LMA Dave Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Well on Sunday 17th February it was a big day for us all at Woodford, the new owners have been planning to move XM603 from where we move her a couple of month ago to her final resting place across the other side of the airfield around 1/2 mile away next to the fire station, now before we get the safety police, it was all done above board, she had sat where she was for months why she was checked for stress and the like to the undercarriage and wheels, but she was in good shape so it was decided to move her for the last time, and we were tasked with the job, to say we were ecstatic was an understatement. I hope you enjoy the moment as we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Were any Vulcans actually used ín anger'? I don't remember. Many years ago one visited New Zealand and the undercarriage collapsed on touch-down and it struggled back into the air and flew to Auckland where it landed somehow. I forget the result. I was only a kid at the time. Thanks for the Vid. Edited By Panther on 07/03/2013 22:52:22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Yeh used in the Falklands War.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avtur Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Hi Dave, thanks for posting the vid, great to see an aircraft movement at Woodford. I guess that XM 603's trip along runway 07 is likely to be the last full size movemnt on the airfield so it's nice to see it captured on film at close quarters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Privett Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Panther, as Mark says, they were used in the Falklands War in 1982, dropping conventional bombs. Thankfully they were never flown "in anger" in the role they were designed for (nuclear bomber) - if things had ever escalated to that stage then I doubt most of us would be here now, or if we were, wouldn't be posting on internet forums! The first and last of these "Black Buck" missions were captained by Martin Withers who is now Chief Pilot and Operations Manager for the Trust that displays XH558, the only Vulcan now flying anywhere in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Panther The Black Buck raids were and still are the longest bombing missions undertaken from a single base and were a 'tour de force' in aerial refuelling requiring a fleet of 11 Victor tankers for a single Vulcan to reach the Falklands.and return. It was refuelled 8 times during the course of the mission. What is more remarkable was no one had done any air to air refuelling of a Vulcan for many years prior to the raids as it was considered difficult and dangerous! The B52s went further in the Iraq war but used tankers stationed at bases along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chambers Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Weren't the refuelling probes not even properly tested before the mission? I seem to remember reading that they were very worried about how degraded the fuel tubes to it were. I know it happened to use up most of the remaining airframe hours on the Victors too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Dave Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hi all, here is the very raid on the falklands you are talking about. 603 will spend the rest of her days around that part of the airfield along with the heritage museum and there is talk of a school being built over there as well in the future, imagine having your very own Vulcan bomber just outside your playground. Our next job is to clean her up in the summer months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panther Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Fabulous movie, Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I know an ex 617 squadron Vulcan pilot who did a full term career with the RAF, finishing up on Victor tankers. Fascinating conversations, particularly in finding out just how capable the Vulcan was, as well as some of the things they got up to that are definitely on the secrets list! Incredible aeroplane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josip Vrandecic -Mes Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hi Dave,the rest of us,at the time outside of Europe,we will remember famous Avro Vulcan,after the famous James Bond's movie ''Thunderball''...Tom Jones...watch Breitling...etc... Unrepeatable time... Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Kearney Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Thanks for sharing the video Dave. For those interested in the raids on the Falklands, this is a very interesting book about the preparation and the raids themselves. r. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly P Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Brilliant Dave, just a shame it wasn't under her own power..