Short Belfast
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Cunning Artificer
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One of the fleet had a de-icing failure on a trip back across the alps. The tail got steadily heavier and the speed fell down and down - but the stall warning never operated at the speed (or lack of it) quoted in the manual. We then spent many happy hours investigating, measuring and test flying to set up the stall warning to operate at a higher margin. I recall putting our test gear on the flight deck with loads of wires sprouting out of the electrical "wardrobe" next to the Flt Eng's station. We then went flying or I should say stalling, all over Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. One stall at each flap setting on each stall warning system nearly a dozen each trip I think...
In the course of this adventure we discovered that the Belfast loses 5,000 feet in recovering from a clean stall. I did manage to hang on to my breakfast but kept my packed lunch to eat in the crew room later. When the Belfasts went onto the civil register the CAA were so alarmed by these stall characteristics they insisted on a stick pusher - but then the Redhill mob would have wanted a stick pusher on the Spitfire if they'd had any say.
The Belfast was a dreadful beast to work on but we got lots of overseas detachments doing engine changes. Up until 1974, 364 held the record - five engine changes on one Eastabout through Oz and Honkers. I did the one in Gan - it took us five days to adjust the take-off power. Rolls Royce provided charts that went right down to minus 35 but only went up to plus 25. The lowest temperature ever recorded at Gan was 27, so we had to interpolate and do the runs at 2 am until we got it right. (The Rolls Royce charts worked fine for the guys who got the engine change in Gander though.)
The Belfast was a good test of engineering skills, that's for sure...
BTW, in the 70's we didn't call them Belslows, on Brize LSS they were known as "Belslugs."
In the course of this adventure we discovered that the Belfast loses 5,000 feet in recovering from a clean stall. I did manage to hang on to my breakfast but kept my packed lunch to eat in the crew room later. When the Belfasts went onto the civil register the CAA were so alarmed by these stall characteristics they insisted on a stick pusher - but then the Redhill mob would have wanted a stick pusher on the Spitfire if they'd had any say.
The Belfast was a dreadful beast to work on but we got lots of overseas detachments doing engine changes. Up until 1974, 364 held the record - five engine changes on one Eastabout through Oz and Honkers. I did the one in Gan - it took us five days to adjust the take-off power. Rolls Royce provided charts that went right down to minus 35 but only went up to plus 25. The lowest temperature ever recorded at Gan was 27, so we had to interpolate and do the runs at 2 am until we got it right. (The Rolls Royce charts worked fine for the guys who got the engine change in Gander though.)
The Belfast was a good test of engineering skills, that's for sure...
BTW, in the 70's we didn't call them Belslows, on Brize LSS they were known as "Belslugs."
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I was based at Sydenham when the Belfast made its maiden flight. It landed at Aldergrove, from which to complete its flight test programme. Lots of journos crowded round the aircraft steps as the TP, Dennis Taylor (?), descended. Their main question was, "What's it like to fly the world's largest aircraft?" His reply was, "I just fly the front end and the rest follows."
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During GW1 had many happy occasions stuffing stuff into the back of the Belslow. Came in alternately with the 'Guppy', a cavernous but utterly utterly useless aircraft. The Guppy always 'weighted' out way before bulkout!! Not a lot of use when you are loading pallet of Challenger armour!!
Last load that I saw going in the back of a Belsow was an 'Aardvark' mine clearance vehicle....a really serious piece of kit!!
Smudge
Last load that I saw going in the back of a Belsow was an 'Aardvark' mine clearance vehicle....a really serious piece of kit!!
Smudge
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
We even leased them for the Falklands too. One day it pitched up at ASI complete with a periscope for an O-boat. 57 feet no bending, no problem. Now how long is a Mk 1 C130 freight bay.
The movers managed bless 'em helped I suspect by the resident SLATs, a loadie.
How did they do it?
The movers managed bless 'em helped I suspect by the resident SLATs, a loadie.
How did they do it?
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Cunning Artificer
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My father was a line Chief in 69-70 and always referred to it as the Belslow. Perhaps a name change at some point?
