Hercules XV185

[Vitesse]

Many years ago I was lucky enough to get a couple of air experience flights aboard XV185 while visiting Lyneham with the ATC.

I wonder if anyone here has any memories of this aircraft? I understand it has now been disposed of.

One of the flights I took consisted of circuits and bumps. Myself and several others duly filled our nato issue bags. After landing we looked for somewhere to put them and duly found the nearest sand-filled bin. Other people had only put cigarettes in. I still feel guilty about that. Some poor *** must have cleaned up...

Thanks in advance.

[allan907]

Did Honington-Gander, Gander-Cold Lake for Maple Flag in April 1981. Fifteen hours with yer legs up under yer chin and feet resting on a ground power unit. No such thing is DVT in them days!

Also did some continuation training Lyneham-Cardiff in Jul 87

Tell that to today's kids and they wouldn't believe yer!

[Wader2]

Seemsto have beensome aircraft. If you do a Google search for Hercules XV185 you will find lots of hits.

[adrian mole]

First trip in XV185 Lyneham-Binbrook-Lyneham Exercise Heartsease 7 Mar 74.

[LXXIV]

July 17th 1968, Exercise 2, 242 OCU Thorney Island, Captain was Denis N****n. I think that was the one where he feathered 1 & 2, to the slight dismay of all the ex Beverley student crew. Happy days !

[callsign Metman]

not as good as XV208. That WAS a special aircraft.

:) :) :) :) :)

[Echo 5]

Adrian,

First trip in XV185 Lyneham-Binbrook-Lyneham Exercise Heartsease 7 Mar 74.

Snap !!..............and sadly that was my very last trip on any Albert.:{

[Vitesse]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Looks like some logbooks have been out!

Back when I flew (early 80's) I was allowed to stand up front during a touch-and-go. I was quite safe, because a crewman had a grip on my belt! I hope todays ATC get the same opportunities.

I am amazed at what comes back from a google request...I admit I may have looked up this a/c before. I also see why XV208 is rather special. No chance of any connection there, Callsign Metman?

BTW Living in Kingsbridge (South Devon) I get to see lots of military stuff coming and going. The RN in Plymouth seem to have a war most Thursdays so if it's convenient I'd be obliged if anyone passing overhead could slow down and give a wave. Thanks.

[ihoharv]

17th sortie on 242OCU with "Gentleman John St****rd" in the summer of '82
Next time to abuse the airframe was a "LL SW Keevil DZ ME/HP/FD" whatever the hell that all was in Summer '83 with a wonderful captain, and gentleman, who I believe went on to great things in Helos - Henry P.
Couple of other trips, of a longer duration, in the South Atlantic followed.
Would love to say XV185 stuck in my mind, but instead I'll happily reminisce more on the crews, and hope all are well.

[ancientaviator62]

ihoharv,
low level cross country, south west route, dropping zone was Keevil, manual ejection of (stores ! ) harness pack and finally a free drop of stores (no parachute ) from 50 feet (ish ). I have every Herc in my logbook except Snoopy I think. They are in the loft.

[November4]

2-4 Dec 1987 OCU trainer Lye to Ottowa via Lajes and Gander needed MAMS support to load a Henly forklift in Ottowa being returned to UK when the RAF Det there was withdrawn. Introduced to H Wallbanger during the nightstops in Gander.

25-26 Feb 88 Andoya to Lye via Bardufoss, Bodo, Oerland, Sola and Wyton. Resupply/change various GSE in Norway. Originally left from Lye on XV300 but that went U/S and 185 took over the route.

16 Jul 1988 Lye to Keevil for Ex Fast Buzzard - 5 AB

[JagRigger]

I'm not sure 185 is there, but a look at Airliners.net for Georgetown & Hercules:

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=&airlinesearch=&countrysearch=&specialsearch=&daterange=&keywords=GEORGETOWN+HERCULES&range=&sort_order=&page_limit=15&thumbnails=&calccount=1139995&truecount=true&engine_version=6.0

will make you weep.

[SirPeterHardingsLovechild]

5 Aug 99 XV185 JGN45

Lyneham - Bruggen - Pristina (24 bird (flock) strike on take off) - Gioia del Colle (L/H rear brake fire) - Slip - XV177 - Bruggen (GTC fire) - (radar failure) & weather divert to Norwich. Actuals Curry.

Sewing Machine

[ancientaviator62]

Jagrigger
having spent almost 30 yrs in and around the beast it does indeed make me weep to see those frames in such a sorry state.
Why could they not have donated one to the RAF Museum at Hendon or to Duxford or to Cosford ?. Whatever the FJ chaps may think it was by any reasonable definition a 'cold war warrior' without which few ops could have taken place.

[L1A2 discharged]

Vitesse, BTW Living in Kingsbridge (South Devon) I get to see lots of military stuff coming and going. The RN in Plymouth seem to have a war most Thursdays so if it's convenient I'd be obliged if anyone passing overhead could slow down and give a wave. Thanks.

You wouldn't happen to know which particular resident spray painted my car there last weekend! :(

[Comp Charlie]

Georgetown, Delaware!!

So THAT'S where it was!!

I was on a trip state-side travelling up the Eastern Seaboard on the return home when we got a request from RAFLO Dulles to bend in somewhere I never caught the name of (until just now!!) in order to pick up some role equipment (P-Strops etc) and some ovens from recently decommisioned old K-Models.

It was quite surreal to see a 'mini-Lyneham' parked up facing each other on that crappy bit of taxi-way. And if I recall correctly, on its own at the end of the line in a scene reminiscent of Stephen Kings 'Christine', was our arch-nemisis: XV-222 :eek:

Even though I am not a spotter in any way whatsoever, it was sad to see frames I had spent many a happy hour in the back of sleeping off numerous monumental hangovers rotting away like that. What a shame.

But thanks for letting me know where the hell it was we had gone!!

[OKOC]

195 looks like its crew after a night at Kreehsskebad in the bad (good!) old days of the 70’s and 80’s. Mind you the old timers pictured ARE in Albertheaven cos they’re near the BX and, double bonus, they may have an auntie or two lurking nearby.
Great to see them all again, kinda sad but the memories created by those frames and the places they took us to can never be erased.
PS Nice to see the probes are waiting for Maggie Mk2 (was that Snoopy?) and the next Falklands when I believe some of the Albert probes were bought at ridiculously inflated prices from a scrappy in Lincolnshire for the first Falklands shindig?

[LXXIV]

Digging out the logbooks, not only was I with November4 on the trip in Dec '87, but my very last route in the RAF was 25-28 June 1989, Conversion Squadron, XV 185, Lye-Goose-St Johns-Namao-St Johns-Lyneham. Not a very glamorous trip to finish 21 years on Albert, but plenty of good memories.

[Pontius Navigator]

ancientaviator2, you raise an excellent point.

All our log books handed down over the generations will become food for cryptographers in the future.

For instance:

Ex Kinsman LL/RBS (UKLL PT12->WF Link)->Leconfield 3RBS

but you would have to know where I was based and what happened next to build the picture.

Perhaps one cold wet day we should go through our log books and decode them for our heirs.

[2port]

LXXIV

There's a lot worse places it could have taken you... it took me to St Johns as well, so mustn't grumble.

2P