Ex Vulcan riggers/XM558 riggers
 

During my time at Akrotiri (1972-1974) I serviced and repacked many LB54 Vulcan brake parachutes but as you know it was the job of you riggers to fit them to the aircraft .It had been the responsibilty of Safety Equipment Workers (SEW) (Now Suvival Equipment Fitters)to carry out this task . However due to restructuring of the SEW Trade in 1964 we no longer had the task of working on aircraft.
There had been a tragic accident (I think it was at RAF Waddington) a SAC had been helping to fit a chute and whilst attempting to close the spring loaded hatch by means of the approved closing tool. This tool comsisted of a threaded rod which had a hand wheel fitted to screw down the hatch until it locked shut. I was told that due to the fatigue failure of the tool attachment bracket the closing tool slipped or broke causing the hatch to spring open throwing the SAC to the ground when he later died from the resulting injuries.
I seem to remember that a rigger told me that the closing tool system had been replaced by a system which pulled the hatch closed by a cable system operated from beneath the aircraft. However I might be completely wrong as it was ove 40 years ago.
Could you guys please enlighten me Thanks in anticipation.

AS, IIRC, he was sitting astride the Red Steer, facing forward and as you say was flipped off. In those days the safety harnesses were not routinely (if at all) worn. I think on that aircraft, in the open, there was no suitable sky hook for it.

AS I was a rigger, who did the Vulcan course at Waddo in 73, and, on posting to Akronelli, was ultimately employed on the Lightnings of 56 Sqn. We must have been there at the same time. Now, I do have some memory of being told of the incident you refer to. I understand it happened at Waddington, as I say, this was second hand info, but here goes. My understanding is that the braking parachute door was as you say, wound down to its closed position, against the door springs into its closed position where the latches were set. The tool used was basically a screw thread (of some substance) with a hook at the bottom which located on an aircraft mounted bar, the other end had a handwheel, which was used to screw down the door. There was little mechanical advantage with this tool, and, as the door neared its closed position, was extremely heavy going. The practice of sitting on the door was a way of taking spring force out of the work the handwheel was doing, unfortunately, on this occasion the tool slipped from one of its locating point, with the operator sat astride the door. ISTR being told on the course at Waddo, that the tradesman was thrown forwards into the trailing edge of the Rudder, causing severe head injuries, he the fell to one side and down to the ground, accusing further injury. Not a nice way to go I should think. Suffice to say that the story was passed to "riggers" on the course in the hope it would make them think before they bent any rules about operating the equipment. I can't help with any alternate methods of closing the brake para door as I was never ultimately employed on the Vulcan. Hope that helps, who knows, it may jog even more old riggers memories !!

Smudge

Thread drift.
Things don't change. In 1957 I did a Victor course at Gaydon, and was then posted to Transport Command :sad:

On joining IX Sqn in 1964 one of the first things I was taught as a co-pilot was to replace the Tail Braking Parachute. It was about the only aircrew servicing we were qualified to do. It was necessary because it was a mandatory stream on runways of 7500ft or less and we always carried a spare chute in the bomb bay.

We were warned about the vagaries of the badly designed screw jack affair that was used to close the bay door after fitting the replacement - it was not wear as we were still receiving new Vulcan B2's at the time. We were told then that an airman had been killed sitting on the door to latch it shut when the screw jack slipped. We were also told that only way to get the door shut was to sit on it and bounce up and down!

ACW

Except when there was a crosswind with the risk of weather cocking. Curiously there was invariably a crosswind :)

However our skipper, landing on 11,000 feet decided for no reason whatever to stream. The chute just shat out the back in a great brown splat. Another time, after the briefest of tugs the chute sailed away; the pin just bent.

Smudge

Thanks for the very detailed description of the method that you were taught about Vulcan brake parachute fitting. It was very much I how understood it to be.
I have seen an old photo of a brake parachute being fitted out on the line with a riser and giraffe being used to gain access to the stowage. Laid out on the riser is the closing tool and grease that was used.
No sign of any safety precautions in those days.
Yes I would have been in the last year of my tour when you arrived at Akrotiri. I had been posted to Luqa Malta in Dec 1971 but then the British forces were chucked out by Dom Mintoff so subsequently I was posted to Akrotiri. Had a great tour until the Turkish invasion in 1974 eventually being repat and posted to Wattisham in November.
56 Squadron at Akrotiri always kept us very busy in the brake para bay I think that we averaged about 30 or more brake chute repacks a day.
Did you return with 56 Squadron when it relocated to Wattisham?
I had almost a 10 year association with 56 as well as my time in Cyprus I worked with both Lightnings and Phantoms at Wattisham spending most of my time as the squadron Squipper.(Flying clothing) until 1980.

