Shackleton WR963

[Richw_82]

Hi all,

A few shows in and still more to go. "Zebedee" has been to Burford, Cosford and Wellesbourne, and still has plenty more miles to rack up while championing WR963's cause. Waddington, Fairford, and Yeovilton are all on the horizon.

We now have JustGiving Text Donate and Paypal set up, and there's a number of other things in the pipeline being worked on to raise funding for 'Shackleton - the Return to Flight'. All this will soon be going on the new website, and on leaflets, handouts and anywhere else we can get it put.

Of course, we haven't been ignoring WR963 either.. No 2 engine was tested again this weekend after the fitment of some parts we received from Gatwick Aviation Museum and Newark AIr Museum. We now have RPM readings on the gauge which makes life a lot easier! Both No 2 and 3 were started and run up to 2200rpm and 40" boost; which resulted in more noise than WR963 has made in a while - getting towards being a proper Griffon growl.

No leaks, overheating, misfires or shenannigans, so next time its the turn of No 1 and No 4, and then if all is well behaved we'll push all four a little further.

ENERGAS have kindly agreed to meet our Nitrogen requirements which means we can sort out the oleo legs and be able to charge the pneumatics before starting the engines. Kind of useful to be able to do, as thats pretty much all that is left to do before we can taxy. We don't want to risk high speed on the tyres fitted due to their age but we've been advised for a low speed toddle up the taxyway they should be fine.

When? Soon.

Regards,

Rich

[Dougs]

great news thanks rich

[Mackrick]

Thanks for the update Rich....

[Richw_82]

Hi all,

Just a brief update on all things Shackleton at Coventry!

As a few of you might have seen we've been getting around the shows with the MR1/T4 nose. Last weekend it was in Rayleigh for the Armed Forces Day; and this weekend it will be at Waddington International Airshow as part of the RAF's 95th Anniversary celebration. We are actively fundraising for the Return To Flight; though its small beginnings and there's still a long way to go. There's a number of events coming up - one of which will be the chance to get your hands on WR963's throttles during a ground run.

What of WR963 herself? She has been sitting silent but satisfied with her performance on the last run, and is now waiting for a tow over to the hangar - as the jacks are back from overhaul and we have the mainwheel swap to do. Its anticipated this will be done over the weekend of the 13th/14th July if the space is available (as there's only one end of the hangar the 120ft of wing will fit into!) Our friends at Air Atlantique have yet again come through for us on the logistics side of things, which should see us get the mainwheels done sooner rather than later.

The nitrogen cart is getting an overhaul in readiness for some new cylinders, as it will be pressed into use as soon as the mainwheel change is done to get the oleos charged back up to the correct height, and charge pneumatics prior to running.

Last but by no means least - we've put a call out to some qualified crew in order to taxy WR963, with dates from the end of July being looked at.

Next update to include photo's as the camera's been in its box too long.

Regards,

Rich

[Dan4th]

we've put a call out to some qualified crew in order to taxy WR963

How long was the lineup at your front
door one hour later ?

Everything is sounding good for 963 at
this point, don't you think?

And First Flight gets closer Every Day !

Danf.

[Richw_82]

we've put a call out to some qualified crew in order to taxy WR963

How long was the lineup at your front
door one hour later ?

Not very long... there's only a few people we trust. I'm told it took very little by way of persuasion though!

And First Flight gets closer Every Day !

It does, but its a few years off yet. The pile of parts in our Shackleton overhaul kit is getting bigger though, so when the big work starts we'll have a lot of it ready to go.

[Mackrick]

All sounding positive Rich, keep,up the good work.....

[Gully]

Indeed - what Mackrick said!

Gully

[Richw_82]

From SPT...

"ALL -

SUBJECT TO SERVICABILITY AVRO SHACKLETON WR963 WILL BE TAXYING ON SAT 3rd AUGUST.

This is NOT a fast taxy as it is intended as an assessment of the aircraft for further taxy runs in the near future. This will be the first time WR963 has moved under her own power since 2008.

Notice will be given 24hrs beforehand if WR963 is unserviceable, or any circumstances change that prevent taxying."


Kind regards,

Rich

[Dan4th]

Penguins - Antarctica - Shackleton......

Get it ?????????

Seriously Great News, though

Danf.

[Sploosher]

thats great news Rich, make you get some video footage and post it online for us all to see.............

[Mackrick]

Hope all goes well Rich ....

[MOD]

What a shame for all the SPT people. WR963 had a minor problem with a fuel seal and couldn't be started.

Today was to have been the first time she has moved under her own power since 2008. Let's hope the guys can sort out the problem quickly and let us know when we should gather again at Coventry Airport.

Unfortunately photography is damn near impossible due to a 2m small mesh fence enclosing the Airbase enclosure.

Here's WR963 at 11.00 today - through (and over) the fence - after a bit of cropping!

[Avro683]

Excellent pictures, wow she looks chuffed to be on the ramp again!!