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Dave Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hi Olly, yes you are right, it is a shame. There is only two of the four engines left and I doubt they would fire up now without a complete overall, I lot of the part have been taken for 558, so sadly she will never do anything now apart from sit there. she is in remarkable shape considering the length of time she has been sitting outside the Avro offices. The original team that looked after her was kick off site many years ago on the grounds of H&S. I am not even going there with that one lets just say they had there reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Me and the Cadets of 230(congleton) ATC squadron pulled XM 603 along Woodford's runway back in the 90's to raise money to build the new ATC extension in memory of 4 cadets (one a friend of mine) killed in two seperate car accidents close to one another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark a Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Hi all. I did a bit of work on 603 a number of years ago. I was crew chief on XM 655 at wellesbourne for about ten years and worked on the aircraft for about 16 years. We took the two zero houred Olympus 301 engines out of 603 as spares for 655 as they were the only zero houred 301's on the planet. Still makes me smile thinking about when we used to run engines we could only take two up to full power at a time in case the aircraft jumped the chocks and of course the fuel bills each engine would burn 4 to 5 gallons a second on full power. Just moved onto the Shackleton and Nimrod at Coventry airport hope to taxi the Shack soon and put a bit of life back into the Nimrod as well Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbone Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Hi all Dave, thankyou for posting the video. I have an interest as my father was the pattern maker for some of the castings for the undercarriage of the Vulcan. There is some doubt about the funds for getting XH558 airborne for displays this year.Take a look at **LINK** to see if you can help! Tbone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Dave Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share Posted April 14, 2013 Yesterday (13 April 2013) saw the first day of XM603 getting some much needed attention with the stage one of the big clean, there is years of neglect to get though so we don’t expect it to be a walk in the park. Here are some photos I took yesterday weather conditions were not the best, but hay, we don’t expect anything else in this contrary do we. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Wilson Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I knew Daves new Vulcan was big but that's ridiculous! I bet it took him ages to do all that weathering and you guys are just washing it off. Great project Dave and keep us up to date with how you get on. cheers Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I wouldn't mine giving a hand sometime. Only live 20 mins away and would like to assist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowlea Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Fantastic work there chaps (Alan looks like he is getting carried away washing the stairs there lol!), I am only up the road too if you need a hand- can bring my own mop and bucket I had the privilege of getting up and close to this beautiful ole gal a few weeks ago at the LMA day and what a gorgeous, majestic lady she is! Was an amazing experience to be so close and be able to touch her, first time close to a Vulcan (well any fullsize plane really lol) and one of my favourite planes so was really exciting. Dave’s Vulcan was brilliant too, not nearly as weathered though Here are a few of the photos I took Ps-forgot to thank you guys for the burger and the cup of tea too, how many men does it take to work a BBQ? now THAT was entertaining to watch lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 A little known Vulcan event back in the 50s. I was on leave and on the Saturday there was a news story about a Vulcan that had just missed a petrol station as it took off from Filton at Bristol. They showed some film of the service station and the lamp posts were bent in the direction of travel inspite of them saying it was jet blast. I was back at St Mawgan on the Monday. St Mawgan had a very long runway (tested for the Brabazon) and was used for emergencies. The Vulcan was there. THat Vulcan had hit the service station, All the pipes on the undercarraige were squashed and torn. The skins had been ripped off the honeycomb door panels, some tyres were burst. One thing that you never forget about the VUlcan. The take off, The ground shakes. Victors and Valiant Takes offs are forgettable. VULCANS ARE NOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Dave Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 Willowlea, I am glad you enjoyed your day with us on the LMA fly-in, boy was that weekend cold, hence so many cooks around the BBQ, what made me laugh was, they still bunt everything. We don’t know when the next cleaning day will be scheduled I will try and let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Anderson Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Hi all, My interest in XM603 was aroused by the BBC programme 'Cold War, Hot Jets,' in which she appeared a few times. I worked at Woodford from 1998 'til retirement in 2003 and often wondered what happend to her after Woodford's closure. Because of the renewed interest, a bit of research has revealed to me that I might well have another connection to her, through my RAF service days in the 60's, when she was flying with 44 squadron at RAF Waddington. I am pleased to discover that she is still around. Can the public get to view her? If so, how do we get there? I'm probably not much use now, but I still live around the corner from Woodford, so if there is anyway in which I can help....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Crosby Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Hi peter, I reckon you wouldn't forget the noise of a fully loaded Victor K2 taking off beside you. Those Conways rip your ears off and the climb rate is rather low at first. Watched a few at ASI a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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