Control locks etc etc
Chugalug2:- The four MK4 Hastings (VIP version, max passenger accommodation 12 persons) were, in order of production, WD500 and WJ324-6. In May '52 I signed for and collected 325 from the MU at Aston Down, listed as follows on its inventory file:
Airframe Hastings, 1
Engines Hercules, 4
Plugs sparking 112
Nothing else on the list at all, while the F700 recorded a total of four hours 25 minutes flying time – virtually straight off the factory floor. My crew & I subsequently delivered it to the Far East Comm Sqdn at Changi, where it passed the next three years. The other three spent their working lives with 24 Sqdn, although over time the Changi aircraft was rotated with the others and one went to Aden as the C in C's aircraft.
Danny42c:- Interesting to hear that there was a P&W 'family' sound, common to all their power plants. Supremely reliable units too, and capable of withstanding much abuse (example to follow in my GPU instalment).
Internally operated control locking systems of various types became general in later aircraft. The Hastings was one of the first, and although effective and simple to operate it could be deadly if the correct unlocking procedure was not followed, a fault later corrected by a much overdue mod. As for the Dakota water drains, yes it was a task normally carried out by ground crew as part of their pre-flight but one always checked this with them verbally; I did occasionally do it myself, but one then had to scrabble about looking for some wire-locking kit!
I have never had an explanation as to why the Dak was so prone to water in the fuel tanks, a problem I don't recall on other types; my theory is that it was down to the filler caps being flush with the wing top surface thus allowing penetration of rain water if the sealing ring was defective, as opposed to the more usual practice of them being buried beneath a hinged flap. There was one particular occasion on which we were delayed for 24 hours passing through Akyab, during which no less than 16 inches of rain was recorded; the subsequent pre-departure water drain check took a good 15 minutes before the drain cocks dispensed avgas rather than water, and a look at the filler caps showed the sealing rings were indeed badly perished. No spares were available, and later we had the un-nerving experience of one engine intermittently cutting out while flying in rain a few hundred feet above the sea while attempting to dodge the worst of the weather.
Ah yes, Loughborough station of fond memory! Now of course a thriving heritage rail centre, with the re-created Great Central about to reconnect to the main network with its projected bridge across the Midland main line.
Many thanks to you both, and all others, for your appreciative comments – it's a small return for the pleasure and enjoyment I have had from reading this thread over the years!