The plane enthusiasts thread

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

a.twiddler

Veteran
One of the most chilling things about the Vulcan was that, of the five crew, only two had ejector seats ...
An even more chilling thing was that the all-too-solid front undercarriage leg was immediately behind the crew hatch so if the undercarriage was extended the remaining crew had to somehow avoid being slammed against it by the slipstream when they bailed out. In an ideal situation the pilot and co pilot would endeavour to let the crew bail out safely before ejecting but a sudden need to vacate the premises did not leave many options.
It gives an insight into how dispensable military aircrew truly were despite the cost of training them.
 
We had the 'NHS Flypast' today:okay:

It was scheduled last week but was postponed due to the weather (& it was indeed low cloud - Emley Moor TV mast was almost invisible from Upper Cumberworth


View: https://www.facebook.com/Lawphotography2014/photos/a.766744270020789/3821134321248420/?type=3&theater




This was the Spit in question
https://www.aircraftrestorationcompany.com/spitfire-pl983
 

classic33

Leg End Member
I saw a Vampire last week. Definitely a Vamp and not the Venom. Couldn't believe my eyes. It wasn't going flat put, butnwasn't hanging around either, and was pretty low. A glorious sight.
WZ507
1038389.jpg
 

Drago

Legendary Member

Possibly. It wasnt hanging about so I didn't get the best look, but it was a silver colour scheme..
One of my old consultants was ground crew in the RAF and went on about the Vampire and how it melted the tarmac lol
My neighbour is an old boy in his 80's and he was an airframe mechanic in the 50's working on the Vampire. He was pleased I'd seen it, but gutted he'd missed it.

My Dad has his own plane and I mentioned the viability of owning a Vamp to him. He reckons to buy isn't extortionate, and while they guzzle fuel the jet fuel is half the price of the 'petrol' used in piston planes, but the maintenance requirements are crippling, in the order of 10+ man(or woman) hours maintenance for every hour of flight, and he reckoned that was a conservative estimate.

Edit - Mrs D checked the Facebook page - it was indeed WZ507! Honest fellers, it was an absolutely magnificent sight.
 
Last edited:

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Possibly. It wasnt hanging about so I didn't get the best look, but it was a silver colour scheme..

My neighbour is an old boy in his 80's and he was an airframe mechanic in the 50's working on the Vampire. He was pleased I'd seen it, but gutted he'd missed it.

My Dad has his own plane and I mentioned the viability of owning a Vamp to him. He reckons to buy isn't extortionate, and while they guzzle fuel the jet fuel is half the price of the 'petrol' used in piston planes, but the maintenance requirements are crippling, in the order of 10+ man(or woman) hours maintenance for every hour of flight, and he reckoned that was a conservative estimate.

Edit - Mrs D checked the Facebook page - it was indeed WZ507! Honest fellers, it was an absolutely magnificent sight.
My dad worked on Vulcans and he once told me the maintenance ratio to every hours flying time was astronomical (i seem to remember 70/1 for some reason but may be wide of the mark)
This seems infeasible but i suppose if say 10 people are working on a plane at the same time, thats 10 hours in one hour.
The maintenance ratio probably accounts why the RAF had over 130 of them made.
 

DaveReading

Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
Location
Reading, obvs
My dad worked on Vulcans and he once told me the maintenance ratio to every hours flying time was astronomical (i seem to remember 70/1 for some reason but may be wide of the mark)
This seems infeasible but i suppose if say 10 people are working on a plane at the same time, thats 10 hours in one hour.

The Lightning and Phantom each consumed about 40 maintenance manhours per flight hour, so a figure of 70 for the Vulcan probably isn't too far out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gbb

DaveReading

Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
Location
Reading, obvs
Edit - Mrs D checked the Facebook page - it was indeed WZ507!

No real surprise, as it's the only flying Vampire in the UK and (despite what Wikipedia says) there are no flying UK Venoms at all.
 

DaveReading

Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
Location
Reading, obvs
Is that the one whose airworthy certificate was issued in 2018, expires on 30th June 2021?

No - a Venom isn't a certificated aircraft, so can't have a C of A, only a Permit to Fly. There are no Venoms currently on the UK register, and therefore none with a current P to F.
 
Top Bottom