xm655 during last october’s twilight photoshoot€¦ · xm655 during last october’s twilight...

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Issue No 39 Spring/Summer 2018

XM655 during last October’s Twilight Photoshoot

“I looked, but couldn’t better Bryan Nimmo’s other shot of XM655 taken last October during the

Twilight Photoshoot”

In this issue

Chairman’s Introduction Page 2

Visits to XM655 Page 4

Engineering Report Page 9

Toronto Airshow: A Crew Chief’s View 3

New in Store Page 22

Financial Report Page 24

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XM655MaPS Newsletter Spring/Summer 2018

The Chairman’s Introduction Mike Pollitt

At long last the summer seems to have arrived and that really cold and long winter

has passed.

The volunteers still turned out every Saturday without fail to maintain your wonderful

Vulcan though, and I really do thank them all for their tremendous effort.

Mr Michael Portillo visited Wellesbourne in early April.

Channel 5 are screening a series in the Autumn that includes an episode on the

Cold War with Michael Portillo as the show’s presenter.

Photograph courtesy of Clive Hanley Photography

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Naturally, they chose to visit the best-preserved Vulcan in the land to include in the

programme.

As yet, I have no details of the date of transmission.

On a sad note, I have to inform you of the death of Sqn Ldr Joe L’Estrange.

Most of you will know that he was the last captain to fly XM655 and it was Joe who

landed her at Wellesbourne back in February 1984.

Joe was a superb display pilot; a true character and it was with Joe that I first flew

the Vulcan. Characteristically, his demonstration of a Vulcan take-off was his display

version, whereupon we roared down the runway and at the rotate speed Joe pulled

the stick right back and applied full left aileron. Uttering ‘you’ll never have to worry,

the pitch will always outweigh the roll’, we departed Scampton in a full-blooded

wingover. I remember thinking Christ, what have I joined? On my next sortie I flew

with David Thomas who said ‘well Joe showed you the take-off didn’t he’……suffice

to say that David was not so impressed with my attempt to emulate Joe’s level of

expertise.

You will have already been inundated with e-mails etc drawing your attention to

the revised General Data Protection Regulation that came into force on 25th May

2018. You have already demonstrated how much preserving this Vulcan means to

you by becoming a member. We simply wouldn’t exist without your support, so I

want you to know that we place the same importance on looking after your

personal details as we do on looking after our Vulcan. We take your existing

membership as your consent for us to hold your personal details – name, address, e-

mail address and telephone number. We will never sell your contact details to

anyone. You will be able to view our Data Protection Policy document with a link

to it from our website. Tim Deeley is our committee member responsible for Data

Protection and I am grateful to Tim for all his hard work in preparing our data

protection to meet the new regulations.

You are invited to this year’s Members’ Day on Sunday 16 September.

We will have presentations from Sam Weller (an ex-Vulcan navigator) on the Cold

War, and hopefully a presentation from Michael Littler, Wellesbourne Airfield

Manager, on the history of the Airfield. We are still in the planning stage, but hope

to have more sideshows this year, and naturally (subject to serviceability) a four-

engine ground run. Catering, such as the hog roast (and vegetarian alternatives),

will be available too.

At our AGM on 5 May we sought to change the rules of our Society. The resolution

was passed and so the principal alteration to the rules is that the Secretary

appointment no longer includes Membership Secretary’s responsibilities. The four

appointments Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer remain. But

those appointed to these positions will stand for re-election every three years -

beginning in 2019 with your Chairman and Treasurer standing for re-election, and in

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2020 the Vice-Chairman and Secretary will stand for re-election. Other members, or

volunteers, with suitable experience may be co-opted by the Committee to the

Committee to be responsible for matters concerning Aircraft, Ground Equipment,

Commercial, Visitor, Membership, Safety, and Data Protection activities. All

committee members have equal voting rights with the Chairman having a casting

vote in a tied situation.

I must draw your attention to the marvellous article provided by an ex-RAF Crew

Chief Richard Preston on page 13 of this issue. Richard describes his experiences

going to Trenton in Canada as Crew Chief to captain and 101 Sqn display pilot Les

Aylott with no less than XM655.

Finally, I should like to thank Eric Ranshaw, our Treasurer and Chief Engineer for

editing this Newsletter for the last six years. Eric has always produced a truly

professional product, devoting much time to the task, which from now I’ll try to

emulate.

