Viking restoration at Blackbushe

[Senior Paper Monitor]

For those who are not aware (I couldn't find any other reference herein), a team at Blackbushe are in the process of recovering (probably mid-channel as I type) a Viking aircraft for full (non-flying) restoration, details here:

https://blackbusheairport.proboards.com/

https://www.blackbusheheritagetrust.com/

[chevvron]

Already covered in Spectators Balcony

[DaveReidUK]

Albeit anyone expecting to see it from a spectators' balcony is in for a long wait. :O

[Asturias56]

Anyone expecting a Spectators Balcony at Blackbushe will wait even longer - tho' the Cafe is good

[Senior Paper Monitor]

https://blackbusheairport.proboards.com/thread/3/photo-day?page=293&scrollTo=18470

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Splendid images on the above link.

Those of you who have not the energy or inclination to visit the archive on the Bovingdon thread before now might be interested to see these old images of G-AGRW.

https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/354789-raf-bovingdon-1960s-15.html

Post #294

[Asturias56]

https://blackbusheairport.proboards.com/thread/3/photo-day?page=293&scrollTo=18470


needs a bit of work from the look of it

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

If I remember rightly the interior of the Cockpit as such is completely empty - just a shell - no fittings whatsoever.

[sycamore]

I was a member of Luton Flying Club on 22/9/`62,when someone said `Anyone want a trip in a `Viking`,around the area..? `Yes,says I`,`...Right ,,get yourself out to`RW`,and tell the Captain you are his passenger`, said the voice...So ,off I go and meet Captain Rowan and crew,and clamber aboard...`We`re doing an airtest,so don`t worry,we`ll be shutting the engine down and restarting it a couple of times,as it`s just had an engine changed`..!! So off we went,climbed up to about 5000ft,then flew around asymmetric for about 30 minutes,then back home for `tea and medals`....I`m sure ..? it was Autair operated at the time..
I did later in `65 get `stick-time` in RAF Valettas of 52 Sqdn in Borneo as a `co-opted `co-pilot on airdrops,and later on the Valetta of the Transport Flight at AAEE..Happy times...

[BEagle]

The late Sqn Ldr John 'Farmer' Steele was a great family friend and recounted a tale of flying back in a Viking from Paris to Blackbushe some time in the '50s after he'd been to watch an international rugby match.

He was rather surprised to note that an engine was suddenly shut down on the approach, so went forward to investigate...

"No problem, old boy, I haven't done an asymmetric approach and overshoot for a while and need one to keep the training people happy", he was told.
"Ah OK....stewardess, another G&T please - and make it a large one!" replied John.

The single engine approach, go-around and final landing went fine. I guess airlines had a more relaxed manner back then!

[Wycombe]

Despite my moniker, I have almost lifelong links to Blackbushe and have been volunteering with Blackbushe Heritage Trust for just under a year now.

A year ago, we never thought we'd have the aircraft back at Blackbushe so soon, but thanks largely to generous corporate support (how often do you hear that these days?), including the Airport itself, she is now here and the harder/longer-term work begins.

I was lucky enough to be part of the Team of volunteers and trustees that travelled to Bad Voslau a couple of weeks ago to take her apart, and witnessing how tricky some parts of that were leaves me in no doubt that the reconstruction won't be easy.

But, we have a fantastic Group of people involved (most with either a current or past professional or non-professional link to aviation, the Airport, or the aircraft itself), and a great team spirit.

The links already posted above provide the necessary details if you feel motivated to get involved!

Edit: link to BBC News website article Rare 1940s aircraft arrives in UK for restoration (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-65456811?fbclid=IwAR3GU9O3jZLFhwBGrFtj3-jJCa0NoHbVaQgBtG2cqtYpibDwuSPH3KedRpo)

[Planemike]

Wycombe...... Really pleased to read your first hand report on the progress with restoring G-AGRW... It is project very close to my heart as my first ever flight was from Blackbushe in an Airwork Viking G-AIXR..(broken up at Southend in the early 60s)., Left Blackbushe on a foggy morning 05 November 1952 with a final destination of Nairobi reached some two and a half days later... Night stops in Malta & Khartoum (no, I would not want to be there today !!!). Have great memories of the trip.. Same crew all the way through, three in the cockpit and one in the cabin, Helen our stewardess for the trip (fell madly in love with her, as you do at seven years of age!!!) . Spent time "up front" as my Dad was ex RAF aircrew, the same as crew on XR.
The last time I flew LHR - NBO in !983 it took around nine hours with two "up front" and a cabin crew of 15: BA 747. So in 31 years progress from a non-pressurised tail dragger to Jumbo....!!
Very best of luck with continued success of the project.... I hope I have the chance to come down and admire it at some stage.

[Allan Lupton]

Like Planemike my first long flight was in a Viking (as a ten-year-old in 1948 in my case). I have no memory of Blackbushe if that's where we started but we fuelled at Nice, night-stopped in Malta, fuelled at El Adem should have just fuelled at Wadi Halfa but had to night stop as Khartoum, where we should have stopped, had a sandstorm. We went there next day and then stopped at Nairobi and N'Dola before getting to Salisbury, which was were we got off, the aeroplane continuing to Jo'burg next day. Same flight crew throughout and I was invited to visit them at work a couple of times.
It didn't make me want to be a pilot, but did give me an interest in a career in aircraft design which started eight years later at de Havilland - appropriate since, a couple of years earlier, the first flight I had was in a Dragon Rapide from the Isle of Man to Liverpool

[DaveReidUK]

I was lucky enough to be part of the Team of volunteers and trustees that travelled to Bad Voslau a couple of weeks ago to take her apart, and witnessing how tricky some parts of that were leaves me in no doubt that the reconstruction won't be easy.

