Did You Fly The Vulcan?? (Merged)

[Tankertrashnav]

At the first reunion in 2004 we had a man who had worked for HP actually constructing the Victor, and he was very welcome, as you would be too.

[Tankertrashnav]

V Force Reunion 2012
As promised the reunion website is now up and running again - here's the link V-Force Reunion. Please take a look, all the info we have so far is on the site. We've already had our first booking, so it's never too early to let us know if you'd like to come, even if you can't commit to it yet.

[john huggins]

John Huggins

Hi, I am currently living in Florida, drop me an e-mail at [email protected] be good to hear from you.

[Vulcan_baby]

Hi,
I've just joined the forum having been fascinated by it for a couple of years ever since I googled my Dad and his name came up in one post. I must apologise for the number of questions I'm about throw out.

Firstly, the thread says there are 87 pages but I can't seem to get past page 82. Are the remaining ones locked out or there are actually only 82 pages?

I'm interested in any stories anyone might have about having served with Dad or interesting tidbits. (obviously, if there are things that should only be Pm'd then I'm happy to receive them that way)

My initial search turned up a picture of him with a winning crew in one of the competitions but I can't remember which one. I know I'd spotted it and sent him a link but can't find either now. I'd like to collect any pictures there may be out there as I only have a couple including the Queen's birthday flight crew picture where they were the leading plane. It would be nice for my son to have pictures of Grandpa during his service years if they can be found.

Dad is Adrian 'Taff' Traylor AEO who was Flying Officer at Waddington on 101 and Instructor on OCU at Scampton. We were posted to Malta '72 to '74 and he was then posted to 51SQN RAF Wyton onto Nimrods (for anyone interested, one of his OCU Vulcans, XM575, is the one at East Midlands Aeropark where I am a member of the volunteers association and one of his Nimrods from Wyton is flying into NEMA on Tuesday and following decommissioning will be living with us shortly). Dad is still hale and hearty and living just outside Cognac. He's over occasionally, was at the last V-Force reunion and I have told him about the next. He'll also be over with us the first weekend in september if anyone would like to catch up. PM me if interested.

I'm also wondering if the Vulcan that was mentioned having gone down in Northumberland (VERY early in the thread and been watched by a forum member whilst at school) is the one that is mentioned in Vulcan 607 at the beginning where a crew bails out?

I'm amazingly grateful to everyone who has had anything to do with getting XH558 back into the sky because it has not only brought me misty-eyed memories of being very young and hearing that amazing sound, but it has meant that my 5 year old son has had a couple of chances to experience some of my childhood memories. In fact, at RAF waddington Airshow last sunday (3rd July) it was him who leapt up and shouted 'It's the Vulcan Daddy' almost the second that she powered her engines for take off. That wonderful howl hadn't even started at that point. Guess who was a VERY proud daddy at that moment!

Thanks for your help in advance all and thanks for the awesone recollections I have so far read.

[BEagle]

Firstly, the thread says there are 87 pages but I can't seem to get past page 82. Are the remaining ones locked out or there are actually only 82 pages?

Those are the classified pages referring to our chemtrail operations of the 1960s....






























...actually, it's nothing of the sort ! The cause is a known bug in the website software. Just click 'Last' to see the most recent page.

[Pontius Navigator]

Vulcan Baby, see PM

[Barksdale Boy]

VB

I had the great pleasure of flying with your father on my first tour and his second on 101 sqn from April 1968 to April 1970. The Bomb Comp you mention occurred just after we had arrived on the squadron and were still non-op. Taff flew with another crew, Mick Hibberd's I think, and they won the Comms trophy. He was an AEO of the highest calibre, but could be irritating on the subject of Welsh rugby, then in its heyday. I'm sure I must have some pictures of him somewhere; I'll look them out and get back to you. I haven't seen him since 1974 - I hear that like me he has thickened somewhat at the girth.

[forget]

Vulcan baby, I believe the competition photo you mention was posted by me from a '60s Air Clues. I still have it and I'll knock up a hi-res copy for you. But first - can anyone see this post.

For some reason (I think) I'm the only one who can see my efforts.

PS. I do remember your Dad. I fixed the radio and ECM stuff he broke every time he flew - and from Rugby.

