How to change the nose wheel on a DH Vampire?
 

I posted this on the engineering and ground ops section but maybe it would be better here?

Our little aviation museum has a couple of DH Vampires and the two seater (T11?) needs a new tube in the nose wheel but we are at a loss as to how to get the wheel off as we cannot see how to take the hollow axle out of the fork.


Is there anyone out there old enough to remember how to do this?


Thanks very much.. you can see a bit about our museum at
Ashburton Activity - Ashburton Aviation Museum

Go and ask any one who operates a DH104 dove, they used the same hard centre groved nose wheel tyre. Perhaps the guys that do the flights over to battle fields

Thats a good idea, thanks, I think I know someone who operates a Dove here in New Zealand. We do have a Devon in another hangar, I will take a close look at that and see if it is the same arrangement as the Vampire.

John,

There's an airworthy Devon at the Tauranga museum.

Simon

PS See PM

Thanks Simon, I am not sure if the Devon is the same or not..

If all else fails.......

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...W8EKp1EQ2dKVHA

Another hint: if you haven't done so already, try posting on the Keypulishing forum about this: Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums - Powered by vBulletin under 'Historic Aviation'.
There are a lot of people on that forum who tinker with Vampires/Venoms/Doves etc.

Edit: It seems that someone else has copied your message to that forum already: Help needed Vampire nose legs.. - Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums

Thanks, I have registered at that site.

Vampire Nose wheel
 

Hello John, I am in the archive at Solent Sky Museum in Southampton, UK and we have a T11 as well as a Sea Vixen in the main building. We also have some Maintenance Manuals for a number of D.H. aircraft so I will see what I can find out on Friday when I next go to the Museum.
David

Thanks for the help everyone. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...ies/thumbs.gif

I made a simple puller today and easily moved the axle. In a few days we will have the necessary trestle etc to hold her up while taking the axle out.

Three blokes on each boom. Lift the nose into the air, sit on the booms, change the nosewheel, let it down again.

Or; how you got the picture of what it was like landing in an FB5 before you took one up for the first time.

Happy days - Swinderby 1956.

Errrr, I am not going to recommend that in our situation......:)

Three blokes on each boom:

That was the standard procedure if you had a wet start. Tilting it on its backside allowed the excess fuel to run out of the jet pipe.

Some of us never over primed it Jock :)

Over-priming ?
 

Whoever primed a Goblin before start-up? Or a Ghost for that matter - "LP and HP cocks on, throttle closed, press button" and off yer goes (or not if it don't light or if the Ghost starter cartridge only gives off foul-smelling clouds of greeny-grey, calling for a rapid (ie QUICK) winding shut of the canopy and possibly some deep breaths of 100% oxygen) ...

Only joking JP :ok: I must admit I never experienced a wet start in a Vampire.

@ Brakedwell
 

Thought you might have been doing a "have-on" - I think I did have one on a Vamp 5, but it was "in a far-off land, a long time ago" ...
Regards,
JP

Just to clear the record, I have often had wet finishes but never a wet start!

However, I have witnessed several Vampire wet-start procedures as previously described when I was at Valley

With Nottingham so near Swinderby bucks were never bothered by wet dreams! :E