BEA Vickers Vanguard
With regard to all the smoke on start up, I would suggest that is completely normal for any jet turbine that has been been out of service for a period as an inhibitor is used to keep the engine serviceable and when first started, that is always the effect. We had the same clouds of smoke on start up on both Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 777 after an engine change on the first ground run.
Worst I ever saw was a BA Tristar at LHR - covered the whole of Terminal 1 with a thick black cloud one evening on start-up
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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I occasionally test building facades with the help of a Rolls Royce Griffon at Vinci testing facility in Leighton Buzzard. Great sound, it used to be at Taywood Engineering. Another test facility in Telford called UL Solutions formally Wintech has a DC6 Double Wasp for same purpose a different sound but equally pleasant. Both are very smoky when starting and shed quite a bit of oil.
Cheers
Mr Mac
Cheers
Mr Mac
Did you ever cross paths with 'Throttles Norton' in Engineering? So called as back in the day ground engineers were allowed to taxi the aircraft and he [allegedly] regularly brought the Vanguards back to the engineering base from the cargo area, without the use of a ground tug...hence his nickname
I occasionally test building facades with the help of a Rolls Royce Griffon at Vinci testing facility in Leighton Buzzard. Great sound, it used to be at Taywood Engineering. Another test facility in Telford called UL Solutions formally Wintech has a DC6 Double Wasp for same purpose a different sound but equally pleasant. Both are very smoky when starting and shed quite a bit of oil.
Did you ever cross paths with 'Throttles Norton' in Engineering? So called as back in the day ground engineers were allowed to taxi the aircraft and he [allegedly] regularly brought the Vanguards back to the engineering base from the cargo area, without the use of a ground tug...hence his nickname
IIRC it's a chap from Cumbria(?) who's got several running aero-engines. From memory he's got a Merlin, a Griffon, a Hercules and I believe a Welland.
He used to post as MerlinPete on the FlyPast forum before the destruction.
Join Date: Jun 2007
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I am pretty sure they have never been off the sites of the test rigs apart from the Griffon moving from Uxbridge to Leighton Buzzard. I first tested at Uxbridge with the Griffon in 1987 and it had been there a few years then already.
They are on wheeled stands and are positioned in front of the facades to be tested and there is a a gantry with spray bars in front of the engine to simulate rain fall. The rear of the facade is boxed in a depressurised to try and force a leak in the facade which you monitor from inside the test rig.
Always fun to hear them crank up especially the Griffon.
Cheers
Mr Mac
