Merlin IIIA accident?
Merlin IIIA accident?
Does anyone recall a ground accident at (Lyneham?) circa 1980s when a ground crew member backed into the rotating prop of a Belgian AF Merlin IIIA? I recall it was a VASS/VASF member and he survived.
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When I was a controller at Eastern Radar (civil) in the 1980s,there was a senior fellow controller,not far off retirement,a really nice bloke of West Indian origin,who at one time,must have been a pilot.I only knew this because on night duties,and at weekends their used to be a portable TV placed on the table behind the radar consoles where we were working,and if there was no traffic on frequency,we would sometimes watch this.
Anyhow,one time there was a film on,with some aviation content,and when a Harvard appeared on-screen,Winston exclaimed 'that's me,I was flying that'
Subsequently,he told a tale of a mechanic he had observed on a ladder,adjusting the tick-over speed on the engine of a C46,and when he stepped down from the ladder,he stepped back through the prop-arc,emerging completely unscathed!
Anyhow,one time there was a film on,with some aviation content,and when a Harvard appeared on-screen,Winston exclaimed 'that's me,I was flying that'
Subsequently,he told a tale of a mechanic he had observed on a ladder,adjusting the tick-over speed on the engine of a C46,and when he stepped down from the ladder,he stepped back through the prop-arc,emerging completely unscathed!
Prop job
I remember it being at Lyneham, he went to remove nose chocks and backed away turning as he went. I can't remember dates or result but believe he had serious injuries.
While we are talking about the danger of props,I will relate this tale;
When I was living in Norfolk ,I was invited by a farmer in the village to become part of a syndicate of 4 to buy and operate a Jodel DR 1050.We each chipped in £1000,and then Kept it in the hangar at Shipdham,EGSA,where it was already based.I had previously flown this aircraft when it was based at Swanton Morley,and members of the flying cub there(I think it was the Norfolk and Norwich Aero club) could rent it by the hour.When we bought it,only 3 of us actually flew the aircraft,the fourth member however was an upholsterer by trade,and he made a nice job of recovering the seats.None of us was particularly well-off,so we only did the minimum of work needed to keep it airworthy and legal,so when the radio became unreliable,we just flew none-radio,not a problem in Norfolk,and when the starter motor failed,we just used to swing the prop.
However,after a year or so,the none-flying member sold his share to a chap who was ,I think an RAF instrument technician from West Raynham,not too far away.John had the barest minimum of powered-flying hours, being a silver C glider pilot,and obtaining a PPL via that route.
Anyhow,one day shortly after John joined the group-I'm not sure I had even met him,Andrew,my farmer friend called and asked if I'd like to go flying?Well,that was a no-brainer,so he picked me up,and we set off for the 10 minute drive to the airfield -his land actually bordered the aerodrome,but by car,it was about a 3 mile drive.As we were driving through Shipdham village,we were overtaken by an ambulance with blue lights and sirens going,as we followed,it turned left into the road that led to the airfield,and Andrew and I looked at each other,and one of us said'I hope there's nothing bad happened at the airfield'.However,the ambulance did indeed turn into the airfield entrance,and we started to become worried.
When we got there,the ambulance crew were loading a patient into the back of their vehicle.We then discovered that John had brought along a passenger,a non-flyer,and had got him to swing the prop! Well,you can probably guess the rest,but thankfully the unfortunate 'swinger' got away with just severe bruising.For sometime thereafter the aircraft was in the hangar,with a large red and white sign hanging from the prop reading "DANGER LIVE MAG" This incident did though force us to dig into our rather shallow pockets and get the starter fixed.However,not the radio,but there is rather a long story attached to that.
When I was living in Norfolk ,I was invited by a farmer in the village to become part of a syndicate of 4 to buy and operate a Jodel DR 1050.We each chipped in £1000,and then Kept it in the hangar at Shipdham,EGSA,where it was already based.I had previously flown this aircraft when it was based at Swanton Morley,and members of the flying cub there(I think it was the Norfolk and Norwich Aero club) could rent it by the hour.When we bought it,only 3 of us actually flew the aircraft,the fourth member however was an upholsterer by trade,and he made a nice job of recovering the seats.None of us was particularly well-off,so we only did the minimum of work needed to keep it airworthy and legal,so when the radio became unreliable,we just flew none-radio,not a problem in Norfolk,and when the starter motor failed,we just used to swing the prop.
However,after a year or so,the none-flying member sold his share to a chap who was ,I think an RAF instrument technician from West Raynham,not too far away.John had the barest minimum of powered-flying hours, being a silver C glider pilot,and obtaining a PPL via that route.
Anyhow,one day shortly after John joined the group-I'm not sure I had even met him,Andrew,my farmer friend called and asked if I'd like to go flying?Well,that was a no-brainer,so he picked me up,and we set off for the 10 minute drive to the airfield -his land actually bordered the aerodrome,but by car,it was about a 3 mile drive.As we were driving through Shipdham village,we were overtaken by an ambulance with blue lights and sirens going,as we followed,it turned left into the road that led to the airfield,and Andrew and I looked at each other,and one of us said'I hope there's nothing bad happened at the airfield'.However,the ambulance did indeed turn into the airfield entrance,and we started to become worried.
When we got there,the ambulance crew were loading a patient into the back of their vehicle.We then discovered that John had brought along a passenger,a non-flyer,and had got him to swing the prop! Well,you can probably guess the rest,but thankfully the unfortunate 'swinger' got away with just severe bruising.For sometime thereafter the aircraft was in the hangar,with a large red and white sign hanging from the prop reading "DANGER LIVE MAG" This incident did though force us to dig into our rather shallow pockets and get the starter fixed.However,not the radio,but there is rather a long story attached to that.
