Hi
Engines
Can't answer many of the questions I'm afraid - I only flew the end product
The Airframe was brand new, and the jig was set up to repeat multiple cycles of the stress loadings from winch launch cycles as I recall. There was a test rig and Hydraulic jacks which did the flexing and unflexing of components. I saw it only once on a visit to Swanton.
The cycle life was issued by Swanton at the end of the testing. I can only assume that the DT and NDT teams agreed the 27000 launch limit - based on what I am not sure.............. I don't believe that a follow on fatigue programme was in place although obviously usage figures were monitored across the fleet and some balancing undertaken.
and yes - surely the DA should have undertaken this..........
WOW
That figure of around 20,000 launches seems pretty much in line with what my VGS had on their aircraft. As there were more spare Vikings towards the end the balancing of hours across the fleet was a lot easier.
Also the Viking is not a Twin 2 Acro. The Acro has a different wing section. The nearest to the Viking 'off the shelf' would be a Grob 103b.
Thud
We test the hook every day - not every launch, then use it every launch
Hope this helps
Arc