The Varsity
 

Time for a new "Memories and anecdotes" thread on another unsung aircraft. There should be plenty of takers once word gets around. Ok, who is going to start the ball rolling, ME chaps?


Conan

OK here's one to get the ball rolling:
Varsity landing on one of the short runways at Farnborough; controller notices smoke from main u/c and informs pilot; pilot replies 'yes I think I'll go off the end'. Just like that!

Great Aircraft, however I think this one should really be recoded in the "Saddest Looking aircraft". This was taken at Castle Donnington in Nov 2004, not sure what condition she is in today.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...stleDoning.jpg[/IMG]
Mel

http://www.btinternet.com/~simon.gur...ere63small.JPG
Tangmere 1963.
Clint.

Just found another picture in my collection. WF424, Tangmere again, 1963.
http://www.btinternet.com/~simon.gur...ere63small.JPG
Clint.

Flew with them a few times when I was at Finningley in the mid70's.

Always looked like little piglets in my mind!! :}

VEEPS

It would appear to be a known hazard with the Varsity?
From Air Safety Network.
On the 7th July 1980 Varsity WJ914 collided in midair with a
RAF De Havilland DH-100 Vampire T.11 (XD549). The outer wing section broke off and the crew lost control of the plane. Both aircraft crashed near RAF Oakington.
On the 14 Jun 1966 Varsity T.1 WF334 crash-landed in a field after colliding with a Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, registered G-ATJO.
On the 21 Aug 1969 Varsity T.1 WJ895 collided in midair with Cessna 150F G-ATKF. It returned safely to RAF Oakington but was not repaired. The Cessna also landed safely.

Think you'll find that accident was 20 years earlier - 7/7/1960.

spekesoftly

You are of course correct.My Apologises, not quite got over the penalty shoot out.
Mel

Cessna pilot - instructor Mr Whittaker, ISTR.

Correct; it was 'KF. I did my first powered solo at Cambridge in it in '71(had about 20 hours gliding solo already), and my instructor WAS Neville Whittaker, who pointed out a slight 'crease' on the fuselage caused by the mid-air. Interestingly, Neville was authorised to test fly Varsities when they came into Marshalls for maintenance!

Nit picking MReyn 24050 but I think you will find that the Vampire T 11 was the DH115.

shack

You may well be right information was taken from the Air Safety Network Databank. If so thanks for your input.

Mel

I trained on the Varsity with 4 FTS at Valley in 1962. I remember it as being a nice aircraft to fly and probably best described as matronly.

One of my instructors had a bull-terrier and this beast used to come flying with us. He would lie down between us on the cockpit floor and kept a beady eye on me throughout the flight.

I swear blind that that bl**dy dog played a major part in the debriefing procedure afterwards!

JW411 - you may think it was delightful but others didn't' particularly TP's at Farnborough who disliked flying it at low level; the last Farnborough one did early development work leading to NVG's.

Compared to its 'sister' the 'Pig', it was much improved - better handling, more power etc.
The crew emergency exit was 'interesting' ... a hatch in the floor had to be folded up and then a 'D' handle in a clip was pulled to open the external surface hatch. In the mid 50's a Varsity on a night x-country from Thorney suffered double engine fires and was abandoned. The first man out had a little trouble, initially, 'cos he was standing on the first trap door. When he eventually recognised the problem, he applied a slightly too enthusiastic pull to the 'D' ring for the second hatch and, since it was mainly opened by air flow he overbalanced and departed unintentionally early. All crew eventually departed OK but the skipper was a rather voluble Flt Sgt who had (don't ask!) brought his tool kit on board with him. The Nav reckons that he could hear streams of invective from said skipper as he floated down in the night air. The aircraft made an almost perfect arrival in a stream bed with very little apparent damage. My highest flight on a non-pressurised aircraft was made on the Varsity on a land-away to Gardemoen - 25k and an introduction to sinusitis to boot!!:{

I vaguely remember a tale in Air Clues in the mid-70s of, I think, a solo stude at Oakington who tried to barrel roll one and stuffed up badly. He landed ok but the aircraft had wrinkles all over it and a corrugated wing and was written off. :uhoh:

Anybody any further?

Then there was the sorry saga of WF426; a ground mechanic (allegedly from the Indian Air Force) decided one Sunday afternoon at Thorney Island to go flying on his own and so demonstrate how good he was at flying aeroplanes. This would hopefully persuade someone in authority that he should be sent on a pilot's course. It has to be said that Plan A contained some muddled thinking.

He got airborne OK but had some difficulty reuniting WF426 with Thorney Island. After several failed approaches he decided to head east whilst he came up with Plan B. Sadly, he ran out of fuel and killed himself and a couple of people on the ground somewhere near Beauvais.

I believe the date was 05 April 1955.

In the early 1970s, in "Detachment Days" at Aldergrove, the Station was still home to 23 MU, who despite the "troubles", fettled Canberras and Phantoms for the RAF. The Canberra MTP, one Bernie Standen also flew the MU's "hack"/air taxi, Varsity WJ 898, known as "Wilhelmina."

Whenever a second pilot was needed, Bernie would come to 72's crewroom to see if anyone fancied a day out of the Province. And so it came to pass that Flying Officer Teeters found himself in the right hand seat of Wilhelmina en route from Aldergrove to Leuchars to pick up the crew who had just delivered a Phantom.

A little way into the flight, the following conversation ensues:

Bernie: You have control Teeters, I'm bursting for a slash, I'm nipping back to the Elsan.
Fg Off Teeters: Bernie, we're in the middle of Glasgow's zone, and I'm a helicopter pilot.
Bernie: Just hold her steady, I won't be long - and don't answer any calls from ATC while I'm away - that way they'll keep other aircraft out of our way!

And the return flight finished with an "ILS" flown on the Decca roller map, much to the confusion of ATC at EGAA, 'cos they thought the iLS was off-line for maintenance! And you try and tell that to young folk today......

The Varsity
 

The only experience I've had of the Varsity was an AEF with the air cadets on our annual summer camp at RAF Linton on Ouse in 1971.I think the best bit was lying prone in the ventral pod pretending to be a Lancaster bomb aimer on a raid.A little worrying as I was 28 at the time(only joking) Sadly,my thoughts on seeing the name "Varsity"also bring to mind the fact that our CO,Ralph Reid Buckle was killed co-piloting one back in 1984,also on board an ex cadet Neil Kingsville.I think there were about a dozen people on board,most died in the crash but if I remember right there were a couple of survivors.Anybody out there know the facts?