TV Heads-up/Reminder - Guy Martin: Last Flight Of The Vulcan Bomber

[morton]

Just watched Guy Martin and the last Vulcan flight. Some great air-to-air filming but it was also good to see a bit more of the ‘tyre-kickers’ view of the Aircraft. Seeing him opening a Hangar door brought back memories. Normally opening the Hangar doors was just the warm up before dragging the jacks into place and the cry of ‘Up a penny’ umpty-ump times. But at least we were inside and not suffering another 90+ minutes start checks on the OCU trying to shelter from the wind and rain behind an undercarriage door. Or trying to get warm standing under the Rover exhaust and then not being allowed back into the Line office because the fumes had permeated through everything.

From viewing this and other public displays the Aircraft was always immaculately presented. Not always the case during its operational life. The bane of any Squadron (or Centralised Servicing as it was when I started on them) erk was to have all Aircraft serviceable. Once the Line office had been tidied and cleaned what was there to do then? Knock off early and help NAAFI profits by supporting the Pigs bar? No chance!

Split into teams and assigned an Aircraft we were each issued a tub of Wadpol and the team bucket of rags to clean the underside of the Aircraft. Deep joy! And if you were really lucky you got to clean behind the R/H Undercarriage where the Rover blackened everything. I don’t think our hands ever washed clean – it was just the skin peeling and being replaced with new skin that made us look clean again.

But we could never get them as clean as the Aircraft presented to (I think) the Duke of Kent at Scampton back in 1972 or 73. One Aircraft from each of the Squadrons was parked on Echo dispersal (the OCU pans) The Aircraft went into the Hangar and had what looked like complete resprays. The undercarriages were also immaculate and were the tyres painted gloss black or did someone have to ‘Bull’ them up? Don’t know but they all looked brilliant. Even 1066 scrubbed up well!