Wings and Wheels 29/06/2011
| Well those of you who were at Wellesbourne on Sunday 26 June will know what a magnificent day it turned out to be - we couldn't have asked for better weather, warm (about 28 degrees Celsius air temperature), sunny and with a moderate southerly wind straight down the active runway. The favourable conditions resulted in the star of the show - XM655 - looking as good as she ever has done glistening on the inactive runway whilst the ground crew completed their preparations for the two taxy demonstrations. | 
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With our stalwart commentator, Dave Rowland, at his usual place behind the microphone (where would we be without you Dave?), the largest crowd we have had for many years was informed, entertained and educated in the way that the BBC used to do before dumbing down began - something Mr Rowland will never do!
Our regular visitors to Wings & Wheels will have noticed a change to the show layout for 2011 - we created a 'Town Square' for a more intimate feel for the show and with a lot less walking from one end to the other compared with previous years (and many other airshows as well). Inevitably there was the odd teething trouble with the new layout - but we'll learn for next year (yes, there will be more bins within the Town Square!). Feedback from members, exhibitors and entrance fee-paying spectators was overwhelmingly positive - we hope to build on these changes in time for 2012 (see elsewhere in this edition of the newsletter for details of next years' Wings Wheels.
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Back to the show - we had a slightly different aircrew for 26 June as our regular captain, Sqn Ldr David Thomas (RAF Retired), was unfortunately (for us that is) very busy at RAF Waddington putting the last minute details together for the flying displays at the airshow which was planned for the weekend after Wings & Wheels. So as Vulcan pilots seem to be available for such onerous tasks as demonstrating the world's only fast taxying Olympus 301-powered Vulcan B2, we were able to sign up Sqn Ldr Martin Withers, DFC (RAF Retired) in David's place. Sitting beside Martin was Wg Cdr Mike Pollitt (RAF Retired) and in the back our faithful and ever youthful AEO Sqn Ldr Barry Masefield (RAF Retired). You will probably all be aware that Martin's day job is Senior Display Pilot for the Vulcan to the Sky Trust flying XH558, Barry is the Lead AEO for VTTST and Mike was until recently their Operations Director - so we had an aircrew with 'currency'!
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We had invited as many 'interesting' aircraft to visit us during Wings & Wheels as we could contact, but you can never be sure of what will turn up on a beautiful Sunday in the middle of the airshow season - so we were delighted, therefore, to receive a few minutes warning from Frankie in the control tower that Peter Teichman was inbound to Wellesbourne in his magnificent Mustang P-51D 'Jumpin Jacques'. Having given the crowd an impromptu display, Peter then landed and taxied to our static aircraft park giving our aircraft marshallers something rather special to 'bat' in to park a safe distance from '655's engine efflux. |
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Our other most celebrated flying visitors that day arrived, bang on cue, just as '655 was taxiing to the 18 threshold prior to the fast taxi run just after 2:00pm. Heading in from the north west at 2,000ft and in glorious conditions were the Avro Lancaster, Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane of the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight - what a sight for sore eyes as they passed directly overhead the Vulcan and then proceed to make three immaculate orbits of the airfield in full view of the appreciative crowd before departing to Cheltenham.The sound of six Merlins was memorable and so in contrast to the roar of four Olympus a few minutes later!
The fast taxy by Martin, Mike and Barry in XM655 was faultless as we've come to expect from both aircraft and aircrew, and drew an appreciative cheer from the crowd as the Vulcan's nosewheel was lifted into the air to provide aerodynamic braking (as well as a good photographic opportunity for many hundreds of cameras) when Mike and Martin aborted the take-off after about 10 seconds of 97% thrust of the four mighty Bristol Olympus 301 turbojets.
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Of course, in order to do that, the air starter turbine has to start on command itself, which ours didn't want to do. The glitch required some quick thinking by Eric, our Chief Engineer, in order to overcome a fault which prevented the air starter from igniting. In fact Eric, helped by Roger B and Len, sorted out the problem so quickly most people didn't notice that anything was amiss at all....
