Victor U/C
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Victor U/C
Whilst idling around the Cosford museum's Victor I noticed the bay immediately forward of the nosewheel well was open. Inside was another pair of legs with single wheels apparently each mounted to swing outboard. Whilst I can guess at their purpose I can't find any documentary reference to them or any photos. So, please folks, what are they?
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They had nowhere else to store them? 
My sensible thought was something to do with wheel/tyre change, but why carry that weight around all the time? Or jacking up to load Blue Steel!?
My sensible thought was something to do with wheel/tyre change, but why carry that weight around all the time? Or jacking up to load Blue Steel!?
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No idea, all I could think of is the DC10 had an extra bogie for when heavy, I wonder if it was for when it was bombed up? or Spare wheels?
Not a hope, 2 mains and a tail wheel jack and up 39 ins. a penny width at a time. Push in the missile, winch it up, carry out post loads and lower the jacks. There were bomb bay side fairings that could be removed to do the job without jacking but they had dozens of screws and dzus fasteners which took hours to re align and refit, much easier to jack up. Every pan at Wittering had 2 mains and a tail jack ready for use.
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That's where spare wheels are stowed when doing a "Lone Ranger" sortie.
Just forward on the belly there is a square hatch about 4 feet square where a fly-away pack (FAP) would be loaded
Just forward on the belly there is a square hatch about 4 feet square where a fly-away pack (FAP) would be loaded
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
XL189, what was your FAP capacity or just weight of kit?
The Vulcan had to use panniers, a 750lb which could fit between the bomb bay tanks or a 4,000lb pannier, used and misused on many rangers.
Perhaps the strangest when it was manhandled to the Maltese Bacon Factory.
The Vulcan had to use panniers, a 750lb which could fit between the bomb bay tanks or a 4,000lb pannier, used and misused on many rangers.
Perhaps the strangest when it was manhandled to the Maltese Bacon Factory.
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So it must have it fitted. Heck I was right, spare wheels... The Learjets had a spare wheel up the tail boom that required a Victorian chimney sweep child to reach it.
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NutLoose:chimney sweep child.
The Sycamore had something between the engine & rotor which it wasn't given for pilots to know about,but required similar stature.On 1563 Flight Nicosia during autumn 1963 we had on strength a fitter who answered to "Gnome." One night the troops came and woke me; Please Sir,can you come in and disconnect the (whatever) -- Gnome's off sick and no one else can get in. So off I went,crawled into the tubular frame that supports the MRG and disconnected either the rotor shaft or the centrifugal clutch. "Thanks Sir,we'll run you back." Thus demonstrating that not all officers,while decorative are fairly useless!
The Sycamore had something between the engine & rotor which it wasn't given for pilots to know about,but required similar stature.On 1563 Flight Nicosia during autumn 1963 we had on strength a fitter who answered to "Gnome." One night the troops came and woke me; Please Sir,can you come in and disconnect the (whatever) -- Gnome's off sick and no one else can get in. So off I went,crawled into the tubular frame that supports the MRG and disconnected either the rotor shaft or the centrifugal clutch. "Thanks Sir,we'll run you back." Thus demonstrating that not all officers,while decorative are fairly useless!
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we had a young lad from Malaya or similar working with us and he was the only person in the company that could reach it without dismantling the aircraft around it.
Where's TTN when you need him?
Was only ever on Mk 1s anyway, so maybe this just applies to the Mk 2s?
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Loading ECM Cans ( if it was a MK2). Victors had to be jacked up to load a BS missile. a real pain at the start of an exercise. More than once it was Jack up- load Missile - Jack down - Missile u/s -Jack up and so it went on.
The K2s had 2 spare main wheels and two spare nose wheels in a forward bay that used to house some ECM gear in it's bomber days. They were on an axle which was winched up into the bay from a single hoist wire. The jack was kept in the compartment at the back of the fuselage usually known as Annie's hatch. Who Annie was I have no idea. Each main wheel drum had two tyres, so it may have looked like there were four main wheels.
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Thanks, Dan Winterland, all is revealed!! ^
The jack was kept in the compartment at the back of the fuselage usually known as Annie's hatch. Who Annie was I have no idea.
Had a go on Facebook about the above and had loads of replies from sundry crew chiefs, riggers, sooties etc, plus a few aircrew. Quite surprised how many had never heard the term, particularly those from the latter days of the K2s, by which time the nickname seems to have fallen into disuse. A lot on the other hand said they always knew it as Annie's hatch.
Only one problem - nobody had a clue who Annie was!
Only one problem - nobody had a clue who Annie was!