Lecky 0 Posted November 23, 2008 Theres a new erk on the dispersal and I'm showing him round the Lincoln. Its a cold day and the NAAAFI wagon has been, so we take our coffee and wads up into the nose position out of the wind and I carry on telling him about the do's and don'ts of the Lincoln. We finish break and before I could stop him, the newbie threw his coffee dregs down what looked like a drain in the floor. It wasn't a drain, oh no. There was a bang and a thud and a ten man dinghy popped out of the wing root. The looke alike drain was the flotation switch for the dinghy in case of a ditching at sea. I had to put him on a charge and he received seven days confined to camp and had to pay £5 towards the cost of putting the dinghy back in its stowage!!! Ken. Theres a lot more in this vein, Interested? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,884 Posted November 23, 2008 haha - jeez did he think the plane had an inbuilt sewerage system or something! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syrinx 13 Posted November 23, 2008 lol. Good stuff ! Maybe he thought it was new version Elsan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ST0RM 145 Posted November 23, 2008 Great stuff Ken. Please continue. Jeff P.S. Welcome to CA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lecky 0 Posted November 24, 2008 (edited) Great stuff Ken. Please continue. Jeff P.S. Welcome to CA Tales from the RAF. A Canberra was going on a Nav ex and I was out front controlling things. I pointed to the port engine, there a bang and a cloud of black smoke and No 1 comes up to idle. I point to starboard and all hell is let loose, the turbo starter explodes throwing red hot turbine blades through the fuselage side into No 1 tank, kerosene floods out onto the still burning cartridge and the whole lot goes up! I'll give the crew there due, they were out in ten seconds, they even rescued there chutes ( They had to, they would have to pay for them!) An emergency phone call to the fire section and the fire sections' brand new Rolls Royce powered fire engine comes hurtling round the peri track. It squeals to halt at the blaze and an erk in gents natty asbestos suiting jumps down, points a huge pipe at the blaze and shouts S"end it froo. Noffink came Froo". They were so busy polishing their new toy, they had'nt filled it with foam. So us ground crew, stood round in a big circle continued warming our hads at the bo nfire, after all it was a cold January! After a while the wheel hubs and cockpit coaming which were magnesium alloy went up, we averted our eyes till it subsided (Self preservation?) After another ten minutes or so, some one muttered, "What about the ejector seats". We all backed of a sensible 20 yards more and sure enough there was a triple explosion and three seat tubes shot a couple of hundred feet into the air dragging the remains of the seats with them. The next morning there was a silhouette of a Canberra burnt into the tarmac and two Avon engines in situ. There were also new faces at the fire section a few days later. Ken Edited November 24, 2008 by Lecky Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ST0RM 145 Posted November 25, 2008 Great story! Shame about the Canberra. Always sad to hear of a jet burning up. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spinners 15,986 Posted November 25, 2008 Two classics there! Much appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GASCAN39 7 Posted November 25, 2008 "There were also new faces at the fire section a few days later." As there should be! Spent some time as a fire chief (glorified babysitter, at times) and our trucks even had little flashing lights on the pump panel to let you know the level of water (or other agent) Yet sometimes, idiot lights did not help Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Dora 171 Posted November 25, 2008 It was Waddiington, 1969 I think (got this from two sources, one from a friend on attachement there that year, then heard it myself on attachment there in 1974). Waddington Wing had wholly converted to Vulcans B2, only Vulcan B1 left on base was the fire practice aircraft. Thing was, stood on its stilt-like legs, it didn't give the Fire Section very realistic practice at getting people out of a crashlanded Vulcan - this would surely be on its belly. Aircraft's hydraulics were long u/s, so they couldn't do the obvious thing - jack it up, raise the undercarriage, then lower it to the ground. So all gave it some thought, and S Arm O came up with an innovative solution. He could use this then-new stuff called Miniature Detonating Cord (MDC - it's long been used in most Brit aircraft canopies to shatter the glass a microsecond before the bang seat goes through it). On the day of the great spectacle, whole station turned out to watch. Because MDC was still new, and S Arm O wasn't quite sure of its capabilities, he calculated the amount required then tripled it. Wrapped MDC round tops of all three undercarriage legs, installed fuses, checked all the fuse lines, retired behind the sandbag wall a couple of hundred yards away, then closed the contacts. He'd only forgotten two things. Vulcan undercarriage legs were made of magnesium alloy. And although the aircafts wing fuel tanks were empty, they'd never been purged. Result was that a couple of blazing 15 foot magnesium candles were rammed through huge tanks full of kero vapour... Fire Section got their "realistic" practice after, though rather more realism than they'd expected. Huge triangular scorch mark was visible at Waddo for years afterwards... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Jimbib 746 Posted November 25, 2008 Tales from the RAF.A Canberra was going on a Nav ex and I was out front controlling things. I pointed to the port engine, there a bang and a cloud of black smoke and No 1 comes up to idle. I point to starboard and all hell is let loose, the turbo starter explodes throwing red hot turbine blades through the fuselage side into No 1 tank, kerosene floods out onto the still burning cartridge and the whole lot goes up! I'll give the crew there due, they were out in ten seconds, they even rescued there chutes ( They had to, they would have to pay for them!) An emergency phone call to the fire section and the fire sections' brand new Rolls Royce powered fire engine comes hurtling round the peri track. It squeals to halt at the blaze and an erk in gents natty asbestos suiting jumps down, points a huge pipe at the blaze and shouts S"end it froo. Noffink came Froo". They were so busy polishing their new toy, they had'nt filled it with foam. So us ground crew, stood round in a big circle continued warming our hads at the bo nfire, after all it was a cold January! After a while the wheel hubs and cockpit coaming which were magnesium alloy went up, we averted our eyes till it subsided (Self preservation?) After another ten minutes or so, some one muttered, "What about the ejector seats". We all backed of a sensible 20 yards more and sure enough there was a triple explosion and three seat tubes shot a couple of hundred feet into the air dragging the remains of the seats with them. The next morning there was a silhouette of a Canberra burnt into the tarmac and two Avon engines in situ. There were also new faces at the fire section a few days later. Ken An engine start on a canberra is a sight to behold in itself compared to other aircraft. Great stories chaps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,884 Posted November 25, 2008 Haha - tragic but great stories there!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sugarblues 0 Posted November 25, 2008 Thanks for sharing these Gentlemen... it's stories like these that always make us remember our days in uniform fondly... !! Defending democracy comes with a laugh or two! SB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GASCAN39 7 Posted November 25, 2008 Not the RAF, but the stories about fire training brought this to mind - One of Saddam's old Mig-21s used to simulate an engine fire. This was at Taji, Iraq, while I got certified in ARFF (Airport Resce Fire Fighter). Pretty ingenious and cheap training prop, considering we were just a bunch of lowly, overpaid, underworked civilian contractors!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
