Stan Evil.
No, this was definitely 1969.
I spent the year working as an agricultural labourer at RAF Scampton waiting to join ATC as a student ATCO.
Great days watching Vulcans.
Here are my initial thoughts from what one day might become an autobiography.
I was upwind of the active runway. No mobile phones or personal radios to keep in touch with Air Traffic Control. Just an eagle eye on the tower, looking for a red light. It was quite common to be beside the runway as a Vulcan took off. Usually the noise of the Olympus was enough to warn you that a departure was imminent. This morning was no exception. I could see and hear the Vulcan as it left the dispersal. I paused and turned the Mountfield Grass Cutter off so I could watch. I could see the beast as it snaked its way along the perimeter track towards the holding point of the active runway. Smoke gathered as the throttles were advanced. It lumbered down the runway towards me. I was not in a position of danger. Air Traffic would never have allowed that. As the aircraft passed abeam me it rotated. Just as the P2 would be calling Vr there was an enormous explosion. I hit the deck and saw flames and debris coming from the rear of the two port engines. The landing gear retracted and the aircraft continued on the runway heading but not climbing. Scampton is built on an escarpment of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The southwesterly runway gives an immediate altitude advantage on departure of several hundreds of feet. This saved the Vulcan. It disappeared from view as it sank towards the ground. I stood waiting for what I thought would be the inevitable thud as it impacted. After what seemed an eternity, in the distance I saw the aircraft in a slow right turn clawing for height. By this time Fire and Rescue Services were on the scene. The Vulcan continued downwind very slowly. Smoke continued to pour from the engines. It touched down normally, coming to a halt almost where the explosion had occurred on departure. As it slowed the entry/exit hatch just aft of the nose wheel opened and a pair of legs appeared. Barely had the aircraft stopped when the first crewmembers were sprinting across the tarmac.
Thanks
Mr G.
