First A-330 delivered?
 

Gents

I hear that the RAFs first A-330 (ZZ331) was seen arriving at Boscombe Down today.

Hunty :cool:

Voyager arrives at Boscombe Down
 

Confirmed here.

First Tristar replacement begins trials in UK | British Forces News

Great news - solid progress.:ok:

Well done to everyone at Air Tanker:D

Can't come quick enough. Rumour has it the Tristars have fallen over again.

Does that mean it will disappear shortly into the Delta Quadrant?? To boldly go where no one has gone before.... :O

Or is it tied in to the US Banks Voyager fuel cedit card LOL :p

I would have thought the 'fishnet stocking' brigade from Whitehall would have called 'her' the VOYEUR KC Mk1 :oh:

....or BiStar KC Mk1

From BBCi:

"It is twice the size of a Lancaster bomber ...

It can refuel another aircraft in the air with 100,000 litres of fuel, more than the amount contained by two large petrol tankers.

The Ministry of Defence said it can refuel at a rate of 5,000 litres per minute, compared with a pump at a garage that delivers fuel at 40 litres per minute."

No mention of those eternal units of comparison, the football pitch and the London bus. How far would the big red public transporter travel on the contents of the Voyeur, for example?

How big in comparison with Wales?

A Routemaster bus is quoted as doing 10 mpg. On that basis the 100,000 litres of fuel contained in ZZ331 would power a Routemaster for 237 trips round the coastline and border of Wales.

Think of all the pies the drivers and the WSOp, sorry, conductor could eat during such a trip :8

Airborne Artist

I have used viamichelin.com to survey the route you describe for your Routemaster bus trip around the coast & borders of Wales, and would respectfully advise you that there are numerous low bridges that will give you the first Routemaster Cabrio version.

(mustabinanav)

Actually the second...remember Live And Let Die, and the bus chase under the low bridge?:8:8

Live and let Die? Ah yes, Jane Seymour, Madeleine Smith....and someone called Moore.

I hope it turns out better than the Chinook purchases!

:p Well considering the first Chinooks we bought had a cobbled up system to fit a couple of old Andover Ferry tanks into the cabin, this is already streets ahead. Still you could use a Chinook as a Harrier GPU..... Not that that is is needed anymore either..... :E

Can I ask why it was not delivered to Brize Norton and put straight into service?

It would appear that all the pre-delivery testing will now start and the actual delivery date is some considerable time in the future. Why is it being "delivered" if it needs more than pre-flight checks?

To allow the RAF to write the operating manual and work out the best way to use it and also the limitations on it in service. There is a difference between acceptance checks and in service usage, the book now has to be written on that for the various types it will encounter in its service life... I would think the initial testing would have covered very few types.

Eh? So why aren't such things as 'operating manuals' completed beforehand. Likewise - limitations in service.

It would appear that it isn't just the RAF's largest aircraft ever, it will also be the lowest flying one.

From the RAF website (future capability)

Whatever happened to concurrent activity?
 

Why was that not being done at the same time the plane was being built? I've worked on commissioning large industrial plant and we had to have the SOPs, operations manuals, and all the staff trained ready for the day after the various contractors walked out. There then followed a one month period to confirm that our manuals matched the practical implementations of the equipment. (It was our first completely computer controlled thin film plant c/w all sorts of new and novel control gear that had never been used before). Oh and from day one of the confirmation period we were producing product for shipping, we just had a 100% scrappage allowance for a month.

If you've still to work out the best way to use it and what it's limitations are then it sounds like you're still at the specification stage of the project.

Timeline Questions
 

Nice to see that there's real progress with the A330 tanker/transport, but what's the timeline from now on?
How long will it take for Cobham to "get up to speed" ?
How long will it take for the Boscombe Down team to get their writings done ?
How long will it be before AirTanker has the means to do its job, and what's the date for the delivery of the last aircraft in this order??
How long do the sturdy TriStars have to flog on before their complete retirement ?
Is Airbus Military capacity limited ?
As the main A330 line moves up to a 9/month rate, could the delivery rate of the Tanker/Transport version be accelerated, or is it constrained by a combination of Toulouse, Madrid/Seville and Cobham?

As so often I get the impression that "decisions to do" are mistaken for "Mission Accomplished".

As I wrote at the start, it is good to see some progress ... ... but there's a heck of a way to go still.

PS. Given that an earlier Voyager by Mr. Rutan did a REALLY long flight and enjoys its retirement on display, will the MoD's naming specialists now add a "II" to the name it has chosen ?