Shorts Belfast - why?
Every so often I browse the net for the SC5 Belfast and it was with great excitement that I found this site and this particular thread.
I should explain that I worked in Shorts Queen's Island Factory from 1962 to 1971 initially as an apprentice and eventually graduating to the drawing office.
The Belfast was in full production in those years.
The many posts on this thread brought back a host of memories.
She was a mighty giant of an aircraft built in an enormous factory or so it seemed to a seventeen year old. The final assembly area was three hundred foot square of unsupported roof and as mentioned in the thread the Belfast was a major problem to move about during its various stages of manufacture. The tail fin was added at the very last stage with the roof structure modified to suit and yes as mentioned to extract the plain from the building a special hydraulic lifting trolley was attached to the front under carriage to raise the nose of the aircraft up and allow the tail fin to clear the roof structure. In fact on the day of the first role out the local morning paper had a head line " SHORTS HAVE BUILT AN AIRCRAFT THAT CANNOT BE REMOVED FROM THE BUILDING" or something to that effect, it caused great amusement in the factory among the staff. There are many memories and stories that I can relate during those years on the shop floor with the Belfast, but the crowning moment was when in the drawing office one early afternoon I received an invite to go on a test flight, initially I thought it was a joke but it did happen. The aircraft trundled up and down a test corridor between the Mourns and Co Fermanagh testing the stall points. It was my first experience of a flight deck in action. When the chimes went off over my head without warning I was very startled. We did not see the take off or landing as we were seated in the crew seats in the galley but were allowed unto the flight deck for most of the flight.
She was a big aircraft and had many faults but she survived went to the Falklands and many other strange places lifting strange shapes and loads in fact I think that the hold shape was her saving grace.
I watched with great anticipation as the work went on at Southend only to be greatly disappointed at the destruction in the end. Is this to be the fate of Hector sitting in Australia.