But, we have a fantastic Group of people involved (most with either a current or past professional or non-professional link to aviation, the Airport, or the aircraft itself), and a great team spirit.

I'm sure the good folks at Brooklands - 17 miles as the crow flies from Blackbushe, and home to both a Viking and Varsity - will be generous with help and advice.

[Wycombe]

I'm sure the good folks at Brooklands - 17 miles as the crow flies from Blackbushe, and home to both a Viking and Varsity - will be generous with help and advice.

Lets hope so, and yes we're in touch (in one way or another) with most of the other places where Vikings and Varsities live today - we have a couple of current BA Flight Deck crew on our team, and for example one of them recently paid a visit to the one in Rand, South Africa, whilst on a layover.

The one that looks in the best nick is the one at the Pakistan Air Force Museum in Karachi.

[Wycombe]

If I remember rightly the interior of the Cockpit as such is completely empty - just a shell - no fittings whatsoever.
It is but not quite. In Austria, we stripped away the false "walls" that had been put up inside the fuselage (including the cockpit) by MacDonalds and found that there is some framework (that would have been behind the instrument panel) still in place.

We have, in the last few days, acquired a throttle quadrant, and some other instrument panel "bits" which will go towards hopefully being able to at least partially rebuild the cockpit in the longer term.

[bean]

It is but not quite. In Austria, we stripped away the false "walls" that had been put up inside the fuselage (including the cockpit) by MacDonalds and found that there is some framework (that would have been behind the instrument panel) still in place.

We have, in the last few days, acquired a throttle quadrant, and some other instrument panel "bits" which will go towards hopefully being able to at least partially rebuild the cockpit in the longer term.
Yes, I saw Captain Bennison playing with the quadrant on the Blackbushe Heritage group link to a BBC report.
Do you know for which Airline(s) he flew Vikings?

[Wycombe]

Wycombe...... Really pleased to read your first hand report on the progress with restoring G-AGRW... It is project very close to my heart as my first ever flight was from Blackbushe in an Airwork Viking G-AIXR..(broken up at Southend in the early 60s)., Left Blackbushe on a foggy morning 05 November 1952 with a final destination of Nairobi reached some two and a half days later... Night stops in Malta & Khartoum (no, I would not want to be there today !!!). Have great memories of the trip.. Same crew all the way through, three in the cockpit and one in the cabin, Helen our stewardess for the trip (fell madly in love with her, as you do at seven years of age!!!) . Spent time "up front" as my Dad was ex RAF aircrew, the same as crew on XR.
The last I flew LHR - NBO in !983 it took around nine hours with two "up front" and a cabin crew of 15: BA 747. So in 31 years progress from a non-pressurised tail dragger to Jumbo....!!
Very best of luck with continued success of the project.... I hope I have the chance to come down and admire it at some stage.
Thanks for the good wishes, and in the meantime there are lots of pics and video of activity over the last few weeks to admire on our Blackbushe Heritage Trust FB Page and on our website (https://www.blackbusheheritagetrust.com/)

[ETOPS]

Yes, I saw Captain Bennison playing with the quadrant

Great to see my namesake Mike is still around - BA didn't seem to be able to cope with two of us so I always got his mail...:rolleyes:

Didn't know about his connection with 'RW.

[Wycombe]

Yes, I saw Captain Bennison playing with the quadrant on the Blackbushe Heritage group link to a BBC report.
Do you know for which Airline(s) he flew Vikings?
My learned fellow volunteers and trustees inform me that Mike only flew Vikings for Autair.

If you'd asked on Tuesday (when a lot of us were at Blackbushe for the homecoming) I could have asked him myself!
We're hoping he's going to do a talk for us in the Autumn

[Cornish Jack]

Just a few reminders of the 'poor relation' workhorse version !

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/799x573/val10_1_f99ecf25aaa9a52a8a6a86cf2c91841f71b1a202.jpg


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/800x616/val09_1_b6770ccb3c299c7903b823372f1b69cfcfb5b29e.jpg


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/599x800/val05_1_e2162cfea9da59e54345a22c5d6a809a7909c869.jpg
Tony Joy
... and just to prove that we were ahead in the 'equal opportunities' game ...

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/593x799/val24_1_56b58604c7a30bb20d937a822c741e58e814e354.jpg
... en-route K'sar - Bahrein.

[treadigraph]

That looks like child labour to me! :ok:

[Wycombe]

Another shout-out to anyone out there who wants to get involved with us at Blackbushe Heritage Trust - we're having a volunteers meeting in the Pathfinder Cafe at Blackbushe on Tuesday-week evening (23rd) at 7pm. All welcome.

Alternatively you can learn more about us, sign-up or donate at our website (http://www.blackbusheheritagetrust.com)!