Oops, missed again !

[smujsmith]

I always believed that the 'Shiny Fleet' never bent a 10. I came across this from an old friend who now resides in Australia.

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b572/smujsmith/c0b8c0e5-170b-4a2b-b6ef-2906736e2dff_zps7fc2f764.jpg

Taken in Belize circa 1982, anyone have any knowledge of how it happened?

[Background Noise]

This one got a bit bent

http://www.vc10.net/History/Images/XR806_writeoff.jpg

[smujsmith]

Blimey ! Was that refuelling ?

Smudge

[Lima Juliet]

Nah, too many pies or Duty Free... :E

[Lima Juliet]

In the first picture, who's the budgie smuggling slug balancer?

[smujsmith]

According to my Aussie Pal, that was the movements officer "insisting" (looks more like mincing to me), that no one was allowed to take photographs. Mission accomplished then Mr Mover !!!:hmm:

[Archimedes]

There is reference on another thread, somewhere on here, to 'The Central American Ploughing Incident', involving a VC10. This may be photographic evidence of it?

As I recall, the thread also noted that there were a couple of incidents or near-incidents with the VC10 at Belize related to the fact that the runway there was a little narrower than the turning circle of the VC10...

[smujsmith]

So, this could be a taxying rather than landing prob ? There must be a few ex 10 drivers/crew who know.

[Duchess_Driver]

In the first picture, who's the budgie smuggling slug balancer?


Captain Darling....?
;)

[smujsmith]

I doubt it ' sweetie ' I reckon at best he's a Flying Officer with twisted knickers. Looks like his handler (behind) has been trained to pose in a similar style ;)

[SASless]

I hear he went on in later life and had a career in Television.


http://www.forumgarden.com/forums/attachments/general-tv-shows/965d1110036213-reno-911-4.jpg

[glad rag]

Awesome photo mate and it shows just how the RAF [used to] operate...

1. I'm in charge. Of a hat, stable belt and rolled up sox....yes.

2. I'm in charge two, who without hat, stable belt and having muddy knees, actually probably is, and has just realised that "it won't just polish out".
And is looking for the driver.

3. Group around nose wheel in various garb. Probably the ones who were actually GTFO and are desperately devising a scheme to be on their way without losing their "slot".
A forlorn hope.

4. People in junglies who give the appearance of actually GTFO ASAP. The smart ones.

5. Guy pretending to eyeball the shooter but is only waiting for 1. to turn his back before joining 4.

:E

[Stuart Sutcliffe]

Blimey ! Was that refuelling ?

Smudge

Someone will know the story a bit better, but the VC10 sitting on it's 4rse was caused, I believe, by a de-fuel process where the ground engineers forgot that there was 5 tonnes of fuel in the fin tank, which should have been taken out first! I think the fin tank gauge was U/S at the time?

The whole incident was made a little more exciting because there were some folk in the cargo/baggage bay at the time (you can see the partially open sliding door of that compartment just behind and below the RAF roundel). The door to that compartment slides inwards and forwards when open, so as soon as the aircraft sat up to 'beg', the door slid rearwards and then closed itself!

[Dan Winterland]

The OP asked if Shiney 10 had ever bent a VC10. I suspect that 810 in the photo at Belize wasn't bent as Vickers used to build ships, tanks, submarines and aircraft all to the same standard. All it would have required is pulling out of the mud and a bit of a wash.

808 sitting on it's tail did happen as Stuart Sutcliffe described - the fuel guage was U/S and written up as such. The defuel team missed it. The aircraft was a write off as it damaged the rear pressure bulkhead and it was deemed beyond repair. But it was base hangar who did this and therefore techncally not by 10 Sqn.

A C1 did get it's belly skin wrinkled in a heavy landing during a pilot conversion in about 1998.

[EGTE]

Dunno about being written off - XR808 is still in service. For a little while longer anyway.

[BEagle]

The aircraft written off by the ground engineers during post-fuel mapping defuel was XR806....

XR808, aka 'Bob', is planned to be retired from service in the summer of 2013.

