The design is beautiful it looks so scientific like yet the design of the wing is solid aerodynamics the dihedral on the T/V-tail and the anhedral on the main wings... need to look into this plane more
I was there that day, for a fleeting moment we had 2 V bombers flying again. They don't make them like that anymore..... good old British engineering!
This was supposed to be a high speed taxi run. At 100kts, the co-pilot froze up and failed to cut the throttle. The pilot reached over with his left hand to close them, and the airplane rotated, the throttled we're then cut and the pilot immidiately pitched down, fearing a stall, and landed as best he could. You can also see the crosswind swept the plane way off centerline. I saw an interview in which the pilot explained this
@freakwilliams And an old plane, designed and first flown in the 1950s. the last of the 3 British V bombers designed to carry our neclear deterrent. 1st was the Valiant designed in the 1940s, 2nd was the mighty Vulcan also first designed in the 1940s and first flown in the early 50s and one of these still flies XH558 as the last flying one of its type. 3rd was this aircraft the Victor and these were also the last to leave RAF service being converted to a tanker and served in the 91 gulf war.
Vulcan and Victor...when it comes to bombers these are my two favorites even above Tu-95MS and B-52. The design is so unique that even with its past history you just have to admire it.
@Deac505 If you look at the way that the CAA behaves in it's relations with organisations like the PFA and others, I think that they are 'fairly sensible'. There will always be accidents, but to remove the safety body altogether would simply allow chaos.
@harryfaber I appreciate your desire to show the hard work and debateable good intentions of the CAA in a positive light - but there are FAR too many 'regulatory' bodies regulating far too regulaly!! I fly in the UK and just got back from flying on a crew in a B-25 Mitchell in Dallas.. Over here people seem to live their closed little lives in a way witch is constantly 'looking over the washing line' to see if there is something they can claim to be 'offensive', 'unsafe' or unregulated.
@xxlushedenxx The plane suffered minor airframe damage, but was instantely repaired, and as of 2010 she has undergone a full repaint, and has done two more taxi runs in 2010/2011 on the Cold War Jets Day, without becoming airborne.
Its a shame that the pilot didn't pull back the sick and do a circuit or two. I know all the pro's will throw their arms up in the air in disgust. But at least we know the old bird flies without the "elth and safety crawling all over her
Great to see this old bird still has the will to fly! However as much as I'd love to see it do a circuit you have to be realistic. This example isn't airworthy. She's had her insides stripped out and is only in taxiable condition. Even if her airframe held do you really think the museum put more than a trickle of fuel in her? Unlikely. She would have had a minescule amount of fuel for the taxi but nowhere near enough for a circuit!
if you look outboard the ailerons were `nose down` - total accident , and a brave man to put her back down on the deck - maybe a circuit should have been flown for safety?
Jesus... I bet the crew shat their rods... Took a big chance putting it back down at that stage. I would have just said "fuckit, we might as well do a circuit now, we are probably gonna be screwed anyway". Well done.
@Navium The Lanc' PO*S at RAF Hendon was completely stripped of paint and restored to airworthy condition in the late 70's, then to have her Merlins completely filled with oil never to be ran again and lays dormant, This aircraft is in such good condition she could fly with PA474 within a week.The LIghtnings at Brunty should be in the sky. Fuck CAA. i say.
Unfortunately fastboobs the Victor doesn't have an airworthy certificate so can only be taxied. She only became airborne because the flight engineer pushed the throttles to full power and then froze! By the time the pilot had noticed the wings had generated enough lift to become airborne, he did an excellent job of closing the throttles and keeping control for this unplanned hop dispite not having flown this type for years. Oh and as for the risk of a crash I think he would have rather came dow
@Herbybandit there's no official flight engineer on a victor, a 6th seat however is in the flight deck and was used as a jumpseat for ground crew chiefs and flight instructors/examiners. The captain should have been aware of the circumstances of the attained airspeed.
Would have liked to seen him take it for a spin around the block once. I'll bet that 70 y/o pilot would have had to change his diaper, but just think of the pub story that he would have had!
For this spectacular design machine was taken out of operation? had any problems just before takeoff, but I think this was human error. Ever thought of a ship with that design in the military or as a commercial airplane?
@shockbh Indeed .. back in the 1950s, Handley Page submitted first the HP.97 and then the enlarged HP.111 - both adaptations of the Victor design - in response to an RAF O/R (Operational Requirement) for a jet Air Transport aircraft in 1952.
Ultimately, the Vickers V.1000 (which would have been the VC7 in civilian service) won the competition, and 12 were ordered. The first V/1000 was almost complete and ready for roll-out, when the UK Government cancelled the program in November 1955.
@flygweilo I read somewhere that the government withheld certain contracts for Victor tanker conversions so that Handley Page would go out of business at the end of the sixites. Something to do with their refusal to join BAC. Is that right?
@Alembic25 I'm afraid that I do not know enough about that to be of much use to you. I do know that 86 Victors were built, compared with 138 Vulcans and 107 Valiants, which could be an indication that what you're saying is true, but only a small one.
The UK ended WW2 with 27 separate aircraft design and manufacturing companies - more than any other nation - and the Government did not have enough money to support them all. One reason why so many UK aircraft had an 'unfinished' quality, probably
@flygweilo The story went that HP refused to join BAC against government wishes so the government bought the Andover as a small transport even though the military spec Herald was the better option. They held back on the Victor tanker conversions knowing HP were on the brink. Once they'd folded the deal was signed to do the conversions with impressive speed.
