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Old 1st Jan 2004, 04:20
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Flatus Veteranus
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Apart from the rear crew escape system, the only other significant problem with the Vulcan was the configuration of the engine intakes. If you lost one engine due to mechanical failure, there was a very good chance that debris from the failed engine would enter the adjacent engine on the same side and take that one out too.

Yes I did cadge from my Co, Pontius (that's what they were for, weren't they? But he got his own back - twice. Once at the end of a Group excercise when we had a fair amount of gas left, instead of a full stop at Coningsby (where we were operating from while the runway at Waddo was being resurfaced) we rolled and did a practice diversion to our Plan 1 at Finningley, where we arrived just as it was getting light. Co flew an excellent PAR and touched down sweetly and as I poured on the coal for him and we rotated, he flew us straight into a bloody great flock of seagulls. Big thump on the starboard side and No 3 started winding down. I did the appropriate drills and then noticed that the EGT on No 4 was higher than Nos 1 & 2, so I shut that down too. No problem as we were light. Everything seemed OK and the AEO had got the electrics sorted so we drove back sedately to Coningsby with the gear down. I got a bollocking for "gethomeitis" but the real reason was because the Waddo engine-change team was at Finningley (which I did not know). Both engines had indeed been damaged.

The next time was not so amusing. Co was again in the LH seat playing at Captain and we did one of those balls-aching limited aids Nav exercises somewhere up the Norwegian Sea and back while the Navs played with their sextants and stars. The nav terminal point was somewhere in E Anglia at an RBSU after which we were to descend into low level and drop some practice bombs on Wainfleet. The presence of live weapons aboard had been noted on the flight plan. Coming down the N Sea I confess that I had dropped off. It was a fine night at FL 400 or something like that and the fuel howgozit was right on the rails. A high-pitched buzzing woke me up, followed by a bang and engine fire warnings on Nos 2 & 1 Talk about an adrenalin surge! I think I had the HP cocks off even before I called the engine fire drills, and that probably saved the situation. The Co put out a Mayday
and that caused all sorts of panic when its was linked up with our flight plan showing live ordnance on board. We were too far inland to get to a reasonable jettison area. Besides I had pulled the RAT handle and I figured the loss of non-essentials would disable the bomb release system. The fire warning lights went out fairly quickly, which was hopeful, even if it did not prove anything. The HP cocks are the best engine fire extinguishers. Midland had us on the ground at Waddo within about 20 mins. My wife watched all the crash wagons and ambulances tearing around and sounding off, which did not improve her mood because she knew that I was in the only aircraft left airborn.
It transpired that a turbine blade had come adrift and in its passage downstream, stopped its spool dead. The resultant torque forces split the casing allowing hot gases to escape and activate the thermosensors. Debris took out the adjacent engine, but not so violently. I don't think that containment shields were fitted at that time, but I am probably wrong. That was 14 Jan 69 in XM653.
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