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| Wings & Wheels isn't just about aeroplanes of course - the Classic Car show is just as key an element to an enjoyable show for everyone as any other single attraction. This year was no exception to the quality of the cars on show, thanks to the loving dedication of their faithful owners. The number of classic cars was a little lower than the last few years because of an unfortunate clash with the Wings & Wheels show at Baxterley - this having been unintentionally caused by both organisers choosing different dates to their 'usual' summer date - we will try to avoid a repeat of this clash in the future! |  |
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The cars and other vehicles on show covered a wide range of ages and types, and the winner of the vote for "best in show" was an immaculate VW camper van. The winner was presented with his trophy and rosette by Martin Withers, in between his two sessions of cockpit responsibility.
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| This year, after a break during 2010, we were delighted to be joined by the lovely Dragon Rapide from the Classic Flight at Coventry Airport. This venerable aircraft was providing pleasure flights throughout the day and demand seemed high as the aircraft was constantly boarding and un-boarding passengers... |  |
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.....and as one pretty bi-plane just isn't enough, we were also joined by this very attractive Isaacs Fury 11, which flew in to join our static aircraft display. |
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Amongst our exhibitors we were honoured to have two authors of Vulcan books who are legends in their own lifetime. Tony Blackman was an Avro Test Pilot involved throughout the development period of the Vulcan prototypes and B1 and B2. In fact Tony flew well over 100 different Vulcans for their first flights from Woodford aerodrome including XM655. We were also delighted to have with us Craig Bulman, author of 'The Vulcan B.Mk 2 from a different angle'. |
| In order that Wings & Wheels is both safe and well organised, year after year we rely on cadets and their adult staff from various local (and not so local) Air Cadet Squadrons. This year we had no less than six squadrons present, all but two of which had not been to Wings & Wheels before. It was a tribute to their efforts that we had such good feedback about the marshalling, pay gates, and car parking of the whole event by many spectators. We were supported by 1046 Fordhouses Sqn, our most experienced squadron, together with a small band from 1460 Banbury Sqn. The Squadrons helping us for the first, but hopefully not last, time were 150 City of Oxford, 1200 Polesworth, 785 Tewkesbury and Haileybury School CCF (Air Section) - a big thank you and well done to all of you!
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On the safety front, we also receive a great deal of help and support from our local retained fire station in Wellesbourne, part of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service. This year the crew were on-site with their appliance all day, initially supplying multiple tanks of water to one of the kids' attractions, and then providing emergency cover for the event. |
Of course the primary reason for holding Wings & Wheels is to raise funds for the upkeep of XM655, and in that respect we were very excited this year that we were able to attract a commercial sponsor, Aerobytes Ltd, whose Managing Director Eddie Forrester has been a major supporter of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust over the last few years. Eddie was approached by our Exhibitors Coordinator, Damaris Tapp, shortly before Wings & Wheels and was very generous in his financial support for us - thank you Eddie.
Our loyal band of volunteers and engineers all worked ridiculously long hours throughout Saturday and Sunday (with a few having worked on Thursday, Friday and Monday as well), but the efforts definitely paid off. They all went home on Sunday tired and sun burned - but with happy smiles on their faces - thank you to all of them!
Wings and Wheels 20/06/2010
Well, we got this one right! Since 2005, we have struggled to get all our ducks in a row for a good fast taxy demonstration. Finally for the first time in five we had unseasonably good summer weather for June, i.e. it was warm, dry and sunny, with light winds along the runway and not across it! Last year's H&S concerns had been professionally and competently dealt with. The aircraft was in fine fettle. The aircrew was confident. A video camera was fitted to the underside of the starboard wing. It was all systems go, and the result was a beautiful demonstration of an Avro Vulcan B2 doing what it does best: making a lot of noise and looking extremely graceful as it tantalisingly approaches the fine line where it becomes a flying thing of beauty... but not quite, as after 9 seconds of almost full power and 7 seconds of aerodynamic braking, XM655 once again becomes firmly anchored to the ground by her own weight (reduced, of course, by a couple of tons in the previous ten minutes).
