c.smith10 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 There is currently a B1 Lancer at RAF mildenhall which has apparently broken down and they have conveniently parked it in a great spot to get photos so i took the opportunity to get down there this afternoon. It looks to me like there are some scorch marks under the elevator and underside of the engine pod so maybe it had a major engine issue. I have a friend who is a technician on the base and im currently fishing for information! Photos are not the best but you get the idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 It was there last week, apparently it called in from the Atlantic/Irish coast with a faulty radar. Don't know about the scorch marks, although it was parked tail up to a hangar after it arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley420 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Those marks look a bit like its been sand blasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary1701 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Hi, It's still here as of this morning, and still in the same place as well. You could hardly park down Folly Road this morning and that was on a morning when nothing flew at all! I did hear it is expected to be about for a while, but can't vouch for that. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.smith10 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 I also heard it would be U/S for a while, when I went up yesterday there was no one else there. It couldn't really be parked in a better place for the spotters! I would also like to know what the "scorch" marks are on the emponage Nice images by the way, I think you have a better lens/camera combination than me lol cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary1701 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Hi again, Thanks. I was fortunate to photograph it in some decent light and I think I would have got similar results if I'd shot it without sunlight. Certainly the few pics I took of it on a cloudy wednesday evening were pretty poor. I don't know if they are scorch/heat marks or not. I posted the pics up on the US ARC site hoping for some insight and somebody suggested sand blown back from the engines and stuck to the airframe by hydraulic/oil leakage which does seem to follow bearing in mind it was heading home after a Middle East deployment. Also the comms that were apparently heard when he came in suggested a 'avionics' issue, and as although the B-1 DAS system is in the tailcone, I can't see how the external marks here would be caused by the quoted problem, there appears to be no panel damage or ports in/out of the airframe so perhaps the guy on ARC is correct. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Nice catch guys Cor! the B-One is a lovely plane... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandX Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Top pics, Sir! Too bad you can't see the other side... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammy da fish Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Those scorch marks down the back end are in fact Hyd/engine oil leaks (which is normal by the way) and then covered in a light layer of blown on sand. This more than typical of A/C that have been deployed to the Middle East. A/C are not normally cleaned/washed whilst on deployment to the desert, as it would be a waste of water, so often the periodic/ calender wash would have been postponed till return of A/C to Base. If my A/C only had this amount of sand on returning from Ops, I would be very happy indeed. Now who is going to be brave enough to do a model of this bone with a little extra dirt down the back and sides ? SF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I am falling for this aeroplane. It's such a beautiful shape. Please keep taking the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper3111 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I caught her when she first arrived and parked up on the taxi way. Sadly it was 0700 and raining Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I think we should convince them to keep it in the UK for the rest of the air show season and then retire it to Duxford do the UK can have it's own B-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 "Sand and hydraulic leaks" my eye. Clearly someone has just added a resin "upgrade" and is halfway through the cycle of fit, prime, sand, fit, prime, sand and is on the verge of bunging the whole thing out the window. More worryingly, look at the score marks ahead of the windscreen. It looks as though a KC-10's boom operator has been trying to autograph his work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Crackin photos and an interesting theme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kstater94 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 As sammy says, hydraulic leak... Probably had hydraulic leaks around that area during the time of the jet's deployment and all that fine powdery dusty sand has stuck to (and baked onto) the rear fuselage. As an aside, many of you in the UK may have seen this jet at Fairford when it was operated by the Kansas Air National Guard (My late father's unit). Cheers! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammy da fish Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Just managed to find this photo a RAF Puma's whilst in the desert from my album and yes it is in the two tone green honest. no water to clean A/C just wait till it comes home. Sammy da Fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Just managed to find this photo a RAF Puma's whilst in the desert from my album and yes it is in the two tone green honest. no water to clean A/C just wait till it comes home.Sammy da Fish I thought that the Chinooks in Iraq and afghan got bad, but not quite as bad as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary1701 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Gents, I don't think I've quite seen anything as bad as that Puma. I did hear a story that one of the RAF Chinook's intheatre (don't recall if it was Iraq or Afghan) a few years ago did not have the performance that it should have done, and engine checks showed that there was no problem there. It was rotated back to the UK and was apparently found to be all the extra weight from the sand that had built inside the aircraft. Back to the bone, and I gather it was moved back to the centre of the airfield for engine runs yesterday, but has now moved back to the same stand again. Could have made a nice backdrop to Mrs Obama's visit today! Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Needs no more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 A quick wash down and a lick of paint and she'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammy da fish Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 A quick wash down and a lick of paint and she'll be fine. No, It required a pressure wash for approx 3 hours including along top of fuselage , I also pulled out a least two buckets of sand just in front Main Rotor Head, a quick relub, NO repaint needed. And she flew the next day. SF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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