Photograph courtesy of Ann Ross-Tuson

Visits to XM655 Damaris Tapp

After a wet and, at times, bitter winter we were all grateful when spring arrived and

we were able to feel the warmth of the sun on the pan - and I am sure our visitors

felt the same! For the first time in my involvement with visits I went down to meet a

group who were based by the control tower for the day to suggest they stayed in

the warm. The temperature at the time was well below freezing, particularly when

the wind chill was taken into account. Just occasionally the aerodynamics of a large

delta wing are not to our advantage! The visitors who were lucky enough to have

chosen days when the weather was less inclement covered the usual wide range

of interests and backgrounds.

This report starts back in November. With Remembrance Day falling on a Saturday,

volunteers and visitors all paused for a minute's silence at 11:00.

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Later on in the month and rounding off our visits for the year in December, we hosted

the Planes, Cameras and Banter (PCB) Facebook group who, true to their name,

were very interested and knowledgeable about our aeroplane, had plenty of

cameras and, well, maybe I shouldn't comment on their banter!

The second of their visits was on one of the first really cold days of the winter, but

one that was warmed by birthday celebrations for one of our longest standing

volunteers, our vice chairman, Roger Bowen.

In February, we were able to

open up one of our large

group visits to friends and

supporters via Facebook.

These are always popular,

covering cockpit tours and

talks under and around the

aircraft on the Cold War, the

Falklands Conflict, Vulcan

development and XM655 in

service and at Wellesbourne.

We can only run around 20 of

these large visits each year,

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and they are often booked by clubs or other groups well in advance. It is often at

short notice that we find the organiser has been unable to fill the available 24

places, which is the point at which we advertise the spaces ourselves. Please keep

an eye on Facebook if you would like to join one of these tours, as did the lucky

people who joined this visit on a bright, but very cold day.

Among our favourite visitors are young people who are interested in aircraft and

aviation and our next big visit in March was from the Dorridge Scout group who were

in the process of acquiring their Air Researcher badge. As well as seeing the Vulcan,

they were lucky enough to catch a visit from a Short SC.7 SkyVan and gathered in

front of XM655 to watch it taxi past and take off.

I hope they don't mind me saying, but in a slightly older age bracket we had a visit

from the 100th Entry RAF Halton Ex-Apprentices Group who, after looking around our

aircraft, presented us with a copy of an original training manual. I'm not sure we

asked when or how it was acquired, but we are very grateful for the donation, which

is now part of the 655MaPS library.

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Our first car club of the year visited us in April, bringing their lovely Triumph Sports

Sixes.

They were closely followed the next week by the Cotswold Classic Car Club and the

IAM Road Smart Solent Group, who both visited on the same day ... Spring had well

and truly arrived although, as you can see, April provided its obligatory showers!

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The Rotary Club of Winslow visited us in May, with Wg Cdr Mike Pollitt, our Chairman,

in charge of the visitors, including the cockpit tours, as he so often is.

The final group visit in the Spring was the British Balloon and Airship Club, back for a

day's training at Wellesbourne Airfield, on a day that couldn't have been more

different from their previous trip, when the Vulcan visit had to be aborted due to the

chill!

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We were also visited that afternoon by a small group of scooter riders who just

happened to pop by on a sunny day's ride out.

One of the great joys of volunteering at XM655 MaPS is showing off our aircraft to

interested visitors and we are very grateful to all those who took part in the visits

mentioned above and to the smaller groups of visitors which we get on a weekly

basis, whatever the weather. Their support and donations are a hugely important

factor, enabling us to keep our wonderful Vulcan in such good condition and

making doing so worthwhile.

Engineering Report Eric Ranshaw

The recent pleasant weather has dulled the memory a little, but I think last winter

must have been one of the coldest since I started working on XM655 all of 15 years

ago. With so many large parties of visitors throughout the summer, we need to do

the majority of our engineering work during the quieter winter months but having

the aircraft outdoors and particularly exposed to cold east winds means that our

volunteers need to be especially hardy.