If you weren't able to be there on 20th June then please have a look at the YouTube video made by Roger Bowen during the Fast Taxy demonstration - it's pretty impressive. The picture above will give you an idea of what to expect.
The only little hitch, which with perfect timing made itself known at the worst possible moment, was when a circuit breaker on the Houchin GPU decided to do what circuit breakers do, just as the main engines were being started for the fast taxy. This caused a 45 minute delay whilst the fault was traced to the circuit breaker which, once reset, gave no further problems!
Wings & Wheels 2010 was a resounding success. The day's proceedings were accompanied by our now regular and most enthusiastic commentator, Dave Rowland, he of Concorde and Royal Aeronautical Society fame - what would we do without you, Dave?
We also had a record-breaking number of Classic Vehicles attending the show - a huge thank you to our very own Richard Galazka for organising the Classic Vehicles for the third year running. Well done to the winner of the best vehicle in show, Richard Orford with his immaculate Austin Healey 100M, his prize was presented to him by David Thomas.
Attendance was up 25% on 2009, and although we had less flying in/ out/over the airfield than last year, Wings & Wheels seemed to be enjoyed by all who attended. We were delighted to be able to help the Royal Air Forces Association, Help For Heroes, the Royal British Legion Bikers Branch and finally, the Vulcan to the Sky Club, who all raised much needed funds for their own charitable needs.
We were also pleased to be part of the plot which allowed Pam Thomas to be able to see her husband at work in the cockpit of a Vulcan for the first time ever - see Pam's first-hand account elsewhere in this Newsletter.
We had fantastic support (and indeed would not be able to run Wings & Wheels without this support) from four Air Training Corps Squadrons from around the Midlands. Thank you to the Officers, NCOs and Cadets of 1460 Banbury, 1368 Warwick, 29(F) Rugby, and 1046 Fordhouses (Wolverhampton) Squadrons. We were able to give some of the Cadets an exclusive cockpit tour of 655 on the Saturday evening when they arrived to camp at the airfield - we hope they enjoyed the experience.
Charles Brimson (thanks to Clive Hanley for the photos)
25th Anniversary Taxi Run 21/06/2009
This year saw the 25th anniversary of the arrival of XM655 at Wellesbourne Mountford airfield and we were hoping that our event this year would be a little bit special. We had no idea just how special it would turn out to be.
To back up the taxy runs of 655, we had a superb display of about 175 Classic Cars and Military Vehicles which had been organised by Richard Galazka. Many thanks to the proud owners who brought along these superb exhibits. The Patrick Motors Collection again brought along Mr Jones' van from the Dads Army television show. This has become a regular feature of our event. Air Atlantique Classic Flight came along to offer visitors a chance to take a flight in their vintage de Havilland Rapide and newcomers to the event, AvonAir Centre, were on hand with flights in their Cessna. Squadron Leader Rik Head brought along a Squirrel helicopter by kind permission of Royal Air Force Shawbury and a small number of other aircraft were on static display. These included Martin Slater's Auster. Martin is a long standing supporter of 655MaPS. As usual, we had a variety of stalls and also food and drinks (non alcoholic) vendors.
The gentlemen and ladies from the Royal Air Force Association were out in force to raise funds for RAFA and this year we had a contingent from the British Legion Bikers to advertise the work which they do for the Legion.
Right on time at 11:30, XM655 was fired up for the first of its demonstrations of the day. As usual, the aircraft was in the very capable hands of David Thomas and Mike Pollitt with Phil Davies substituting as AEO for Barry Masefield who was occupied with XH558. A slow demonstration gave the photographers in the crowd lots of opportunity for that special shot.
Hardly had the sound of 655 died away then it was "smoke on, go" and the Red Arrows gave us a great low pass across the airfield with red, white and blue smoke trailing. Earlier in the year, Charles Brimson had approached the Arrows to see if a flypast would be possible on our 25th. Thanks to the Arrows and Charles it went down well with the crowd.
