Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

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hunterxf382
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by hunterxf382 »

After much behind-the-scenes work, the new look website has been launched today, ready for the forthcoming season of activity on WR963 as the Old Grey Lady awakens from her winter rest. Have a look by all means :smile:

http://www.avroshackleton.co.uk/
Last edited by hunterxf382 on Thu 12 Mar 2015, 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by Binbrook 01 »

Its very nice :smile:

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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by Pringles »

As above, very nice! I shall be following the latest news section closely, and hopefully I will be able to pop by sometime this year and see her in the flesh :biggrin:
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by flashman8 »

just watched the last two videos......................... :biggrin:

great stuff.................. :yahoo:

looking forward very much to seeing this beats of a machine in the air once again..................... :clap:

long live WR963..................... :worship:
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of updates, however I have some good news... this month we have something quite interesting going on!

We've started a Kickstarter project - basically a crowdfunding attempt - to help raise funding for NDT and structural inspections, and the Trustees have come up with some great rewards for backers of the project.

Smaller rewards include taking the co-pilots seat during a run-up of the engines, and engraved Griffon pistons. The biggest and best reward is the offer of taking the co-pilots seat during a taxy run of the aircraft this summer.... as far as we're aware there's nowhere else in the world the public can get their hands on the throttles of an Avro 4-engined heavy, and nowhere you will get chance to taxy the aircraft from one of the best seats in the beast!

Here's the link -


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/18 ... -to-flight


Kind regards,

Rich
Richard Woods
Team leader Avro Shackleton WR963
2009 - 2016
2019 -
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by Tommy »

It's also worth plugging their Twitter feed for those of you on social media:

https://twitter.com/WR963

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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by Domvickery »

Good to see that nearly £3k has been raised since Rich's post went up :clap:
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Hi chaps - we're up past £6k with 20 days still to go!

This is the first ever time we've had the begging bowl out in public; and we've held it off as long as possible (some five years or so since we started heading this direction). Please, please help - even if its just £1 it will make a difference. The team are putting in heroic work on the aircraft; Saturday saw the removal of both of No 4's propellers, a reduction gear "GITS" seal, the refitting of it all and a successful run-up of the engine.

There is more to come and the endoscope we put into WR963's wing a couple of weeks ago showed promising results. We can deliver a flying Shackleton... we just need help!

Kind regards,

Rich W
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

To add to the last post - here's a a look inside the wing from a few weeks ago. So far so good and not bad at all for an aircraft that has spent 24 years sat outdoors on grass.

Image

Image

Image
Last edited by richw_82 on Sat 18 Dec 2021, 12:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by AMB »

Whilst I commend all the engineering work carried out and without wishing to nit-pick, when the next time some paintwork needs to be done, please could the markings be made a bit more accurate, like the centre of the fuselage roundels enlarged as they look like 1930s RAF roundels? Also the letter codes are too thin.
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Hi Adrian,

I think this was discussed on the Flypast forum not long after we painted the aircraft white. The entire size of the fuselage roundels are incorrect as the AEW2 has its flare dischargers in a different place and makes life difficult in terms of replicating accuately an early scheme. As a result we only tried to represent it - knowing at some point WR963 will require a complete strip, corrosion inspection and repaint.

Other inaccuracies are the code letters (thinned to go around the ice warning and ADD antennae on the nose), the black anti glare panel, the red spinners, the lack of trestling markings, and the fact that the white paint is a semi gloss finish. Add to that the configuration of WR963 is incorrect for the colour scheme in that she has things like exhaust pipes, Orange Harvest mast, no ASV radome to speak of, no mid-upper fitted and AEW2 short bomb doors there's enough incorrect to give the purist a heart attack. And thats before you peer inside..

The long term plan is to put her back to MR2 Phase 3 fit - which will require minimum airframe work, but several changes of equipment. Some we already have, some we're acquiring. The paint scheme will likely be her 205 Sqn colours so back to grey with a white top, and blue spinners. And this time it will be as accurate as possible with the two small exceptions of the names under the cockpit windows. They stay no matter the colour.

I hope this is a satisfactory explanation? :lol:

Regards,

Rich W
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by AMB »

Blimey, that's pretty comprehensive and ambitious Rich. I only suggested the roundels and codes were slightly amended! If this current scheme was so difficult to paint accurately, that begs the questiion why repaint it from its 38 Sqn. scheme as I thought that really looked the part and couldn't fault it?
Adrian

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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Hi,

Sorry if that sounded slightly harsh... I was trying to explain the thinking behind what we did and why.