Throughout the winter, our major ongoing task has been the inspection and repair

of the No.2 Olympus engine which had just been removed from the airframe at the

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time of the last newsletter. We have replaced two cracked zero-stage stator blades

in the LP compressor, and both compressors have been inspected and found to be

ok. Inspections of the turbine casing and LP turbine and the combustion chamber

outer casing were also satisfactory. During dismantling we noted an oil leak

originating from one of the fuel pump drive shaft seals deep inside the chassis

mounted fuel system (CMFS), so we installed a replacement unit during the engine

re-installation process. There isn’t sufficient clearance to change the CMFS with the

engine in the maintenance stand, and although it is possible to change it in-situ in

the airframe, it isn’t an easy task. We found that doing it with the engine beneath

the airframe supported by the lifting hoists gave the best access for the work.

As we go to press, the engine is back in the airframe with the jet pipe and end cap

fully installed, and with only the intake transition piece and a small amount of

pipework to be fitted prior to engine test runs. This is the last engine to be removed

and inspected, and the aircraft now has no engines with cracked zero-stage stator

blades. With our very low running hours per year, we will not need to inspect the

engines again for several years. The next task is to see whether we can repair the

engine which was originally in the No.1 position so that it can be returned to service

and its zero-hours replacement returned to our spares stock.

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After the major work to overhaul our hydraulic rig which we reported last time we

have also fitted a new carburettor which we were able to find on the internet. The

rig was tested by connecting it to the aircraft and using it to open the bomb bay

doors. Whilst this showed that the rig was working well, it also revealed a hydraulic

leak from a non-return valve in the No.2 engine bay. It was very lucky that the leak

was found whilst the engine was out, as we were able to easily access the problem.

The valve was removed and dismantled, and after obtaining a new seal it was

rebuilt, installed and tested ok. A similar leak with the engine in-situ would require it

to be removed for access to the leaking valve.

All four of our 25-ton aircraft jacks were maintained and tested in February in

readiness for jacking up the aircraft to recuperate the main landing gear liquid

springs. On a flying Vulcan, this would happen automatically every take-off, but for

an aircraft which is permanently on the ground it must be done periodically to

prevent the undercarriage gradually settling. We find that it needs to be done every

two or three years and is an excellent training experience for the various Air Cadet

Squadrons who help us on a regular basis. The process involves jacking up the

aircraft to take all the weight of the wheels, which reduces the pressure in the liquid

springs to a minimum, and then connecting and running the hydraulic rig so that the

aircraft hydraulic system can be used to push the special damper fluid (OX16) from

the reservoir into the liquid spring. The recuperation exercise is an excellent example

of why we need lots of different items of ground equipment. Neither the aircraft

jacks nor the hydraulic rig gets used very often, but it wouldn’t be possible to

recuperate the main landing gear without them. Happily, on the allotted day

everything worked as required and the aircraft was back down on its wheels by

lunchtime.

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Other tasks that have been completed recently include the rebuilding of the 200v

three-phase connector on the cable from the Houchin GPU which connects to the

aircraft. A shower of sparks suggested the internal insulation was past its best, so the

unit was completely dismantled, and the cables cut back and re-terminated into a

new connector. This has had the additional benefit that it is now easier to plug into

the aircraft than the old unit which was a little oversize. Also on the electrical job-list

were replacement of the main 200amp fuse, which resolved a starting problem with

the Airborne Auxiliary Power Plant, and the repair of the starter solenoid on the

Palouste air starter. The solenoid was failing to disengage properly after use and

required some quite extensive dismantling to gain access. Both the original solenoid

and another one from an old Palouste unit were stripped, rebuilt and tested, so we

now have both a correctly functioning Palouste and a spare solenoid for any future

requirement.

There hasn’t been any need to work on either of our tugs this winter, other than

routine monthly running to keep them functioning, but we have taken the

opportunity to re-instate the rear wheel steering system on the Coleman tug. This

isn’t something we will need to use very often, but it makes the Coleman very

manoeuvrable and is very handy for tasks like moving the aircraft jacks around the

pan.

The major aircraft re-painting exercise which we started last year has been on hold

for the winter, but now that the weather is improving the upper surface of the

starboard wing has been given a pressure wash in preparation for the painting

programme to re-commence. The new paint which was applied last year has stood

up to the winter very well, and we will now continue the process in the hope that

weather permitting the aircraft upper surface can be completed this year. This is

one major task which we can continue whilst we are entertaining our regular parties

of visitors with systems demonstrations most weekends during the summer months.