Perhaps Voyager might have actually an AAR clearance by then.....:rolleyes:

[Tankertrashnav]

Thanks Beagle, I thought it was my eyesight that was at fault - turns out it was ok. 606 lives on in the form of a Corgi diecast model :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Machines-VC-10-XR606-Sqn-90386/dp/B00310NWWO

It's one of their "fighting machines" series!

Edited to apologise for advertising both small dog toys and big river mail order!

[12 twists per inch]

It was XR806 not BOB and it wasn't Ground Engineers it was engineers - base hangar engineers.

[smujsmith]

Thanks for the replies chaps, I always thought that the 10 was a great aircraft. And also understood it to be well built. I was quite surprised to see it off the runway but my Aussie source who is ex RAF couldn't tell me how it ended up where it did. Despite taking the photograph. In my opinion I doubt if anyone will ever build a better looking aircraft than the VC10 it must have been a joy to fly.

Smudge

[NutLoose]

Is the guy at the top awaiting the rest of the village people to show up?

Anyone remember the bog truck through the pressure hull at Newcasle, flown back below 10 thou, same guy, same place, same truck, different aircraft one week later, same result

[Tinribs]

Belize runway was a bit narrower than required and so they established an odd system of opening the everwing and someone hanging out to put the main wheel right on the edge before turning

We were told that the system didn't quite work and it seemed this aircraft was in some way different to the main fleet and did not turn as tight but the photo seems to be more off the end than off the side as you would expect so maybe the story is wrong

[Courtney Mil]

We managed to stand an F-15 on its tail as in Post#2 at Tyndall. The radar pack and ejection seat were out during mainenance and all was fine. Until a gingerbeer walked down the spine to the hot end. The rest, you can imagine.

The jet was fine. Our students quite often used to scrape the tail cones along the runway trying to aerobrake so the jets were used to it. We just used to weld a new bit of metal on the cones and stick the jets back on the line. It was known as the Tyndall Mod.

[rolandpull]

Opening a rear door and 'conning' the drivers to the very edge of the runway was exactly how they managed to turn the BA Tristar with the Queen on board back in 1985 at the start of her visit to Belize. The jet landed with a dicky motor as well - we nearly got Concorde for the recovery and a trip to Miami where they had a tow bar.

[Once A Brat]

In a time before I attended the College of Knowledge at Sleaford, I was a techie on VASF (well 1417 actually) and after that incident we had to go out from the hides and marshal the VC10 over to edge of the runway, turn it and then 'run' to avoid the jet blast when it commenced it's take off......


......strangely enough, I seem to recall that the supervisor of the in the second picture ended up on my IOT/EOT!!!

[barnstormer1968]

That chap really does look just like captain Darling :}

[Truck2005]

Indeed, the runway was a tight turn. I was a GE on the 10 and the usual call was for us to open the front pax door and 'talk' the crew down to put the frwd outer mainwheel over the white line at the side of the runway. You have up to 72 degrees of steering, (53 of which is powered, the rest caster), so that usually got them around. VASF were present whenever we left as well.

[smujsmith]

Now that makes sense Truck! A ' secondary' job for a Herc GE would often involve jumping off the aircraft and talking the pilot in to a tight space. I've always been grateful for that because it gave you two things :

1. A little bit of a kick because the mighty aircrew actually trust you (no insults intended gentlemen) ;)

2. It gave me a chance to make sure we weren't stuck in "nightmare city" because I wasn't used.

I do believe that on the Transport Fleet, the people who were prepared to do a bit extra/go a bit further often ended up doing routes on time and without damage. Thanks for your info.

Smudge

[ICM]

Happy to see that GEs took over but, when we started at Belize, it was the Nav lying on the floor by the open front pax door doing the talking - you can believe one who did it.

This incident was after my time but 810 survived OK,as others have said, and soldiered on till 2005. Indeed, the incident doesn't rate a mention in the Accident/Incident section of Jelle Hieminga's VC10derness site, whereas the 806 one certainly does.

Not the most straightforward of airfields for the 10, but adding Belize to the schedule pattern made feasible the 'Dulles slip,' something that became reasonably well liked, I think.

[Fareastdriver]

Turning around was not only a VC10 problem. Uncle Sam sent a bomb disposal team to the Solomon Islands to sort out some mustard gas bombs left behind by someone after the 2nd WW. They, every bit of a dozen or so, came courtesy of a C5. When he taxiied in they followed the marshaller and when they stopped they found out that they could not turn it around.

