Test and Evaluation topic e.g. RAE,DERA and QinetiQ
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Ummm....Yes as I've noticed underneath the comet has a flatter pod underneath than the 3 comets used by RAE. XS235 is now at bruningthorpe also.
We forgot about Cobbett hill radio station! I also presume that A&AEE used larkhill range???
We forgot about Cobbett hill radio station! I also presume that A&AEE used larkhill range???
Last edited by Ashleyaircraftfan; 3rd Nov 2012 at 22:57.
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Comet 144 when BLEU had it was still in BOAC livery. 814 later adopted the raspberry ripple scheme but a good pic of all 3 of RAE comets
http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/...CometXV814.jpg
Last edited by Ashleyaircraftfan; 4th Nov 2012 at 18:25.
'814 lost that belly pack later. The other two Comets were both Bedford based, but in 1974, Farnborough had 3 Comets for a short time; I remember because they all arrived one after the other when the runway was reopened after re-surfacing in July/August of that year. One of them, like 814, was ex DanAir.
Last edited by chevvron; 6th Nov 2012 at 19:06.
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There were also WE177 high explosive safety trials done at the impact wall on AWRE Orfordness, and we also used the rocket track at RAE Pendine Sands for small diameter high speed parachute trials.
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Wasn't Pendine Sands also P&EE as well? And does anyone remember any info on the site at West Drayton ?
And there was a small RAE naval contingent at Chobham (longcross) working on naval engineering should think testing engines in conjunction with Pyestock.
And there was a small RAE naval contingent at Chobham (longcross) working on naval engineering should think testing engines in conjunction with Pyestock.
West Drayton & Cobham
I started at RAE Farnborough in 1981, and moved over to Pyestock in 1983 at the start of the third year of my apprenticeship, Pyestock having just become RAE rather than NGTE.
One of the departments in which I did a three month stint was Chemical and Petroleum Testing. This would involve running engines on any fluid used by the MOD (and I mean any) to determine its flammability and lubricating properties.
This department is the one which had previously been at Cobham, (Petroleum Chemistry and Technology Division, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Cobham, Surrey (formerly the Admiralty Oil Laboratory).
Another department was known as 'Diesels', This, I believe is the one which moved from West Drayton, where it had been the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory. We ran endurance testing on Paxman Valenta or 'SSK' diesel engines for submarine generating sets, and the regular stripping down of these 2000 hp,16 cylinder, 210 litre engines was a real sod. I remember trying to push the piston and conrod out with some crummy double pivoted tool which didn't want to stay straight. Other work in this department included testing outboard motors for the Royal Marines 'rigid raider' boats and testing a Ford 1.6 diesel engine driven fire pump (that was great fun, and needless to say, got everyone very wet).
After Pyestock I moved back to Farnbough as a trainee UAV pilot (we called then UMAs (UnManned Aircraft) at the time. I had several trips to Pendine Sands to operate them, although they had been flown at Greenham Common, Larkhill and Suffield in Alberta before I joined that Dept.
A promotion led to a change of Dept and working on night vision goggles and Forward looking Infra Red (FLIR). We did trials in Cyprus ("Mechta, we're doing going to do a trial in Cyprus, how long do you want to go for?" "Cyprus? Permanently, please...")
Later trials took us up to West Freugh ('Wet Through') where we tested the TIALD pod on the Buccaneer in preparation for the first Gulf War. Working at West Freugh involved regular trips in the Navaho Chieftain ferry aircraft, with stops at Boscombe Down, Aberporth, Llanbedr and Warton. The latter had the EAP and a Lightning chase plane on the apron at the time. On one trip into Llanbedr, we had to loiter whilst a Jindivik was recovered, giving us a grandstand view.
I baled out of Farnborough before it became DERA, and from my contact with friends who stayed on, I did the right thing, as many got very depressed watching the decline of the place whilst waiting for redundancy.
I did get a brief spell back working for QinetiQ on the Zephyr solar powered UAV, which was very interesting, working with a very enthusiastic and dedicated team.
With regard to names, many of the older people with whom I worked, had worked with people who would only refer to it as 'The Balloon Factory'.
One of the departments in which I did a three month stint was Chemical and Petroleum Testing. This would involve running engines on any fluid used by the MOD (and I mean any) to determine its flammability and lubricating properties.
This department is the one which had previously been at Cobham, (Petroleum Chemistry and Technology Division, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Cobham, Surrey (formerly the Admiralty Oil Laboratory).
