Shackleton WR963

[Howslo]

Was watching an episode of Classic British Aircraft featuring 963 this morning.

[Richw_82]

Its being re-run quite a bit, shame they didn't use more of the footage as when it was filmed they were there all day. I think the efforts to make people realise that she's still there have paid off as lately the Shackleton as a type seems to be having a bit of a resurgence in popularity. 963 features in Flypast magazines 2012 calendar this month, having September all to herself.

Dan,

We're having at least one photographer on board during the night run (won't be me behind the camera as I suck at it, and I'll be busy on the engineers panel) so we should have some shots of the interior 'live' at night. It should look cool.

[Xplumberlives]

Its being re-run quite a bit, shame they didn't use more of the footage as when it was filmed they were there all day. I think the efforts to make people realise that she's still there have paid off as lately the Shackleton as a type seems to be having a bit of a resurgence in popularity. 963 features in Flypast magazines 2012 calendar this month, having September all to herself.

Dan,

We're having at least one photographer on board during the night run (won't be me behind the camera as I suck at it, and I'll be busy on the engineers panel) so we should have some shots of the interior 'live' at night. It should look cool.

Rich, you should invite Cluny along to video from the inside!

[Sploosher]

We're having at least one photographer on board during the night run .

any chance of making it 2.....................

[Richw_82]

I don't see why not. There should be a couple of seats available.

[Xplumberlives]

I don't see why not. There should be a couple of seats available.

Now we wait to see if Sploosher will turn up!

[Richw_82]

I'm not going to have five people at the door all claiming to be Sploosher am I?

Anyway...

Progress today saw the last parts of the new inlet ignition harness in and fitted on No 3 engine. It was a pain and required a lot of thought to get plugs and leads all in the right place, but patience (and plenty of cups of tea) won out in the end.

At 1541hrs, No 3 engine was turned over and with a little persuasion brought to life. A little later than we normally run, but the boys from the fire station were fed chocolate cake to keep them happy until we were ready to go.

To all gathered, the engine sounded pretty sweet so once there was some temperature in it we opened her up and let her roar. No misfire, popping or other shenanigans were evident. Time for the magneto test. Left, right, then lower the revs to 800 and test both to make sure "Off" is indeed "Off".... A fully serviceable engine is allowed 100rpm drop per magneto. 963 got 50rpm drop on each side!

The only niggle is it appears she likes running too much, the slow running cut off system didn't perate properly meaining the engine tried running on. Given the bad weather has just started, its possible that the solenoid in there is unhappy, but we'll check the whole system out just to be sure.


Regards,

Rich

[Xplumberlives]

I'm not going to have five people at the door all claiming to be Sploosher am I?

Anyway...

Progress today saw the last parts of the new inlet ignition harness in and fitted on No 3 engine. It was a pain and required a lot of thought to get plugs and leads all in the right place, but patience (and plenty of cups of tea) won out in the end.

At 1541hrs, No 3 engine was turned over and with a little persuasion brought to life. A little later than we normally run, but the boys from the fire station were fed chocolate cake to keep them happy until we were ready to go.

To all gathered, the engine sounded pretty sweet so once there was some temperature in it we opened her up and let her roar. No misfire, popping or other shenanigans were evident. Time for the magneto test. Left, right, then lower the revs to 800 and test both to make sure "Off" is indeed "Off".... A fully serviceable engine is allowed 100rpm drop per magneto. 963 got 50rpm drop on each side!

The only niggle is it appears she likes running too much, the slow running cut off system didn't perate properly

meaining the engine tried running on. Given the bad weather has just started, its possible that the solenoid in there is unhappy, but we'll check the whole system out just to be sure.


Regards,

Rich

I'm SPARTACUS!

[RLN]

My thoughts, exactly.

[Sploosher]

Its not impossible. Ask him where he used to leave his mark and I'll have a look...

Do you know any mediums..........................

Really funny.
How was I to know he was deceased? I wouldn't have suggested it had I known.

Rich, I don't think Gordon is offended!

not offended in the least.....................

[Richw_82]

Good. I don't like offending people.

[Sploosher]

:) Good. I don't like offending people.

same here.........

Have made a note for this event.....................

[Richw_82]

Nov 12


Mixed weather at Coventry today, it started quite gloomy, before drying out and becoming quite pleasant at one point. I'm told the weather conditions prevented the planned drop of poppies by one of the DC3's yesterday, which is a shame..

Still, the weather was good enough for the Harley Davidson Owners Club day and plenty of bikes turned up, bringing plenty of visitors.

Moving on to all things Shackleton - we dug into the problem No 3 engine had (it's always No3... that engine hates me. ) regarding the slow running cut off, and its failure to operate.

With power on, we tested the fuse, then the circuit, and finally the solenoid; and found that it was intact, and appeared operational. We pulled the solenoid and the cut off valve off, stripped it down and cleaned it. While the solenoid comes apart fairly easily, the valve appeared to have a sealed body, which made life difficult.

