richw_82 Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Its taken a lot of careful thought before the Trustees all agreed we should have another go at it, but we all feel WR963 is the last chance outside of South Africa to see a Shackleton flying again. You're more than welcome to visit, just let me know when so I can arrange for someone to be there. Access is a little more difficult now that Airbase is closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clift Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 When the crew throttled her back, I was able to board and sat happily in the Navigators position listening to the three big Rolls Royce Griffons... Lucky dog! I would luv an opportunity such as that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) Hi all, Not much work happened on WR963 this weekend what with the cold weather conditions. Despite attempts to hide out of the weather early on there wasn't much warmth to be found and there were a few muttered comments about the sanity levels in our team. I'm glad to report though that all thoughts of rebellion were quashed, and it was a productive day.. We have been getting all the covers we have out to try and protect WR963 somewhat from the coming harsh weather and much fun was had trying to fit engine covers, cockpit covers and the like. Its much easier in good weather when covers and fingers aren't cold and stiff. Cockpit cover in particular is a necessity now due to all the new glass that has been fitted. We've also closed the bomb doors to try and keep things as sealed up as we can - a task which involved an unsuspecting victim (why is it always me?!) manning the hand pump for the hydraulics in the starboard undercarriage bay. Inside, there has been some minor work on replacing some of the damaged upholstery. We have to be careful as we don't want to remove the well used look WR963 has, but attention to specific areas works wonders and can be noticed. Things like damaged rudder pedal grips, the protective pads under the instrument panel and various capping strips here and there. On the return to flight side - there's still contact going back and forth with the CAA as we try to supply them with the information they require. The level of detail required on even minor items at this initial stage is impressive; but we're rising to the challenge. There's some major digging going on through archive material. Other news The next ground run is going to be in early February (weather permitting). Volunteers wanted, to work on Nimrod.. Regards, Rich Edited February 2, 2013 by richw_82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Rich, PM coming your way re; volunteering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Great to hear work is still ongoing on that beautiful old bird, Rich! It sounds like you'll probably have her in the air before I finish my MR.2 conversion!  Best Regards,  Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 If I win the lottery, I'm sure we could sort some kind of building for her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 2 Feb WR963 has got through the cold snap quite well. No water ingress in the fuselage, no sign of it in the fuel tanks, and all the covers we managed to fit are present and correct. It was hoped we'd get plenty done on the aircraft today but efforts were stifled by the number of visitors we had. Despite Airbase being closed, with careful management we can still allow people access to WR963 up close and personal. Most of todays work centred around work on our ground equipment, with the old Tugmaster getting prodded and poked until it awoke in a cloud of grey smoke. There seems to be an engine problem with this, so those of a military vehicle bent will get an update when things get a bit more radical. At least the sunshine kept spirits high... There are other things needing doing around the place though. Part of that is looking in the archive for some drawings. You can't see the other two walls, but they're floor to ceiling too with Shackleton drawings and AP's. This is not counting the contents of the 16 large boxes of drawings stored in the hangar. There's all kinds of things in there such as this: There's lots more such as MOTU course notes and the like. We're sending a lot of this to Avro Heritage, so EVERYBODY can make use of it not just us. However, we weren't just messing around in the archive. We have a mission... to find all the necessary drawings for lifed items. Including these rather large booms. Wonder what they're for..? Also nice to receive was an email regarding the civil registration, which indicates that should be processed shortly. More next week and an engine run. Regards, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Sorry I've not replied to the PM Rich, Been quite busy/bad back etc! Will do shortly! When is the next engine run? I really want to get down to one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 9th Februaury is the next one. Then about the same time in March after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 As always, Rich, nice to see pictures of the old lady! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted February 5, 2013 Author Share Posted February 5, 2013 Update - Please welcome G - SKTN to the UK Register. A small step, but still in the right direction! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixII Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Welcome Tango-November! Hope your 'first flight' is soon to be. Best wishes to you Rich, and the rest of the team. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Hi all,Sorry for the lack of updates, I'm having trouble getting forum access in places. We haven't stopped working on WR963. with all four engines now being run on a monthly basis. There's also quite a bit going on in the background; but its stuff that doesn't really show on '963 herself. I'll attach a better update shortly.On Saturday 11th May WR963 will be carrying out her monthly ground run, at Coventry Airport. Engine start is at 1pm, local time, access is through the West Gate at Baginton, and limited parking spaces are available near the DC6 Diner. While there's no entry price to get in to the airport to see WR963, sadly we are having to now charge for access into the aircraft itself, both static and during the ground runs. Its now £5 for aircraft tours and £25 for a place on the Shackleton during ground runs.Remember.. this is currently the only place in the UK where you can see, hear and feel a live Shackleton, and one of only two left running in the world, so if you're out and about come down and say hello!Regards,Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Nice to hear you're still working on that beautiful aeroplane, Rich! Great to hear all four of the Griffons are running now! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 Hi all,Subject to serviceability 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 over the coming week that prevent taxying.Kind regards,Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 Good news, Rich, thank you for the information! