Phone Phixer Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 2 hours ago, xvtonker said: From what I can remember it was identified as a structural failure due to fatigue cracking on the wingfold locking pins. It was structural failure due to fatigue cracking of the main (front) spar near the wing fold. One wing of the affected jet (XV345) literally broke off due to wind shear when the aircraft crested a ridge during low level flight in the Nevada desert during a Red Flag exercise. Tragically it was all too quick and low for the crew, and resulted in 2 fatalities.😥 During the following investigation it was found that many airframes were well beyond the fatigue test rig for wear and tear/crack prediction. Some airframes were too damaged to recover and were scrapped. Others had very strict limits set for fatigue life, and the whole fleet was closely monitored for main spar cracking. Every 1FI we had to swap the outboard pylons for jacking pylons. The riggers would then "stress jack" the aircraft, remove bolts from the main spars, then the NDT guys would inspect for cracks. Even the mighty Bucc, built like a brick Sh%@house had its limits. Rob. 3 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Great info, thanks for sharing ! I love seeing all these official documents, they are a great source to get decals and paint schemes right 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Lime Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 19 hours ago, canberra kid said: Thanks for the heads up Mark, fixed! John John, Are the notes 14-30 missing or am I having a senior moment? Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 On 04/10/2019 at 04:12, stevehnz said: A query if I may, in the drawing with the Martel & Sea Eagle, it shows a data link pod which to my eye appears back to front, including the pylon, is this so or is that the way around it was? Hi steve, the TV Martel was launched about 15 miles away from the target, then the aircraft turned back, that is why the pod looks back to front, the aircraft and missile were heading in opposite directions with the control directions and the TV pictures being passed to each other. No such problem with the training pod or TVAT pod,they were used forward looking. It will be interesting to see if Airfix include the Martel missiles with later releases, there is more than just adding a few missiles, the TV ones need the data link pod and the launchers differed slightly, there was a temperature control pack (TCP) which contained a pressurised bottle of freon coolant to maintain a steady temperature in the TV head during carriage, this prevented condensation ruining the picture on launch. The AR version had no need for this so their launchers just had an aerodynamic pointy bit at the front. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 22 hours ago, canberra kid said: You'll need one of these if you want to hang a bucket of sunshine from your bric. Hi John, the bomb carriers were white and were attached to the weapon before it was sent out to the aircraft for loading, as were the different carriers for conventional 1,000 lb bombs. I think the main problem with hanging some "buckets" on your Bucc will be adding the front and rear fairings, we called them strike fairings because that's the only time they were used. They were fitted by the riggers during the preparation of the aircraft for the strike role. Happy days. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Retired Bob said: Hi John, the bomb carriers were white and were attached to the weapon before it was sent out to the aircraft for loading, as were the different carriers for conventional 1,000 lb bombs. I think the main problem with hanging some "buckets" on your Bucc will be adding the front and rear fairings, we called them strike fairings because that's the only time they were used. They were fitted by the riggers during the preparation of the aircraft for the strike role. Happy days. Thanks Bob, nice bit of background info, you can't beat first hand knowledge! John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 Weapons? not sure where to put this but I guess this is the right place. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 Vortex generators John 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Would they be flare dispensers? Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 53 minutes ago, stevehnz said: Would they be flare dispensers? Steve. Yes sorry Steve, I should have added ths info, I'll do it tomorrow. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 2 hours ago, canberra kid said: Weapons? not sure where to put this but I guess this is the right place. The flare dispensers were loaded by the armourers so they are part of the weapon system, as were the chaff dispensers. I never loaded either chaff or flares to a Buccaneer myself, my specialisations were Martel and Sea Eagle missiles, Paveway laser guided bombs and the WE 177 weapons. The first use of chaff, (small metalized plastic fibres to disrupt radar) on the Buccaneer were as paper packets taped to the inside of the airbrake doors, at the appropriate moment, the pilot would open the airbrakes and release the chaff, it was one use only, so not the best solution. The flare dispensers illustrated were later replaced by an AN/ALE chaff and flare system that was much more effective. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Only 12 aircraft were fitted with AN/ALE40 dispensers under the exhaust nacelles. These were the Op Pulsator aircraft for Beirut. A slight design flaw developed!! Flares could only be loaded to the stbd dispenser, as the port one ejected them straight past the fuel dump mast (draw your own conclusions as to what could go wrong). Chaff bits were found to be migrating into the rear avionics bay, located in the fuselage under the tail. Aluminium foil and wiggly amp powered fairy kit do not mix well. Later on dispensers were fitted near the hook and on the outboard pylons, better all round. 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 8 hours ago, Phone Phixer said: A slight design flaw developed!! Flares could only be loaded to the stbd dispenser, as the port one ejected them straight past the fuel dump mast. I remember that problem, by then I was away from the aircraft, just working on the weapons, the only time I got close to a Bucc was when I delivered any. I always thought the idea of a 1,000 lb bomb as a defence weapon was rather optimistic, drop the bomb in the sea using a 117 retard tail and hope the pursuing fighter would be taken out by the blast and water spout! I bet they were glad when they got some Sidewinders. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 On 10/5/2019 at 12:56 PM, canberra kid said: Thanks James, it's a shame it's not a photo, but it gives an idea. John There are some pictures of WE177 installation on Buccaneer here, https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=394.90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) John Edited October 9, 2019 by canberra kid missing photo added 3 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 On 10/5/2019 at 12:45 AM, Robert said: Hi John, was there something similar for the RN Buccaneers and any info on the canopy det cord ? Regards Robert @Robert Hi Robert, I've found a bit more MDC info John 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Yet another excellent post John - do you have the illustration to go with the Nav cockpit stbd side index please? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 13 hours ago, Retired Bob said: I bet they were glad when they got some Sidewinders. Depends on the type. When the OCU got its war role, Pavespike designation for the RAFG Tornado's, it also inherited the remaining stock of AIM-9B Sidewinders from 15 & 16 Sqns. They were sooo basic, one step up from "light blue touchpaper and stand clear". Included in the mod's for the Pulsator jets was the ability to carry AIM-9G's, big improvement. All the Bucc fleet got that ability when they went through the Sea Eagle update programme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 9 hours ago, Dave Swindell said: Yet another excellent post John - do you have the illustration to go with the Nav cockpit stbd side index please? Sorry Dave, I must have missed it. I'll have a look this evening. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 3 hours ago, canberra kid said: Sorry Dave, I must have missed it. I'll have a look this evening. John No need to apologise John, I (and I suspect quite a few other members) have been squirrelling away a comprehensive reference file on the brick courtesy of your efforts, much appreciated so no rush. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crobinsonh Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 This is a link to an album of Peter Rolfe a RAF Buccaneer Nav in the 70's. There are 80+ photographs and it is interesting to see the wear and tear on the Buccaneer. Hopefully useful for any of us building a RAF Buccaneer in this time period. http://www.thebuccaneeraviationgroup.com/photos-peter-rolfe.html 7 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Thanks for posting this link. There’s some lovely photos within and it’s all quite timely with all this latest Bucc enthusiasm. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 As there are links to RAF usage of the Buccaneer, only fair that the original user is represented http://www.faaba.co.uk/ . There are some good photos of life aboard an aircraft carrier and pictures of the aircraft on-board including the Bucc. Regards Robert 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Great stuff there - thanks for posting! Cheers, Andre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Oh, my goodness! I think I moistened my lederhosen looking at these photos. What a magnificent beast the Buccaneer was, and a real pain in the a-- to intercepting fighters at Red Flags, from what I have read! Many thanks for sharing these with the rest of us. Mike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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