Vanguard G-APEP arrival at Brooklands
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Here's a scan of an original Vickers-commissioned artist's impression, from the mid-to-late 1950s, of then as yet uncompleted Vanguard, in flight. Quite a rarity I think and I was very pleased to buy this recently at an aviation fair.
Vanguard, original artist's impression, in flight, from late 1950s e | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Such a shame the Vanguard came on the scene just as passengers were going mad for jets, stunting its sales to just 43.
Vanguard, original artist's impression, in flight, from late 1950s e | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Such a shame the Vanguard came on the scene just as passengers were going mad for jets, stunting its sales to just 43.
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Here's a crackin' good read whose characters include the world's last airworthy Vanguard (or 'Vickers Vibrator', as we who flew it christened it):
The Damocles Plot
The Damocles Plot
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"The Damocles plot" appears only to be available on Kindle-which I don't do either, but I did use the services of a "book finder" some years ago, so if I can track him down (tho he's probably been put out of business by now by Amazon), I'll set him the task of finding a print version. I will revert if he/I succeed.
Ref the "Vickers Vibrator:" you're probably right Discorde, but from the perspective of a child (which I was when I flew several times on Vanguards in the 1960s), it always seemed to me to be a powerful, smooth, quiet, comfortable aircraft which, moreover, made a lovely "purring" sound both inside and out-I'm also a cat lover incidentally. And those huge windows were fantastic for a child!
To hear the sound of the Vanguard's Tynes again, click on this link:
Ref the "Vickers Vibrator:" you're probably right Discorde, but from the perspective of a child (which I was when I flew several times on Vanguards in the 1960s), it always seemed to me to be a powerful, smooth, quiet, comfortable aircraft which, moreover, made a lovely "purring" sound both inside and out-I'm also a cat lover incidentally. And those huge windows were fantastic for a child!
To hear the sound of the Vanguard's Tynes again, click on this link:
"The Damocles plot" appears only to be available on Kindle-which I don't do either, but I did use the services of a "book finder" some years ago, so if I can track him down (tho he's probably been put out of business by now by Amazon), I'll set him the task of finding a print version. I will revert if he/I succeed.
Is that available in print? I don't do Kindling except to use it in locomotive fireboxes to light up.
Vanguard at Brooklands
By coincidence ( I was looking for a different thread) I was with Gary two weeks ago at the North Atlantic Air Race event and we boarded "his" Vanguard, which is still being restored. The engines get started from time to time.
They have a model horse in the forward freight space to represent all the racehorses which this ship transported in its time. The cockpit looks much more gentlemanly than some I have worked in...
They have a model horse in the forward freight space to represent all the racehorses which this ship transported in its time. The cockpit looks much more gentlemanly than some I have worked in...
I don't think the engines have been started up for several years now. The aircraft moved into its current position in the aircraft park in 2004 and since then, the engines have been run a few times. The last time must have been close to 10 years ago now. The main problem is that of finding a servicable starter for a Tyne, if you have one lying about.... But apart from that, the engines were drinking oil at quite a rate too.
The Vanguard is currently hiding within the scaffolding so that any corrosion issues can be dealt with and the airframe can be repainted.
The Vanguard is currently hiding within the scaffolding so that any corrosion issues can be dealt with and the airframe can be repainted.
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As you know, AD, Wilf sold Zulu Charlie to a Chinese fan of the Vibrator. After retiring from airline flying he bought an RV8 and joined a motley group of retired pilots who meet occasionally to set the world to rights over a (non-alcoholic) lunch at a pub conveniently adjacent to the airfields they choose for this purpose. They style themselves the Senior Aviators Group. Needless to say the acronym triggers mirth from some critics (particularly partners), who have also been heard to mutter the disrespectful epithet “Grumpair”. Not sure yet how things will pan out for Wilf. Watch this space!
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As you know, AD, Wilf sold Zulu Charlie to a Chinese fan of the Vibrator. After retiring from airline flying he bought an RV8 and joined a motley group of retired pilots who meet occasionally to set the world to rights over a (non-alcoholic) lunch at a pub conveniently adjacent to the airfields they choose for this purpose. They style themselves the Senior Aviators Group. Needless to say the acronym triggers mirth from some critics (particularly partners), who have also been heard to mutter the disrespectful epithet “Grumpair”. Not sure yet how things will pan out for Wilf. Watch this space!
i was hoping that Meteor’s newly fledged First Officer’s father might have invested.
Given that In Captain Jagger’s assessment ‘Air Freighting was out of the doldrums, for the time being at least’
my fingers remain firmly crossed.
Thanks for a truly remarkable read.
Be lucky
David
Thanks David. Glad you enjoyed Damocles. If there’s sufficient interest, I’ll do a “what they did next” for the main characters. The original version was written almost 30 years ago (on an Amstrad PCW with daisy-wheel printer) - no internet, no emails, no mobile phones &c, so needed a fairly extensive rewrite to update it. Back then it was not difficult to bring to mind operational and tech details about the Vanguard from my own experience of it in the 1970s.
The size of the fuel tanks is probably one of the reasons. A Vanguard will not get much more than 1600 miles out of its tanks, while the Nimrod went up to 5700 miles. Installing extra tanks in the fuselage would eat into the space needed for sonobuoys, sensors and other electronics, so not really a solution. In comparison, the Lockheed Electra could do 2700 miles if not fully loaded. When they developed this into the P-3, it could do 5500 miles, which is significantly more than what the Vanguard had to offer.
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Downwind for 28L
Quite a few years ago I commisioned an oil painting from Nigel at BA.
Still has pride of place on my office wall.
( I believe Nigel may have copied a print that was available at the time as the setting was supposed to be over the Forth Bridges at Edinburgh. Somehow it became North London. )
Still has pride of place on my office wall.
( I believe Nigel may have copied a print that was available at the time as the setting was supposed to be over the Forth Bridges at Edinburgh. Somehow it became North London. )
Last edited by OyYou; 10th Jun 2019 at 08:15.
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Bill Fly
What a coincidence!
I was first introduced to Gary in Oakham last Thursday - at an old RAF duffers' get together. Out of the blue, he commissioned me to do an Air Bridge Vanguard painting for him, which I'm presently researching - which is how I came across this thread!
MG
What a coincidence!
I was first introduced to Gary in Oakham last Thursday - at an old RAF duffers' get together. Out of the blue, he commissioned me to do an Air Bridge Vanguard painting for him, which I'm presently researching - which is how I came across this thread!
MG
Painting
Bill Fly
What a coincidence!
I was first introduced to Gary in Oakham last Thursday - at an old RAF duffers' get together. Out of the blue, he commissioned me to do an Air Bridge Vanguard painting for him, which I'm presently researching - which is how I came across this thread!
MG
What a coincidence!
I was first introduced to Gary in Oakham last Thursday - at an old RAF duffers' get together. Out of the blue, he commissioned me to do an Air Bridge Vanguard painting for him, which I'm presently researching - which is how I came across this thread!
MG
PS first Vanguard I saw was as a small boy at Farnborough. I liked it as they did whispering flypasts to rival the Britannia - I couldn’t stand the racket the jets made. Then I got to fly them...
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Had the opportunity to visit at the Brooklands museum last month, and it was undergoing a refurbishment action in the exterior.
Looks marvelous. The whole museum is awesome.
Looks marvelous. The whole museum is awesome.