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[Marks DTM Calib]

......long live british engineering!

Well, a certain plane which is very close to my heart has now had its Major completed ready for first flight. For me this is great news as this aircraft is the last 100% British designed aircraft we did and its VERY unlikely we will do any more since the demise of our aircraft industry. It was also the building block from which Concorde was desgned and was used to test the Concorde, TSR2 and the current Tornado engines!

Its sad to think that this design was completed some 50 years ago.........

So yes, the Vulcan is back with first flight due in the next few weeks, this will be followed by further test flights and then a few displays this season which will be simple fly pasts until a display license is granted. See here for further details:

www.tvoc.co.uk

The fact that its back ready to fly is one HELL of an achievement with people putting in 16 hour shifts and working flat out to do it. I was lucky enough to go and see it in the hanger again yesterday and it certainly looks fantastic.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of items removed during this work, some 30 tons of stuff. As a result its close to being able to be sat on its tail and launched verticaly due to the large amount of power the 4 Olympus 201's produce (it was always hugely over powered!)

Last week saw all 4 engines running at full chat, it apparantly upset a local resident, not the noise but, the tiles rattling on his roof from the jet blast!

So, long live british engineering......even if we are no longer capable of designing such marvels any more.

[STMO123]

......long live british engineering!

Well, a certain plane which is very close to my heart has now had its Major completed ready for first flight. For me this is great news as this aircraft is the last 100% British designed aircraft we did and its VERY unlikely we will do any more since the demise of our aircraft industry. It was also the building block from which Concorde was desgned and was used to test the Concorde, TSR2 and the current Tornado engines!

Its sad to think that this design was completed some 50 years ago.........

So yes, the Vulcan is back with first flight due in the next few weeks, this will be followed by further test flights and then a few displays this season which will be simple fly pasts until a display license is granted. See here for further details:

www.tvoc.co.uk

The fact that its back ready to fly is one HELL of an achievement with people putting in 16 hour shifts and working flat out to do it. I was lucky enough to go and see it in the hanger again yesterday and it certainly looks fantastic.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of items removed during this work, some 30 tons of stuff. As a result its close to being able to be sat on its tail and launched verticaly due to the large amount of power the 4 Olympus 201's produce (it was always hugely over powered!)

Last week saw all 4 engines running at full chat, it apparantly upset a local resident, not the noise but, the tiles rattling on his roof from the jet blast!

So, long live british engineering......even if we are no longer capable of designing such marvels any more.

Not sure about that. We're still at the forefront of design, just no money to carry it forward

[Goonlord]

......long live british engineering!

Well, a certain plane which is very close to my heart has now had its Major completed ready for first flight. For me this is great news as this aircraft is the last 100% British designed aircraft we did and its VERY unlikely we will do any more since the demise of our aircraft industry. It was also the building block from which Concorde was desgned and was used to test the Concorde, TSR2 and the current Tornado engines!

Its sad to think that this design was completed some 50 years ago.........

So yes, the Vulcan is back with first flight due in the next few weeks, this will be followed by further test flights and then a few displays this season which will be simple fly pasts until a display license is granted. See here for further details:

www.tvoc.co.uk

The fact that its back ready to fly is one HELL of an achievement with people putting in 16 hour shifts and working flat out to do it. I was lucky enough to go and see it in the hanger again yesterday and it certainly looks fantastic.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of items removed during this work, some 30 tons of stuff. As a result its close to being able to be sat on its tail and launched verticaly due to the large amount of power the 4 Olympus 201's produce (it was always hugely over powered!)

Last week saw all 4 engines running at full chat, it apparantly upset a local resident, not the noise but, the tiles rattling on his roof from the jet blast!

So, long live british engineering......even if we are no longer capable of designing such marvels any more.

Just a pity all it was designed to do was bring death and destruction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Markjay]

Not sure about that. We're still at the forefront of design, just no money to carry it forward

Working with the Engineering department at Delphi Diesel, I'll agree with that.

Also, the V6 is all ours  

[Marks DTM Calib]

......long live british engineering!

Well, a certain plane which is very close to my heart has now had its Major completed ready for first flight. For me this is great news as this aircraft is the last 100% British designed aircraft we did and its VERY unlikely we will do any more since the demise of our aircraft industry. It was also the building block from which Concorde was designed and was used to test the Concorde, TSR2 and the current Tornado engines!