Another department was known as 'Diesels', This, I believe is the one which moved from West Drayton, where it had been the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory. We ran endurance testing on Paxman Valenta or 'SSK' diesel engines for submarine generating sets, and the regular stripping down of these 2000 hp,16 cylinder, 210 litre engines was a real sod. I remember trying to push the piston and conrod out with some crummy double pivoted tool which didn't want to stay straight. Other work in this department included testing outboard motors for the Royal Marines 'rigid raider' boats and testing a Ford 1.6 diesel engine driven fire pump (that was great fun, and needless to say, got everyone very wet).
After Pyestock I moved back to Farnbough as a trainee UAV pilot (we called then UMAs (UnManned Aircraft) at the time. I had several trips to Pendine Sands to operate them, although they had been flown at Greenham Common, Larkhill and Suffield in Alberta before I joined that Dept.
A promotion led to a change of Dept and working on night vision goggles and Forward looking Infra Red (FLIR). We did trials in Cyprus ("Mechta, we're doing going to do a trial in Cyprus, how long do you want to go for?" "Cyprus? Permanently, please...")
Later trials took us up to West Freugh ('Wet Through') where we tested the TIALD pod on the Buccaneer in preparation for the first Gulf War. Working at West Freugh involved regular trips in the Navaho Chieftain ferry aircraft, with stops at Boscombe Down, Aberporth, Llanbedr and Warton. The latter had the EAP and a Lightning chase plane on the apron at the time. On one trip into Llanbedr, we had to loiter whilst a Jindivik was recovered, giving us a grandstand view.
I baled out of Farnborough before it became DERA, and from my contact with friends who stayed on, I did the right thing, as many got very depressed watching the decline of the place whilst waiting for redundancy.
I did get a brief spell back working for QinetiQ on the Zephyr solar powered UAV, which was very interesting, working with a very enthusiastic and dedicated team.
With regard to names, many of the older people with whom I worked, had worked with people who would only refer to it as 'The Balloon Factory'.
Last edited by Mechta; 16th Dec 2012 at 13:50.
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I started at RAE Farnborough in 1981, and moved over to Pyestock in 1983 at the start of the third year of my apprenticeship, Pyestock having just become RAE rather than NGTE.
One of the departments in which I did a three month stint was Chemical and Petroleum Testing. This would involve running engines on any fluid used by the MOD (and I mean any) to determine its flammability and lubricating properties.
This department is the one which had previously been at Cobham, (Petroleum Chemistry and Technology Division, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Cobham, Surrey (formerly the Admiralty Oil Laboratory).
Another department was known as 'Diesels', This, I believe is the one which moved from West Drayton, where it had been the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory. We ran endurance testing on Paxman Valenta or 'SSK' diesel engines for submarine generating sets, and the regular stripping down of these 2000 hp,16 cylinder, 210 litre engines was a real sod. I remember trying to push the piston and conrod out with some crummy double pivoted tool which didn't want to stay straight. Other work in this department included testing outboard motors for the Royal Marines 'rigid raider' boats and testing a Ford 1.6 diesel engine driven fire pump (that was great fun, and needless to say, got everyone very wet).
After Pyestock I moved back to Farnbough as a trainee UAV pilot (we called then UMAs (UnManned Aircraft) at the time. I had several trips to Pendine Sands to operate them, although they had been flown at Greenham Common, Larkhill and Suffield in Alberta before I joined that Dept.
A promotion led to a change of Dept and working on night vision goggles and Forward looking Infra Red (FLIR). We did trials in Cyprus ("Mechta, we're doing going to do a trial in Cyprus, how long do you want to go for?" "Cyprus? Permanently, please...")
Later trials took us up to West Freugh ('Wet Through') where we tested the TIALD pod on the Buccaneer in preparation for the first Gulf War. Working at West Freugh involved regular trips in the Navaho Chieftain ferry aircraft, with stops at Boscombe Down, Aberporth, Llanbedr and Warton. The latter had the EAP and a Lightning chase plane on the apron at the time. On one trip into Llanbedr, we had to loiter whilst a Jindivik was recovered, giving us a grandstand view.
I baled out of Farnborough before it became DERA, and from my contact with friends who stayed on, I did the right thing, as many got very depressed watching the decline of the place whilst waiting for redundancy.
I did get a brief spell back working for QinetiQ on the Zephyr solar powered UAV, which was very interesting, working with a very enthusiastic and dedicated team.
With regard to names, many of the older people with whom I worked, had worked with people who would only refer to it as 'The Balloon Factory'.
One of the departments in which I did a three month stint was Chemical and Petroleum Testing. This would involve running engines on any fluid used by the MOD (and I mean any) to determine its flammability and lubricating properties.
This department is the one which had previously been at Cobham, (Petroleum Chemistry and Technology Division, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Cobham, Surrey (formerly the Admiralty Oil Laboratory).
