Shackleton MR2 WR963

[clicker]

Just noticed that a Shackleton MR2 ex WR963 has been registered on the UK civil register as G-SKTN.

Owners listed as the Shackleton Preservation Trust in New Tupton, Chesterfield.

It has a "No flight declaration dated 4th Feb 2013. Does this mean its a non flyer and if so why has it gone civil.

Will it fly again? Would be very nice if it did.

[gamecock]

Info here:

WR963 Preservation (http://www.thegrowler.org.uk/indexaa.html)

[ExAscoteer]

WR963 is currently undergoing a long term restoration at Coventry Airport.

I understand that the CAA have been approached and there is a plan to restore her to flying condition, hence the award of a Civil Registration.

[Pontius Navigator]

Should rent her back to the MOD, they need an MPA. Must be lots of very modern kit around. Don't know if it would be shake proof though.

[Pontius Navigator]

My first Shack ride was in 963, the first of 36 sorties.

[aw ditor]

PN

What happened on the 36th?

AD

[Richard Woods]

Yes, WR963 is now the first Shackleton ever to be on the UK Civil Register, which is the start of a long road. Ignore the address assigned to the registered owner as its just the address of our chairman of the Trustees, and where the correspondence from CAA goes at the moment.

The Permit to Fly application will be going in shortly - but in the meantime we're cataloguing spares, sorting out the drawing archive, and checking all the lifed components to make sure the list agrees with what's on the aircraft.

A "no flight" declaration is part of the registration process, you have to agree not to fly the aircraft without adequate insurance amongst other things.. though until the spar booms are replaced our Shackleton's not going anywhere soon. The feasibility study suggested five years minimum to see it done.

Kind Regards,

Rich W
Shackleton Preservation Trust

[Pontius Navigator]

PN

What happened on the 36th?

AD

As the 36th and the two preceding sorties took place west of 8 West I am forbidden from revealing any details.

[Pontius Navigator]

Yes, WR963 is now the first Shackleton ever to be on the UK Civil Register,

Are you sure?

There was a Shackleton flown to the USA by the late Air Cdre Ron Dick on his first flight in the aircraft. I don't know on whose register it was. I believed he may have been retired when he made that epic flight.

[Shackman]

That's funny, my last flight on 963 also went West of 8W, although my first (of over 300 hours on her) was East of 103E.

As regards the one to the States, that was WL790 and flew on the US register as N790WL (now at Pima Air Museum).

[Four Types]

Flew in WR963 many times, most noteable ones were a weekend trip to Gibralter (March 81) in which the U/T Pilot forced the Spain - Gib Ferry to surrender after a rather late go-around, a 3 ship photo formation and most memorable of all was my last trip (Sept 85) just short of 1600 hours on type. Happy days ???

[Dysonsphere]

Last I heard a few years ago the CAA refused to place any Shacks on the civil register saying they were too complex (thinks XH558 here) so the ones sold airworthy went abroard I think one to the US and the other to SA I dont think either are flying now.

[Richard Woods]

The Shackleton falls into the intermediate category of aircraft. The CAA issue was due to the spar booms, as the aircraft were operated well past the initial design life (some 200% past according to one letter by British Aerospace). As such there were doubts over the safety of the aircraft in civilian hands if the level of inspections couldn't be maintained. The only way past this is to have the booms replaced, as was done with the Lancaster in the mid 1990's.

All you chaps that have flown in our aircraft in service - is there any chance we can have details? We're trying to compile a list of where WR963 went over the 37 year career she had.

Kind Regards,

Rich

[Dave Clarke Fife]

Last I heard a few years ago the CAA refused to place any Shacks on the civil register saying they were too complex (thinks XH558 here) so the ones sold airworthy went abroard I think one to the US and the other to SA I dont think either are flying now.


Believe that the airframe in the States is N790WL ( AEW2 WL790). Back in the 90's..... ( memory fade after a bottle of shampoo;early valentines due away on a long tour starting tomorrow)!!!!.... that this aircraft was operated by Paul Sabin
ex chief pilot for Air Atlantique

Warbird Alley: Avro Shackleton (http://www.warbirdalley.com/shack.htm)

Pima Air Museum - AVRO Shackleton (http://www.pimaair.org/collection-detail.php?cid=386)

[Sinker]

According to my logbook, WR963 was an AEW2 and I think the configuration of the bomb bay doors in the photos on the web confirm this - though the plastic paddling pool has been removed.

[Grasscarp]

I managed to be the highest bidder once for a trip on a Shackleton. Went from Lossiemouth. I was sat up in the front bubble with a cup of tea and bar of chocolate. I realised at that moment I wanted for nothing more in life - total bliss. Then low level over Scotland - sheep looking up in surprise - formated with a hunter - which suddenly flew underneath us - while I was looking through the floor - did a fly past for a parade at Swinderby and then they let me have the controls for about half an hour. One of the best 4.5 hours in my life.

[clicker]

Thanks for the updates and memories.

Look forward to seeing her fly again, whenever that may be.

[clicker]

Oh Grasscarp, Am I full of envy, you bet I am! :)

[Janda]

My first flight in 963 was 1 Feb 82 and was an A1 or first training flight sortie on 8 Sqn. Captain the illustrious Sqn Ldr John Elias. I flew about 30 sorties over 7 years including several trips in Cyprus from 20 Jul to 12 Aug 87. For some reason I flew to Cyprus and back on a VC10. My last trip in the airframe was 9 Dec 87 with a young Graham McFarlane at the controls with Sqn Ldr Jerry Lane as captain. Still have a leather fettish!!!

[oxenos]

Last flew it in Nov 69, on my 27th birthday. My co-pilot was the late Dave Hencken, who went on to clock up quite a few hours on type.

[The Old Fat One]

You made a typo PN, I corrected it for you.

My first Shack ride was in AD 963, the first of 36 sorties.

:E:E

[LowObservable]

N790WL was based at Anoka County Airport in Minneapolis c.2001. I was living there but had no idea it was in the area or that there was a flying Shack anywhere nearer than South Africa (the owner was not good at publicity, and the local press did not give a toss about anything that did not involve differently abled Tibetan members of the GLBTQ community). The first time it flew over I nearly signed the pledge on the spot.

[hunterxf382]

Want to know the latest monumental update on progress with WR963?
Well here's a Video I took on Saturday 27th September 2014 which should make you smile :ok:

Be sure to check out the links I've included in the Video description to see the latest news as it happens :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxJ_XfCUcEc&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxJ_XfCUcEc&feature=youtu.be)

[mantog]

Very nice, Hunter :ok:

[Shackman]

Congratulations to all the team - even the squealing brakes were authentic! Just sorry I had to leave early.

[stumpey]

Oh You Beauty! :D

[skua]

Helps explain why ex Shack crews are somewhat hard of hearing!:D

[denachtenmai]

Beautiful, thanks for posting hunter:ok:
Last flew in 963 on the delivery to Coventry in 72, tempus fugit :sad:
Regards, Den.

[ShyTorque]

Great stuff.

I'd far rather see this at airshows than that big tin triangle.

[Wander00]

ShyTorque - you are not alone - the Shackleton and a few others for what has been spent on the tin triangle..............hat, coat, battle bowler...............

[oldpax]

Someone with 2,000,000 pounds so the main spars can be inspected!They have a good few hours left but there is an issue about mods on the spars ?Keep buying the lottery tickets gents!!

[gzornenplatz]

I don't anyone needs to worry too much about Shack main spars. It's essentially the same wing as on the Lancaster/Lincoln and fifty-odd years ago when I was a wet-behind-the-ears radar mech on a Lincoln squadron there was a panic that all aircraft were going to have to be grounded as a crack had been found in one of the mainspars. Then up popped a Corporal from Eng. Records with STI 7/1947 that stated that cracks in mainspars were OK as long as they were no longer than four and a half inched and stop-drilled

[Pontius Navigator]

Beautiful, thanks for posting hunter:ok:
Last flew in 963 on the delivery to Coventry in 72, tempus fugit :sad:
Regards, Den.

That before it was converted to AEW.

[Pontius Navigator]

ShyTorque - you are not alone - the Shackleton and a few others for what has been spent on the tin triangle..............hat, coat, battle bowler...............
The Shack is the first military aircraft I remember seeing. I had all the recce card s from WW 2 and had no doubt see other modern aircraft, but this was BoB day circa 1954/55 and friend suggested we cycle to Hooton Park, there was no open day but the AUx called up on RAF Common and got passing trade - amongst others it was the Shack I remembered.

[denachtenmai]

That before it was converted to AEW.
Most certainly Pontius, all they need to do now is see if someone can come up with an ASV21 scanner radome, (we'll forget about the bomb bay doors) to complete the renaissance.
Always remembering that the radome extends to about 17 feet (IIRC) only when airborne :uhoh:
Regards, Den.

[Pontius Navigator]

Den, you mean the low altitude warning device.

[gzornenplatz]

If I had a quid for every AEW Shack imaginary target I'd chased around the North Sea I wouldn't need a pension. Gimme a Gannet every time.

[Courtney Mil]

My Dad would be so delighted. And proud.