@Alembic25 I don't know about whether or not the Government played 'dirty pool' with HP or not (although I can believe they did), but HP actually survived until the late 1960s, when they went into voluntary liquidation and were wound up in March 1970.
Scottish Aviation bought the rights to the HP Jetstream turbo-prop, and Scottish Aviation was merged in to British Aerospace (successor to Hawker Siddeley and BAC) in 1977.
Ha ha, love the middle finger to the Civil Aviation Authority comment. Highly probable - we used to say that CAA stood for Campaign Against Aviation ha ha. The pilot did seem to rotate deliberately and if you look closely there is a definitive deflection of those beautiful dihedral elevators/all-moving-tailplane prior to it leaving the ground... Having said that he may well have been just applying a little back-pressure to relieve nose wheel stress an it's just been enough to lift it...
pilot rotated prior to sufficient airspeed or "horsed it off in ground effect" it's powered by those doggy, poor to accellerate ram jets, not big fan jets. The initial take off angle is about 5 times to much. I'm just glad it didn't conclude in a BIG fire ball. Thanks.
@MrOUTMAN99 Your reference to the term Ramjets is incorrect. The Victor K2 was powered by Rolls-Royce Conway R.Co.17 Mk. 201's which are turbofans engines. Ramjets although a form of jet engine specifically rely on pre forward motion to compress incoming air because they have no in built rotary compressor's, therefore Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill and hence why not used in aircraft.
@timber733 may i fine tune what you said...the Victor did not have Turbo Fan engines....it had gas powered turbine engines. TurboFans have a Fan and Cold air ducts, the Victor didn't.
@jonesy97 er , can i dispense with the pleasantries & just tell you to fuck off ?? Not all USAF ground crew have an encyclopediac knowledge of the world's aircraft- and if one didn't recognize a Victor & asked the pilot about it , isn't there the slightest chance that could have happened. Go eat some humble pie. FOOL
Allegedly, when it went to Saudi Arabia in 1991, to act as an A2A tanker, the Americans seriously thought this was a new secret British bomber, as it's looks are so startling.
@PurplePunisher69 That's foolish if you think that the Americans thought that this was some new, secret bomber. We are all aware of your past and present aviation. I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath for years in the late 80's-90's, and attended every airshow within 100 mi. I was always delighted to see the Vucans, the Victors, and got a huge kick out of the Bucs! Some of the finest aircraft to ever grace the sky. I really miss being there. Cheers to you all!
The pilot was very lucky to get away with this impromptu flight. I spent several days back in about 1980 doing a fleet check on the bogie lugs after a co-pilot sheared one in a crosswind landing. As to whether the runway is long enough, this flight has proved it only needs half of the Bruntingthorpe runway to land. Of course it would be different with a 132k lb (from memory) fuel load!
Well I think that proved it was airworthy and the crew knew how to handle it. Come on CAA, lighten up lets get these old girls back in the sky where they belong.
@ste309w unfortuanately a hop skip and bumps a daisy does not constitute proof of airworthyness, first off you need a statutary spare parts list as long as your arm and thats just for starters ,spare engine undercarriage etc ,which as far as im aware dont exist ,sad
I visited Bruntingthorpe soon after this Victor arrived. They had Vulcan XH558 in the hangar being serviced. The crew there told me that the Victor was in much better overall condition than the Vulcan! When asked if the Victor was ever likely to fly again they replied "doubtful, the people want to see the Vulcan in the air"..This was in the 90's when the Walton's owned them both.
It's WRONG that we ground beautiful icons like this which represent the 'Great' in the Great Britian..!! Personally, my heart LEPT for joy at seeing this beauty take to the air - a big UP YOURS to the Criminals Against Aviation (CAA) and their namby pamby frikin rules..!! Stuff em - were i at the controls of this bomber i know which two targets i'd have lined up in my sights, offices in London and Gatwick..!! European Health & Safety & political frikin correctness - Huh..!
@Deac505 Quite right. Aircraft like this and the Vulcans performed the Black Buck raids and it is disgraceful that in our PC world today we are seemingly meant to forget these seemingly impossible deeds performed by aircraft deemed to be at the edge of being too old to fly. We are tied up today with safety rules to the point that children can't even be children any more. What's the point of living if you aren't allowed to feel alive?
@Deac505 Yes , the CAA are actually there to try to stop 60 ton juggernauts like this from landing on your head ; not that that would hurt you , would it ?
@zarquon53 ...you are a Grade 'A' pleb. You should get a job with the other bureaucrats in Belgium who who would have us file a sodding flight plan to TAKE A CRAP just in case the smell OFFENDED the neighbours. If 'juggernaut' is the extent of you respect and sense of pride of the last ever true British-made fighter, then you you clearly do not WANT to be British - so GET OUT!
@Deac505 I am afraid I am with zarquon on this one. Old aircraft are not always safe to fly. If this Victor had done serious damage, then it would lead all the other 'elf & safety' mob out to stop us from running up engines, and so on.
There has to be sensible restrictions on what you can do, and people wanting to do 'exciting stuff' need to recognise the concerns of others. I live under the flight path for 'London City', I don't want a York or a Comet coming in to land.
@zarquon53 the CAA are not as clean cut as you may think, they blow hot and cold and over regulate as much as they under regulate and have been known to turn a blind eye to blatant rule breaking
@Deac505 Yeah, how dare the CAA do namby pamby elf n' safety gone made stuff like make sure aircraft are airworthy! Still would love to see a Victor in the air. Imagine seeing Teasing Tina with XH588!
