Nimrod shored up with Teapot
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Nimrod shored up with Teapot
On local teletext news tonight. It reports a Nimrod that was operating within the SW Exercise Areas and had a problem with a hole near door.... so the crew wedged their teapot in it. Apparently according to Kinloss they only put the teapot there for the crews benefit (cold?).
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No idea of the background to this either, but it made the news on Radio 2 this evening!
Hang on, what's this.......http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...st/6206738.stm
Hang on, what's this.......http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...st/6206738.stm
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Good call....but at this time of night, a(nother) post about Nimrod safety just didn't tickle my fancy.....a teapot on the other hand. No, that doesn't sound quite right now does it?
Where did I leave that coat...........
Where did I leave that coat...........
Teapot
For all those who have never had the pleasure of flying on the Kipper Fleet, this is fairly standard practice, use anything to block the sono tube if the pressure door wont shut. This usually happens when a buoy doesnt completely leave the hole. Sometimes the frying pan is used, you just have to decide which one you will not need in the galley, doing without tea for 8 hours needs serious consideration but you dont need a frying pan to heat up the curries
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I wasn't on that particular flight, but the contribution from 1771 Delete isn't quite correct. If a sonobuoy fails to drop it will usually hang below the gate valve, which will then be able to close normally. The jet will then pressurize as req'd, but the problem of the hung up buoy remains cause for concern, which is a different story altogether. If the sonobuoy jams across the gate valve it is a simply case of pushing it down past the gate valve (it might then leave the aircraft). The saucepan/teapot ploy becomes an option when there is nothing in the launcher tube and the gate fails to close, thereby preventing normal pressurization. There are then various choices: fly to the destination unpressurized (fuel penalty), fly on oxygen (no fuel penalty, but oxygen penalty instead), or if neither of the preceeding options are viable, divert at low level to pick up fuel, or if that is not viable, the kitchenware saves the day.
Is this a reflection on Nimrod safety? I don't think so. Many things have to be against the crew before the teapot saves the day. MACR Campbell, as cited in the newspapers, mentioned the noise of air whistling into the jet, so they obviously chose option 1; return at 8,000 ft, unpressurized. In this case the teapot served only as a draught excluder.
Option 3, using a "Nimrod" saucepan as an emergency pressure panel has worked previously, because the saucepan incorporates a stepped diameter such that the bottom half is able to sit neatly inside the top of the launcher tube while the top half of the saucepan sits on top of the tube, preventing itself from being pushed into the tube by air pressure. It is a perfect plug, which will not move with 400 lbs force on top of it, at 8 psi diff across an 8 in diameter tube.
If I have any concerns about this story, it is that a serving senior officer has chosen to speak to the press about something that he clearly knows little about. We are doing our best to get on with our job and unnecessary distractions of this nature do not help.
Shame on you, Sir.
Is this a reflection on Nimrod safety? I don't think so. Many things have to be against the crew before the teapot saves the day. MACR Campbell, as cited in the newspapers, mentioned the noise of air whistling into the jet, so they obviously chose option 1; return at 8,000 ft, unpressurized. In this case the teapot served only as a draught excluder.
Option 3, using a "Nimrod" saucepan as an emergency pressure panel has worked previously, because the saucepan incorporates a stepped diameter such that the bottom half is able to sit neatly inside the top of the launcher tube while the top half of the saucepan sits on top of the tube, preventing itself from being pushed into the tube by air pressure. It is a perfect plug, which will not move with 400 lbs force on top of it, at 8 psi diff across an 8 in diameter tube.
If I have any concerns about this story, it is that a serving senior officer has chosen to speak to the press about something that he clearly knows little about. We are doing our best to get on with our job and unnecessary distractions of this nature do not help.
Shame on you, Sir.
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Time a changin
Suprised Nellie knew where the teapot was, he always said that it was a job for a Sgt, as it meant him getting off his doughnut fueled ample behind
.
Charlie sends
.Charlie sends
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Yea, this is such a 'non story' I am amazed that it has come out and run on.
We had just the same problems back in the 70's with the aircraft, and it was just a 'nothing' incident. Why on earth is someone now making it headline news 30+ years later?
AC Ovee - that was a great post, thanks for explaining it all again for me, I'd long forgotten about 'gate valves' etc.
Come on everyone, the Nimrod boys have had enough heartache of late. This kind of thing is simply not worthy of continued drivvle being written. It's no more than a minor incident as I recall, more minor than somone forgetting the can opener! Now that would be a disaster eh boys??
Best wishes to the Kipper fleet - happy, happy days
TSM
We had just the same problems back in the 70's with the aircraft, and it was just a 'nothing' incident. Why on earth is someone now making it headline news 30+ years later?
AC Ovee - that was a great post, thanks for explaining it all again for me, I'd long forgotten about 'gate valves' etc.
Come on everyone, the Nimrod boys have had enough heartache of late. This kind of thing is simply not worthy of continued drivvle being written. It's no more than a minor incident as I recall, more minor than somone forgetting the can opener! Now that would be a disaster eh boys??
Best wishes to the Kipper fleet - happy, happy days
TSM
