A Little VC10derness

150 appears in this weeks Autocar magazine as backdrop to photo of Merc AMG! I notice the ELRAT is down?

I notice the ELRAT is down

Sounds like someone has been playing in the cockpit!

Tonks

... Or trying to prove the VC10 really is environmentally friendly!

Tonkenna wrote:

I notice the ELRAT is down

Sounds like someone has been playing in the cockpit!

Tonks

I think GJD were required to drop it as part of the decomissioning process. Certainly the case with 148 anyway.

Just out of interest, how is the ELRAT deployed? I have seen the lever on the flight deck of A40-AB secured with a wire (for obvious reasons). I had always guessed it was either a powerful spring, by compressed air, or did it simply rely on gravity?

The elrat is deployed by a compressed spring strut, much fun to be had re-stowing it after a deployment .

Lock wiring the operating handle on the flight deck is a good idea for a preserved aircraft, normally the ground locking pin ensures against accidental deployment, but if that has gone missing, the elrat becomes pretty lethal if it is operated accidentally.

Ground testing the RAT was interesting. We used to get the rig from Weybridge which was a bus engine connected to a large propeller, in a cage, on a steel frame. You pointed the fan at the RAT, fired up the engine and let rip. Normally it was done over lunchtime so as the minimise the disruption. They did once without clearing/securing all the check paperwork first.

On the 757 to test the RAT you use the a/c hydraulics to back drive it. On the Airbus you attach an hyd motor to the RAT. How times change

The force of the deployment was such that we had to NDT the structure after each drop to check for cracks, as others have said, getting in the way of it when it come down would be fatal - I'd recommend those with retired aircraft always ensure pin in and handle protected!

Tonkenna wrote:

I notice the ELRAT is down

Sounds like someone has been playing in the cockpit!

Tonks

Nobody has been 'playing', it was part of the MoD making safe requirements - ELRAT to be removed or deployed - along with removing the engines, defuel the a/c, depressurise all gaseous systems, discharge O2 system, drain off and recover all system fluids to a safe level, remove batteries, drain freon from fridge packs, remove fire bottles and the list goes on.

1103 wrote:

Tonkenna wrote:

I notice the ELRAT is down[/quoSounds like someone has been playing in the cockpit!

Tonks

Nobody has been 'playing', it was part of the MoD making safe requirements - ELRAT to be removed or deployed - along with removing the engines, defuel the a/c, depressurise all gaseous systems, discharge O2 system, drain off and recover all system fluids to a safe level, remove batteries, drain freon from fridge packs, remove fire bottles and the list goes on.

I thought Brooklands were keeping 150 in a taxiable condition?

It is, but the foregoing was part of the standard list from BAe for decommissioning. It took some negotiation for the museum to persuade BAe to keep the a/c live and not to carry out the major part of the jobcard. One factor was the museum had a group of licensed engineers some of whom had been VC10 qualified and/or are current on large transport aircraft.

Making safe the RAT was one of the few things that was actioned.

Paul