@MontytheHorse ...i'm afriad it's not about that as a 'black and white' issue. Like most things in life, 'airworthyness' (apart from obvious issues like no wings!!lol!) is a SLIDING SCALE. And besides, these aircraft are better loved and maintained thatn they were when in active service! EE Lightning not allowed to fly because it's "..Too complicated an aircraft"..!! I ASK you.. why do wonder why the rest of the world sees us as a stuck up, bureaucratic regulation and rule-heavy nation??
@FlyingGoober That was on purpose. You can hear the pilots killing the engines. If they were serious about flying, they'd have kept the throttle shoved forward and allowed the thing to take off. The Victor should be just as proud an achievement as the Vulcan, both were excellent aircraft that could easily still be serving the Royal Air Force today had those in power made different decisions then.
@M374EVL I for one disagree with "RRAvon" on that, the "TSR-2 Eagle" is more than restorable.
The original (& only one to fly) TSR-2 Prototype ("XR-219") was destroyed as a Gunnery Target by the Labourites in the 1960's butthe other two TSR-2's ("XR-220" & "XR-222") were spared & although gutted of electronics afterward they have undamaged & completely virgin Airframes (having never been flown).
XR-220 is the most complete & with enough backing she can be made Flight worthy as she was in 1965.
Bruntingthorpe is not a big enough runway to safely land the Victor, after a circuit, which meant there would have been even more pressure on the pilot, as if he would have chosen to take-off, feeling it was safer, he would have had to fly to another airport, which could cope with the Victor.
@PaulF07 Yes I'm aware of that, thankyou very much for pointing that out. Read my post - I was replying (sarcastically) to xbadbenx's stupid assertion that Bruntingthorpe's runway, built for B-47s, wasn't long enough for a Victor (or Vulcan) to land there.
@xbadbenx ofcourse the victor can land back onto the runway if it had to do a circuit to the runway its about the 2 miles long if not more hence why the RAF are flying the VC10s into brunty lately and the Vulcan operates out of brunty aswell every now and again. If the runway wasnt long enought then then the likes of the vulcan wouldn't be based their and the RAF wouldnt risk landing a VC10 if it was to short
I've just watched a documentary about this plane, and an old pilot says during taxiing how he wanted to pull back the stick. I don't know if he is the pilot in this very video but I think this was not an accident.
wow! : O I didnt read the full text to this video and my heart missed a beat when I thought she was going over! First class flying and first class video!
@sketchmeister - disagree, the guy done well in my humble opinion to keep control of the aircraft, thus resulting in one royal fuck up when it ploughed into the crowd or a building!
I was there, and this is the most scary thing i have EVER seen!!! I dropped my video camera in awe as i watched it take off!!! Luckily my camera survived too!!!
Yes its a shame that there is not enough money/parts etc to get all 3 V force aircraft up in the air again...it just isn't practical at this time....we need to concentrate funds on the Last Flying Vulcan before it too is grounded for good.
one day this will be back in the air like XH558 is ! I wonder if someone could start a charity fund like they did for the Vulcan ? Surely theres thousands out there who would love to see this aircraft back in the air.
No it wont, there arnt enough hours or fatigue life left on the airframe, nor are there enough spares or engines for her. That aside the cost would be astronomical.
I would even donate money, and I live in Canada. You are so right. we have to keep at least one example of these giant birds in airworthy condition for memory's sake.
The Vulcan project struggles to collect donations as it is. They got lucky this year because someone very generously donated €458,000. Had it not been for this donation this years flights would have been in jeopardy.
Very luck to have had enough stopping area, a second or two later into events and a circuit of the airfield would have been the required! Now wouldnt that have made a good vid!
The pilot was supposed to do a high speed runup and then throttle down, never leaving the runway. An airshow demonstration. The stripped aircraft gained too much speed too fast and it "hopped" off the ground. The pilot did not have a permit to fly the aircraft nor was it cleared for take off. This info came from a Hadley Victor site posted by Brit flyers so it is likely true.
An unfitting end for such an awesome aircraft, it stood by to protect us from Soviet aggression for so many decades.
it was an accidental takeoff due to the co-pilot "freezing at the controls" leaving the 72 year old pilot to throttle back the power causing him to take his hand of the controls causing her nose to lift up and get swiped across from the wind ... hope this helps .
Why was the take-off aborted?
shashair 6 days ago
What happened?
The design is beautiful it looks so scientific like yet the design of the wing is solid aerodynamics the dihedral on the T/V-tail and the anhedral on the main wings... need to look into this plane more
GreenAce92 1 week ago
Should have let her go- and hang the consequences!!
medicdeano 1 week ago
ffs they should let her fly honest every time i see this vid it shows how much pride she has in flying the bird has a minde of her own my guess :)
arbitar222 3 weeks ago
That's one badass looking airplane.
VohnKarWarrior 3 weeks ago
This is one of the VERY best av-videos on all of YT! Thank you.
inxprncd 4 weeks ago
I was there that day, for a fleeting moment we had 2 V bombers flying again. They don't make them like that anymore..... good old British engineering!
XH5582007 1 month ago
Fucking ugly ass plane.
pilotnicco 1 month ago
Reckon someone had a small poo in their pants. ....Good post mate. Hope they logged the flight time?
bluedog1976 1 month ago
roger ramjet he's our man, hero of our nation.
gottlieb1899 1 month ago
engine failure?
quadpumped 2 months ago
EVERYONE LOOK:
This was supposed to be a high speed taxi run. At 100kts, the co-pilot froze up and failed to cut the throttle. The pilot reached over with his left hand to close them, and the airplane rotated, the throttled we're then cut and the pilot immidiately pitched down, fearing a stall, and landed as best he could. You can also see the crosswind swept the plane way off centerline. I saw an interview in which the pilot explained this
DiamondPilotDan 2 months ago 5
what is he doing ???????????
