Shackleton taxy run planned - co-pilots seat up for grabs.

[Richard Woods]

(cross posting from Aviation History & Nostalgia)

Hi all,

I know a lot of you are already following our efforts to return WR963 at Coventry to flight. Well, we're now planning 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...turn-to-flight


Kind regards,

Rich

[cornish-stormrider]

And how much do you need, and would charge? Or is it auction based?

[Chainkicker]

Have a look at the kickstarter page CS and the info all seems to be there..

[Sleeve Wing]

Shackleton WR963.

C-S,

As I see it, click on the website mentioned above.
There, besides the video, you will see details of various pledges available to contribute towards the cost.

Hope this helps.

[Timelord]

It makes you wonder how much a young pilot, graduating twenty or thirty years ago, would have paid to AVOID the co pilot's seat of a Shack!

[Chris Kebab]

...how true Timelord, but having got there most did seem to have one heck of a time on 8. A Shack landing anywhere and a party was pretty much guaranteed!

[Shackman]

It makes you wonder how much a young pilot, graduating twenty or thirty years ago, would have paid to AVOID the co pilot's seat of a Shack!

40 years ago I fought to get on it (even with a posting to Vulcans). A true 'I learnt about flying' experience in every way and almost every day, and (initially) almost all at low level. Noisy - yes, 4 (most of the time) Griffons at ear level; hard work - yes, all manual and quite heavy controls (it was said you could tell a Shack pilot by his hairy wrists!); weapons - bombs (28 -1000lb 'ers), torpedoes, guns (20mm Hispanos), depth charges (a stick of six going off was a sight to behold) and if things got really bad there was even a bucket of sunshine (the only thing I DIDN'T drop!). But most of all the crew camaraderie. particularly in the maritime world, and I mean both air and ground crew in that.

I've flown a lot of aircraft and a lot of hours since then, both fixed wing and rotary, but the sense of satisfaction at the end of a Shack sortie has rarely been beaten

[Exascot]

Very interesting post Shackman. Certainly no one on my course 35 yrs ago wanted it. It was the bottom of my 'wishlist'. Perhaps I missed out on some fun. No complaints though.

Once took a prestine, gleaming Queen's Flight Andover into Mahajanga. A local said, 'Ah, Royal Air Force.........Shackleton?' One thinks that HMQ would have been amused. The story may very well have got back to her via HRH PP.

So does one have to pay to drive around in this aircraft or do they pay you?

[Shackman]

Exascot - I think it was the perceived change in the flying; to get in to the MR role you had to be at or near the top of the Multi engine (Varsity) course, whereas for AEW you didn't. In maritime you learnt to operate with the aircraft and crew- MOTU was considered one of the hardest OCU courses to pass at the time, over 6 months and 180 hours flying - whilst the AEW course taught basic handling (thanks to the 'systems approach to flying training') and duties of a copilot (how to work in the galley!) but very little of how the rest of the crew operated. As an aside, at the end of MOTU I knew how to operate at every crew position if necessary; OK, not very well but we had to know the basics of everything.

PS - I assume you mean Majunga (which is a whole thread on its own!).

[Basil]

It makes you wonder how much a young pilot, graduating twenty or thirty years ago, would have paid to AVOID the co pilot's seat of a Shack!

I was thinking of it in '67 but an indulgence to Malta and back in the boom of a Bev terminated any desire to operate in formation with four pistons.
Pity, if only the Nimrod had been on offer

[NutLoose]

Excellent thread and posts Shackman, it brings back a pleasant memory of passing out of my Sootie further training course at RAF Halton, we were all being giving our postings, I went back to Brize and the Ten, then it came to one of the lads who had spent 8 years on Jags and had put down for
Jags, Jags, Jags
and
Lossie, Lossie, Lossie
As his three choices...
Come his turn he was asked do you want the bad news or the good news first? Electing for the good news he is told he is going to Lossie, asking for the bad he is told he is going on Shacks, they then said but cheer up they are sending you on a Griffon course.... Ooohhhh, where he exclaims... RAF Halton was the reply
So we escaped after 9 months and he remained for another 6 weeks lol

[Yellow Sun]

I've flown a lot of aircraft and a lot of hours since then, both fixed wing and rotary, but the sense of satisfaction at the end of a Shack sortie has rarely been beaten

I never did get to fly the Shack, there was only one place on MOTU when I finished Oakington and that went to an ex-siggie. However I did make it into maritime a few years later on the Nimrod.

A few months ago at a little get together 4 of us were discussing our time in the RAF and subsequently. We had all been around a bit and had quite interesting and varied experiences; in short we had all had a "good cold war". However when it came to, "What was the best bit?" we were unanimous, it was maritime.

I know exactly what you mean Shackman, it's something that only those who have gone out over the ocean in a big grey aeroplane truly understand.

YS

[rolling20]

Anyone know what happened to Geoff Pittick? He was a Shack pilot back in the day. He was one of my QFI's on UWAS

[50+Ray]

Geoff Pitick did a long stretch with BAE in Saudi, and then went to Warton - involved in recruiting QFIs for the Sandpit. Not heard of for a good few years now!

[rolling20]

Thanks 50+ Ray. I had heard he was at Warton , but no one seems to have any current details for him. We have had a few reunions and drawn a blank.

[Richard Woods]

Hi all,

With 13 days to go we're just over £8000 towards our structural inspections. We really need your help if we're going to make it!

Besides the taxi run, there are also Griffon pistons, a Michael Rondot Shackleton print, polo shirts and other things available as rewards for different levels of support. We know the Kickstarter platform is a bit clunky to use and requires sign up; but we really would appreciate it if people could take the time - even if its £1 it helps get WR963 closer to flight.

We haven't had the begging bowl out until now, having made it from a dead aeroplane up to a taxying, live and growling Avro masterpiece. We need help to go that little bit further.

Again, help if you can; or share the information if you can't directly.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...turn-to-flight

Kind regards,
Rich

[Richard Woods]

6 days to go and less than £1500 to hit the target! Please help us if you can by pledging or sharing the link, it makes all the difference.

First public engine run of the year is on May 2nd for Airbase's reopening, so if you haven't heard the Griffon growl this year now's your chance! This is only a static run-up - WR963 has moved under her own power a couple of times since september, but not far due to being unable to maintain the pneumatic pressure on the failed side. We intend to have the port brake sorted shortly, so taxi runs will resume asap.

Kind regards,

Rich W

[Richard Woods]

Thanks to all that made it happen, we hit (and surpassed) the target!

As soon as the Kickstarter ends, we'll be cracking on sorting the rewards out, and also getting things organised to get deep inside some parts of WR963 that haven't seen daylight since her last major.

Regards,

Rich

[Hempy]

Second to the Nimrod, the Shack really has a face that only a mother could love. There's something to be said about 4 of Charles Stewart and Frederick Henrys finest in the one place though. Godspeed Richard, I hope she's gracing the sky soon.

[NutLoose]

There may be no Shacks flying at the moment, but at least the RAF still fly their Shack engines.