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Toronto International Air Show, a Crew Chief’s View

Richard Preston

Most people reading this newsletter will be familiar with the makeup of a Vulcan

crew and what their duties were, but how much do you know about the Crew Chief

or Aircraft Servicing Chief as they were officially titled? We often read about the

daring exploits of the aircrew and the great support of the dedicated ground crew,

but there is one person who was vitally important to the operation of both the

Vulcan and Victor, but rarely mentioned. He was the Crew Chief. So please let me

give you some background information (gen) on their duties and their place in the

big scheme of things. I will also describe a typical trip taken with a crew to the

Toronto International Air Show in XM655 in 1979.

XM655 of 101 Squadron on the apron at Canadian Forces Base Trenton

All Crew Chiefs were selected from senior NCO engineers (Chief Technicians), who

came from the airframe or propulsion trades, and who had high personal

assessments, technical ability, and high security clearance. After a nine-month

course covering the Olympus engine, aircraft electrical and instrument systems, plus

all the Vulcan systems, we were posted to one of the squadrons. During this period,

we also had our aircrew medicals and survival training. I was posted to 101

Squadron at Waddington in 1974 and spent five years there. Each Crew Chief was

allocated his own personal aircraft which he had to love, cherish, and generally look

after. He was in fact the aircraft manager, who coordinated all the engineering

work done by the engineers, and he was also the main link with the aircrew that flew

their aircraft. This system worked well back at base, when the crews were involved

in the constant training necessary to maintain a high state of operational readiness.

A lot of hours were spent on the aprons with their aircraft organising and overseeing

all activities such as refuelling, rectification, before and after flight servicing, and

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practice bomb lifts. On completion of all this work, the Crew Chief was responsible

for the vital paperwork associated with all aspects of the aircraft service. Each

aircraft had its own dedicated log book, called the Form 700, which contained

every piece of the aircraft’s history, such as servicing records, part replacement

history, and fault rectification.

Now it was the Crew Chief’s turn to carry out his checks. This entailed a walk round

inspection of the whole aircraft: To check for any fluid leaks, check all gas pressures,

and to ensure that all access panels were secured. In addition to this, an engine

intake inspection was carried out to check for tools or any other FOD (Foreign

Object Debris). I also made sure that each engine was free to rotate. (Talking of

FOD, the spring time was the worst period, as all the local starlings loved building

nests in any of the many orifices that exist externally. They were very persistent, and

always seemed to find the most awkward place to nest). All the undercarriage

ground locks, pitot covers, and static bungs were removed and stowed in the 6th

seat box, and in the AEO’s drawer. Whilst in the cockpit, I would check all the safety

equipment, fuel load, and have a final look round before leaving to call the crew.

The cockpit was now out of bounds until the Captain accepted the aircraft. The

Crew Chief would then over sign all the engineers work and report the status to the

squadron duty controller, who would then call the crew.

When they arrived at the aircraft for their ‘crew in’, the Captain would go through

the F700 with the Crew Chief and would sign for the aircraft when he was happy

with everything. After the Captain’s external walk round inspection, he and the rest

of the crew climbed aboard, followed by the Crew Chief, who assisted both the

pilots with their straps and making the ejector seats live. After removing the safety

pins from the seats and the canopy jettison gun, he would hand them to the Captain

for stowage. Back outside he put on his headset, which was plugged into a socket

on the nose undercarriage leg via a long intercom lead, so that he could speak to

the Captain who was now starting all the pre-flight checks.

He also supervised the ground handling crew, who applied and removed external

electrical power, stood by with fire extinguishers on engine start, and removed all

ground equipment prior to the aircraft taxiing. He also monitored the correct

operation of all the control surfaces and engine starts. This could take up to an hour

from crew arrival to the aircraft taxiing.

When the aircraft returned from its sortie it was met by the Crew Chief, who

organised the technical debrief with all the different ground trades. He then

managed all the necessary fault rectification and servicing ready for the aircraft’s

next sortie. From this you can see that the Crew Chief was the first to open up the aircraft in the

morning, and usually the last to leave it in the evening. All this generally meant long

hours that could be challenging, frustrating, but very fulfilling. Although our wives

didn’t always agree. It was also good to be part of a squadron that included the

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Crew Chief Richard Preston sorting out a cooling hose for the cockpit. It gets very hot in there.

aircrew and engineers, a system that was disappearing from the Air Force at that

time.