Another department was known as 'Diesels', This, I believe is the one which moved from West Drayton, where it had been the Admiralty Engineering Laboratory. We ran endurance testing on Paxman Valenta or 'SSK' diesel engines for submarine generating sets, and the regular stripping down of these 2000 hp,16 cylinder, 210 litre engines was a real sod. I remember trying to push the piston and conrod out with some crummy double pivoted tool which didn't want to stay straight. Other work in this department included testing outboard motors for the Royal Marines 'rigid raider' boats and testing a Ford 1.6 diesel engine driven fire pump (that was great fun, and needless to say, got everyone very wet).
After Pyestock I moved back to Farnbough as a trainee UAV pilot (we called then UMAs (UnManned Aircraft) at the time. I had several trips to Pendine Sands to operate them, although they had been flown at Greenham Common, Larkhill and Suffield in Alberta before I joined that Dept.
A promotion led to a change of Dept and working on night vision goggles and Forward looking Infra Red (FLIR). We did trials in Cyprus ("Mechta, we're doing going to do a trial in Cyprus, how long do you want to go for?" "Cyprus? Permanently, please...")
Later trials took us up to West Freugh ('Wet Through') where we tested the TIALD pod on the Buccaneer in preparation for the first Gulf War. Working at West Freugh involved regular trips in the Navaho Chieftain ferry aircraft, with stops at Boscombe Down, Aberporth, Llanbedr and Warton. The latter had the EAP and a Lightning chase plane on the apron at the time. On one trip into Llanbedr, we had to loiter whilst a Jindivik was recovered, giving us a grandstand view.
I baled out of Farnborough before it became DERA, and from my contact with friends who stayed on, I did the right thing, as many got very depressed watching the decline of the place whilst waiting for redundancy.
I did get a brief spell back working for QinetiQ on the Zephyr solar powered UAV, which was very interesting, working with a very enthusiastic and dedicated team.
With regard to names, many of the older people with whom I worked, had worked with people who would only refer to it as 'The Balloon Factory'.
When at Chobham did you work on anything else out of interest ? , shame its all going to be bulldozed over to make way for homes.
He said Cobham not Chobham. Chobham was the MVEE site at Longcross which is now to be (possibly) re developed; Cobham is some 6 or so miles further east.
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yes sorry , cobham . Getting confused 
Would be intressting to know where abouts in 'Cobham' as the airfiled is Vickers but the establishment site is where? I seem to recall naval engineering was in 'Cobham'
Would be intressting to know where abouts in 'Cobham' as the airfiled is Vickers but the establishment site is where? I seem to recall naval engineering was in 'Cobham'
It looks as if the Cobham site evolved from Fairmile Marine during the war according to this:
Noel Macklin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
with the oil testing laboratory moving there in 1968 from this:
Emerald | Industrial Lubrication and Tribology | AOL 74: Admiralty Oil Laboratory Comes of Age
I never visited the Cobham site, but did drive past it on a few occasions.
Looking back, I was very fortunate with the variety of departments in which I worked. The move to Pyestock was just the result of lucky timing, whilst the move to UAVs was the result of constant badgering of all and sundry by me. The move to night vision was down to a fellow model flier in the establishment club tipping me off about an as yet un-advertised position being created in a department which did lots of trials work.
Even so, compared to Mechta Senior's variety of work, starting as a Flight Test Observer in Sunderlands to see how hard they could land (alight?) one (until they broke it!), flying in the Comet after they started crashing and before they knew why, a trip to Sudan in an Ashton to test air conditioning, and a spell on HMS Eagle doing noise testing, mine looked a bit tame.
It was a great place to work, and for many of us it was as the song says, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone".
Noel Macklin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
with the oil testing laboratory moving there in 1968 from this:
Emerald | Industrial Lubrication and Tribology | AOL 74: Admiralty Oil Laboratory Comes of Age
I never visited the Cobham site, but did drive past it on a few occasions.
Looking back, I was very fortunate with the variety of departments in which I worked. The move to Pyestock was just the result of lucky timing, whilst the move to UAVs was the result of constant badgering of all and sundry by me. The move to night vision was down to a fellow model flier in the establishment club tipping me off about an as yet un-advertised position being created in a department which did lots of trials work.
Even so, compared to Mechta Senior's variety of work, starting as a Flight Test Observer in Sunderlands to see how hard they could land (alight?) one (until they broke it!), flying in the Comet after they started crashing and before they knew why, a trip to Sudan in an Ashton to test air conditioning, and a spell on HMS Eagle doing noise testing, mine looked a bit tame.
It was a great place to work, and for many of us it was as the song says, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone".
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When at Chobham did you work on anything else out of interest ? , shame its all going to be bulldozed over to make way for homes.
.
Last edited by Hobo; 23rd Apr 2013 at 21:35.