TheEMS41 2 months ago
Well done to bob protheroe. Finest of the fine RAF pilots.
starryshaman 2 months ago
at 00:31
you have a new massage! :D
MGPauerfunkexD 2 months ago
He just pulled back on the stick a very little to much.
JamJarchannel 3 months ago
I like how he lands it, sort of... off the runway
emiratesA380NCL 3 months ago
i bet it smelt like someone had dropped their bat in that one.
robpeter1 3 months ago
Looks like something from Robotech/Macross but a beautiful plane
freakwilliams 3 months ago
@freakwilliams And an old plane, designed and first flown in the 1950s. the last of the 3 British V bombers designed to carry our neclear deterrent. 1st was the Valiant designed in the 1940s, 2nd was the mighty Vulcan also first designed in the 1940s and first flown in the early 50s and one of these still flies XH558 as the last flying one of its type. 3rd was this aircraft the Victor and these were also the last to leave RAF service being converted to a tanker and served in the 91 gulf war.
fairclought7 3 months ago
Comment removed
TalkToTheBody 3 months ago
My personal fav out of all the V-Bombers......
deeya 4 months ago 2
omg what the hell was that?????
MrKibu97 4 months ago
@MrKibu97 British Nuclear bomber :)
bazman85 4 months ago
Probably a good aircraft - but it has the face of a depressed moth
OghamTheBold 5 months ago
im a fan but i prefere the vulcan
plxton 5 months ago
THE GOOD THING: HIS WAY OF FLYING IS AWSOME AND IS A GREAT AIRPLANE
THE ONLY BAD THING: UGLY DESIGN
Skybolter 5 months ago
@Skybolter You're blind if you think the victor is ugly.
benash04a 5 months ago
@benash04a I DONT' MEAN ON THE WAY THAT IT FLIES, I REFER TO THE WAY THAT IT WAS DESIGNED.
Skybolter 5 months ago
Vulcan and Victor...when it comes to bombers these are my two favorites even above Tu-95MS and B-52. The design is so unique that even with its past history you just have to admire it.
strizhi 6 months ago
@Deac505 If you look at the way that the CAA behaves in it's relations with organisations like the PFA and others, I think that they are 'fairly sensible'. There will always be accidents, but to remove the safety body altogether would simply allow chaos.
There are many real enthusiasts in the CAA.
harryfaber 6 months ago
@harryfaber I appreciate your desire to show the hard work and debateable good intentions of the CAA in a positive light - but there are FAR too many 'regulatory' bodies regulating far too regulaly!! I fly in the UK and just got back from flying on a crew in a B-25 Mitchell in Dallas.. Over here people seem to live their closed little lives in a way witch is constantly 'looking over the washing line' to see if there is something they can claim to be 'offensive', 'unsafe' or unregulated.
Deac505 6 months ago 2
It just wanted to go where it belonged...IN THE AIR!!!
megashegem 6 months ago 2
Thank you pilot officers, for attempting such a take off. Well done.
cinneadboy2 6 months ago
what happend to the plane
xxlushedenxx 6 months ago
@xxlushedenxx The plane suffered minor airframe damage, but was instantely repaired, and as of 2010 she has undergone a full repaint, and has done two more taxi runs in 2010/2011 on the Cold War Jets Day, without becoming airborne.
TAIGAFOREST 6 months ago
what a weird plane
xxlushedenxx 6 months ago
thats called almost eating shit!!!
23chopperrob 6 months ago
Its a shame that the pilot didn't pull back the sick and do a circuit or two. I know all the pro's will throw their arms up in the air in disgust. But at least we know the old bird flies without the "elth and safety crawling all over her
taffy402 7 months ago 4
Great to see this old bird still has the will to fly! However as much as I'd love to see it do a circuit you have to be realistic. This example isn't airworthy. She's had her insides stripped out and is only in taxiable condition. Even if her airframe held do you really think the museum put more than a trickle of fuel in her? Unlikely. She would have had a minescule amount of fuel for the taxi but nowhere near enough for a circuit!
deleriousfishman1 8 months ago
if you look outboard the ailerons were `nose down` - total accident , and a brave man to put her back down on the deck - maybe a circuit should have been flown for safety?
HalloweenJack69 8 months ago
@HalloweenJack69 ailerons nose down? ailerons don't control pitch my friend, maybe you mean elevators?
TalkToTheBody 3 months ago
Off we go into the wild blue yonder, climbing high into the sky.
ee000011 8 months ago
Jesus... I bet the crew shat their rods... Took a big chance putting it back down at that stage. I would have just said "fuckit, we might as well do a circuit now, we are probably gonna be screwed anyway". Well done.
moreleftpedal 8 months ago 27
My God.
A very beautiful airplane.Did it crash?
uboot1967 9 months ago
shit the bed...best aircraft ever built...would have easily done a circuit safely...
jordyboy321 9 months ago
@flygweilo The throttle levers are on the side consoles, on the left for the captain and on the right for the co.
125brat 10 months ago
Off we go Into the wild blue yonder.
ee000011 10 months ago
What is wrong with couch farters like our "we know it all better politicians" and responsible bureaucrats.
This is one of the most impressive aircrafts of the last century and it can't have an air worthiness certificate ??