The white was done as we needed a stand out scheme to make WR963 instantly recognisable. Up until around 2009 there were very few people knew there was a Shack at Coventry capable of running, and we needed to make her stand out. By choosing a scheme - even if we couldn't fully do it justice - that was last seen in 1959 and such a different colour it achieved that goal. A current photo of a Shack in white and most people now react by asking "Is that the one at Coventry?" Her first pilot (who is now in his mid-90's) visited us last year, and it pleased him greatly to see her white, so even the pseudo-224 Sqn scheme still works to some extent. We're willing to let the errors slide at the moment because there's so much more to be done, and we know the next repaint will be spot on and to the manufacturers drawings.

The 38 Sqn colours weren't too bad but again the fuselage markings were compromised because of the flare dischargers. The "38" on the side was very squeezed in, and the "X" on the nose made very small and square. Most of the trestle and stencil markings were vinyl and the grey paint started to wear through very quickly to the old 8 Sqn colours - something that became even more evident when we started prepping for the white to go on.

Image

We knew even back in 2009 we'd have another repaint on the horizon so this was only ever going to be temporary as we could never get the airframe correct. In terms of the 205 Sqn colours we can make the airframe suit the scheme - perfectly. We are collecting items such as cameras and their housings, The mid portion of the ASV (we already have the lower portion) various on board sonics kit, a front turret and its fittings and a whole host more. We did start looking at an earlier MR2 fit and found a few items such as a mid upper turret cupola and stub exhausts, but to make the airframe correct we would have to lose various parts externally for ILS, heaters, Orange Harvest 'sparkplug' mast, the stall warning and VHF radio to make it look correct. Inside we'd have to lose the galley and rebuild most of the beam position.


We want 963 to be correct when we're done, so the 205 Sqn colours work out at the best solution. We can afford to lose the white as the next repaint will be the colours we put her in to go flying; so she'll still be well known.


Kind regards,

Rich
Last edited by richw_82 on Sat 18 Dec 2021, 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Hi all,

With 13 days to go we're just over £8000 towards our structural inspections. We really need your help if we're going to make it!

Besides the taxi run, there are also Griffon pistons, a Michael Rondot Shackleton print, polo shirts and other things available as rewards for different levels of support. We know the Kickstarter platform is a bit clunky to use and requires sign up; but we really would appreciate it if people could take the time - even if its £1 it helps get WR963 closer to flight.

We haven't had the begging bowl out until now, having made it from a dead aeroplane up to a taxying, live and growling Avro masterpiece. We need help to go that little bit further.

Again, help if you can; or share the information if you can't directly.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/18 ... -to-flight


Kind regards,

Rich
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by hunterxf382 »

Only 9 days to go - please take a look at this link and check out the unique rewards for pledging your support to this amazing project!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1811202265/avro-shackleton-wr963-return-to-flight
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

6 days to go and less than £1500 to hit the target! Please help us if you can by pledging or sharing the link, it makes all the difference.

First public engine run of the year is on May 2nd for Airbase's reopening, so if you haven't heard the Griffon growl this year now's your chance! This is only a static run-up - WR963 has moved under her own power a couple of times since september, but not far due to being unable to maintain the pneumatic pressure on the failed side. We intend to have the port brake sorted shortly, so taxi runs will resume asap.

Kind regards,

Rich W
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by Domvickery »

Congrats on passing the £12k goal with still 5 days to go :clap:

I'll be back over again mid may to get my hands dirty!
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Thanks to all that made it happen, we hit (and surpassed) the target! As soon as the Kickstarter ends, we'll be cracking on sorting the rewards out, and also getting things organised to get deep inside some parts of WR963 that haven't seen daylight since her last major.

Regards,

Rich

(Dom, you'll be more than welcome, there's always plenty to do.)
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by 106500 »

Great to see a big crowd view today's engine run. Pity only three ran. A spectacle all the same. Here's to a good future :smile:

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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Yeah, it was frustrating as hell from my point of view on the Engineers's panel when that No 3 engine - the first to normally start - wouldn't!

Initial diagnosis is that we've had a failure of the ignition system; possibly the boost coil, or the magneto switches. There was plenty of fuel, our Crew Cheif verified it was coming out the intake overflow.

Regards,

Rich
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by richw_82 »

Hi all,

I thought I'd post a little update into progress over the past couple of weeks. As always its two steps forward, one back as the run up on 2nd May did not go at all according to plan.


The event itself? Fantastic from our point of view. The crowd must have easily been a couple of thousand people despite the slightly grey and cold conditions, and the queue to get on board WR963 for a look around stretched out towards the wingtip most of the day. We made a lot of new friends, met a few old ones, and made a lot of people aware of what our intent is for the Shackleton.

So you can imagine our frustration when No 3 just turned on the starter, peed fuel out the priming drain and refused to do so much as cough! We believed the problem to be in the booster coil connection to the magneto or the mag itself, as while there was plenty of fuel there wasn't even a hint of life in the engine, it felt as if we were turning it over with the switches off.