[denachtenmai]

Pontius,
Worked for Bill Houldsworth ;)

Regards, Den.

[Haraka]

Lingering childhood memories of the sights and sounds of Shackletons Mks 1 &2 ( both younger than the Canberra!) and Lancaster A.S.R IIIs at
St Eval in the early 50's when Haraka Snr. served on 42 Sqn.
Also not forgetting Mosquitoes, Sea Hornets , Washingtons, Neptunes, Lincolns, Sunderlands ( coming past from Pembroke Dock, a Sea Otter (which nearly completely severed Snr's right arm) , Vampires, Meteors, Martinets, Ansons and Oxfords ( sat in one doing ground runs with Snr), proper Dominies, Tiger Moths,- Sea Furies and Fireflies from St Merryn, Dragonflies, Sea Hawks, Short-nosed Sea Prince.

All this around just one station..........

[oldpax]

I was one of two groundrew that "saw"in Bill Houldsworth after his close encounter with the oggin!!Both of us watching as it taxied toward us with cables dragging from what remained of the radome!There was an ambulance in attendance and I seem to recollect a Siggy being escorted to it in shock!

[Linedog]

They could've painted it a proper colour. :yuk:
:)

[Pontius Navigator]

Gzorne, I know one controller drove his fighter confidently around the North Sea with the playmate as target. Sadly playmate was back at Leuchars u/s. :)

I am pleased to remember controlling an F15C once. I put him on 4 Buccs. Spoil sport didn't play the game and went Judy from the first call.

After he splashed one I asked if he was still happy, he immediately came back for boggie dope and I had great pleasure in calling 3 Buccs, 6 o'clock,3 miles.

I hated that kit but from time to time it did work.

[Ormeside28]

Magic hearing the Shack again. I believe that the "siggie" mentioned in the Bill Houldsworth incident was in the tail cone and nearly drowned by the inrush of sea water. It was always a temptation not to look out from the left hand seat when night bombing on the radar buoy off Northern Ireland!

[Richard Woods]

Hi all,

Glad that you like progress so far, and many thanks to Pete (hunterxf382) for putting the video up. We would have taxied further but we lost a brake sac/bag on the port mainwheel, so we lost pneumatic pressure. This meant we had to turn around and come back before we couldn't stop properly. We have new brake sacs, so its someting that can be fixed fairly easily.

We're trying to get space to do the NDT checks on the spar booms this winter, but it can't be done outdoors as we have to remove quite a few access panels, some of the trailing edge, and the main landing gear doors and valences; so we're going to be begging and pleading for hangarage again.

In terms of fundraising, we are working through a Heritage Lottery Fund application to support a large amount of the money needed to get WR963/G-SKTN in the air again, though if anyone wants to donate in the meantime it all goes into the aircraft. None of us in the SPT are taking any kind of renumeration out of this.


Shackman -

It was a pleasure meeting you and we'll hopefully see you again soon. Sorry that circumstances put our taxying of the Shackleton so late in the day that you couldn't stay to watch.

denachtenmai -

We have the bottom section of ASV21, we have the original drawings for the middle section, and we're searching for a set of rams. It might mean a trip out to Cyprus to rob XF700 at Nicosia as she still has them in. As for the bomb doors, again - its back to the manufacturers drawings and out with the rivets. The fixings at the forward end of the original bomb bay are still there, we just need to sort out the Bitteswell induced hacksaw job.

linedog -

We needed a stand out colour scheme at the time, and by putting the aircraft back in the white it made her instantly recognisible. The plan for the next repaint is looking like being 205 Sqn colours, so back to grey with a white top and the light blue spinners. We also get to keep the (working!) Orange Harvest 'spark plug' rather than removing it and trying to refit the mid upper turret cupola we have. The eventual configuration we want to get our Shack back to is MR2 Phase III.


Kind regards,

Rich Woods
Shackleton Preservation Trust

[Haraka]

We also get to keep the (working!) Orange Harvest 'spark plug'
Wot?
You mean the periscope for hunting submarines? :)

[Richard Woods]

I wondered why it had a tide mark on it... :p

[denachtenmai]

Rich, The plan for the next repaint is looking like being 204 Sqn colours, so back to grey with a white top and the Red spinners.
looks like you made a typo,so I've amended it, gratis. :ok:
Regards, Den.

[nimbev]

Why not do a Concord/Concorde with light blue spinners to starboard and red spinners to port .....that will get the other sqns going; remember, you can please some of the people some of the time but....... :E

[Alan Mills]

First flew in it 14 Apr 1968 Capt Dave Hinchliffe Survex from Changi 11.40 Day. last flight in it from 205 was 7 Oct 1970 capt Bob Parratt Ex Logex from Whenuapai ".00day 7.20 Night.
Next time was as an AEW from Bitteswell to Kemble to be painted, on 2 Jun 1972 30mins day capt Sqn Ldr Green. Last time for me was 1 Aug 1972 Sqn Ldr Arnaud from Lossie to Kinloss as a fully fitted AEW 10 Mins day. All as a Sgt AEOp, the only AEOp or AEO on 8 Sqn at that time (AE Ldr?). Then on to Nimrods - another story

[BARKINGMAD]

Was "963" one of those which went to Bitteswell in the late 70s for re-sparring?

If so, did 8 AEW manage to thrash the life out of that 'frame as well as the others?

[Shackman]

the only AEOp or AEO on 8 Sqn at that time

It was always a pleasure having you on board to show the ex-Gannet guys how the AN-APS 20 could really work (on the odd occasion they let you near one!). Unfortunately they took umbrage - hence the one and only!

[Richard Woods]

WR963 did have a re-spar at Bitteswell, the first of the AEW2 to be sent there in 1976. It was the second set of spar booms fitted, the first replacement being done for the Phase III upgrades to MR2.

8 Sqn got their money's worth thats for sure, with 15,483 flying hours on the clock. However, there's still a bit of life left in her if the NDT shows up no surprises... some 594 hours left until we reach the safe life on the lower booms. If the NDT does show up any problems we still have the spar boom and the fatigue remediation drawings in the archive, so a rebuild to flying condition will still be achievable but will take a little longer.

[hunterxf382]

I've noticed that this thread needs a little update, and as a member on here as well as the webmaster for the SPT now, you might like to know that the trust's website has undergone a major overhaul and has a fresh new look!
Updates are quite regular as I'm part of the engineering team nowadays too so I am as keen as Richard to keep spreading the word on progress :)

Shackleton Preservation Trust - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/)

[SkyHawk-N]

Just to warn everyone, I just visited the SPT web site mentioned in the previous post and got a 'Malicious Software Blocked' alert from Norton Anti-Virus. I had just clicked on the History menu link. hunterxf382, can you get this checked out please.

[bill2b]

Skyhawk, Norton aunty virus, don't tell me you pay for that? Its awful. Get yourself AVG or Avast free and excellent. I have just visited the site and its fine.

[jonw66]

What Bill says. I'm not bad with a PC but have a mate who is a lot better, the first thing he does is un install Norton if he is fixing something.

[Bus14]

I'm with Skyhawk on this. Definitely a problem on the History link - it even freaked my iPad out by popping up a link to some bogus 'you've won a prize' link.

[hunterxf382]

I can assure you that the SPT website is not carrying anything untoward. One of the reasons I took over the site giving it it's new look is that I deal with pc stuff a lot, and the site was built very carefully and checked over thoroughly for a few months before going live. Normally any issues as described above are at the user end I'm afraid.

[SkyHawk-N]

I have used Norton for years and it has worked well for me, I am an experienced software engineer and my PC is ok.

Norton flagged up a call which was made to an external (to the SPT site) IP address. I guess this was to the 'won a prize' site that Bus14 mentioned.

hunterxf382, if you are happy with the site then that is fine. I asked for you to check the site out and that is what you have done.

[Richard Woods]

Hi all,

I know a lot of you are already following our efforts to return WR963 at Coventry to flight. Well, we're now running something a little interesting as a fundraising measure.

We've started a Kickstarter project - basically a crowdfunding attempt - to help raise funding for NDT and structural inspections, and the Trustees have come up with some great rewards for backers of the project.

Smaller rewards include taking the co-pilots seat during a run-up of the engines, and engraved Griffon pistons. The biggest and best reward is the offer of taking the co-pilots seat during a taxy run of the aircraft this summer.... as far as we're aware there's nowhere else in the world the public can get their hands on the throttles of an Avro 4-engined heavy, and nowhere you will get chance to taxy the aircraft from one of the best seats in the beast!

Here's the link -


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1811202265/avro-shackleton-wr963-return-to-flight


This is the first ever time we've had the begging bowl out in public; and we've held it off as long as possible (some five years or so since we started heading this direction). Please, please help - even if its just £1 it will make a difference.

There is more to come and the endoscope we put into WR963's wing a couple of weeks ago showed promising results. We can deliver a flying Shackleton... we just need help!


