Short Belfast
 

Hi there, just reading the 'Wish I hadn't said that thread' and noticed a mention for the Short Belfast and it piqued my interest.

Was it any good? I take it that it wasn't as good as the Herc although they look similar, was the Belfast a copy of the Herc design or vice versa?

http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=355

The Belfast was (is? do Heavy Lift still fly them?) a good deal bigger than a Hercules.

I think even Heavy Lift have given up on the Bel.Slow!!!

MOG

Known at Brize in my father's time as the 'Belslow', in keeping with its speed. Much loved in fact.

Under-powered aircraft with a cavernous hold. Much bigger than a Herc. Much. As a boy I saw it swallow 2 or more choppers (some years back now), not one of which would have fitted in a Herc.

Since she who must be obeyed set up the internet safety protocols it has been a long time since I saw anything swallow two choppers too . . .

40 years old and still hauling Clicky

Seems that Heavy Lift is still using one.
http://heavyliftcargo.com/

Never know your luck eh? And slowly too!

The Belslow had Britannia wings as indeed did the Canadair Argus so you can't knock Bristol for that. The Belslow was a design contemprary of the C141. Except for some reason we didn't put jets on it.

It was also a dragmaster and had a lot of backend work done so that it could at least fly faster than a Beverley.

Do you know many dragmasters who had alot of backend work done?

I remember walking past one to get to my C-152 when I did a quick flit from Luton to Stansted with my instructor in the summer of 78 on my FlySchol. It really did look to big to fly - sadly we couldn't hang around for it to start up and depart.

You don't expect a serious answer to that question do you?

Sorry, I thought it was a perfectly reasonable and serious question.:confused:

Blimey...I stand corrected....:sad:

didn't think they were still going...good on them (it):)

Backend action......Hmm!! not for me..even in Gander where the view is almost always better!!!:ok:

MOG

Put it back in production with modern engines and a glass cockpit..... Who needs the A400M.

Was there not a design project to put the C130 wing and engine combo onto them which was cancelled during the Wilson/Healey time. - I was but a child (still am!!)

IIRC, it was a C-141 wing with RR Super Conways. The C-130 element was a licence-produced RR Tyne engined aircraft, the BAC222 which (IIRC) was to have BLC to enable it to serve as a STOL transport.

14 May 1974 - XR 369 - my first trip in a Belfast and we did practice stalls somewhere close to Swindon. Sitting on the mezzanine pax deck and watching the wings and engines doing a desynchronised dance as the stall was approached was something to behold!

As I remember it, the design began life as the Bristol Britannic. Lots of effort was expended on making her more slippery and ironing out her dutch roll tendencies. That's when the ventral strakes appeared.

We seemed good at putting good wings on draggy fuselages in the 60s. Armstrong Whitworth nailed their Argosy to a perfectly good Shackleton/Lincoln wing.

One thing that has always amazed me about the Belslow was that it was fitted with a Machmeter.... Only slightly less useless than a gunsight on a Mark 5 Harrier.

Flew back from Wildenrath to Brize in one in 1969. Even with a triple seat on each size there was an ocean of space. I recall stretching out in the seat, the quiet purr (?) of Tynes.....and a rumble as we landed at Brize. Much, much more comfortable than the misery of the C-130 pax seating.

Another defence cut folly of the highest magnitude - we ended up leasing the HeavyLift Belslow for GW1!

I last saw a Belslow at Dakar during a gas-and-go turnround of our UK-bound FunBus. We took off a while after it and later heard the crew gallantly plodding along at FL160-ish.... Hope they made it home before scurvy set in amongst the crew!

Talking about Beverleys, the splendid Puddy Catt once told me about the time he was travelling in the boom of one somewhere hot and sandy when a steward offered him his compliments and stated that the captain had "requested the pleasure of his company for afternoon tea". Pud, being a true gent, duly accepted and descended the ladder - to find a table set up in the freight bay with white tablecloth and china. They exchanged small talk, sipped Earl Grey and nibbled on cucumber sandwiches (minus crusts) as the Bev stooged along at some 2 figure IAS, valiantly battling the headwinds.....