[Richw_82]

Hi chaps,

Thanks for the kind messages we've recieved - both here and on Facebook. We gave it a shot, but found that asking rather more of our old Shackleton than in the past months found a few weak points. As you can expect, there were a few depressed people sitting around the aircraft after the crowd had dispersed, however we want to pass the message out to our supporters and friends... we apologise for WR963 going unserviceable so late in the day.

We had a couple of minor issues that were overcome, but the failure of a seal in the port side's fuel priming pump resulted in an uncontrolled fuel leak as soon as any fuel tank cocks were opened on the port side, and that brought an end to the day. The part that failed couldn't have been predicted, and was fine on Friday when tested.

Sorry about the photo issues. We had to be in a certain location for starting for our fire cover and it was hoped that there would have been plenty of good shots as she taxied past the entrance to the airlock. Unfortunately circumstances meant it didn't happen.

Be assured we will fix 963, and we will try again.

Kind Regards,

Rich

[Dan4th]

Granted, it's a shame and a disappointment,
but at least it seems to be a minor glitch and
a relatively easy fix...

The Road to Glory is filled with POTHOLES

And you may quote me on that

Danf.

[Leebee0]

Hi Rich

Thanks for the update mate there no need to apologise there was nothing you could do this is just how it is. Sorry I missed you on sat but you were rather busy lol. These things have to right it you can not risk anything and if its not 100% then you don't run and that is all there is to it.

Hopefully WR963 will be back to full Health shortly and we will be back to see her run

Still enjoyed the day and the small hitches could not be helped.

Cheers

Lee.

[Richw_82]

Hi all,

After our attempt at taxying failed, we were left with a bit of time on our hands. Fortunate really as we have to sort out the issues that plagued WR963 and we can get a bit more done besides.

There's an intermittant fault on the PTR175 V/UHF which sometimes stops transmitting, and the PTR1751 V/UHF still needs attention to allow us to use the correct frequencies. We have a couple of guys that know radios looking them over as most of it seems to be an antenna issue.

The pneumatic system still has a few audible leaks, so the system is being tested at every joint to get it as leak free as possible. We know pressure will inevitably bleed away, as there are constant feeds to other systems than brakes - but it would be a good thing if the compressors on the inboard engines only had to keep up with a normal demand rather than struggling with leaks too.

The fuel priming pumps, as often seen in this thread are a long standing pain in the rear, but thankfully are relatively easy to swap out. The water ingress into these is only on the port side, and we thought we'd stopped it. It turns out we were wrong, so we're working back from the fuel manifold to find out which tank is letting it all in.

Saturday saw us ready to fit two new mainwheels as we did have our doubts about the ones she has been standing on for the last 20 years. Thanks again to our long time friends at Air Atlantique, through their generosity WR963 got to enjoy a brief spell in the hangar at Coventry - something we'd like to see happpen more often once our funding level rises sufficiently.

By Friday afternoon WR963 was sat snug in Hangar 7 at Coventry Airport. When I say snug I mean it... as you don't realise what a big girl she is until you try and fit her where DC3's normally sit. I think there's about 18" clearance off each wingtip! Two large 50,000lb capacity jacks were loaned, and at 1030hrs Saturday morning the Shackletons mainwheels were off the ground... albeit using hydraulic effort rather than Rolls Royce's. It looked a bit odd to see a big aircraft sat there on jacks with no wheel on. The work went well, with the two brand new mainwheels fitted, the brakes given a good checking and fettling too and WR963 was gently lowered back down after around four hours work.


On the administrative side; to get things progressing towards airworthy we need a company with CAA A8-20 E4 approval to support us. They will be the ones who would submit various reports to the CAA on our behalf covering design, safety record and numerous other things such as the all important the Permit to Fly application. We approached two companies - one could not carry out the work due to no longer carrying the approval. The other is considering the matter. We have our fingers crossed.

Photo's of the mainwheel swap to come a little later.

Regards,

Rich

[Dan4th]

Baby's Got New Shoes !

Just one more "Step" in the process

Will look forward to the pics and thank
you yet again, Rich, for keeping us up
to date on all things 963!

Danf.

[Richw_82]

[MOD]

Thanks for the updates Rich. BTW.. GOOD LUCK ,, we are all keeping our fingers crossed for you.

ibw

[Dan4th]

Wow, that took a little manpower, didn't it?

Oh, and I also wish for you guys and the
aircraft some nice, dry indoor storage for
the work she needs to get airborn

I hope that day is S-O-O-N!

Danf.

[Blue_2]

Those mainwheels are really really light. In disguise...

[Richw_82]

Oh yes... moving four of them about was a good workout.

[Richw_82]

Hi all,

Its that time again... WR963 will be running her engines up at Coventry Airport on Sat 28 Sept at 1.30pm. This will be the first engine run since the taxy attempt due to her having a brief rest indoors while the mainwheels were changed. She's now back in her usual spot keeping Nimrod XV232 company.

All are welcome, access is through the West Entrance, signposted as DC6 Diner. There is a small charge for entrance onto the aircraft and there may be limited spaces for visitors on board the Shackleton during the run.

Kind regards,

Rich