Kind regards,

Rich

[hunterxf382]

Our Kickstarter appeal has been steadily climbing and we are now within grasp of the fundraising target with only £1458 to be raised!!!! We've been spreading the word across social media with great interest shown and pledges of support too. Yesterday it was noticed that Kermit Weeks is even helping us spread the word too - the more it is known about - the better the chance of achieving this goal.
The fundraising initiative is vital to take WR963 to the next step towards flight. We have to call in NDT experts to assess the wing spars, without this inspection we cannot get the green light to fly. The team know this inspection is so important, but are confident after carrying out our own endescope inspections where the areas checked were in remarkable condition - better than we could have hoped for.

Please support us by pledging anything you can spare - the rewards shown on the link are unique!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1811202265/avro-shackleton-wr963-return-to-flight


And for more on the project, check out our website of course:

Shackleton Preservation Trust - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/)

[hunterxf382]

On Saturday the 5th of December we will be running Shackleton WR963 and Nimrod XV232 at Dusk!
We will be running 963 up to 2150 RPM - never before done in the dark!
Gates will open at 1pm on the day to allow you plenty of time to explore both aircraft before the run...
The cost for entry will be £25 per person to include soup and a roll,
and entry will be as last year on the list system.
Payments can be made to [email protected] be sure to state tickets, on the payment and clearly state the names of all people you are paying for!
Post code for Coventry is CV8 3AZ, This is limited to 200 places and will be allocated on a first come first served basis,
The run is of course subject to A/C servicability, I hope to see you there.

More details on our website, and this flyer below:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/764/22459818879_b9f5d645fa_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/AdGrEx)Dusk Run Poster 3 big (https://flic.kr/p/AdGrEx) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr


Shackleton Preservation Trust - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/)

[hunterxf382]

A reminder that we still have places available for our dramatic double ground run event on Saturday December 5th! The promise of spectacular noise and the glowing exhaust stubs on our Shackleton should make for some wonderful event photos of course, and we are a friendly bunch who would love to show you around onboard both aircraft!

[Exnomad]

While training on Oxfords at Inverness in 1952, nearly had a close encounter with a Shack. Our low flying area was in the hills to the south.
I was flying up a valley, fairly low, when a Shack came out of a valley at right angles and passed under me. Nearly needed a change of underwear.

[hunterxf382]

Still places available for this event if you are interested? :)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5639/22574513527_56f186c182_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/AoQhot)WR963 Dusk Run Poster (https://flic.kr/p/AoQhot) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

Want to witness some of this?

PHzKeyO6Eiw

[hunterxf382]

STOP PRESS!

Haynes will be onsite on the 5th for the book signing of the Shackleton Manual!
These will be signed by the author Keith Wilson and possibly ex Shackleton air and ground crews, also the current crew of 963 if requested!
This is a never to be repeated chance to get one of these books!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/765/23000233579_f9f5877d91_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/B3sd8n)Haynes on white signed (https://flic.kr/p/B3sd8n) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

Following on from our last event of the 2015 season, here is a full report on the day’s activities.

Preparations for our event had been ongoing for weeks beforehand, with much discussion amongst members of the Trust arranging how we were going to put on a spectacle for our supporters whilst mindful of the current airport situation regarding Classic Air Force. We have been incredibly lucky to be able to continue our work on site with the airport’s co-operation at all times, and this event was planned to show how we will continue with our project to return-to-flight with WR963. With our neighbouring Nimrod XV232 also planning a ground run, we felt sure we had a crowd-pleaser to come!

Saturday December 5th dawned with crew members arriving from far and wide – indeed some members had travelled all the way from Scotland and North Wales to help us! The weather was forecasted high winds but no rain, not that this would deter operation of two former Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft really ;) Luckily for us both, we faced into wind on the day! We set up our merchandising stand and Haynes Manual Book-Signing table inside the Hangar, and put the urn on to provide hot soup to warm the spectators....

The aircraft were both prepped by our eager engineering team, and the crowds started to arrive at 1pm. As always, we encourage visits onboard both aircraft to show people what we do and allow many photographs too. The Nimrod crew even had refreshments available in their aircraft galley (we are actively seeking to sort our Shackleton galley too I might add). Some of our guests had a special reason to attend, being ex-Shackleton aircrew, and recent supporters of our 2015 Kickstarter fund-raising project. The lucky few had booked places to be onboard the ground run, so a full briefing was carried out before the appointed time.

As the sun started setting, Nimrod XV232 started her run first, operating both right-hand engines in spectacular and rather noisy style! Once shut down, it was the turn of our Shackleton WR963 to provide some rather different noise complete with flames! The prolonged run also included running up all four engines to high rpm for the first time in darkness, which apart from vibrating through the ground, also showed how the mighty Griffon engine’s exhausts glow in the dark and emit spectacular flames too.... Many photographs and Video footage were taken, and some thought the ground run was never going to end! Eventually the aircraft was shut down and fell silent, to a round of applause from an appreciative audience, some of whom had not realised quite what a spectacle the Shackleton can be in the dark! With only a few relatively minor snags to be dealt with over the winter servicing schedule, the entire SPT team went home both exhausted and elated that we had fulfilled our promise and put on an event quite like no other!



https://farm1.staticflickr.com/578/23248103210_d2b397d1d9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BqmB8G)WR963 / G-SKTN - Avro Shackleton MR2 - Shackleton Preservation Trust (https://flic.kr/p/BqmB8G) by Karl Drage (https://www.flickr.com/photos/karladrage/), on Flickr



2016 promises more to come, as our Shackleton is ready to taxy on a more regular basis, as well as carrying our static ground runs. We are also working furiously behind-the-scenes to get the required NDT inspections carried out on the wing spars which is a crucial stage in the project, and this will be carried out subject to hangar availability at Coventry. The SPT are delighted with how much support has been shown towards our project – there is most definitely something magical about the Avro Shackleton!

To find out more about us, please check out our website, and follow us on Twitter and facebook! We are currently running a competition to win one of the new Airfix kits (WR963 of course) as well as offering space on our bomb doors for your name to be carried there for life! Again, our website has all the details!

We are dedicated to this project, and if you would like to support us by way of donations / fund-raising, please check the website for more information on how to help us!
Our branded merchandise range is expanding – another way you can show your support to us!

Even during the winter months, we welcome visitors to see our aircraft, as we have work going on most Saturdays – please contact the Trust to check we are going to be there before planning a visit of course....

Regards

Pete Buckingham
Shackleton Preservation Trust
Shackleton Preservation Trust - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk)
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07946 251098

[hunterxf382]

On behalf of the whole team at the Shackleton Preservation Trust, may we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and thank you for your support in 2015! We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead and hope you will join us to see what we do

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/CrazyCourier/12329479_10156452418445372_502903497_n.gif

[hunterxf382]

Apologies for the slight gap in updates on our project, Christmas and other distractions etc I'm afraid ;)

Well I had better start where things left off when we had our successful Dusk Run back in December! The event was well attended and almost went to plan completely apart from a couple of 'tech' issues...
Firstly we had an embarrassing lighting failure despite checks having been made before the run. The portable generator decided it would be a good time to cut-out just as the lights were needed! We feared the worst for all the photographers, but having seen the results afterwards online - it actually gave some additional bonus atmosphere with photos taken with and then without lighting ;) Of course we will try better next time and maybe incorporate the split as a planned occurence rather than a total surprise to our crew ;)
The second issue occured nearly at the end of the run itself, when shortly after some 'smoke or mist' was observed from the starboard inner engine / undercarriage bay area; some rather odd comms were passed between myself outside at the end of the long lead, and our onboard crew. I was being told that flaps were being selected down..... nothing happened outside? Try again...... nothing? Ok, try the bomb doors then.... again - nothing moved? I'm sure the onboard crew were convinced I needed a trip to a certain Opticians, but I told them I knew what flaps and bomb doors looked when they moved, and they weren't. Luckily for us, our ex-8 Sqn engineer was onboard, and promptly requested the old standard hydraulic system check - turn the wipers on! Outside, I thought he had gone mad by then ;) I mean, firstly I'm accused of not seeing large moving metal surfaces, and then I hear they are going to put the windscreen wipers on!!!
The reality of this rather funny moment is that the Shackleton has no hydraulic gauge fitted, so the foolproof method to find out if you actually have any system pressure is to switch on other hydraulic circuits. There aren't many on a Shackleton, but windcreen wipers are one of them! And they failed to work too....
We knew then that we had a hydraulic issue, which coupled with the observed cloud of vapour only minutes before, meant further investigation would be needed after engine shut down.
On closer inspection under torchlight (it was very dark by this time), the oil residue over the entire undercarriage bay was plain to see, and the source quickly became apparent when we all looked up! A small pipe coupling right by the hydraulic hand pump had fractured, dispensing some of the system contents all around.
Luckily we have some highly skilled local engineers on our team, and a repair was sorted quite effectively and with relative ease along with some lateral thinking. Once the pipe was back in place and the system topped up and bled, we were back in business! Other winter maintenance has been the usual multitude of preventative maintenance such as lubrications and cleaning, and when time permits some of the team have continued the swapping over of our MR2 reverse engineering with the reinstallation of the Nav Plotting Table. Our ex-8 Sqn Chief Engineer has promised that we will be seeing the return of some repaired electrical items very shortly, which he assures us will bring back a healthy ignition system on one engine which had been causing a minor concern recently. But very soon we will be ramping up the work to prepare our Old Grey Lady for her forthcoming season, and for that, we need to awaken her from her winter slumber!
We have several events in the pipeline already, the first of which is our appropriately named "Valentine Ground Run" taking place on Saturday 13th Feb! We love the old girl, and we would like you all to share in that love too! By treating her nicely, she does behave ;) And what better way to blow off the cobwebs and make some more of that infamous Griffon Growl :)

Following that first ground run, our team have been planning to fulfil a promise made after we taxied 963 around Coventry last year, and this year we're back doing more of these! Only this time, we are able to take paying passengers onboard for the taxy runs too!!!!
Our first taxy run is scheduled for Saturday April 9th, and our Chairman has endorsed a special price package for this taxy run only, with limited places available onboard, so book early!!!

