Probing the Nimrod

[NRU74]

Originally Posted by esscee

US people speak "American" not English!

A number of sources indicate that Nimrod was responsible for building the Tower of Babel.

[thunderbird7]

Originally Posted by oxenos

Never Intended for Maritime Reconnaissance or Overses Detachments.

It was the highly capable APU and aluminium airstairs that particularly suited it to dets...

[WB627]

Originally Posted by BEagle

The hideously ugly Nimrod AEW3 had a probe also, but no vertical surfaces on the tailplane.

That is a bit harsh. The only time I saw a Nimrod in the air was the AEW3. All the other times I should have seen one, the crew failed to find the airfield at which the Nimrod was supposed to be displaying. This included RAF Henlow, when we watched the Nimrod going round and round looking for us and despite being given directions (they were piped into the tannoy), they still failed to find the airfield for their display. Became a bit of a standing joke between me and Mrs WB627 as it happened a few times LOL.

However, before anyone takes offence, I know it was designed to find submarines in the briny, not airfields on dry land and could find a needle in a thousand feet of water.


Sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time and grateful to the pilot for putting it there. Not Photoshopped.

[squidie]

Originally Posted by WB627

That is a bit harsh. The only time I saw a Nimrod in the air was the AEW3. All the other times I should have seen one, the crew failed to find the airfield at which the Nimrod was supposed to be displaying. This included RAF Henlow, when we watched the Nimrod going round and round looking for us and despite being given directions (they were piped into the tannoy), they still failed to find the airfield for their display. Became a bit of a standing joke between me and Mrs WB627 as it happened a few times LOL.

However, before anyone takes offence, I know it was designed to find submarines in the briny, not airfields on dry land and could find a needle in a thousand feet of water.


Sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time and grateful to the pilot for putting it there. Not Photoshopped.

Yeah was never designed to find a runway to land on, just subs XD

[oxenos]

the highly capable APU

On my first tour on Nimrods (1970) the Squadron boss had previously been on the team drawing up the equipment spec. During a detachment I was lamenting the poor performance of the APU. His answer was that given the electrical power required during preflight checks, an APU of that capacity would have had to be very large and heavy. Since most of the time the aircraft was expected to operate from bases with D/E sets, it was decided that occasionally having to start an engine and get a genny on line for the checks was worth doing to save humping a heavy APU around all the time.

[WB627]

Originally Posted by squidie

Yeah was never designed to find a runway to land on, just subs XD

To be fair, RAF Henlow was a grass airfield LOL

[Wensleydale]

Originally Posted by WB627

To be fair, RAF Henlow was a grass airfield LOL

Surely they could have built a great big arrow out of pine poles?? They must have had quite a few in store.....................

[lonsdale2]

WB627 quote: I know it was designed to find submarines in the briny

Yes of course all AEW aircraft are used to find submarines!!

[Hot 'n' High]

Originally Posted by lonsdale2

Yes of course all AEW aircraft are used to find submarines!!

Aw lonsy! Poor 627! Think 627 was celebrating the AEW one which did find and/or flew over him as he says "The only time I saw a[ny] Nimrod in the air [it] was the [an?] AEW3." Ergo, all the other, more common ones (MRs) he had hoped to see never found the displays coz they were only used to finding subs in the oggin.

Well, that's how I read it! Do you let 627 off?

[oxenos]

XW666, an R.1 , took it a stage further and went hunting submarines in their own element.

[LowObservable]

If this thread drifts any more it will start singing "Under the Boardwalk", but I would point out that the EA-18G is named after a large-mouth bass (via a USN tradition of naming ships after fish).

[oxenos]

ships after fish

I always called those trawlers.
Mind you the Americans called them hookers.
Does this mean the USN name ships after ladies of loose virtue?

Great thead drift- where next?

[WB627]

Hot 'n' High - Thank you. Not even sure I've seen an MR on the ground up close and personal.