That is rediculous! There are older aircrafts up in the air....so let it FLYYYY...its an aircraft..damn you !! H
Have you ever heard anything about the responsibility to protect cultural goods ? This is something to keep...like a classic car.
Navium 10 months ago 11
@Navium - Romanticism aside, the airframe on this Victor is probably "lifed" - it's past being made airworthy.
A CofA is more than just a piece of paper with a signature on it - the R101 disaster should have told us that.
JBofBrisbane 8 months ago
@Navium Like in museums
h0Ld 1 week ago
@Navium The Lanc' PO*S at RAF Hendon was completely stripped of paint and restored to airworthy condition in the late 70's, then to have her Merlins completely filled with oil never to be ran again and lays dormant, This aircraft is in such good condition she could fly with PA474 within a week.The LIghtnings at Brunty should be in the sky. Fuck CAA. i say.
ian8354 3 days ago
She wants to go!
george385 10 months ago
Unfortunately fastboobs the Victor doesn't have an airworthy certificate so can only be taxied. She only became airborne because the flight engineer pushed the throttles to full power and then froze! By the time the pilot had noticed the wings had generated enough lift to become airborne, he did an excellent job of closing the throttles and keeping control for this unplanned hop dispite not having flown this type for years. Oh and as for the risk of a crash I think he would have rather came dow
Herbybandit 11 months ago
@Herbybandit there's no official flight engineer on a victor, a 6th seat however is in the flight deck and was used as a jumpseat for ground crew chiefs and flight instructors/examiners. The captain should have been aware of the circumstances of the attained airspeed.
TalkToTheBody 3 months ago
hi, in the video "LAST FLIGHT OF THE VICTOR 2009" what's happen at the aircraft that it could't take off, and it risks to crash?
FASTBOOBS 11 months ago
@arbitar222 just proves ...... she is are worthy lol
arbitar222 11 months ago 2
I've been looking at pics of the Victor flight deck, and cannot locate the engine thrust levers. Does anyone have a photo that shows their location?
flygweilo 11 months ago
Would have liked to seen him take it for a spin around the block once. I'll bet that 70 y/o pilot would have had to change his diaper, but just think of the pub story that he would have had!
yakridersky 1 year ago
For this spectacular design machine was taken out of operation? had any problems just before takeoff, but I think this was human error. Ever thought of a ship with that design in the military or as a commercial airplane?
shockbh 1 year ago
@shockbh Indeed .. back in the 1950s, Handley Page submitted first the HP.97 and then the enlarged HP.111 - both adaptations of the Victor design - in response to an RAF O/R (Operational Requirement) for a jet Air Transport aircraft in 1952.
Ultimately, the Vickers V.1000 (which would have been the VC7 in civilian service) won the competition, and 12 were ordered. The first V/1000 was almost complete and ready for roll-out, when the UK Government cancelled the program in November 1955.
flygweilo 1 year ago
@flygweilo I read somewhere that the government withheld certain contracts for Victor tanker conversions so that Handley Page would go out of business at the end of the sixites. Something to do with their refusal to join BAC. Is that right?
Alembic25 11 months ago
@Alembic25 I'm afraid that I do not know enough about that to be of much use to you. I do know that 86 Victors were built, compared with 138 Vulcans and 107 Valiants, which could be an indication that what you're saying is true, but only a small one.
The UK ended WW2 with 27 separate aircraft design and manufacturing companies - more than any other nation - and the Government did not have enough money to support them all. One reason why so many UK aircraft had an 'unfinished' quality, probably
flygweilo 11 months ago
@flygweilo The story went that HP refused to join BAC against government wishes so the government bought the Andover as a small transport even though the military spec Herald was the better option. They held back on the Victor tanker conversions knowing HP were on the brink. Once they'd folded the deal was signed to do the conversions with impressive speed.
Alembic25 11 months ago
@Alembic25 I don't know about whether or not the Government played 'dirty pool' with HP or not (although I can believe they did), but HP actually survived until the late 1960s, when they went into voluntary liquidation and were wound up in March 1970.
Scottish Aviation bought the rights to the HP Jetstream turbo-prop, and Scottish Aviation was merged in to British Aerospace (successor to Hawker Siddeley and BAC) in 1977.
flygweilo 11 months ago
hopefuIIy nothing happened to this beauty!
XOROHN 1 year ago
it wasn't supposed to take off
1kelseysmith 1 year ago
When in doubt, blame your first officer.
Chuckjagermeister 1 year ago
does any one know to what standard this aircraft was maintained i know it wasnt officially airworthy
hod05 1 year ago
Ha ha, love the middle finger to the Civil Aviation Authority comment. Highly probable - we used to say that CAA stood for Campaign Against Aviation ha ha. The pilot did seem to rotate deliberately and if you look closely there is a definitive deflection of those beautiful dihedral elevators/all-moving-tailplane prior to it leaving the ground... Having said that he may well have been just applying a little back-pressure to relieve nose wheel stress an it's just been enough to lift it...
Nemesys422 1 year ago
pilot rotated prior to sufficient airspeed or "horsed it off in ground effect" it's powered by those doggy, poor to accellerate ram jets, not big fan jets. The initial take off angle is about 5 times to much. I'm just glad it didn't conclude in a BIG fire ball. Thanks.