And finally for now, some important changes have taken place at Coventry Airport since last year, which have meant we had to change slightly too! With the closure of Airbase, we are now under the watchful eye of the airport authorities directly, and are now considered to be on the 'live' side of the airfield. The existing fenceline around us will soon be no more, and because of the security implications of being on a operational airfield, we have made some changes to the way we operate in order to satisfy the airport's requirements. This has meant that we have now changed to specific planned Guided Tour dates throughout the season, with intended visitors recommended to contact us to book a place beforehand. We have to meet & greet all visitors now, and escort them airside at all times. To achieve that without planning ahead would be problematic for our small team of volunteers as we also need to plan our schedule of work too. The guided tours are available in two options nowadays, and all the information needed is on our website pages of course. We are building on the successes of previous years, and looking to the future at all times! The team acknowledge the huge support we have been getting from far and wide, and with recent publicity enhancing our profile, we aim to show everyone what we can do now, and what we can achieve for the future - a return to flight of course!

Lastly, here are a couple of posters for the forthcoming events - and please check our website for much more information on all of our plans!

Thank you for your continued support

Pete Buckingham
Publicity Officer
Shackleton Preservation Trust

Shackleton Preservation Trust - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1692/24650631646_b2c0280680_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DyhVYs)Valentine Ground Run Poster 2 (https://flic.kr/p/DyhVYs) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/24650631806_a5b69df73e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DyhW2d)Taxy Run Poster (https://flic.kr/p/DyhW2d) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[gopher01]

While idly glancing through the multitude of channels available to us nowadays I chanced on Discovery with a programme on building the Burgh tower in Abu Dhabi. They were describing the selection of the glass to be used to clad the building and the tests they were going to carry out for leaks after installation, first a static test by just spraying water on the panels and then a dynamic test by having a strong wind blowing on the test panels and the programme showed the device being used to create this wind. Lo and behold, a Shackleton power plant complete with contra rotating prop, (despite the voice over saying it was from a Lancaster ), just so recognisable as off a Shack, So if you need some spares, somewhere in Abu Dhabi there is a complete powerplant in working order or at least was when the programme was made.
Best of luck with your project, only flight in a Shack was back in about '63-'64 from Kinloss when I was in the ATC for an air test, memories are being given a chute, very confidence inspiring, and sheer terror as it appeared to fall out of the sky to find out they were doing stall checks. Other memories are of being at Biggin Hill watching a display by a Shack and having a low speed pass and a high speed pass described by the commentator as being identifiable not by the speed but by the amount of noise produced! Rather rude if possibly quite true!

[hunterxf382]

We know that engine out in Abu Dhabi! We sold that powerplant to them as it's out of hours and was surplus to our requirements as we hold stock of sufficient engine power cells for our own project :)

[hunterxf382]

Following our winter servicing period, the Trust planned to awaken WR963 from her ‘winter slumber’ on Saturday 13th February by holding a special “Valentine Ground Run” open to visitors! A large contingent of volunteers assembled at Coventry Airport by mid-morning, and there seemed to be a definite sense of purpose as the aircraft was prepared for her first ground run of 2016. Some last-minute engineering tasks were completed in reasonable weather, and a small group of visitors were shown around both WR963 and VP293, our neighbouring travelling nose section, as the groundcrew got 963 ready for her scheduled 13:30 start time.
Once everyone was onboard and the steps removed, 963 was ready, and the start sequence commenced. Except this was no ordinary start-up, as we had crew in training too, so our latest Flight Engineer In Training – Mario Mclaughlin sat in control of all four mighty Griffon engines for his first ‘live’ run!
The usual sequence of start-up was carried out with No.3 first, followed by No.4, then No.2, and finally No.1........ well that was the plan? We had been more concerned about No.2 engine following replacement of the Injector Pump recently, but this engine started with relative ease! No.1 engine however, seemed reluctant to show any signs of fuel flowing to it, despite several attempts made to start it. The onboard crew eventually decided to abandon further attempts at starting it to save excessive wear on the starter, and continued the run on 3 engines only. Once fully warmed up, the 3 engines were taken up to 2150rpm for brief periods, which made sure everyone heard that distinctive growl for sure....
Once the run had been completed, and all engines shut down, the team descended on the reluctant No.1 engine to carry out some tests to see where the fault lay. Very soon it became apparent that we had a sticky solenoid as the culprit, which decided to suddenly work again when power was applied during ground testing. Our Chief Engineer decided to try a test run of No.1 engine only, but by this time our Trolley Acc ground power supply had suffered a voltage drop in the cold weather which by this time made it impossible to get enough power to start engines at all. With the weather closing in and a tired crew, it was decided to leave further testing until our next engineering visit and to recharge the Trolley Acc power supply fully too...

Other tasks carried out that day were the continued application of more Bomb Bay Door names for those supporters who have donated to the project via our website, as well as a good spring clean inside the fuselage. Noticeable on the day was how the winter weather has given 963 a coating of dirty residue, so we are looking at a special ‘Wash Day” coming soon to bring back some of that sparkle on 963!
There are other tasks to be completed in readiness for her next BIG day in April when we plan to Taxy 963 with paying guests onboard for the first time! Places are limited onboard, and they are selling fast if you want to experience the unique sights and sounds of being onboard a Shackleton as she trundles around Coventry Airport! We’re making that a special full day’s experience for you too, with lunch with the crew and making sure you will go away with some lasting memories of being onboard! We will also welcome visitors to watch the Taxy Run from the ground too, and all details are on our website of course!


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/24650631806_a5b69df73e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DyhW2d)Taxy Run Poster (https://flic.kr/p/DyhW2d) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

The Team had a good day working on '963' on Saturday 27th February, isolating the problem that stopped No.1 Engine starting on the last ground run. It was found to be a faulty solenoid valve in the fuel priming circuit. After stripping and cleaning it, the valve was refitted and tested. All appears to be working correctly now. Other work included servicing the port side priming pump which required new shims, checking the gearbox oil levels on each power plant, more names added to the bomb bay, batteries removed ready for replacement and work continues on the plotting table. Towards the end of the day engine covers were strapped over the Griffons to safeguard the work. Congratulations and many thanks to all the members of the Team for their help today. Great work done.

And finally.....

We have just ONE place left onboard on our first taxy run of 2016 on April 9th!
Still plenty of 'ringside' places available on the ground, but for that extra special day out, the place onboard offers the chance to become an honorary crew member for the day, helping prepare WR963 for her activities, then stopping for lunch with the crew, before climbing onboard and enjoying the spectacle of seeing how she comes alive and stretches her legs at Coventry Airport! Plenty of opportunities for photos too, and of course we will have our SPT merchandise available too! All those onboard also take home various momentos of their special day!

See our website for more details, and please remember this is a 'first come first served' offer!!!!!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/24650631806_a5b69df73e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DyhW2d)Taxy Run Poster (https://flic.kr/p/DyhW2d) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

Due to unprecedented public demand the first Shackleton taxi run is fully booked, so we are launching bookings for our second taxi run on April 9th.
Seats are expected to be filled rapidly, so book your place now!

Latest News - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/latest-news.html)

[hunterxf382]

We have an important letter from our chairman Dave Woods to share please:

Hello all,

Avro Shackleton WR963 needs YOUR help as a matter of urgency, let me explain why....

We have been told by the Airport Management here at Coventry, who by the end of this month will have ownership of Hangar 7, that we CAN have time in the hangar to do the much needed NDT testing on the Wing Spars. The down side is that we will of course have to pay for it. As many of you will know, the successful “Kickstarter appeal” last year has covered the funding for the testing, but not the time in the hangar as we had an arrangement with Airbase which, given that they are now closed, is no longer in force.

Why is it urgent?


There are plans for the future of the airport, no it’s not going to close or be built on, but we may not have access to Hangar 7 after this year; and of course hangarage is on a first-come, first-served basis.

We need you to put your hands in your pockets and donate to this Hangar Appeal. Hangarage for half of Hangar 7 for the year is around £70k. Whilst this would be nice, it’s not what we need. Some of XH558’s engineers (yes that’s right – the Vulcan) have helped us in their free time, with the schedules for the NDT work, and it is estimated that the work could be done in around 14 weeks. This would bring the cost down to around £20k. WE NEED TO GET HER IN THE HANGAR as this work cannot be carried out in the open air. As you know, this is a significant step towards putting a Shackleton back in the air in the UK.