A lot of the Vulcan crew training sorties took place overseas, mainly to Malta,

Cyprus, Canada, and North America, where they operated away from base with

much reduced engineering support. This required either one or two Crew Chiefs to

fly with the aircraft, a tough job but someone had to do it. Incidentally, my personal

aircraft was XM611 which eventually went to that smelter in the sky, but I actually

flew in XM655 more than any other Vulcan.

I will now go on to describe a typical overseas deployment or ‘Ranger’ as we called

them. In this case it was to Trenton, a Canadian Forces base in Canada where we

were to be based for the 1979 Toronto International Air Show. This was a big air show

over the waterfront of Lake Ontario at Toronto, and included participants from

Canada, America, and Great Britain.

The aircraft we took was none other than XM655 and of course, she was the star of

the show both over Toronto and back at Trenton. Our display captain was Flt Lt Les

Aylott who, by all accounts, put on a great demonstration and was the highlight of

the show. I took another Crew Chief with me called John, who’s basic trade was

propulsion, mine being airframes, so between us we could cover most problems.

OK, let’s start at the beginning of our trip to Trenton. On receiving details of the

deployment, I was able to speak to the Captain (Les) about the preparation,

escape drill, and any special requirements. In this case it included best uniform for

receptions, and any necessary off route spares. Our allocated aircraft was to be

taken off the normal daily training programme, so that I could get it prepared for

the trip. This included fitting a large pannier into the bomb bay using the bomb rack

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carriers and four winches. The pannier, which was about the size of a builders’ skip

but not as heavy, was used to carry a spare brake parachute, spare wheel and tyre

assemblies, spares, top up fluids and technical manuals. If I had time, I would pop

into the mess to pick up the previous day’s newspapers so that I could give them to

the lads at Goose Bay. Anyone who has served overseas will know how much these

are appreciated. I also made sure that there was enough spare space for our

‘shopping’; barbeques, bikes, and motor mowers, being popular items to bring

home.

Now we come to the escape drill. A Vulcan cockpit section was mounted about

five feet above the floor in one of the hangars, the floor being covered with thick

mattresses. The canopy was removed, and a small gangway positioned round the

side of the upper cockpit area. The crew trainer, as it was called, had its own

intercom system, all crew positions and its own unique cockpit smell which made it

a convincing environment for this practice. We all got kitted up in our flying gear

and took up our crew stations. The Captain then went through the three main

escape scenarios; these being low and high-level abandonment, and ditching. On

the command ‘abandon aircraft’ it was the Crew Chief’s job to open the main door

and slide down on to the mattresses below, followed in quick succession by the

other rear crew members. The two pilots simulated ejection by climbing out on to

the gangway. This procedure was repeated for the other escape scenarios. I know

it was just a drill in the corner of a hangar, but the realism was such that it would

always get the old ticker racing a bit.

On the morning of our flight, we all met up early at Operations for our crew breakfast,

followed by a briefing by the Captain. We then went into flying clothing for the ritual

of kitting-up into our immersion suits after a last pee (hopefully).

I have often been asked what happens when you want to go to the ‘bathroom’ in

flight. The answer is that you didn’t. Once kitted up in an immersion suit, the road to

relief was both convoluted and torturous.

We then picked up our life jacket, oxygen mask, and bone dome (after a quick

check by the safety equipment technician), before collecting the butty box which

held our flight rations. This comprised sandwiches, and choc bars etc. No fancy

Transport Command cuisine for us roughy-toughy bomber boys. Now it was time for

the crew bus ride out to the aircraft and the Crew Chief that was to send us on our

way. All our gear was stowed in the pannier, except our nav bags and rations, which

went up in the forward area of the cockpit near the camera mount. This time it was

my turn to climb in and take up my crew position in the sixth seat. Calling it a seat is

a joke as it was the box that housed the undercarriage ground locks on the

starboard side of the cockpit in front of the navigator radar. John sat in the seventh

seat opposite me, all very cosy. We did have our own ‘elephants trunk’ which

comprised our oxygen supply, intercom lead, and parachute static line clip. My

dinghy pack was my cushion, and all I had to do now was to get my life jacket,

parachute, and dinghy pack connected up correctly, which made me feel

somewhat trussed up. The other Crew Chief made the ejector seats live and then

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handed me the F700, which I would need for the trip. Once he had left the cockpit

I was able to close the crew door and stow the ladder up in the front with the rest

of our gear. It was stowed up there so that we rear crew members could vacate

the cockpit quickly in an emergency as practiced in the crew trainer.