Around 14:30, the sound of the Olympus 301 engines was again heard as 655 prepared for a higher speed run. Not the full on normal high speed run since we had just been notified by Rolls-Royce of a possible problem. In the interest of safety the crew limited the engine power to 70% but even that produced a satisfying amount of noise. At the end of the run, 655 was held on the runway instead if its usual swift exit. By now the word was around of a special event and it was all eyes to the South. After a lengthy pause, a familiar shape appeared in the sky as Martin Withers, en route from Holland, brought XH558 straight down the line of the runway and over the top of 655. With 655 holding on the runway, Martin did two more circuits followed by a spirited climb-out on his way to Kemble. Barry had made it to Wellesbourne after all. Many thanks to Martin and his crew and to Mike Pollitt and the VOC for giving us a truly memorable 25th.
Thanks are due to everyone who helped to make sure our event went off without a hitch and who took part in the day. I would especially like to mention Dave Rowlands whose commentary is so much appreciated by all the crowd and to the boys and girls of the Air Training Corps and their Officers who did such a wonderful job for us in looking after the cars and the visitors. The Cadets came from 1460(Banbury) Squadron, 1368(Warwick) Squadron, 1046(Fordhouse) Squadron and 163( Nuneaton) Squadron.
Well, we wanted something special and that is exactly what we got. The only problem is, how do we top that next year?
Wings and Wheels 22/06/2008
After taking a break in 2007, the engineers of 655 MaPS had once again prepared the aircraft for display and organised a full supporting programme to complement the taxi demonstrations of XM655.
Richard Galazka had taken on the task of putting together a display of over 100 Classic Cars and Military Vehicles which is always a big draw to the event, and this years selection proved as interesting as ever. A welcome addition to the line up was a display of Morgans from the Morgan Owners Club. As in the past the CC owners were asked to vote for the best car in show and the winner was the owner of a superb MG who received his cup from pilot David Thomas.
We had planned to have a number of vintage aircraft on display but unfortunately the very windy conditions prevented all except a Squirrel from RAF Shawbury and a privately owned Bulldog from reaching Wellesbourne.
We were lucky enough to have our usual crew of David Thomas, Mike Pollitt and Barry Masefield with us and at 11:30 655 was fired up for its first run of the day. Unlike previous years when the aircraft has started from the opposite side of the runway in the morning, 655 had been positioned in front of the viewing area to give an extra chance for everyone to see the start-up preparations at close quarters. A slow speed run was completed with David stopping the aircraft to give the photographers the best chance for pictures.
In the afternoon with the wind now gusting straight across the runway at well over 40 knots, David made the decision to carry on with the high speed run so as not to disappoint the crowd, even though cancellation would have been justified. The nosewheel stayed firmly on the ground however to ensure 655 remained on the narrow Wellesbourne runway.
We were very pleased with the performance of 655 especially after a great deal of maintenance work had been carried out including a major overhaul of the brakes. It finished the day with no real problems.
The same could not be said of the exhibitors who had a huge battle with the high winds, and several stalls were damaged, including the big MaPS tent, which was completely wrecked despite being anchored down by large concrete blocks.
Right through the day, Captain Dave Rowland again provided a superb commentary on what was happening and in filling in the gaps with background information, battling against the wind, which threatened to blow the sounds away.
Also filling in the gaps were the cadets from 1855(Royton) Squadron ATC who as the "Red Barrows" treated the crowd to several displays of manoeuvres with their red wheelbarrows. Great stuff.
The visitors also had a chance to see our newly restored Vulcan bomb hoist demonstrated by our youngest member Daniel, aided and abetted by dad Charles. We think that this is the only working example in existence.
The ATC were also very much in evidence around the site as members of 1368 (Warwick) Squadron and 1460 (Banbury) Squadron directed the cars to the car parks. Many thanks to all involved and members of the public commented on how helpful and polite they were.
As usual our thanks go to everyone who worked so hard to make the day a success and a memorable one for our visitors.