The rest of the run-up went fairly well, and with careful management of the brake pressures (only one compressor available because No 3 was U/S) we still managed to exercise things and blow out the cobwebs after a fairly lengthy quiet period over winter. Then came the bigger problem. After settling the engines down and bringing them to a halt, the starboard undercarriage indicator flickered then went from a 'green' indication to a 'red'. Never has that tiny little light looked so evil or so bright...

We got off the aircraft fairly carefully and thanks to the crowd barriers were able to keep everyone away. Tentative checking of all the ground locks was done before venturing into the undercarriage bay to see what the problem was, as none of us wanted to see WR963 take up a reclining position, or for one of us to get intimate with a mainwheel. A quick check of the jacks and the downlocks showed the inboard hydraulic ram had crept back just enough to set the switch to open and show the red. With persuasion the ram would come out to its full extent, but soon crept back again. The decision was taken to manually adjust the lock to prevent any creep from the ram inadvertantly unlocking the leg, and unfortunately to limit access to the aircraft for the time being.


Fast forward to a couple of weeks later and the team were on site from just before 10am to just after 9pm; determined to get to the bottom of things.

The intent of the day's work was to try and trace the problem that caused the red light on the Starboard undercarriage and if possible fix it, it was thought that one of the valves was not properly selecting 'down' and preventing hydraulic pressure to the rams. So out came the multimeters and they started getting pushed into various places on WR963 and the problem was slowly traced back to the wire from the undercarriage selector switch in the cockpit to the 'down' selector valve in the starboard undercarriage bay. It appears to have a short to earth in the starboard wing leading edge area. Normally one side of it is always live - so you have either an up selection, or a down selection. In this case both sides are unpowered so the hydraulics are 'free'.

The complete undercarriage system on that side is not being supplied with hydraulic pressure to ensure the gear stays down and locked, and because of this, the starboard inboard ram was allowed to retract in an uncommanded fashion - unlocking the leg. Because we haven't managed to replace the damaged/shorted wire yet, WR963 is still closed to the public for the time being, meanwhile we're getting stuck into the manuals and planning the best course of action for getting to and repairing it.

As this work was going on, so were other bits around the aircraft.

While working in the undercarriage bays, Mark Ward and his son Curtis have been making amazing progress. This is a before and after shot of one of the undercarriage locks. As we're overhauling things there will be a retraction test at some point, and the locks have had precious little attention in the last 25 years other than making sure that they are positively engaged..

Image

Image


As mentioned, work was also being carried out on No 3 engine, and as predicted the problem seemed to be related to the boost coil. Initally there was some head scratching as there seemed to be no output from the booster coil despite it buzzing away merrily. Investigation slowly narrowed things down and it was found that while the primary coil was doing its job, the secondary coil had failed. A replacement was fitted from our stock and once the undercarriage issue is sorted we will be able to try and test run the engine.

Time was taken during the day to have a look at our latest acquisition, a hydraulic servicing rig.

Image

As its been stood for some time it was suffering from stale petrol, a seized clutch and a few other issues, but by the end of the day it was turning over freely with good oil pressure. Would it start? No. As often with WR963, a magneto fault of all things...

Last but by no means least, some work in the drawing archive, which is slowly coming back into some kind of order due to the efforts of SPT team member Michelle Mclaughlin. We had to dig out some more drawings for use in a certain plastic model project, and these will be dispatched shortly. When looking through the manifest, once again we were reminded how much Avro DNA is within the Shackleton.

Image

All in all a fairly productive day, and we'll be back on the 30th.

Regards,

Rich

(Photos courtesy of Mark Ward, Michelle Mclaughlin and Phil Woods)
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by hunterxf382 »

Some good news!
After spending three whole days at Coventry in the company of two other ex-RAF members of the team, the ongoing undercarriage and No.3 engine issues have finally been resolved, meaning that we can look forward now to July 4th when WR963 will be performing a full engine run as part of Classic Air Force's Baginton Air Pageant :yahoo:

http://www.classicairforce.com/baginton-air-pageant

We are hoping to blow the cobwebs out in spectacular style of course...

Here's the end result of the long weekend's work - the more observant will notice that No.3 didn't start first time, but that was due to another gremlin found but now resolved...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v42JeoEvbaM[/youtube]

For more information, click on our website in my signature link below :smile:
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by flashman8 »

great stuff guys, wonderful to hear a Growler doing its stuff............... :yahoo:
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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by Hasboman »

That noise! :drool:

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Re: Shackleton WR963 - [Official Topic]

Post by hunterxf382 »

:grin: Must admit that running on just the two was a bit loud - but on four it's deafening :biggrin:
One of our member's wives heard us from their caravan site over 3 miles away.....lol

It's going to be good to see the crowd reaction on July 4th - our chairman seems to think we need to check the engine-driven generator balance which means opening the throttles rather more than you see in my video... :heyhey:
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