MrOUTMAN99 1 year ago
@MrOUTMAN99 Your reference to the term Ramjets is incorrect. The Victor K2 was powered by Rolls-Royce Conway R.Co.17 Mk. 201's which are turbofans engines. Ramjets although a form of jet engine specifically rely on pre forward motion to compress incoming air because they have no in built rotary compressor's, therefore Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill and hence why not used in aircraft.
timber733 1 year ago 10
@timber733 may i fine tune what you said...the Victor did not have Turbo Fan engines....it had gas powered turbine engines. TurboFans have a Fan and Cold air ducts, the Victor didn't.
TalkToTheBody 3 months ago
@timber733 Not to mention they are ridiculous about fuel consumption
my235 2 months ago
wow a grass landing? i never thought would see that! :)
mrtopcats 1 year ago
@jonesy97 er , can i dispense with the pleasantries & just tell you to fuck off ?? Not all USAF ground crew have an encyclopediac knowledge of the world's aircraft- and if one didn't recognize a Victor & asked the pilot about it , isn't there the slightest chance that could have happened. Go eat some humble pie. FOOL
PurplePunisher69 1 year ago
Allegedly, when it went to Saudi Arabia in 1991, to act as an A2A tanker, the Americans seriously thought this was a new secret British bomber, as it's looks are so startling.
PurplePunisher69 1 year ago 2
@PurplePunisher69 That's foolish if you think that the Americans thought that this was some new, secret bomber. We are all aware of your past and present aviation. I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath for years in the late 80's-90's, and attended every airshow within 100 mi. I was always delighted to see the Vucans, the Victors, and got a huge kick out of the Bucs! Some of the finest aircraft to ever grace the sky. I really miss being there. Cheers to you all!
jonesy97 1 year ago
@jonesy97 this came from a Victor crew member ..don't call me a fool , you rude person. Cheers...
PurplePunisher69 1 year ago
@PurplePunisher69 State department most likely they can be grade A flunk outs when it comes to many, many things.
valcan321 1 year ago
@PurplePunisher69 Indeed.
It's also the case that one USAF Official once said when he saw the Victor back in the 1980's (approx)
"This thing looks like she's doin mach 1 on the ground"
All these years later "Handley Page's" swan song Aircraft still has it in her ; )
Here's to the day when we Brit's have a "Cold War Flight" & the Four V-Bombers
(if you include the "BAC TSR-2 Eagle", the Vulcans intended successor) are reunited again where they belong (Airborne & awestriking a new generation).
TSR1989FF 1 year ago
Yes, Conway 103s as far as I can remember.
125brat 1 year ago
One of the best sounding RAF planes around! I am assuming that those engines are Rolls Royce?
EWS60008 1 year ago
The pilot was very lucky to get away with this impromptu flight. I spent several days back in about 1980 doing a fleet check on the bogie lugs after a co-pilot sheared one in a crosswind landing. As to whether the runway is long enough, this flight has proved it only needs half of the Bruntingthorpe runway to land. Of course it would be different with a 132k lb (from memory) fuel load!
125brat 1 year ago
Well I think that proved it was airworthy and the crew knew how to handle it. Come on CAA, lighten up lets get these old girls back in the sky where they belong.
ste309w 1 year ago
@ste309w unfortuanately a hop skip and bumps a daisy does not constitute proof of airworthyness, first off you need a statutary spare parts list as long as your arm and thats just for starters ,spare engine undercarriage etc ,which as far as im aware dont exist ,sad
5515terminator 1 year ago
i lol at british engineering
gypsykingg 1 year ago
So far the best angle I've seen of the accidental take off, well done for the filming & just wish he had gone on to do a circuit ;)
Macsgrafs 1 year ago
oops
sars1359 1 year ago
that plane must of been a bitch to handle
Eirik36 1 year ago
I visited Bruntingthorpe soon after this Victor arrived. They had Vulcan XH558 in the hangar being serviced. The crew there told me that the Victor was in much better overall condition than the Vulcan! When asked if the Victor was ever likely to fly again they replied "doubtful, the people want to see the Vulcan in the air"..This was in the 90's when the Walton's owned them both.
Barryat11 1 year ago
I wonder what the crew were thinking at the time?
alanstarkie2001 1 year ago
@alanstarkie2001 Pucker factor was porbably pretty high!
killingamps 1 year ago
@killingamps haha - set to 11!
alanstarkie2001 1 year ago
It's WRONG that we ground beautiful icons like this which represent the 'Great' in the Great Britian..!! Personally, my heart LEPT for joy at seeing this beauty take to the air - a big UP YOURS to the Criminals Against Aviation (CAA) and their namby pamby frikin rules..!! Stuff em - were i at the controls of this bomber i know which two targets i'd have lined up in my sights, offices in London and Gatwick..!! European Health & Safety & political frikin correctness - Huh..!
Deac505 1 year ago 34
@Deac505 God bless you..
wilatemodel 1 year ago
@Deac505 Quite right. Aircraft like this and the Vulcans performed the Black Buck raids and it is disgraceful that in our PC world today we are seemingly meant to forget these seemingly impossible deeds performed by aircraft deemed to be at the edge of being too old to fly. We are tied up today with safety rules to the point that children can't even be children any more. What's the point of living if you aren't allowed to feel alive?
iainag 1 year ago 3
@iainag I couldn't agree more....
Barryat11 1 year ago
@Deac505 We have these problems in Australia too! Our last Airshow was 2006 and the big one before that 1988
charade97 1 year ago
@Deac505 Yes , the CAA are actually there to try to stop 60 ton juggernauts like this from landing on your head ; not that that would hurt you , would it ?