Pontius
The pin that you mentioned was in fact a shear pin designed to break to prevent overstressing the aircraft if someone like your skipper landed a bit fast.

ACW418
An accident waiting to happen and it did!!

Squippers have told me that they often fitted a replacement chute just by themself, as a packed chute weighted 220 lbs there must have been a bit of a knack to it.

PN
That reminds me of the occasion when our (particularly obnoxious) staish was on a land-away state-side, the same thing happened to him and drew forth the comment from ATC ...
"Say Capn. your aircraft just cr****d on ma runway!"

FZ, ah, same controller or an SOP response.

In our case it was:

Hey lines, your bird's just c*****d on my runway

And that was 50 years ago. Never found out why he streamed.

AS, you alleging my skipper did a hot landing? He denied it at the time and showed us the bent pin, clearly too weak for the job :}

There was a nice photo of refitting a Vulcan chute a few years back:

http://www.pprune.org/5585119-post22.html

So does anyone know about the skyhooks PN mentioned? Many people have gone in search of such devices over many years, but I don't recall anyone ever finding them. :confused:

S-D

Are what memories this brings back, especially the photo showing the safety raiser with no sides, we right handed bods found it easier from the port side as shown.

we had one near incident in 1970 winter time on the OCU at Scampton, the two of us went down in the land rover to squippers and picked up a packed chute, got back to the aircraft, lifted onto the Safety Raiser, positioned it and locked the feet down and then pumped it up to the height for us.

First thing was to connect the shackle and then the two of us lifted the pack up onto the slope of the tail with a view to sliding it into the hole, however at the 'heave' moment a gap opened up between the aircraft and Safety Raiser my oppo jumped onto the aircraft as he was sort of half on half off but I was not, tried to stop the chute pack falling between the gap but no joy and off it went pulling parts of the chute out as the pack fell to the ground.

I was stuck, stretched between the aircraft and raiser, but managed to get back onto the raiser got down the ladder and re-positioned it, my oppo had released the shackle and dropped it down to join the rest of the chute.

When explaining what happened our first words were the aircraft moved and then realized how daft that comment was, however after having the pan looked at it was noted that the raiser was on black ice and had slid about 2-3 feet, however explaining all this to the squippers when we took the chute back to get another one was fun.

Also agree that health and safety would never allow us to do things that way now as I also remember of the two of us one sat on the door and both wound the door closing tool to make it a tad easier.

S-D, I believe the sky hooks were eventually found in stores and handed lock stock and barrel to the VTTS as any photo of 558 in the shed shows all properly equipped riggers.

On safety raisers, we also used them as aircrew to reach the H2S air valves and the copilot to inspect the intakes.

One Scampton co, at Akrotiri on a ranger, jacked the platform to the right level (rails down as it wouldn't fit otherwise) and pushed it up to the intakes. As the jack access door was open he sliced a neat cut in the intake lip.

Nowt said, bodge tape applied, and sortie flown. A skin repair and paint job and no one any the wiser back at Scampton.

The film "Delta 8-3 shows chute deployment etc....it is in two parts here.


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=618_1307753544

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8af_1307754227



The film gets an airing in the cold war room at Waddington Heritage Centre where it plays on a loop.

Pontius

After working for/with aircrew for 28 years how could I ever suggest such a thing :confused:

PN,
I think the skyhooks were on the shelf in stores next to the datum chord, long weight and spare bubbles for spirit levels.


It was not until the mid 90s that I ever saw a safety harness with a wire attached to the hangar roof trusses. I had a few scary moments at the top of Victor and Nimrod fins without being tied on. I was young then and had hair.

Seriously I believe there were harnesses at Cottesmore in 1965. There was actually a mountain of kit in the Vulcan inventory that was never used.

We had engine blanks that were only used in adverse weather. Jet pipe covers even less. There were also 'spats' to cover the wheels. When we took an aircraft to Bitteswell they would become agitated if we didn't have all the kit. Of course we never did.

Pontious

Thread drift but I don't care.

You mentioned Biteswell (Lutterworth) in your last post.
As a Leicester lad and as a school boy in the 50's I often used to cycle to the airfield as a young lad it was magic As I am sure you know it was where Armstrong Whitworth assembled aircraft and tested its engines. Sea hawks Hunters Wyverns and all sorts of experimental stuff. Sapphire powered Canberra with reheat. Lancasterian with a Viper ? engine in the tail. The Blackburn YB1 (like a Gannet but with a V shaped tail) The Prone Meteor which I believe was on the 'Secret list then' sure that I have missed a few All assembled aircraft had to be taken across a public road in order to gain access to the airfield. Sadly the site is now a massive Asda distribution warehouse.
Still see the Prone Meteor whenever I take any of my visitors to tha RAF Cosford Museum.

I.garey

Thanks for the great photo.

All looks a bit dodgy to me.