We need you to donate, so what will you all get out of it?


To all those donating £30 or more – you will receive a frameable certificate stating that you helped get 963 undercover for the NDT work. You will also get your name in a Supporters Log to be kept onboard 963 in perpetuity.

I hope you feel that you can help in this and put 963 back in her element.

You can donate here (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html), and please state “Hangar Appeal” so that we can put your name in the log.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1651/25420387766_38f19f3212_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EJj8DG)Hangar Appeal Logo (https://flic.kr/p/EJj8DG) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[gopher01]

Just found my old ATC Record of Service which details my only flight in a Shack as being fron Kinloss on the 23/08/62 in Shackleton " G " for 3 hours local flying. I don't know if that is enough to identify which frame it was, maybe someone can!

[hunterxf382]

I've tried.... all I can work out is that it would have been an MR3 (tricycle undercarriage) at that time, but Google doesn't have any photos of "G" as far as I can see....

While I'm on here,

A timely nudge about our Hangar Appeal! We still need your help if possible please, we're some way off the target figure to be able to book the space to get WR963 inside for the vital NDT checks to be carried out!
No NDT, NO chance of flying the Old Grey Lady.... it really is that vital that we can fund the costs of the hangar fees. Please donate if you can, and please share this post around on your profile, your friend's profiles, any aviation forums you belong to, in fact anywhere you can PLEASE!!!!

Fundraising Page for WR963 - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1651/25420387766_38f19f3212_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EJj8DG)Hangar Appeal Logo (https://flic.kr/p/EJj8DG) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[Shack37]

Flight of the Shackleton. Just found my old ATC Record of Service which details my only flight in a Shack as being fron Kinloss on the 23/08/62 in Shackleton " G " for 3 hours local flying. I don't know if that is enough to identify which frame it was, maybe someone can!


If a Mk3 it would have been 120 Sqn. Just a possibility it might have been a MOTU T4? Can you remember if it had a nose or tail wheel?
Maybe a ISK veteran with a long memory could answer.

[hunterxf382]

Just a reminder that our Hangar Appeal is still looking for your help if you can please!
We're some way off the target figure to be able to book the space to get WR963 inside for the vital NDT checks to be carried out!
No NDT, NO chance of flying the Old Grey Lady.... it really is that vital that we can fund the costs of the hangar fees. Please donate if you can, and please share this post around on your profile, your friend's profiles, any aviation forums you belong to, in fact anywhere you can PLEASE!!!!

Fundraising Page for WR963 - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/fundraising.html)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1651/25420387766_38f19f3212_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EJj8DG)Hangar Appeal Logo (https://flic.kr/p/EJj8DG) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

An update on a moment in history!

Since our last review of activities, a lot of work has been ongoing in the background by our incredible volunteers. Months of planning came to fruition on Saturday April 9th when we made a little bit of history when we carried paying passengers onboard WR963 for not one, but two taxy runs carried out by our Chief Pilot Jon Corley assisted by our highly experienced onboard crew.

Prior to this momentous day, preparations had included a big wash day to remove accumulated algae and residue which had settled over the winter period and changed the white surfaces into a slight camouflage appearance! Much work has also been carried out on the engine issues which had bothered the team recently, with magneto and fuel pump niggles to overcome particularly on No.2 engine. Luckily for us, not only do we have spares available, but our own knowledgeable ex-Shackleton Chief Engineer Druid Petrie able to pluck essential data from his memory as if it was yesterday, rather than 1991 when he last had the pleasure of engineering outside in all the weather that Scotland could aim at him and his colleagues....

Several test runs of all engines were carried out in the weeks prior to the big day, and all seemed good for us to have a special reason to enjoy our moment!
Not content with dealing with just the aircraft, huge strides had been made by our illustrious chairman Dave Woods at meetings with the Airport Management at Coventry who have helped us enormously since the demise last year of the resident “Airbase” and “Classic Air Force” operations. We not only received sponsorship from the airport which is helping financially towards the costs of being on site, but we were also offered the use of a large portacabin which had previously been the Visitor Reception for Airbase! The airport’s help means that we finally have somewhere undercover to act as a welcoming visitor centre and shop, but also a crewroom for our hard working team to have a much needed brew....

Saturday 9th April finally arrived, and the arriving volunteer team who had travelled from far and wide were greeted with pleasant sunshine! We were busy right from the moment of arrival with a quick set-up of our new shop and crewroom facilities, as well as starting to prepare the aircraft. Well that should have been the plan, but your ever-busy publicity officer had other ideas, and made everyone stop and stare by arriving in our brand new support vehicle which has been loaned to us by our other new partnership with SsangYong GB. The pick-up truck is complete with sign writing and will appear at events towing our Shackleton nose section amongst other duties!

After a crew briefing, we all set about preparing WR963 to be towed out onto the concrete ready for her performances later on, and also greeted the visitors who had started to arrive for their unique experience...
Part of our plan involved pairing up public with key volunteers so that they could take an active part in some of the vital pre-taxy preparations themselves! That was hugely enjoyed by all, and gave a small insight into how hard we work to achieve just one day in the life of our aircraft!
The next stage was another unique treat – lunch with some of our crew onboard the resident DC6 Diner which has recently re-opened as both a cafe and formal diner! The public really seemed to enjoy chatting to us whilst gazing out across the airfield and eating a fine meal...
After lunch, the pace quickened as we finished off a few tours onboard, and finally got the teams mustered prior to start for the first of two taxy runs! All seemed to be going well until one of our crew spotted a broken brake hose, which couldn’t be changed right away, and so was capped and isolated from the rest of the system to the satisfaction of our pilot.

The crew may have been nervous inside, but showed little sign of that as they climbed onboard with our first group of public. As soon as Jon Corley had obtained clearance, it was time to start those mighty Griffons! All went well, and after clearing the start crew and equipment away, Jon eased WR963 out onto the taxiway and trundled slowly down to Bravo Apron, turned, and then came back! Of course we couldn’t just leave it there, so whilst alongside the “Airlock” gate adjacent to the old Airbase hangar, Jon stopped, and opened up the throttles for a few minutes of “Griffon Growl” resonating across Coventry, and shaking the ground where our groundcrew stood....
Once back at our allocated parking area, the aircraft was shut down for a brief rest, and once the entire onboard crew and public were disembarked, a group photo was taken in front of the star of the day!

The crew carried out a turnaround check on the aircraft whilst the public passengers went off to get their souvenir certificates and have a brew with the rest of our team.
Second group were mustered, crew found from their hiding places near the tea urn, and it was time for the second taxy run, or so we thought!
Once we had got everyone onboard and secured the door, Jon started going through the usual pre-starting checks.... only to pause when it came to requesting our usual fire cover from the airport’s fire station only a few hundred metres away. After what seemed like an age, the welcome sight of a fire truck who had been rather busy on a tea break meant that we could carry on with our rigorous checklists.
Engine start seemed to go ok on the starboard side, but when it came to the port side, No.2 engine was reluctant to start! Knowing that we may have faced a ‘hot start’ situation with a small risk of exhaust fires, we were being extremely cautious with this second start. After starting No.1 engine whilst resting the starter motor on No.2 engine, this was tried again, and finally came to life, albeit with a resounding backfire that gave a brief scare to our crew-chief standing only a few metres away on the comms lead....

With all four running, it was time to go for another trundle around the taxiway, which followed the same pattern as the first, almost! On the return stop by the airlock gate and the higher rpm blast – the watching team wondered why No.2 Engine seemed to be running slightly rougher than the others, which soon manifested itself into a premature shut-down of that engine! With due consideration given by the team onboard to the prospect of slow taxying being made difficult with asymmetric power, it was decided to also shut down No.3 engine too, leaving both outboard engines to provide the means to taxy back the short distance to the parking area...

Once all had gone quiet again, the entire onboard crew and public posed once more for the group photo, and the public made their way over to our crewroom as the weather had declined somewhat during the late afternoon. This left the crew to debrief with our pilot on the engineering situation with our beloved aircraft...
Typically for aircrew, the engineers gave him a near perfectly serviceable aircraft to go and play with, and it came back with a list of ‘snags’ which aircrew expect to be easily fixed in time for their next sortie...... but we really like our pilot so we are only too happy to get dirty once again and repair the issues, test it all again, and get WR963 ready for her next starring role!


To summarise the issues left with us as our pilot made his way home:
No.2 engine ignition issues to be investigated as not only was it reluctant to start, but ran rough on the second run, before finally shutting down completely.
No.1 engine seen to develop a small oil leak underneath, which needs investigating by closer inspection with the cowlings off.
One brake hose to be changed
Hydraulic system to be investigated as we found that the handpump handle locating bracket had sheared off and caused the handpump handle to strike an adjacent hydraulic pipe resulting in a breakage and subsequent total loss of the hydraulic system.