After engine start and taxi clearance we were on our way. First stop: Goose Bay in

Labrador Canada. A quick safety brief by the Captain, followed by take-off

clearance from the tower, and we were accelerating down the runway. Our lift off

was not quite as spritely as normal because of our fuel load and pannier. At this

stage of take-off, I braced my legs against the navigator’s seat base and kept eyes

on his altimeter as we climbed away, acutely aware of what we had practiced the

day before.

Once we were in the climb we could relax a bit and get out of our parachutes etc.

I always used to tuck in to my rations quickly and stuff any leftovers into pockets in

my immersion suit, so that, if I did have leave our comfy little world in a hurry, then at

least I would have a full stomach. Not a lot went on during the flight except for the

Navigator, who kept us heading in the right direction - no GPS in those days. The

rest of the crew spent their time monitoring their systems or looking at the in-flight

library. The Captain did a crew check every half hour to ensure that we were all

OK. I would sometimes climb up the ladder between the two pilots, but there was

not a lot to see from our cruising altitude of about 45,000 feet, except the occasional

jumbo flying well below us or the icy wasteland of Greenland. The only things above

us were Concorde and the stars. An isolated but comfortable feeling is how I would

describe being up there in our compact environment. Our route took us up over

Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, before descending to Goose Bay about five and a

half hours later. Before landing, I would tidy up the cockpit and ask each member

if they have any snags to report, but by listening to them during the flight I could get

a good idea of how the aircraft was performing and, on this occasion, everything

seemed fine. I think that she was just as eager to show off in front of that Toronto

crowd as Les was. After pre-landing checks, we were soon on the ground at Goose,

where we were met by the resident RAF detachment that refuelled us and did the

turn round servicing while we had a bite to eat. At least we were able to get out of

our rather sweaty immersion suits and in to our normal flying suits. All the engineers

at Goose Bay were experienced Vulcan or Victor guys who were top notch and

turned us round very efficiently.

We were soon climbing away out of Goose Bay on our way to Trenton which, if I

remember correctly, took about three hours. The weather on arrival in their mid-

afternoon (local time) was fine and would remain warm and sunny, which made

everything so much easier. Our body clocks told us that it was late evening, but

John and I still had to put the old girl to bed before we could relax a bit. The rest of

the crew were airlifted down to Toronto in a C130 shuttle, while John and I were put

up in a local hotel just off the base, as we had to be near our aircraft.

After a full day flying the crew had a rest day when they were able to visit Niagara

Falls. But John and I were up on the base pampering our 655, ready for the display

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practice and the big day. One of the jobs was to lower the pannier so that the

watching crowd would only see the cavernous bomb bay during one of Les’s low

passes. We put about 40 % fuel on board so that the classic Vulcan climb could be

well demonstrated at the lighter all up weight. As many of you know, 655 is fitted

with 300 series Olympus engines which didn’t quite have that lovely Vulcan howl of

the 200 series engines. This was a bit of a shame, but she did have a bit more oomph

out the back, which compensated for the lack of howl (more on this later). We were

joined on the second day by two other Vulcans, one from 44 Squadron acting as

our standby aircraft, and the other one with the AOC on board (probably on a jolly).

This was reassuring as it meant that there were now six Crew Chiefs there if required.

XM655 with the other two Vulcans at Trenton.

Other visitors included a Nimrod, plus various US Navy and Air Force aircraft all

destined to take part in the show. All the engineering contingents were invited to a

multi service reception on the base, that went very well as you can probably

imagine. A lot of rivalry, banter, good comradeship, and beer flowed that evening.

We may not have had the most advanced aircraft with us, but we certainly had the

most impressive, of which we were very proud.

Please allow me to digress for a moment as there was one aspect of the trip I would

like to mention, and that was the photographs that I took. Soon after I became a

Crew Chief I realised that taking a cumbersome SLR camera was a waste of time.