MORON .
zarquon53 6 months ago
@zarquon53 ...you are a Grade 'A' pleb. You should get a job with the other bureaucrats in Belgium who who would have us file a sodding flight plan to TAKE A CRAP just in case the smell OFFENDED the neighbours. If 'juggernaut' is the extent of you respect and sense of pride of the last ever true British-made fighter, then you you clearly do not WANT to be British - so GET OUT!
Deac505 6 months ago
@Deac505 I am afraid I am with zarquon on this one. Old aircraft are not always safe to fly. If this Victor had done serious damage, then it would lead all the other 'elf & safety' mob out to stop us from running up engines, and so on.
There has to be sensible restrictions on what you can do, and people wanting to do 'exciting stuff' need to recognise the concerns of others. I live under the flight path for 'London City', I don't want a York or a Comet coming in to land.
harryfaber 6 months ago
@zarquon53 the CAA are not as clean cut as you may think, they blow hot and cold and over regulate as much as they under regulate and have been known to turn a blind eye to blatant rule breaking
TalkToTheBody 3 months ago
@Deac505 Yeah, how dare the CAA do namby pamby elf n' safety gone made stuff like make sure aircraft are airworthy! Still would love to see a Victor in the air. Imagine seeing Teasing Tina with XH588!
MontytheHorse 5 months ago
@MontytheHorse ...i'm afriad it's not about that as a 'black and white' issue. Like most things in life, 'airworthyness' (apart from obvious issues like no wings!!lol!) is a SLIDING SCALE. And besides, these aircraft are better loved and maintained thatn they were when in active service! EE Lightning not allowed to fly because it's "..Too complicated an aircraft"..!! I ASK you.. why do wonder why the rest of the world sees us as a stuck up, bureaucratic regulation and rule-heavy nation??
Deac505 5 months ago
@MontytheHorse Now that would be a sight!!
TAIGAFOREST 5 months ago
Looks like to me the takeoff speed was to slow, not giving the wings or controls much bite in the air.
FlyingGoober 1 year ago
@FlyingGoober That was on purpose. You can hear the pilots killing the engines. If they were serious about flying, they'd have kept the throttle shoved forward and allowed the thing to take off. The Victor should be just as proud an achievement as the Vulcan, both were excellent aircraft that could easily still be serving the Royal Air Force today had those in power made different decisions then.
TheMann2000 1 year ago
@TheMann2000 Yup, my beef, should have paid more attention and had less beers before commenting!!
FlyingGoober 1 year ago
mi stanno dicendo che lo sanno pilotare xD uahauahuha
Great Victor!!! Fantastic aircraft!
acterHeli 1 year ago
do you think it would take much to get going again what about tsr2 will that ever fly again??
M374EVL 1 year ago
@M374EVL Very, very doubtful the TSR2 will ever take to the sky again.
RRAvon 1 year ago
@M374EVL I for one disagree with "RRAvon" on that, the "TSR-2 Eagle" is more than restorable.
The original (& only one to fly) TSR-2 Prototype ("XR-219") was destroyed as a Gunnery Target by the Labourites in the 1960's butthe other two TSR-2's ("XR-220" & "XR-222") were spared & although gutted of electronics afterward they have undamaged & completely virgin Airframes (having never been flown).
XR-220 is the most complete & with enough backing she can be made Flight worthy as she was in 1965.
TSR1989FF 1 year ago
Forgot to remove the control locks?
Chuckjagermeister 1 year ago
I would shit my pants
bossjuh123 1 year ago
CAPS IN DESCRIPTIONS ARE FOR COOL PEOPLE.
gologabob 1 year ago
Bruntingthorpe is not a big enough runway to safely land the Victor, after a circuit, which meant there would have been even more pressure on the pilot, as if he would have chosen to take-off, feeling it was safer, he would have had to fly to another airport, which could cope with the Victor.
xbadbenx 1 year ago
@xbadbenx If Bruntingthorpe isn't long enough to land the plane, how did the plane get there in the first place?
mocyoung 1 year ago
@mocyoung i think its very more than capable brutingthorpes runway is insanely massive
sonnysingh03 1 year ago
@mocyoung
It landed their funny that
PaulF07 1 year ago
@PaulF07 Yes I'm aware of that, thankyou very much for pointing that out. Read my post - I was replying (sarcastically) to xbadbenx's stupid assertion that Bruntingthorpe's runway, built for B-47s, wasn't long enough for a Victor (or Vulcan) to land there.
mocyoung 1 year ago
@mocyoung
Agh sorry my apologies
PaulF07 1 year ago
@xbadbenx i think its very more than capable brutingthorpes runway is insanely massive
sonnysingh03 1 year ago
@xbadbenx ofcourse the victor can land back onto the runway if it had to do a circuit to the runway its about the 2 miles long if not more hence why the RAF are flying the VC10s into brunty lately and the Vulcan operates out of brunty aswell every now and again. If the runway wasnt long enought then then the likes of the vulcan wouldn't be based their and the RAF wouldnt risk landing a VC10 if it was to short
PaulF07 1 year ago
I've just watched a documentary about this plane, and an old pilot says during taxiing how he wanted to pull back the stick. I don't know if he is the pilot in this very video but I think this was not an accident.
atakany 1 year ago
its quite incredible how nothing happened to it after that HARD landing and how it didnt sink in the soil :S
AdrianNtart 1 year ago
wow! : O I didnt read the full text to this video and my heart missed a beat when I thought she was going over! First class flying and first class video!
Scousefire 1 year ago
@Scousefire Quite the second class flying, old bean. One should not be lauded for saving ones crew from a first class fuck up, indeed!
sketchmeister 1 year ago
@sketchmeister - disagree, the guy done well in my humble opinion to keep control of the aircraft, thus resulting in one royal fuck up when it ploughed into the crowd or a building!