[Vulcan_baby]

Barksdale Boy, thanks for that (I should really get him on here shouldn't I? haha). He mentioned that particular competition and as you can imagine he is still a little sore about the final outcome. He went AEO for that crew when theirs went sick, the crew came last in the Nav competition but were redeemed when Dad won the Comms trophy. The crew won a trip to Perth , Western Australia, and took THEIR OWN AEO, not him. I think the phrase he used about he and his crew was 'spitting blood'. Nice to know that gratitude and honour were seen there. Without him they'd have sunk. But hey-ho. Maybe a measure of guilt has been felt ever since, we can but hope. Don't worry, by the way, he's still as nuts on Rugby as he ever was but obviously the achievements of the Welsh teams have not lived up to those heady days. It's more fun in his household now as my stepmother is Scottish and also very into Rugby. Makes for some very intense moments during certain matches, lol.

Another name he has mentioned is Hugh Prior, Martin Wither's AEO, who will have endured six weeks of Dad banging on about the various instruments, lol.

I will attempt to get him to register and join in the conversations so there can be a number of re-acquaintances made. He's having a few computer nightmares at the moment as someone 'fixed' his computer and, despite wanting to remain with XP, the person put a dodgy copy of Windows 7 on and it's knackered his home tower. The laptop he's using is not great. I'm taking him shopping for a new one in September.

By that way, I think I may have mentioned earlier, September 4th is an open day at East Midlands Aeropark and and has said he'd like to go as the Nimrod R1 will be sitting pretty there by then. XM575 is the pride of the park there. How long we'll be there I don't know (5 year olds are notoriously difficult to pin down and mine is no exception but ALWAYS has to be there) but if anyone else fancies going then it might be a nice meet. If anyone has any 575 stories. memories, pictures then I know the Aeropark will be over the moon to know anything. I bought the Haynes book about the Vulcan and one of the first pictures has 575 in anti-flash white and they were ecstatic.

[Vulcan_baby]

An extra about the crew in Thunderball...... I mentioned Mr Mills, being the pilot that is in shot the longest, climbing aboard. His name is Antony 'Tony' Mills. Not to be confused with the one who joined up in the early 80s only to be flying a desk fairly soon after. Our Tony left the RAF in 1979 to fly with Monarch Airlines until retiring in 2000. More than that I can't add, the internet is now such a minefield of possible information that you need to try loads of permeations of search words and tonight I am stopping after a couple of hours. Tired.

[Vulcan_baby]

Circa 1969 101 Waddington



The crew of the leading plane on the Queen's birthday flypast 1971

[PPRuNe Pop]

Please re-size these photos to no more than 850x850. They widen the pages.

[PPRuNe Pop]

Thanks BEags.

We do our best to make the owners get rid of the few irritations we have but it doesn't always work - or at least THEY don't!

Cheers,

PPP

[Pontius Navigator]

Ricky Crowder in the centre I see, he was at the Newark reunion last year.

Note the sartorial attire of our intrepid aviators. Blue flying suits, green ones, open necked shirts etc etc. The Polos didn't come in till late '72-'73. Now had they been a static crew for a VIP that would have been different.

Looking closer the plotter also seems to be modelling the dark grey temperate climate flying suit. Not bad, 5 crew and at least 4 different outfits.

[Yellow Sun]

Looking closer the plotter also seems to be modelling the dark grey temperate climate flying suit. Not bad, 5 crew and at least 4 different outfits.

It's an OCU crew, what do you expect

YS

[Pontius Navigator]

YS, ah! IIRC Ricky was CI was he not. Who is the other pilot with him, looks familiar?

[Blacksheep]

It's an OCU crew, what do you expect

They're the smartest looking Vulcan crew I've ever seen. I especially like the lovely best blue SD Caps. So much smarter than the proper ones that get stuffed in the Nav Bag while airborne.

[Barksdale Boy]

PN

I think that at the time the QB flypast photo was taken Ricky Crowder was CFI (note the Sqn Ldr rank braid). However, I'm fairly certain he was CI later. I can't remember who the CI was in 1971.

[Pontius Navigator]

BB, my eyes are dim, I cannot see, I had not got my specs with me.

[Vulcan_baby]

Thanks to Mum, who is with us today, the unknown chappy is John LeBrun. He was a French-Canadian (we believe) and used to live round the corner from us in North Hykeham.