On many of these trips we used to go sightseeing as a crew during the day, followed

by an evening of eating and general merriment so, as you can imagine, a bulky

camera was a real pain in the whatsit and a liability. I therefore purchased the best

110 format camera I could afford as it was very compact and quite good for its time

(although nowhere as good as modern day digital cameras). I have had a lot of

my prints digitized and tarted-up a bit, but they are still of poorer quality that we

come to expect today so please excuse the picture quality.

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Other participants for the show

Day three had John and I preparing 655 for a practice display with all the other

teams, over the Toronto waterfront about 20 minutes flying time away. On its return,

Les reported a fluctuating hydraulic pressure reading, which pointed to a suspect

pressure transmitter located in the forward bomb bay somewhere. We ‘borrowed’

one from the AOC’s aircraft and soon had it fitted. A quick engine run proved it to

be serviceable, so she was ready for the first display. I often wonder if that pressure

transmitter is still there after all these years.

After each flight, Les and crew were flown back to Toronto and their hotel, whilst

John and I were provided with the biggest American car we had ever seen. I’m

glad that I wasn’t paying for the fuel.

Day four was the first proper display, and the feedback that I got from operations

was that it went very well, especially the climb out. I was soon to find out why.

One irritating snag we had was a leaking crew entrance door seal, but as the

aircraft was only flying low level and not pressurised, this was not a problem.

However, I purchased a rather nice puncture repair outfit locally, paid for by HM,

and patched up the seal for the time being. A signal went off to Waddington for a

new door seal so that we could cross the North Atlantic without having to rely on my

patch. Maybe she is still wearing that same seal as well as the pressure transmitter.

On its return from that first display, 655 was escorted by four Canadian F101 Voodoos

in formation.

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F101 Voodoos in formation with XM655 of 101 Squadron on return from Toronto.

Each of the Voodoos landed in quick succession, followed by Les who performed

the classic Vulcan aerodynamic braking. A great sight enjoyed by all who saw it. At

least it was something the Americans couldn’t do with their large aircraft.

Once we had debriefed, I started doing my after flight inspection and preparing her

for the final display flight.

As I mentioned earlier, 655 is fitted with the uprated engines which, if my memory

serves me right, had a thrust of about 21000 lbs each compared with about 17000

lbs from the 200 series. To limit the thrust from the 300 series and probably to conserve

engine life, a ‘take off / cruise’ selector switch was fitted in the pilot’s console. This

switch was normally safety wired in the de-rated cruise position using breakable

copper wire. I noticed that this wire had been broken after the two previous flights,

and I realised that Les had done a crafty over the lakes and ‘inadvertently’ selected

’take off’. (That was why he was getting a cracking good climb out of the old girl).

Before ‘inadvertently’ reselecting ‘cruise’. I only wish I had seen the climb. I thought

that I would get my own back in a light-hearted way for breaking a small part of my

aeroplane, so I attached a card label to the switch when relocking the broken wire.

On this card I printed ‘Kn***er Grabber Selector Switch’. On day five he found it on

his next crew in and we both shared the joke, but it was broken again after the final

display. He owed me a pint for that, luckily Les and I got on very well together.

On return from the final display, John and I did our after flight inspection, which

luckily was snag free except for the patched door seal, replacement for which we

were still waiting. The shuttle C130 was waiting for all the engineering crews to

complete their work so that it could fly us all down to Toronto for the big reception

with lots of high ranking dignitaries and military personnel. This flight was a story in

itself which may get told one day. Best bib and tucker tonight and we were on our

best behaviour as we felt that we were representing our squadron, our Air Force and

our country. The eats and drinks were rather nice though.

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On the morning of day six (not too early) we were flown back to Trenton for our

return flight prep day, which included refitting the pannier into the bomb bay. We

still had to wait for the door seal to arrive from UK, which I seem to remember came

in the next day via a scheduled airline. With the pressure over and a bit of spare

time, John and I ventured out to one of the local towns in our vast Yank tank for a

bit of sightseeing, as we didn’t get the chance to see Niagara Falls earlier - which I

have always regretted.

