was Lindy, of course!

No snow for us. Yet...

[Sploosher]

thanks for the update Graham........................

how is the `Annie doing?............

[Blue_2]

It's waiting for the HP building to be emptied (probably after winter is out of the way) so it can come out, be turned around, and pushed back in so the starboard side is accessible for re-covering.
Currently the Meteor NF.14 is in the way, as it's in the HP being prepped for a repaint.

[Blue_2]

12/01/05 Update
January. Such a lovely, warm, dry month to be on an airfield in Yorkshire. And it is not at all windy. Oh, noo...

As you can see from the angle the RBF flags are at, I may just be telling a tiny little lie! It was very cold and windy yesterday at Elvington, with the odd heavy shower of horizontal rain thrown into the mix just to really brighten our day!
Our day started with the traditional brews around a table in the NAAFI. Only it wasn't the NAAFI. A note for anyone intending to visit the museum this month, the NAAFI is shut for the month of January for a refurb, so there is little in the way of hot food available I'm afraid. The most important piece of equipment, the hot beverage machine, is fully functional so all is not lost.
After a couple of brews we headed out to the jet, partly to start doing some meaningful work and partly to check around it and the Nimrod to see what if any havoc the windy conditions had caused. The Nimrod had had a couple of intake blanks popped which we put back. One of Lindy's jetpipe covers had fallen over, and one of the smaller intake blanks had gone walkies too; after scouring the site Ian finally unearthed it in the NAAFI car park and it is now refitted to the jet. You vill not escape...
The windy conditions had the jet dancing well, and her crew ladder which in the jet's current fuel state is usually vertical was being blown out to some interesting angles, pivoting on the hooks on the doorstep. In this shot the ladder is not touching the floor...

The job for the day was to try and continue chasing the gremlins in the fuel gauging systems, especially those pertaining to the Starboard wing and underwing tank. we took off, cleaned and refitted the electrical connections to the slipper tank. This improved matters but there was still a niggly problem. So it was out with the Vol.10, which is basically the jet's electrical bible. This is just one page of many, and covers the fuel gauging system. When you think how much electrical circuitry there is in the Victor, you can imagine that the Vol.10 is quite a tome. And it is only one of the many manuals Andre has in his Victor library, all of which are essential if we are going to keep her running.

John is in his element with electrical diagrams, and between him and Andre the fault was traced to probably lie in the cable box in the starboard undercarriage bay

So off we trotted to the gear bay, Andre labelling the coax feeds from the tanks while I provided light

I then removed the cable box for him to take home and check out.

Lindy's innards never fail to amaze us how good a condition they are in, as this shot illustrates.
The cable box showed muck and corrosion on several of the plugs which will almost certainly have contributed to our current gauging woes.

In addition Andre found there is at least one duff capacitor in the box. Hopefully when it is cleaned up and reinstalled the fuel gauges will be behaving once more.
After this fun and frolics, we called it a day early and headed home to re-acquaint ourselves with something called warmth...

[Dougs]

i have nothing but admiration for you guys you do like your confined spaces dont you!

[Blue_2]

For the 2 shots of removing the cable box I was perched on top of the Starboard u/c leg! Really comfy. Or not...

[Sploosher]

thanks for the update Graham..........................

pm on the way with a request..........

[Blue_2]

26/01/15 Update

We arrived at the museum to find the sun was out, and the temperature was less Arctic than in recent weeks which was a pleasant surprise. After morning brew and natter, Brian the Tractor God had his new toy out to play, a camera-equipped drone

As you can see it raised a lot of interest (either that or Brian has changed his deodorant for the better!)...

And when it produces images like this, you can see why!

More on the drone (the flying one, not Brian that is...) later.
To the Jet. And Andre had been a busy boy, fitting both a new instrument panel coaming cover and an absolutely brand-new, factory fresh fuel tray fascia

He was also swapping the lower cover for the fuel tray, as Lindy's was looking decidedly tatty. Andre had in stock a replacement item, sourced from Victor XL161 when she was scrapped. Before he fitted it I got this shot of the innards of the fuel tray

Andre fitting the new lower cover

And in place. While not perfect, it's better than the cracked, battered item originally fitted.

We had an airborne visitor too, an RAF Sea King

they gave us 2 nice low passes; cheers chaps! Shame the reassuring sight of a yellow Sea King bimbling along will soon be gone from Yorkshire's skies.
In the afternoon Ian and I finished off the ongoing RAT hydraulic system repair. It has been tested and is back in rude health, so it was time to lockwire the plumbing back up and refit the selectors' cover. Ian was keen to be involved as he wanted to learn the dark art of lockwiring, the mad impetuous fool! So I did 2 unions as a demonstration, leaving the third, most accessible one, for Ian to have a crack at. It has to be said for a first effort he did a nice job of it. But it is nice to finally see this cover back in place over the selectors finally!

Andre then decided it was high time the Artouste got some exercise, and decided to fire it up, dry spin the engines and exercise the hydraulic systems. Brian was still on site, and decided to use his drone to film the dry spinning of the engines from a different angle...

I'll share the link as soon as he puts what he recorded up on t'interweb. You don't often get to peer straight down the intake of a spinning jet engine! We look forward to Bri recording this year's events from a new perspective.
Back to Lindy, the APU fired up nicely, and the dry spins went well, as did the hydraulic systems tests. Even the RATs are finally behaving as they should, it seems.

All in all a very good day, quite a bit of engineering achieved, and lots of visitors interested in the jet and what we do to keep her alive.

[Blue_2]

Brian's 'drone's eye view' of Sunday's activities with Lindy... Pretty good, given he's only just getting the hang of flying the thing!
http://youtu.be/2n6dRkC27F8

[Ray C]

Bravo.... these aircraft will change the way we see things for ever.....

[Sooty655]

Bravo.... these aircraft will change the way we see things for ever.....

Especially when someone tries to do it on an engine start rather than a dry cycle.

[Blue_2]

Inevitably, someone will try. With expensive, messy results!