Wings and Wheels 18/06/2006
Per Ardua... Copyright© Jeff Williams
Copyright© Jeff Williams
Talking to many people after the event was over, it was generally agreed that this was the best show yet at Wellesbourne with XM655 being displayed to perfection by David Thomas. Full power and nosewheel well raised was just what the crowd of over 2,000 had come to see and hear on a warm and dry afternoon. Earlier in the day, a slow speed run with plenty of stops had set the cameras clicking and given everyone a chance to watch the aircraft. But the event also had a second role to play. As well as our usual crew of David Thomas, Mike Pollitt and Barry Masefield, we had on board Martin Withers and Martin Andrews who were receiving refresher training for the the time when XH558 is returned to flying status. XM655 is already playing an important part in the efforts to put a Vulcan back into the air.
Although 655 is really the star of the day, there were plenty of other
attractions for the crowd to see. Gary Lewis had assembled a remarkable
display of over 200 Classic Cars and Military Vehicles ranging from bubble
cars to an enormous self propelled Abbott 105mm Gun. Try putting that in
your garage! Also on display among the vehicles was Corporal Jones' Dads
Army Van from the television programme Dads Army. Many thanks to all the
owners, some of whom had travelled long distances to be at the show.
This year Richard Dick had arranged for a number of aircraft to be on Static
Display including a Beaver from the Army Air Corps Classic Flight, a
Stearman 17 from Tony Poulson, an L4 Piper Cub flown in by Dave Puleston and
an Auster flown by Martin Slater. Members of the Army Air Corps Blue Eagles
display team arrived in the Gazelle with their usual dust cloud. Their Lynx
which should have accompanied it had unfortunately gone U/S at Middle
Wallop. Air Atlantique who have been staunch supporters of our event
brought along the DC-3 Dakota for static while giving pleasure flights in
their Dove and Rapide. A pair of Bulldogs from Shawbury and the South
Warwickshire Flying School completed the line-up. Big disappointment was the
P-40 Kittyhawk which was flown in by Peter Teichman but was prevented from
joining the display due to a mix-up with Air Traffic Control.
Copyright© Jeff Williams
Copyright© Jeff Williams
Throughout the whole of the day an excellent and very informative commentary was given by Captain Dave Rowland who as a former Concorde Captain and a classic car owner could hardy have better credentials for the job. Many thanks Dave. Thanks are also due to the aircrew and groundcrew who made sure that 655 gave of her best and to all the people behind the scenes of 655MaPS who worked so hard to plan and organise the event.
Copyright© Jeff Williams
Once again we are greatly indebted to the Officers and Cadets of the Air Training Corps whose tireless work in parking 1,000 cars, controlling the pay points and ensuring an orderly departure of the crowd after the show, received the highest praise from MaPS and from members of the public. A cadet who collapsed was airlifted by Air Ambulance to a local hospital and made a rapid recovery from an asthma attack. Prompt attention by the on-site St Johns Ambulance team was greatly appreciated.
A.T.C. Squadrons in attendance were: 163 (Coventry), 1046 (Wolverhampton), 1289 (Stratford on Avon) and 1368 (Warwick). All in all a very good weekend which seemed to please the members of the public who came along to see 655 strut her stuff and in doing so, brought in much needed funds which will enable the engineers to continue the work on the aircraft. This work goes on throughout the year by the volunteer engineers who put so much time and effort into Avro Vulcan XM655.
Copyright© Jeff Williams
Wings and Wheels 19/06/2005
Copyright© Gavin Kemp |
With a crowd just short of 2000 enthusiasts, the Wings and Wheels 2005 at Wellesbourne was hailed a success. With glorious weather that tipped over 100 degrees just after lunch time on Sunday's Vulcan taxi day the only shade that was available was under the giant Vulcan Bomber XM655. The aircraft performed a low power and short taxi at 11 AM, followed at 2 PM by a dramatic high power taxi run. Conditions were just right as the pilots - Sqdn Leader (RAF Ret'd) David Thomas and Wing Commander Mike Pollitt - lifted the nose wheel off the runway. With cheers and applause from the crowd, they taxied the aircraft back in to the disused runway for shutdown, allowing the crowd to visit the aircraft for a closer inspection. Over 200 classic cars and vehicles came to the event, and what a fantastic selection of vehicles they were. |
A taste of the day Copyright© Charles Toop |
| At 1.40 PM the Blue Eagles Helicopter Display Team arrived overhead. The lead helicopter, a Lynx, set down directly in front of the crowd causing a huge dust storm to blow over the airfield. The 4 Gazelle helicopters decided to set down further away so as not to cause any further dust storms! | 
Blue Eagles kicking up a storm Copyright© Gavin Kemp |
Earlier in the day, the DC-3 operated by Air Atlantique (based at nearby Coventry Airport) arrived and featured in the static park for the remainder of the day. Also from Air Atlantique came the Dragon Rapide which offered pleasure flights. However the aircraft had a minor problem and a Twin Pioneer arrived to take over.