After cleaning and lubricating we reassembled the parts and refitted them to the engine. Trying the system again and once again fuel poured down the intake drain and all over the floor and starboard tyre. The offending solenoid/valve is still unserviceable and will be replaced by a new one next week.


Last but not least, I had these photo's passed onto me that were taken as we were leaving last week. I liked them, and thought you guys might. They were taken by Pete Curran, one of our crew.






Kind regards,

Rich

[Cluny]

Wow , me likey

[Sploosher]

Wow , me likey

me too.................

will be nice to meet up with my fellow forumeers on the 10th, and put faces to names...............

Not seen Cluny since the VTTS AGM at Cosford I think...............

[Xplumberlives]

Thanks for the update and Peters pictures!

Good luck with the problem on No3!

[Richw_82]

Cheers guys. I have some more pictures to share once I've got sorted out that shows the offending part and the attempts to get to it. Luckily for us access on the spare engines is a lot easier as there's no firewall, wing or nacelle behind it when mounted on the stillage.

We should have it fixed pretty quickly. We have some hydraulic work to do as the rear ram on the bomb bay is still weeping despite best efforts. We've been doing the preparatory work by freeing off all the bleed points on the hydraulic system, as the whole system needs bleeding.

Kind regards,

Rich

[MOD]

WR963 engine run 04/05/2011


What the Shack sounded like in the air.



Well done the guys at Coventry

ibw

[Richw_82]

A bit more from me now that I'm settled after a hectic weekend.

In order to make it to the end of Shackleton service there was a lot of parts robbing of dead aircraft, and '963 received bits that can be traced all over. Once or twice taking cowlings off we've found stencils of other aircraft serials, as found here:



One of the other engine cowls is off XF700 (which is on the dump at Nicosia), and there's a couple of others that I've forgotten.

The slow running cutoff is buried deep at the back of the engine so it took some digging to get to. Myself, Gary Thorn, and Ron Thompson got the cowlings off and set about removing it. With little to no wind, you can have the Griffon AP on the wing at the side of you which makes life a little easier!



There's a driveshaft going to the accessory gearbox runs past the valve meaning as with most parts, you can see it, you can feel it, but you can barely get a socket on it! Centre left of this picture is where it hides, just under the two pipes -



And this is the bit when we finally got it out.



as I mentioned in my last post, the spare engines we have are on stillages, so getting to a replacement shouldn't be too hard given that there's no engine bulkhead in the way. Lastly, a shot showing the new ignition harnesses in place. The new sheathing looks so much smarter than the old perished items.



All being well, next week should involve the tlc for the bomb bay hydraulics, and a brief parts raiding mission.


Kind regards,

Rich

[MOD]

Nice shots Rich.

She looks (and sounds) great in that livery.

[Richw_82]

Cheers! We rather like the white scheme. We weren't sure we had done right at first as so many people were slating the idea.... but the scheme is instantly recognisable as a Coastal Command scheme, and other than the Sunderland at Duxford, we couldn't think of anything else wearing it.

963 has weathered a bit now, so the ex-Coastal members of our group are a lot happier as she looks like her age a bit more, rather than factory fresh. She sounds a lot crisper than she did for that plug change, so we're going to attack the others in due course.

Regards,

Rich

[Sploosher]

Thanks for the update Rich.............

will the night run be with all 4 engines and whats the chances of a taxi run rather than static......................

[Richw_82]

I hate giving bad news...

With four weeks to go, its unlikely WR963 will be on four engines. Unless I get good news from the prop builders this week, its going to be tight just to get the back prop on for christmas, let alone both. This is part of the problem of working on a tight budget... you rely on goodwill, and it means you have to work to other peoples schedules!

There can't be any taxi runs until next year. She's just not ready yet, even if we had all four running. We still have the mainwheel swap to do as the brakes and tyres are shot, which means hangar time as the ground outside isnt firm enough to jack on. As the DC3's are all getting ready for winter maintenance, they get priority on the hangar as they earn a living. WR963 gets the late March/early April slot, last I was told.

This is not as bad as it sounds, as it means we can spend time getting the pneumatic pumps overhauled as the output when checked - well, we'll say it wasn't great. We want to be able to turn and stop the old girl, and that means we need air services! All being well, she may be feeling sprightly just after Easter. No promises though!

As this is the first Night Run our Shackleton has taken part in for a few years, we'll still do our best to make it as good as it can be for you. We still don't intend to let the Nimrod make more row than we can.


Kind regards,

Rich

[Xplumberlives]

Once again thanks for the update Rich, we feel your concern and understand that when working to a tight budget, things can get slowed a little.

Please be aware that we are in awe of the work that you and the team have carried out so far!

Please keep up the good work and the wonderful updates.

looking forward to the day she returns to the runway!

[Sploosher]

Thanks for coming back to me Rich......................

Its a shame that all four engines wont be running , but hey, it gives us something to look forward to next year

I thinks its great what you are all doing , just a pity that there is a lack of funds/donations etc to get things done quicker

onwards and upwards as they say.................

PS edit..........

I assume we will be able to have a wander around and photograph the `other` ground exhibits on the 10th