I think the slug epithet used in the LSS crew-room came from them slithering slowly but surely around the world, leaving behind a trail of knackered engine fitters and slimy patches on the pans. Unlike the beautiful and graceful Shiny Tens that we also looked after.
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Yes, the old pot and pan always preferred the VC10 to work on but enthused more about the Belfast, and I do remember him cursing the engines so your slug theory might well be right.
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We even leased them for the Falklands too. One day it pitched up at ASI complete with a periscope for an O-boat. 57 feet no bending, no problem. Now how long is a Mk 1 C130 freight bay.
The movers managed bless 'em helped I suspect by the resident SLATs, a loadie.
How did they do it?
The movers managed bless 'em helped I suspect by the resident SLATs, a loadie.
How did they do it?
http://heavyliftcargo.com/belfastspecs.htm
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I saw a couple of Warriors or three on the ground at Batin airfield in Abu Dhabi in the summer (August/September) of 1990 in preparation for 50Deg C plus desert hot weather work up and trials (???) before the liberation of Kuwait in the February of 1991. Also met a motley crew of about 15 ITDU and GKN/Alvis ? personnel at the Gulf Hotel and the sober one who flew with it from UK told me they had squeezed all their kit into the Belfast at Stanstead a couple of days earlier. The civvy engineer also noted that the Belfast's ASI was calibrated in furlongs per fortnight.
He also told me that they fitted and flew a Warrior in a civvy C-130 which led me to question even his ex REME sobriety.
He also told me that they fitted and flew a Warrior in a civvy C-130 which led me to question even his ex REME sobriety.
Bigt,
No, I think you'll find that they were all hand built by Shorts in Belfast and therefore all had very subtly different flying characteristics.
No, I think you'll find that they were all hand built by Shorts in Belfast and therefore all had very subtly different flying characteristics.
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I had a nasty surprise when I visited Cosford recently as this Belfast appeared to be missing. I was relieved to hear that it is now tucked up safe and warm in the new Cold War Hangar. 
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/P1011341.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/P1011343.jpg
This is probably a better photo, I found it lurking in my photo files from a year or two ago. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/P1010123.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/P1011341.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/P1011343.jpg
This is probably a better photo, I found it lurking in my photo files from a year or two ago. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...t/P1010123.jpg
Last edited by DX Wombat; 20th Oct 2006 at 14:10. Reason: Apparently the links didn't work - sorry. They work now.Edited again to add further photo link.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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Belfast Formation
Not many heavy squadrons can say they put up all of the manufactured fleet on a formation sortie. 53 Sqdn achieved this with the Belfast on 23rd December 1971. You can imagine the effort that was needed to make this happen and not without just a few ADD`s and LIM`s. The ten captains mustered in excess of 43,000 flying hours.
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I was more thinking along the line that one frame was the `preferred` one for say a puma move - whereas another was more suited to heavy boxes with a different roller floor. - all history now
While on Britannias in the late sixties I was called out to fly two Tynes to two Belfasts stuck in Bahrain.We arrived in record time due to strong tail winds and a very quick turnround at Akrotiri.The engines were offloaded and the combined payload of both Belfasts transferred to our Brit for the flight home. This was before the drag reducing strakes were added to the rear fuselage of th Belsow. These not only improved the cruising speed, but also also raised the 3 engine stabilising height over Turkey when carrying respectable payload.
Last edited by brakedwell; 16th Oct 2006 at 06:28. Reason: grammar
BEagle
Re. your Beverley 'taking tea' tale - possibly apochryphal, although the original was not just afternoon tea, but a full three course lunch served on trestle tables, being recovered from Aden, with accompanying folding chairs. The originator was one of our more ingenious AQMs (WTH is a 'steward'???). The speed, by the way, was THREE figures, not two - although, admittedly, those three figures were relatively low.
Re. your Beverley 'taking tea' tale - possibly apochryphal, although the original was not just afternoon tea, but a full three course lunch served on trestle tables, being recovered from Aden, with accompanying folding chairs. The originator was one of our more ingenious AQMs (WTH is a 'steward'???). The speed, by the way, was THREE figures, not two - although, admittedly, those three figures were relatively low.