Anyone familiar with aircraft will know that these engineering challenges are just part of what we expect when dealing with a 62 year old airframe, and we will just fix her up and carry on smiling as usual!

After an exceptionally long day, the last few team members left the site after 8pm leaving WR963 resting in her usual parking position on the grass. It took a few days for most of us to recover from this one, but we would do it all again without question!

By creating this event, we hope to have given an insight into just what is involved in maintaining our Shackleton, and given the paying public a real hands-on experience that they won’t forget in a hurry! Every single person onboard went home smiling, despite the weather change in the afternoon, and some are coming back for more now that they have experienced the appeal of the Avro Shackleton close up!

Without doubt, the day was a success, and raised vital monies towards keeping WR963 alive and moving towards our long-term goal of return-to-flight! We are fully aware that she needs to be run on a regular basis to keep all systems healthy, and are already planning more events like this throughout the year! Our website and social media will give more on these as soon as we can!

Finally, and on a nice note to finish with, it was especially wonderful to see Richard Woods pay is a visit to see how we were getting on! Richard had been a vital part of the team for many years before personal circumstances meant that he had to take a break from the constant travelling to Coventry, but couldn’t resist a return to see how the old girl was behaving!

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1654/25773263253_289f5f76ea_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FguHeP)George Aldrich (https://flic.kr/p/FguHeP) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1464/26283655712_23c1f0a7d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G3AB8N)Andy Rowlands 1 (https://flic.kr/p/G3AB8N) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1502/25773262813_d817d472f9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FguH7e)George Aldrich 4 (https://flic.kr/p/FguH7e) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1671/25771172144_ebc85110d0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/FgiZCd)George Aldrich 2 (https://flic.kr/p/FgiZCd) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1658/26283656132_bf2543e641_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G3ABg3)Aaron Hiscock 2 (https://flic.kr/p/G3ABg3) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1704/26283654682_415f01644d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G3AAQ3)Ian Preece (https://flic.kr/p/G3AAQ3) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1532/26375991765_ab9f6e925f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GbKRqH)Andy Jones 1 (https://flic.kr/p/GbKRqH) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1513/26309775231_b7e622d6c7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G5Utyk)George Aldrich 5 (https://flic.kr/p/G5Utyk) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1659/26309774941_2416b80938_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/G5Uttk)SPT Edit (https://flic.kr/p/G5Uttk) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr


Hope you enjoyed this very brief review of our historical day, and we hope to see you all down at Coventry soon!

Regards

Pete Buckingham
Publicity Officer

[hunterxf382]

Since our previous double taxi runs that took place April 9th, an awful lot of engineering work has been carried out by the amazing team of volunteers that work hard to continue the success of WR963’s public appearances!
Going back to the runs – we suffered a few technical issues which required careful analysis after the event which then required the following work:

The hydraulic handpump decided it did not like being part of the main hydraulic system and let go in spectacular style including shearing off its handle attaching bracket! The internal seals had ruptured and subsequent high pressure fluid flowed around the system before dumping itself overboard.
The Pressure Relief Valve and Handpump were skillfully rebuilt by one of our resident engineers Mark Ward who regularly surprises us with his ability to make old parts like new again!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7770/26857935290_d90cb16645_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GVkWrQ)Mark Ward 3 (https://flic.kr/p/GVkWrQ) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7067/27099038356_4260f5fc8b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HhDDZf)Mark Ward 4 (https://flic.kr/p/HhDDZf) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

Even Richard Woods assisted by dismantling the long-removed original handpump to find the same problem had occurred before....

The system’s filters had been long suspected of being a culprit in this problem, and on subsequent removal they were found to be totally clogged up and unable to filter anything in the system at all!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7379/27132533215_3a9ee952db_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjQP)George Aldrich 3 (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjQP) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7644/27132533265_4e5aba29ba_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjRF)George Aldrich 2 (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjRF) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

Once the gauze / mesh filters were cleaned up (for now), fresh hydraulic oil was replaced in the system, and after a very long hand-pumping session the entire hydraulic system was bled through and systems checked to make sure they all worked again. This work involved some very long hours and extended beyond our normal Saturday work days too, with good weather helping some of the team who worked mid-week on the system too...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7566/27037521172_efa39b4cee_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Hcdn59)George Aldrich 1 (https://flic.kr/p/Hcdn59) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

Water ingress in the No.2 Fuel Tank has been another long standing issue to be dealt with, which was suspected of causing a premature shut-down of No.2 Engine during the taxy run, and on a subsequent test run too.... The fuel system is drained of water each time we attend to the aircraft, but the water ingress also crept into the fuel pump, so a suitable drain tap was installed to help us drain the water efficiently rather than continually having to dismantle the pump each time.

Water ingress may also be the culprit on the overhead panel above the pilot’s head, where the engine magneto switches are located. Previous corrosion had been found on the contact points of these switches which led to the belief that water was getting in – more noticeable after a downpour!
On the taxy runs, it rained between the two runs, and we then experienced problems on start-up for the second run. In the long term, we will need to replace the bank of switches of course (if anyone happens to have an example as illustrated that they wish to donate then please get in touch!), but we also need to address the water ingress itself. Our Chief Engineer (the one and only Druid Petrie of ex-8 Sqn Shackleton fame) assures us that the correct method involves an application of Cellulose Dope around the Escape Hatches, so that is being looked into as we speak once we source the correct Dope of course....

On various engine runs, the crew noticed that the Radiator Shutters were not working as they should on No.2 engine, so a replacement “Inching Controller” box has been installed to hopefully sure the problem. Another test run will confirm this.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7625/26857935560_39ce441f32_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GVkWwu)Mario McLaughlin 1 (https://flic.kr/p/GVkWwu) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

Nitrogen... a vital gas to top up the pneumatics system used on the Shackleton to provide braking etc. Well despite the aircraft not having any major issue with its own system, our portable trolley decided it required attention as it was leaking badly from behind the inflation control panel.
So another of our intrepid engineers, Mario McLaughlin took the panel apart, sourced and repaired the leak, and even repainted the control panel while he had five minutes to spare! These trolleys were a common sight at any RAF Airfield, but never before did one look so shiny as ours does now!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7345/27132532765_265ce8843a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjH4)Mario McLaughlin 2 (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjH4) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

On the subject of pneumatics, we had a brake hose fail on us, which was spotted before we taxied the aircraft. Suitably isolated to carry on the taxy runs, the hose was subsequently replaced with a newly manufactured one by Mark Ward once he had sourced the correct fittings needed.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/27063880001_2c8e475640_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HexsCH)Mark Ward (https://flic.kr/p/HexsCH) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

Engine Ignition issues continued to give the team a good reason to keep checking the points gaps on all engines, which is no easy task when you compare the average family car engine with the huge Griffon V12 ones we have! Nevertheless, another job tackled by our team of course!

Not content with the technical items that formed quite a list of jobs to do, other work has been carried out on site.
The prominent red spinners on WR963 had started to look rather faded, so Andrew Clarke volunteered himself to polish them all up again with the assistance of young George Aldrich. They now look stunning in the sunlight again!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/27132532585_d187b927c8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjDX)Mark Ward 2 (https://flic.kr/p/HkBjDX) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

“Zebedee” or VP293 our loaned Mk1 nose section received some attention prior to heading out on the roads for the first time in a long while! This season will see Zebedee appear at various events away from Coventry, so a good tidy up inside was in order, plus making sure the trailer he is mounted on was ready for the journeys ahead. There is ongoing progress with the nose section itself too, with more internal refit of original equipment to take place soon, which will get the interior looking more authentic as well as replacing parts which famously vanished during a period of storage at another venue before we took charge of the nose on behalf of the owner on a permanent loan basis. Keep an eye out for a Shackleton Nose on the roads this year!

And finally....

A personal touch to raise a smile or two.

Ongoing crew training has resulted in another person able to operate the Engineers Panel during ground runs / taxy runs, giving us more flexibility with crew availability, with another member currently in training....
However, the post taxy run banter amongst our crew deserves sharing if only to show that we are all human (friendly ones of course).
Our crew training has been undertaken by our highly experienced Chief Engineer who apparently knows a thing or two about Shackletons, and has accumulated many hours / years of sterling service on the aircraft up until the end of service with Number 8 Squadron up at RAF Lossiemouth. We are constantly amazed at the depth of his knowledge, and he teaches us all an awful lot, which gains him the respect he fully deserves!

So picture the scene when the first taxy run was completely successful with a slightly nervous newly qualified Engineer on the panel throughout....
However, on the second taxy run, our well respected Chief Engineer decides to have a go, and brought back an aircraft on two out of four engines running; a hydraulic failure; and a suspected electrical generator fault too!!!!
We thought he was trying to recreate the pressure the Squadron were under back in the 90’s when faced with QRA alerts on an old aircraft – whereas we were told this was just to test our ability to work under pressure ;)


And then there is other BIG news too!

Number 8 Squadron (Royal Air Force) Reunite with The Avro Shackleton!

In the summer of 1991, the RAF said goodbye to a long-serving eye in the sky when the Avro Shackleton bowed out after 40 years of operational service – the last 19 years of which were with Number 8 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. Replaced by the state-of-the-art Boeing E3-D “Sentry AEW MK1, Number 8 Squadron continues to serve our country to this day.

