brokenlink
15th Mar 2013, 19:31
Talking to one of my Civilian Instructors last night who spent his career calibrating various types of machinery when he mentioned a piece of kit he worked on was at RAF Cardington. Apparently it was used to try and replicate how an aircraft distorted in a crash. Wings were removed and the fuselage placed in some sort of crusher which then did its job and the results were then examined. Any ideas or pictures anyone?
jumpseater
15th Mar 2013, 20:50
It rings a vague bell with me. This may be bollox but I seem to recall hearing that it was some sort of drop rig rather than a crusher, no idea of its dimensions if that were the case, as clearly aeroplanes are made in different sizes, and presumable a test rig would likely need to be adjustable.
I went and looked at a vampire that was being restored there a good few years ago and possibly heard the info at that time, or from other BAe employees when Hatfield was open in the 80's.
LTNman
15th Mar 2013, 23:47
There used to be a British Airways Boeing 707 minus wings in one of the hangars