Its sad to think that this design was completed some 50 years ago.........

So yes, the Vulcan is back with first flight due in the next few weeks, this will be followed by further test flights and then a few displays this season which will be simple fly pasts until a display license is granted. See here for further details:

www.tvoc.co.uk

The fact that its back ready to fly is one HELL of an achievement with people putting in 16 hour shifts and working flat out to do it. I was lucky enough to go and see it in the hanger again yesterday and it certainly looks fantastic.

Interestingly, there has been a lot of items removed during this work, some 30 tons of stuff. As a result its close to being able to be sat on its tail and launched vertically due to the large amount of power the 4 Olympus 201's produce (it was always hugely over powered!)

Last week saw all 4 engines running at full chat, it apparently upset a local resident, not the noise but, the tiles rattling on his roof from the jet blast!

So, long live british engineering......even if we are no longer capable of designing such marvels any more.

Not sure about that. We're still at the forefront of design, just no money to carry it forward

The skill set required to design such complete complex beasts as this is now gone.......and in the modern competitive market, its difficult to see how it can be brought back.

Plus the word 'Engineer' is the most abused word in the English language with the likes of plumbers and repair people miss using it. As a result, graduates don't choose it any more so the skill set is further threatened and its not like you can get a true apprenticeship any more.

We are now little more than a service base country and the majority of services do nothing to bring revenue into the country....they just churn internal money around whilst leaching a bit out all the time to buy foreign goods.....

Plus, for the final 10 years of its life, the Vulcan brought a lot of pleasure to the masses.....

For me, the Vulcan is a major part of our history and much more important than some of the crap current lottery money is spent on.

[Tony H]

Great news mark
I remember when I was at school one of the test flight paths for the Concorde was along the Irish sea coast so we used to see it and marvel at it regulary.

[Scrawni]

Look back over the last couple of hundred years and see what has come out of Britain.

Passenger railways,
Television,
Telephone,
Radar,
The first iron bridge and suspension bridge,
The steam engine

The list goes on, and I mean these are major feats that have changed the world not just things like walkmans.

What do we ahve to look forward to now.

[Markjay]

Look back over the last couple of hundred years and see what has come out of Britain.

Passenger railways,
Television,
Telephone,
Radar,
The first iron bridge and suspension bridge,
The steam engine

The list goes on, and I mean these are major feats that have changed the world not just things like walkmans.

What do we ahve to look forward to now.

...the jet engine...

[Martin_1962]

It will be good to see - but personally I would love to see XR220 restored

[Martin_1962]

Also the computer

[RonaldMcBurger]

Interesteing thread for me this one Mark:

I worked on the TSR2, that VERY few people even know existed! I was the first RAF person to work on teh Tornado when it landed at RAF Cottesmore in 1980. I also worked on The Vulcan at RAF Waddington.

Small world.

Withjout doubt my favourite ever aircraft in order of preference are:

1. Vulcan
2. Shackton
3. Lightning
4. Comet (Civilian)
5. Phantom F4
6. Jaguar

Great memories of a now distant past for me. Great days, but sadly gone. GREAT to see the Vulcan project nearing its end. That is one wonderful aircraft and SOooooooo far ahead of its times.

I would love to se TSR2 fly, but that won't be happening.

[Martin_1962]

My dad has seen TSR2 fly - he used to be a mechanic in the RAF and it is their fault I ended up where I did.

(My dad was fed up of going from place to place and managed to stay at the same posting for last few years before finishing).

I have seen Vulcans ect flying, but I would love to see another Lightning

[Markjay]

From a distant past I am very well familiar with the Phantom F4, very formidable aircraft, and there are few things more impressive than standing next to the runway when an F4 takes off at night with both aft burners!

[Marks DTM Calib]

They were running one of the Lightnings up at Bruntingthorpe (they have two which can be fast Taxi'ed) on Saturday.

You wont ever see a Ligthning fly in this country as one was re-built to full flight worthyness in the 90's and the CAA refused to grant permission to fly.....so it was taken apart bit by bit and shipped to South Africa where there are now 4 flying.....including two twin seaters. Yet another stunning aircraft!

[Elite Pete]

I think you carnt beat the sound of a Merlin