July 9th 2016 marks two special anniversaries which we are happy to announce!

25 years ago to the day, our Shackleton WR963 flew in to Coventry Airport for preservation, and in the same month, it has been 25 years of operational service for Number 8 Squadron’s Sentry AEW MK1 aircraft!

The Trust were delighted to hear from a representative from Number 8 Squadron recently, and even more excited when hearing that the current squadron wanted to establish a formal working relationship with us, as we are looking after one of their old airframes!

Number 8 Squadron themselves have a long history, first forming on 1st January 1915 as part of the Royal Flying Corps as a Fighter Squadron. Over the years, the Squadron have operated many aircraft types ranging from the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c, through De Havilland Mosquitos, Hawker Hunters, and of course the Avro Shackleton.

Despite operating a high tech aircraft in the current RAF, Number 8 Squadron have always acknowledged their long history, to the point of having an Number 8 Squadron Hawker Hunter as their current Squadron “gate guard” outside their HQ at RAF Waddington.
Our own Shackleton served with the Squadron right up to the end in 1991, and we do our part to keep its history alive too.

Our partnership with Number 8 Squadron means a lot to us, and the Squadron will be coming over to Coventry on July 9th to help take part in our special 25th anniversary celebrations, although sadly we can’t fit a Sentry AEW MK1 into Coventry Airport.... Members of the squadron will see for themselves their old aircraft, and we cannot wait to show them around! Despite being some 60+ years old, I’m sure our volunteers will delight in highlighting that the Shackleton could still perform the AEW task today if things got serious ;)
The Squadron are also offering to help us with providing manpower if possible during any intensive engineering times such as our anticipated NDT strip down checks this coming winter. Of course this will be subject to operational circumstances, but any assistance from their crew will be most welcome indeed at any time!

There is much more besides the above to formalise, but we really do look forward to establishing a great formal partnership between our two organisations!

Looking in to the future, and our own return-to-flight status, it goes without saying that 8 Sqn’s base is definitely on our own bucket list, which I’m sure will be a much anticipated event when that happens!

Bringing an element of Number 8 Squadron’s history alive is a unique and exciting prospect, and one that we, the Shackleton Preservation Trust will endeavour to accomplish with great pride!


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/27132389405_412f0b4a5a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkAA6k)Website Logo (https://flic.kr/p/HkAA6k) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/27063711171_ae6624898e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HewArR)WR963 Waddington 1991b (https://flic.kr/p/HewArR) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7546/27132374375_27e85ebe3e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkAvCc)JR4b (https://flic.kr/p/HkAvCc) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/27063711631_4094f88e22_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HewAzM)8 Sqn 25 Years b (https://flic.kr/p/HewAzM) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the last flight of WR963 which departed RAF Waddington and touched down at Coventry Airport on this very day in 1991. This marked the start of the next era in the life of this Avro Shackleton with the airframe being purchased at auction as one of a pair (the other airframe being WL790) by the late David Liddell-Grainger. The intention was to fly one of the airframes in civilian ownership with the other acting as a spares source.
After a few years of struggling with bureaucracy in vain, WL790 was flown out to the USA where she operated under FAA rules for 14 years until retirement into Museum life...
WR963 had been the chosen spares ship for WL790, and as such had been a test-bed airframe and stripped of many parts. In 1997 the Shackleton Preservation Trust took over looking after this airframe and set about returning the airframe to working condition as best they could...
Eventually, in 2008, a taxy run was achieved down the runway at Coventry which proved the viability of continuing to work towards returning WR963 to full working order once more!
In 2012, after a huge amount of careful research and gathering documentary evidence, the CAA was approached again to gain approval for a “Return to Flight” status... Amazingly, this time it was approved, and the hard work really began for the team!
In recent years WR963 has proved she wants to fly again with several taxy runs taking place, many ground runs, and an influx of dedicated volunteers increasing the ability of the team to overcome all the obstacles in our path!
Interest in our project soon reached higher places, with the recent surprise announcement that WR963’s old squadron (Number 8 Sqn Royal Air Force) wished to forge a unique working partnership with us to push forward this project! On July 9th they will be coming back to see their old aircraft for the first time in 25 years as a result, and we want you to be there too!

We will not only be welcoming the Royal Air Force at Coventry, but also have members of 8 Sqn Association attending too! Several VIP guests will be coming, who have been involved with WR963 in various ways over the years.
There are plans to have some airborne visitors too (though sadly not a current Sentry aircraft due to operational circumstances)
The entire team at the Shackleton Preservation Trust would love you to come and see what we have achieved and what our plans are for the future!
To celebrate this special anniversary with us, our Chairman has even discounted the admission price especially for this event too!


Public entry will be just £15 per person for the entire day’s activities where you can take a close look at our aircraft, meet the team, witness WR963 perform on the day, and be part of an historical occasion!
We do ask that if possible you book your place online via our website, and remember to include a message with paypal payments telling us that the payment is for “July 9th 25th Event” please!
Latest News - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/latest-news.html)

You will not get an actual ticket, but your name(s) will be on a list at our gate as proof!

We will allow admission on the gate too, but it helps us to know who is attending if we know in advance!


You will be on a live airside apron at Coventry Airport for this event, so our team will be looking after you at all times for your own safety and airport security too of course.


Light refreshments will be available in our Cabin, but we would also recommend the adjacent DC-6 Diner for great value food too, although pre-booking a table might be advantageous as we expect them to be busy on this day!
DC-6 Diner can be contacted on: 07944 512305 or 02477 459020
https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7048/27132389405_412f0b4a5a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HkAA6k)Website Logo (https://flic.kr/p/HkAA6k) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7134/27063711631_4094f88e22_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HewAzM)8 Sqn 25 Years b (https://flic.kr/p/HewAzM) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7434/27037641462_92cdff9b51_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HcdYQ7)Dscf2685a (https://flic.kr/p/HcdYQ7) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

[hunterxf382]

Almost time for our unique event which happens this saturday at Coventry!!

£15 special reduced price to come and see us celebrate 25 years in preservation of our Avro Shackleton WR963...

Gates open 10am

Full Ground Run 2pm

Day finishes 5pm

Tours of our aircraft will be available during the day, and our neighbouring Nimrod is also being opened up by our friends who look after her too!

Chance to meet our team, and of course members of Number 8 Sqn Royal Air Force who are also bringing along some momentos to sell...

Our own freshly refurbished shop will be open - offering a range of our own merchandise and rare model kits which all go towards our fund-raising of course....

We hope to be having a few surprises during the day for you all too ;)

Click here for online booking:

Latest News - Shackleton Preservation Trust (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/latest-news.html)

[hunterxf382]

A quick post to get the word out on an event being planned for 10th September which needs the word spreading as soon as possible!

More info on this will be shared once confirmed, and of course there are other SPT updates coming very soon with regards recent work and the results of our 25th anniversary event....

Keep an eye out too on our website which is undergong a transformation as I type following the addition of another web editor Aaron ;)

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8631/28310509750_3781f2081c_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/K8GLe5)Wheels At Coventry Poster (https://flic.kr/p/K8GLe5) by Pete Buckingham (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunterxf382/), on Flickr

Shackleton Preservation Trust - SPT WR963 (http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk)

[Wensleydale]

One lucky winner to take part in a Shackleton Start! Hmmmm. (I hope he/she brings a change of clothes).

[hunterxf382]

Hello everyone, due to safety concerns arising from the forecast adverse weather conditions due on Saturday, the Shackleton Preservation Trust have decided to cancel WR963's engine run this weekend. This run will be moved now to Monday 29th (bank holiday Monday) at 2pm. Entry as always is by the West gate CV8 3AZ We are sorry for any inconvenience caused and thank you all for your support.

The Chairman

[hunterxf382]

Due to unforeseen administrative circumstances, the Shackleton Preservation Trust has been forced to cancel the programmed public engine run on Bank Holiday Monday, and the Wheels event on the 10th of September. Unfortunately, we are also unable to allow public access to the aircraft at this time. We ask for your patience while we work through this situation, and we will update you all as soon as we possibly can. As I have said above, it is an administrative situation, and is not due to any form of incident.I appreciate many of you will have made plans to attend either or both of these events, and on behalf of the Shackleton Preservation Trust, I hope you will accept our apologies to you all for this very short notice.
Druid Petrie
Trustee
Shackleton Preservation Trust

[WR963]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates on the various forums, and the sporadic and sometimes contradictory information that was sometimes posted on social media. Hopefully these times are behind us now and normal service can be resumed. As I'm sure you can understand it's been a troublesome year for WR963 and the remaining crew.

I'm Phil Woods, on of '963's crew. I'll be posting the regular updates from now on if the interest is still there, and hopefully answering any and all questions you all have to the best of my ability. Although I'm not quite as knowledgeable as my brother, I work on WR963 regularly, I'm qualified to crew her as P2, admin on the two facebook groups we run, run the eBay shop and assist with the Instagram account and website building. More recently I've taken over running the "Friends" side of things and I'm one of the two directors of the company that owns and looks after WR963. So I hope that I'll be up to the task.