Day seven and our new door seal arrived, so we quickly fitted it and sorted

everything for our double stage flight back to Waddo. One last job was to go

around to all the Canadian sections at Trenton to thank everyone who had helped

us. They certainly made our job easier and were a great bunch of lads. Les and

crew arrived back on the C130 shuttle and we were soon up and away to Goose

Bay after a low fly by over the airfield. At least we could check that the door seal

was OK now that we were pressurised. A quick stop at Goose Bay for a refuel and

turn around, and it was time to dig out those smelly immersion suits from the front of

the cabin and get ready for our flight home. After about five hours we landed back

at base late at night, to be welcomed by the duty Crew Chief, who did the

technical debrief. Then it was off to bed for us.

The following morning, I was back on the squadron getting 655 back to her normal

sortie state, which meant lowering the pannier and returning all the spares back to

the respective sections round the base.

That was the end of my Trenton trip. It had gone very well, with the aircraft

performing better than expected (especially in the climb) whilst remaining

serviceable with only a few minor snags, and we had shown how professional the

RAF could be. What did I come away with from this trip? I came away with happy

memories, new friends and a lovely puncture repair kit. Can’t be bad.

XM655 at Des Moines, Iowa on another trip and another story. Richard is 2nd on right, captain is S/L Kevin Jackson.

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Great NEW items in store NOW! Kay Prestidge

We now have our exciting new pin badges and keyring instore. They are available

on our webstore or in our store at XM655.

A pewter Vulcan bomber mounted on

a quality key chain.

£4.00 each plus p&p.

A Vulcan bomber in pewter supplied on

a pin with clasp.

The information card gives a brief history

about the developments in aviation.


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Pewter Lancaster supplied on a pin with

clasp. The information on the reverse of

the card describes the Lancaster and

when it was used.


Pewter Spitfire supplied on a pin with

clasp. The information on the reverse of

the card describes the Spitfire and

when it was used.


These great new items are available from our shop at XM655, or through our internet

webstore: http://xm655.com/webstore-departments/

PHOTO CREDITS

Cover photo by Bryan Nimmo; “The two Mikes” by Clive Hanley; Vulcan crystal ball

view by Ann Ross-Tuson; Toronto / Trenton photos courtesy of Richard Preston.

All other photos taken by 655MaPS volunteers.

_______________________________________________________________________________________


Financial Report Eric Ranshaw

This is the report for the last financial year, as approved by the elected auditor,

which was presented and adopted at the AGM held on 5th May 2018.

FINANCIAL REPORT OF 655 MAINTENANCE AND PRESERVATION SOCIETY

for the financial year 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018

Current Prior

Year Year

Income

Casual Donations 3,848.07 3,994.80

Organised Visits 4,475.00 5,947.03

Member Donations 1,373.58 1,660.29

PayPal Donations 241.30 279.54

Membership Subscriptions 6,958.43 8,642.32

Sale of Merchandise 8,163.40 10,997.80

Run Day Income (Last) 0.00 15,417.71

Run Day Income (Next) 0.00 0.00

Interest 31.33 41.50

Xmas Lunch 724.35 705.50

Photoshoot 4,500.00 0.00

Members Day 639.13 712.05

Memorabilia Sales 462.57 971.00

Total 31,417.16 49,369.54

Expenditure

Merchandise Purchase + Postage 3,029.26 7,325.49

Aircraft Spares & Repairs 3,992.74 5,015.60

Fuel Tank Project 52,474.22

Aircraft Fuel 819.00 5,888.40

Run Day Expenses (Last) 0.00 5,596.55

Run Day Expenses (Next) 0.00 26.40

Ground Equipment 1,632.86 2,644.56

Ground Equipment Fuel 450.38 397.18

Membership Expenses 1,066.40 1,470.38

Domestic Consumables etc 313.24 162.93

Office costs 246.70 526.39

Insurance 1,225.00 533.75

Utilities 2,486.51 1,672.49

Building Improvements 414.18 2,024.27

Event Equipment 485.00 0.00

Tools, Consumables etc 2,053.44 3,565.87

Volunteer Equipment & Training 227.99 1,241.52

Public Relations 307.90 241.55

Xmas Lunch 724.35 732.40

Photoshoot 286.09 0.00

Members Day 2016 873.75 1,341.00

Memorabilia Sales Costs 15.00 123.40

Total 73,124.01 40,530.13

Surplus/(Deficit) 41,706.85 8,839.41

xm655 during last october’s twilight photoshoot€¦ · xm655 during last october’s twilight...

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