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Hot weather this weekend but maintenance goes on... the hydraulic hand pump supplied by the Victor XL231 team at Elvington has been built up with a new handle and correct fittings; and fitted into the No 3 nacelle. The old one is shown close up, and quite obvious is the failed seal which let full engine driven hydraulic pressure act upon its piston, shearing the pushrod. The new one was fitted, the fluid topped up and the lines bled off. We could then drop the flaps, and close the bomb doors, bleeding more parts of the system; but there is still air in the system. Overall though it works and is leak free! More OM15 will be added next week and another bleeding carried out to purge the last of the air.The CSU on No 1 engine was reset and is ready to try out on the next run, it shouldn't drop into feather range this time. From fine pitch (maximum revs) to coarse pitch (minimum revs) the arm has 61 degrees of movement. The next 19 degrees of movement puts it into feather range. This movement at the CSU has to correspond with the movement of the pitch levers in the cockpit. With the wear in WR963's linkages the CSU was into its feather range before the lever in the cockpit was past its gate. The adjustments we have done at the engine put it back into its correct position against the setting in the cockpit.Some general maintenance was done in and around the No 3 engine nacelle, involving lubricating various fasteners and fittings, and replacing a couple of DZUS fasteners that had broken or worn. Interesting to find was more Lancaster/Lincoln DNA in the wing... the inboard flap carries on across above the nacelle, but on the Shackleton it is split; as the rear of the nacelle doesn't move with the flap. Hinge and flap are still there though, though only a small portion of it moves!Now for some good news... we had a meeting recently with a top notch company willing to give A8-20 E4/M5 support to the Shackleton so things have just taken another big step forward. We will be upping our fundraising efforts as a result, to include making a HLF application in the near future. We may have mentioned it before, but we really need your help to see WR963 fly again now more than ever! If you haven't already donated we encourage you to do so, as every little helps get a Shackleton closer to flight.Regards,Rich 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Beautiful work as always, Rich! Best of luck with this wonderful old Shack! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 A brief update just to let you all know we've not packed it in and gone home!We've spent some time rationalising our spares stash, which resulted in some trading and some sales. For those of you that often talk of the differences and similarities between Shackleton and Lancaster wheels - look no further. These are Shackleton wheels and tyres (including three new boxed ones. Coming soon to a Lancaster near you! The ONLY difference between late Lanc wheels and Shackleton wheels is the size of the brake drum. We checked the books, and the RAF are now happy bunnies.We've let a few bits of Griffon go too; again to people that we respect and trust and to some unique projects around the world. The reserve of engines we have is undiminished though, there are still six Griffons sleeping awaiting their turn.Of WR963? Well, she got a little dirty so we decided to call in some help. Some of our friends and supporters, and a great group of guys with a Fire engine! This resulted in one very clean and happy looking Shackleton. So it was time to get down to work again. As at the last taxy run, we had fuel priming issues, a bad pneumatic leak, and a dead radio. The dead radio was resolved by buying a lot of expensive new kit - sometimes there is no easy way to fix a problem - but now we have a functioning radio on all the correct frequencies and it is CAA approved.The fuel priming issue is a long standing one, and we battled through that over winter, before resolving it at the begining of the year. The last problem outstanding was the pneumatic crate, which was a pain to access and try and repair due to the AEW2 having its APX-7 and IFF equipment mounted above the storage cylinders.So we reverted to MR2 here, and removed the redundant racking.Access was now easy, and within a half hour we had all the leaks found and eliminated. So out to the wheels we went and tracked down a leaking brake line on the starboard wheel.The spare was a non original line, so it will require replacement with the correct bore. We have a list of new pneumatic components required; these will be attended to over our winter maintenance period. But - on the positive side we now have brakes, and no pneumatic leaks! So its time to think about taxying....Power on, check the fuel levels...Oh, Poo. We need some fuel before WR963 goes anywhere!So thats where we're at on the airfield. The Return to Flight work is still progressing, though the paperwork and approvals process is slow and frustrating. It has meant that things are moving slower than we wanted them to; but on a more positive note we have been preparing to get WR963 through some NDT work on her spar booms and webs. This will determine whether we can use the hours there are left on the wing.Regards,Rich 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 She looks beautiful all clean and spiffed up! Interesting to hear about the wheels and tyres - I always thought they were the same on the (late) Lancaster and the Shackleton, or nearly so. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 She has come up well. Not bad for an aircraft that spends its life outdoors... we did wonder how long the paint would hold up.Regarding the wheels - it is purely the brakes. Lanc, Lancastrian, York, Lincoln, Hastings, SHack MR1/MR2/AEW2 are all compatible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richw_82 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 WR963 is now doing rather well. The last run up showed no electrical gremilns, with all generators and inverters working, radio, pneumatics, fuel priming all spot on. She's just waiting on our pilot being available and then she will be trying a small taxy up and down to stretch her legs!In the meantime, we took some fresh fuel on and have some more run ups over the next month or so.Dates are: 27th September, 11th October and 27th October. As always at 1pm, inside the Classic Air Force compound.Regards,Rich 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Always nice to get an update on the old girl, Rich. It sounds likes she's coming along nicely! My car seems complicated to me; I can't imagine how complicated an aeroplane with four huge piston-engines must be! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_modeller Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Apologies if this is a really dopey question already covered, but WL747 and WL757 are still sat at the end of the runway in Paphos arent they ? Whats the story behind that, and why has no one tried to recover them or get parts off them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 I thought I would up this thread, no doubt Rich will post soon? Great effort from the team... I for one can't wait to see this in the air!! A video from Cameron.. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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