We've had a bad year in terms of reliability, Hydraulic issues on the last evening run back in February and starting issues with the engines since. Coupled with radio problems too and it's not been the year we wanted or expected. We've slowly been working our way through these problems though, and I'm pleased to announce that WR963 is now servicable and capable of running all 4 engines.

The number 4 engine problem has now been found and fixed. Initially thought to be fouled plugs, these were stripped, cleaned, gapped and refitted. We checked for power getting to the booster coil and magneto, and the points were cleaned and gapped in both. Still it refused to run. Eventually, we found that although power was getting to the booster coil, it wasn't supplying power out and once swapped for a brand new unit from our stores the no4 engine ran beautifully.

Hydraulic issues are drawing to a close too, the Hydraulc pumps have both been removed, sent away to be fully rebuilt and refitted. A fully rebuilt hand pump, cleaned and remade lines, cleaned filters and solenoids, and correctly adjusted pressure reducing valves should now see these problems cured.

The next run we have is this weekend, the Saab club is hosting their AGM at Midland Aviation museum and we're providing a 4 engined run as entertainment afterwards. I'll take photos and report back on Sunday! Fingers crossed for the first 4 engined run since February.

Sorry for the lengthy first post, believe me I've condensed a LOT of work into this update, I didn't want to swamp the place on my first go.

Regards,

Phil Woods

[Icare9]

Watched some early morning TV today and on Movies For Men(?) or whatever, tuned in to see a Nimrod overfly a surfaced sub ("Drop buoy, and camera") followed by a longish sequence of a Shackleton displaying, many in flight shots etc, low passes.... it looked a little strange with dark greenish livery but prominent figure "8" on the fuselage......

Blow me down, if there isn't a photo here.... WR963!!

How's that for co-incidence?

[WR963]

Today couldn't have gone better. Despite threats of storms and heavy winds, WR963 volunteers were out in force working towards making our first proper event since February a success. And what a success it was.

On site from around 9am, checks to the aircraft were completed quickly enough. These are many and varied, but are mainly safety and maintenance checks to help ensure the run is a good one. We check for water in the fuel, make sure the priming pumps and booster coils are working, remove all the various covers, top up the Nitrogen in the brakes and undercarriage and check that all the spinner locks are in place to name a few. We then spin the propellors one complete revolution by hand. This allows any water that is sitting in the bottom of the spinners to drain out.

We even found time to mow the grass.

By the time these were done the cars started to arrive. We were asked some time ago the host the Saab club for their after AGM meet and they arrived in force. Once everyone was ready and the fuel lines had been primed, external power was connected and away we went.

All For Griffons ran perfectly. No snags, no leaks, no problems at all. We ran for around half an hour today, got the engines fully up to temperature for the first time in a while. Unfortunately we couldn't exercise them as much as we wanted, due to a VERY strong headwind we only took the engines to 1800rpm, one at a time.

All in all an amazing day, hard work and teamwork and we got there. Our new revamped shop took some good sales too....being able to pay by card helped a lot of people buy more than they usually would have...there were a lot of WR963 hats around today.

So...whats next. Work will continue on the hydraulics, we're close to compleing a complete overhaul of the system and we'd like to have it done for our end of season dusk run on the 2nd of December.

Stay tuned for more!

[tonytales]

A magnificent job which I think can only be fully appreciated by another mechanic.
One question which always puzzled me> Why did they opt for contra-rotating props on the Shackleton? Not needed for torque problems as in a single-engine aircraft. Surely, it would have saved considerable weight in the engine gearbox and prop to go to a single prop. If fuselage or ground clearance was an issue I would have thought a four-bladed paddle-bladed props serve. All that takes nothing away from a truly unique aircraft.

[Wensleydale]

Why did they opt for contra-rotating props on the Shackleton?


A single prop would have needed very large blades, and the tips would have been very close to the fuselage and rotating with a velocity which was very close (if not exceeding) the speed of sound. Contra rotating props give the power needed at a shorter diameter.

[Evanelpus]

I’ve just this. This was the first Shack I work on as an apprentice at Bitteswell.

I hope this old lady has many years to come.

[tonytales]

QUOTE: A single prop would have needed very large blades, and the tips would have been very close to the fuselage and rotating with a velocity which was very close (if not exceeding) the speed of sound. Contra rotating props give the power needed at a shorter diameter.

The Griffon has similar ratings to late R-2800's on the DC-6. The wide bladed props on that and CV-440 kept the diameter down and there was always the option of going to a four-bladed prop too as on the DC-7. None of those had any sonic tip problems although the C-46 did.back in its day
I understand why the big turboprops as on the A400 and TU-95 Bear use them. That much power can't be handled by a single rotation prop. I do notice the C-130 (smaller engine) continues to truck on with single-rotation props although they now look like old-fashioned electric fan blades. Anyway, America never did field a successful production contra-prop.

[WR963]

Tomorrow is a work day for us, and although the forecast isn't great we'll be there. We have a list of jobs to get through before winter hits, and before our dusk run. I'll have photos and an update for everyone tomorrow.

[WR963]

Today's work day was all about preparation. Winter is around the corner and there's certainly more cold days and rain coming our way. We want to protect 963 as best we can over the winter months so today we decided to make a start.

All the engine/wheel/cockpit/glass covers were taken out of storage, cleaned and inspected. We have a full set and although some need localised repairs we've started to fit them, and after the dusk run they'll all be on to keep her as dry and safe as possible.

Other maintenance work included cleaning all of the many and varied drains out, rotating the propellers to ensure no water gather's in the spinners and exercising the ailerons and elevators for the same reason.

Also, and well overdue, the entire starboard side was cleaned to remove all the dirt and algea. The port side will be next.

No major work to report at this time of year, but this work is vital to keep WR963 serviceable and stop deterioration.

I did have some photos to post, and I have posted these on other forums....however I'm not allowed to post them here until I have 10 posts! Sorry about this. So 6 more posts from now and I can start showing you what we're up to!

[WR963]

Sorry I've been quiet for a while, it doesn't mean we've not been busy...quite the opposite. Thank you everyone for the continued support, both on here and other forums and social media, it does mean a lot to us all.

So...what have we been up to? The answer is a lot of planning for next year, and a lot of preparation for next weeks dusk run. Tired of problems this past year we've been checking and rechecking everything before next week, and even conducted a short 4 engine run last weekend. I'm pleased to report everything went fine, a couple of small snags, one being a recurring oil weep on the number 4 engine which we'll keep an eye on and fix over winter. It won't affect next weeks run though.

We also had the pleasure of giving several local air cadets a tour of the aircraft inside and out, we try to do as many tours as possible throughout the year as it helps get our name out there, and the more people that hear about us the better chance we have...plus we all like talking about '963!

We're still working on the covers which is turning into a bigger task than we liked, but the bungees on most of them have been replaced and before we leave next week they will all be in place, keeping '963 as dry as possible.

With regards to NDT testing, yes it will be going ahead. We have the money for it, all we're waiting for is available indoor space to conduct it. It will come in time though and as soon as I know something I'll be sure to post up and let everyone know.

We have some big plans for 2018, that I can't really go in to right now...but they're really going to be good. 2018 is going to be a fun year, and we'll be attempting a few things we've not done before...

[WR963]

So...who watched the live feed then? :)

Saturday was amazing. A busy day but very productive and a great way to end the season.

We got to Coventry early, hopeful for a cold clear day so we could methodically work through the list of jobs needing to be done. Unfortunately we were greeted by drizzle. Freezing cold drizzle. First tasks were the usual safety and maintenance checks, spinner locks, control locks, check for water in the fuel, rotate the props by hand once to drain the water from the spinners, remove the wheel and other covers...all little jobs but all essential. We then moved onto checking the priming pumps and booster coils, these have let us down in the past and caused a 3 or even 2 engine run, something we didn't want to happen.

Everything checked out fine, so while the shop was getting tidied ready for our guests, we waited for the fuel to arrive. We took on around 700 litres or 100LL Avgas, plenty for this run and the next couple. We calculate fuel figures based on what is left in the tanks to ensure even fuel loads in the tanks, it helps while she's sitting to keep the weight even. After priming the injectors there wasn't much to do other than talk to our guests and wait for Dusk.

We were very lucky to meet Roger Steggall, an ex crew member who had clocked up over 56 flights on WR963, so listening to his stories was certainly a privilege, we hope to have him back early next year to take his old seat during a run.

After the Nimrod shut down, it was our turn. 30 minutes of Noise, and a very sweet running Shackleton. slightly grumpy on Number 1 and 4 engines, but they soon smoothed out and the run couldn't have been better.

So what next for 963? Not much this year. We'll be back down at Coventry on the 16th, fitting all the covers and making sure she's safe and sound, ready for our Christmas break...then it's off to the Oak at Baginton for a well deserved beer with all the crew.

We have big plans for 2018, things we've never done before! I don't want to ruin the surprise so you'll have to wait and see in the new year, but it's sure going to be fun!