Scousefire 1 year ago
My heart went frozen with the sight of the right bank landing...
Good lord... that would be a waste...
ZeroFilth 1 year ago
I was there, and this is the most scary thing i have EVER seen!!! I dropped my video camera in awe as i watched it take off!!! Luckily my camera survived too!!!
jordyboy321 1 year ago
YES THEN she proved she is airworth lol
jordyboy321 2 years ago
o shit o shit o shit o shit...........phew! thoughts of pilot during take off/landing.
bazman85 2 years ago
Yes its a shame that there is not enough money/parts etc to get all 3 V force aircraft up in the air again...it just isn't practical at this time....we need to concentrate funds on the Last Flying Vulcan before it too is grounded for good.
TVRWedgeinald 2 years ago
one day this will be back in the air like XH558 is ! I wonder if someone could start a charity fund like they did for the Vulcan ? Surely theres thousands out there who would love to see this aircraft back in the air.
jimjamsssssssss 2 years ago
No it wont, there arnt enough hours or fatigue life left on the airframe, nor are there enough spares or engines for her. That aside the cost would be astronomical.
Burtbibbles 2 years ago
I would even donate money, and I live in Canada. You are so right. we have to keep at least one example of these giant birds in airworthy condition for memory's sake.
JFDhater 2 years ago
The Vulcan project struggles to collect donations as it is. They got lucky this year because someone very generously donated €458,000. Had it not been for this donation this years flights would have been in jeopardy.
miked860 2 years ago
FUCK !
Any Landing is a good one !
1BustedMyth 2 years ago
thats a lot of fatigue life gone in the blink of an eye
beachie372 2 years ago
Very luck to have had enough stopping area, a second or two later into events and a circuit of the airfield would have been the required! Now wouldnt that have made a good vid!
andyw92 2 years ago 3
if you look closely not being a flying person but the ones on the wings alerions etc do pull up as if he pulls back on the stick
petesworld69 2 years ago
The ailerons are pointed up to produce a downward force on the wings. Reduces stress on the wing roots at takeoff.
However, i do beleive i can see a slight flick in the elevators as it goes up... Might just be me though.
LordFlasheart575 2 years ago
@LordFlasheart575 You, and the pilot, sir!
sketchmeister 1 year ago
Comment removed
petesworld69 2 years ago
But why was this "the last flight"? Wasn't the plane airworthy anomore after this event?
Skoda130 2 years ago
it wasnt airworthy before this event... it has no license to fly, and the pilot accedentaly took off.
TamaHAHA 2 years ago
A shame, it is..
Can a license be obtained, or is the plane simply to old for that?
Skoda130 2 years ago
The pilot was supposed to do a high speed runup and then throttle down, never leaving the runway. An airshow demonstration. The stripped aircraft gained too much speed too fast and it "hopped" off the ground. The pilot did not have a permit to fly the aircraft nor was it cleared for take off. This info came from a Hadley Victor site posted by Brit flyers so it is likely true.
An unfitting end for such an awesome aircraft, it stood by to protect us from Soviet aggression for so many decades.
ericbtn 2 years ago 3
I doubt the engines lost their power, either it's the video audio, or the pilot brought the throttles back.
BusterBunker 2 years ago
You are quite right mate. Pilot cut the power to bring her under control.
Unlike some donkey who claims the Conways come unstuck...
strontiumdog19 2 years ago
oh you hear the Engine fuck up on 0:24
nice recovery
P214Stearman 2 years ago
... they recover properly
fuga1962 2 years ago
I'm not too sure about the whole 'Pilot error, control freeze' story....
.....More likely a 'Big middle finger' to the CAA for not granting an Airworthyness Certificate!! ;)
Well done Pilot..!
nudgabollocks 2 years ago 48
That middle finger couldn't be big enough!!.
Pilot did a good job though.
strontiumdog19 2 years ago
@nudgabollocks I agree, and from the looks of it, it could have continued around and landed without a hitch
Pkarchpray16 1 year ago
the sound of the engines appear like, loss of power
zanfozanfani 2 years ago
lucky bastard. that was nearly ouch. V force. victor,valiant, vulcan. peace x
eatenbybats 2 years ago
if it wanted to fly then they should have let it fly i say.
navnig 2 years ago 25
Except for the possible consequences, it would have been amazing to be left seat there- even if it only 'flew' for a few seconds.
Better looking plane than the VC-10 anyway.
PhantomP63 2 years ago
I don't get it, was this a planned " flight " or...
shitmypants119 2 years ago
it was an accidental takeoff due to the co-pilot "freezing at the controls" leaving the 72 year old pilot to throttle back the power causing him to take his hand of the controls causing her nose to lift up and get swiped across from the wind ... hope this helps .
Dazzo2k7 2 years ago 3
I dare say that they were probably bricking it in there. :)
monstermunch1985 2 years ago
Well done to the old gentleman who brought her down again!!!!!!!
pcjoel999 2 years ago 3
yes there is its a t5
a fantastic looking aircraft.
jetnoiseforever 2 years ago
Deary me that nearly went very wrong. I believe there is a lightning that taxis at cranfield isn't there?
onthewinghard 2 years ago
did she touch down on the grass or was it a taxi way before relineing?
sonnysingh03 2 years ago
It was on the Grass
747Kyle 2 years ago
grass
pcjoel999 2 years ago
my question is - WHY ARE THEY NOT IN SERVICE ?????
sailingforde04 2 years ago