Reaching for the sky Copyright© Michael Baldock
The photographs here tell the story, leaving 655 MaPS to personally thank you all for coming to our event and supporting what we do - to keep XM655 alive. Our thanks also to the airfield manager, Wellesbourne Air Traffic, all the volunteers on site and off site, the ATC Squadrons, Gary Lewis for organising yet another fabulous car show, our film crew and photographers and last but not least - our Air Crew for the weekend, who survived the stifling heat of a Vulcan cockpit on a sunny day!
Fast Taxi Run 20/06/2004
We carried out an Engine Ground Run (EGR) on Saturday 19th and the aircraft passed with flying colours. All we had to do was put her to bed and catch up with the aircrew that evening for a pint or two. The DC-3 arrived and was also parked up ready for the events on Sunday.
All through the week local radio station Bear 102FM carried our event on their Bulletin Board broadcast. The Vulcan To The Sky Club also helped out by publicising the event.
Sunday morning was a 7am start. The road sweeper turned up on time, as did all the classic cars and traders. Shame the fresh donut man didn't make it! The aircrew convinced us that it would be good to taxi XM655 over to the market site under her own steam, so we agreed and at 11am 655 trundled over to say hello to those who got there early.
Over 100 out of 150 classic cars also arrived despite the unsociable weather conditions. Shortly before 14.00 the anti collision lights started to flash as pre-flight checks commenced on the aircraft. No 4 engine could be heard spinning, then fuel injected into it and 'lit'. Exhaust flux emerging from No. 4 engine, 655 came alive.
Once all engines were stable, ATC gave clearance for "X-Ray Mike 655" to enter the active runway. Turning on the runway to face the crowd for a photocall, against a back drop of the Fosse Way Hills, the aircraft look stunning. Moving along the runway the aircraft turned to face away from her supporters, turning out on high power caused a vortex of exhaust flux to hit the crowd, we hope you didn't mind! This is the closest you will ever get to an active Vulcan! Turning back on herself, XM655 headed south down the runway for a change. Turning on a sixpence, she turned to face us all, and the sun came out.
Ready... Copyright©Michael Baldock>
Brakes on, all four engines coming up and with a cloud of smoke and water behind the aircraft creating a dramatic backdrop, ATC cleared her for the run, the aircrew unleashed the aircraft and a huge growl ripped through the air for 6 or more seconds.
...steady... Carl Woodend
Speeding past the intersection, the nose began to lift...
...GO!! Copyright© Michael Baldock
Copyright© Gary Dee
Copyright© Michael Baldock
At 80 knots the power was withdrawn and air brakes selected and 655 came to a smooth halt at the end of the runway. The crew bought back the aircraft to the market site, no second run this year as we have never fast taxied the aircraft with a very wet runway and the brakes were very warm! The crewchief, Mark, welcomed 655 back, bomb bay doors open and the aircraft was shut down.
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A parade of classic cars ranging from 1964 to 1984 parked next to XM655 for a photo call. We were delighted that Quentin Wilson from BBC's Top Gear reviewed the cars on show and we do hope he will drop in again next year. |  |
Lets see if we can do another 20 years at Wellesbourne, join us....! Many thanks to all who turned up to support 655, and particular thanks to all the photographers who sent in pictures for us to use on this report.
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