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It's the lower part of the Chemtrail tank. Subjugating agent was discharged from the tank into the atmosphere on high level trips to keep the general public suitably under government mind control.....
Refuelling on the Hog's Back and looked up and saw 558 leaping skywards. The Reds did a nice formation pass along the Hog's Back before bending around for a smoke on run and break/stream landing.
Bit distant but heartwarming nonetheless!
PS 558 doesn't seem as smoky now. Is that just judicious use of the throttles or are they running it on [God Forbid it!] bio fuel?
Last edited by aviate1138 : 16th July 2008 at 17:11.
Reason: PS
Whiz, Since you asked – from the Newark aircraft, here’s the other end of the Electronic Counter Measures kit, nine cans in the bulge at the back end. All but one of the cans were to jam Soviet search radars. The odd one out was a VHF voice jammer – very high tech – four VHF channels.
Originally there were three Red Shrimp, with three Power Units. Two Blue Diver and one Green Palm, the VHF Jammer. There was an L Band Jammer which, I think, meant a Blue Diver being removed.
All, apart from the Green Palm, were water glycol cooled; the pack is at the upper right. The intake, which you can’t see here, is on the right side rear. The white wheels are for winching cans in and out. The heaviest units were the Red Shrimp Power Units, just over 300lbs apiece. ( Incidentally, the pokey out thing at the top is a moveable lever which put a light on in the cockpit just before a tail strike. Very useful for aerodynamic braking.)
In the mid sixties an X Band Jammer was fitted. This was to jam Interception Radar of Soviet fighters. It was light years ahead of previous kit with its own receiver to scan and then lock the transmitter to whatever was looking for you. Whether or not it would have worked with Migs we’ll never know but, on exercise, it would knock seven bells out of Aussie Mirages lining up for a missile pop.
As it taxied back after its display, the taxiway across the TAG apron was lined with people from the bizjets who probably were only children when it was phased out of service.
Re the water/glycol coolant, there was nothing worse, than having one of the connectors not going back on easily, with a nice stream of the coolant running down your arm until the valves sealed.
I did know a guy who had connected up the winch to drop a Shrimp can, he had hellish problems getting the unscrewing last pin out of the frame, when it was pointed out that he had the winch on a different can to the one he was unfastening.
Hi chaps,
I'm taking my son to Farnborough on Sunday. I have tried to explain to him the attraction of 558, as I saw all the Vulcan displays before they finished. He's only 10 and watching the videos, good though they are, doesn't even scratch the surface. We went to waddy, but she was u/s on the day we went. So we're hoping for better things this w/e. Does anyone know roughly what time she will be doing her stuff please?
Bob
Was 1500L when i went on wednesday - she didn't do a full display though!!?? Surprisingly the F/A 18 was louder. but 558 still made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and on my arms, and my eyes started to well up.
5 Greens,
I believe that XH558 is only going to remain at RAF Waddington for a short period and then go back to Bruntingthorpe. XH558 will operate out of Waddington for the Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival on the 24th and 25th July.
Some images from Farnborough taken on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This may seem to be a strange question, but the device's that are jacked out of the top and bottom parts of the wings, are these Air Brakes? and being as they are so small in comparison with the vast bulk and power of the Vulcan, what did they achieve,.... or are they some device to disturb the air prior to landing to make handling a little easier?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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In some pictures they are in high-drag configuration. They can also be set to mid-drag. They are over the deepest chord area of the wing where they will have least twisting or yawing moment but greatest drag effect.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lincolnshire
Age: 66
Posts: 5,335
Quote:
Originally Posted by forget
Originally there were three Red Shrimp, with three Power Units. Two Blue Diver and one Green Palm, the VHF Jammer. There was an L Band Jammer which, I think, meant a Blue Diver being removed.
Both Blue Divers were retained and the L-band jammer replaced a Red Shrimp.
I don't know but it is conceivable that the L-band jammer was simply a Red Shrimp operating at 1 GHz rather than 2.2-2.4 GHz.
The Green Palm may only have had 4 frequencies but then the Soviet era fighters only had 4 as well. Rather than try and jam the frequency that you thought might be targetted at you, the whole force was instructed to jam, IIRC, channel 3. This was the broadcast control frequency.
I guess the idea was that the other channels were for recover and individual intercept control. They would be self-jammed by the IAVPOStrany trying to avoid the main broadcast channel.
Once the force went low level the Green Palms would only be switched on at the final climb point.
Some images from the 24th and 25th July at RAF Waddington. Friday 25th was amazing! A practice display and several crosswind approaches. The noise and slipstream from her was quite amazing with airbrakes deployed and undercarriage down. The air was ripping when she came into land.
I'm puzzled though. How come you don't (unlike a lot of other photographers/publishers) have an arrangement with the Vulcan operators whereby the ECM plate is moved over to the port engines periodically - presumably to add a little variety to the photos?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lincolnshire
Age: 66
Posts: 5,335
Quote:
Originally Posted by nacluv
I'm puzzled though. How come you don't (unlike a lot of other photographers/publishers) have an arrangement with the Vulcan operators whereby the ECM plate is moved over to the port engines periodically - presumably to add a little variety to the photos?
Are you serious?
There are no fitments on the port side. The plates now are purely ascetic. To move the plates the port side would be unrepresentative of any Vulcan. To move the plate would be unnecessary engineering work - if it ain't broke . . .
When Forget said that Blue Steel aircraft had 2 plates this was not to imply extra capability over non-Blue Steel or that the port side was an option. The second set of aerials was simply to correct the radiated jamming polar diagram which was distorted when the Blue Steel tail fin was in the flight position.
Of course once the whole force went low level the jammers would not be switched on until after missile release or the final climb point if the missile was unpowered.
PS
OK Beeyate, if he doesn't respond idc I will accept that it was fish bait and delete it
Last edited by Pontius Navigator : 27th July 2008 at 14:08.
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