There weren't any tow trucks or vehicles big enough to move it. Washington refused permission for them to use reverse thrust to reposition it so in the end a C17 had to fly in with a tow truck so they could get it airborne again.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee224/fareastdriver/DSCF0020_zpsee713697.jpg

[smujsmith]

He he ! Yet to see any transport op, planned from a desk at home base, come out 'as per plan'. But then, how can you expect a bloke driving a desk to have any real insight?

I proffer the following :

When the Hutoos were chopping up Tootoos (forgive my spelling) I, as a Chief Tech Herk GE was told to organise a detachment to Tanzania in support of relief work to Kigali Airport. Having set up all the usual "ranger pack" stuff, and having seen that Kigali had been attacked by mortars etc, and that UN aircraft had gone in there and suffered damage to tyres, I requested that at least two main wheels and a set of nosewheels be added to the spares pack. OC eng said no way, you will not need them and obviously such planning is beyond your capabilities. He appointed a recently arrived JENGO to take charge of the Eng Det. Suffice to say, the young lady had a great time. I did as I was told and did not fly on the Dar es Salaam to Kigali legs, and remained on the ground at D.E.S until the second last trip.

Like all GEs I think I had a reasonable justification in doing the last leg of the 'route' so I went as GE on second last trip. On the ground at Kigali I collected, in around 15 minutes, about 12 pounds of various shrapnel off the pan we were parked on. I brought this back to Lyneham as a souvineer for OC Eng. on landing at D.E.S. I found an aircraft looking set up like it needed a wheel change, and, was told that OC Eng Det ( the very new young lady) had requested a Herc Tyre to be sent, by BA, to D.E.S. the reason, not shrapnel, but a worn tyre.

I had a word with the Captain due to fly this aircraft, empty, back to Akrotiri. A smashing chap from N.I. called Tim. I swap port front for port rear (the worn one, and first to hit the ground). One launch one Landing, can you run with this if I green line it ? Luckily, I had previous time down route with this captain, who said "if I was worried, would you fly on the aircraft ?" . My response was definitely yes, and if required I would happily accompany the aircraft to Akrotiri where a spare wheel was available. Crew took the aircraft, I cancelled the request for a tyre ( which we had no way of changing anyway) and then, after return to Lyneham, had the one way interview with OC Eng, who actually asked why I had not taken spare main wheels with me. I certainly believe that had I not gone for my Kigali tick, the situation would not have arisen. And therefore regret the situation I left the JENGO in. Having said that I did do the test with the bucket of water before doing the trip, and found my expendabilty quotient:hmm:

I bet loads of us have been there and wondered whether we did something wrong. But me, personally, have always believed in taking advice from people who have "hands on" experience.:O Apologies for the thread creep, but the escapade seems to fit with the way things are going.

Smudge

[smujsmith]

Further to my previous, another shot of the same incident.

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b572/smujsmith/image_zps680c8f9c.jpg

If that was done taxying I'll have a couple of what he is drinking !!:eek:

Still a cracking looking aircraft. Pity they painted them Hemp !

[Union Jack]

Smuj

Thread drift? Possibly. Did I laugh? Definitely, and well done you!:ok:

Jack

[Truck2005]

I bet that old, farting blue and silver DC-8 that dropped in there was not happy! Everytime I saw it I simple could not understand how it kept flying:confused:

[Truck2005]

Unfortunately, I had the dubious honour of being actively involved in the scrapping of 810 at St. Athan.:{

[smujsmith]

I can only say that, In my humble opinion, the VC10 was, and will remain, the Queen of the skies. I never had the luck to work on the aircraft, but, suspect that like many pruners on this forum have enjoyed my "return home from far flung fields", and the beauty of the aircraft (none can look better). Comments regarding my original post suggest that despite the divergence from desired taxying/landing run, the aircraft was simply dragged out, washed down and sent home. This aircraft has clearly been a major player in our AT fleet for the past years and deserves pride of place in our history (did I say that as an ex Herk GE ????). :ouch:

[Rigchick]

One of them lost a STB wing tip at Leeming .