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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0166.PDF
168 FLIGHT International, 1 February 1962 PROVING THE BUCCANEER undertake a study of the aircraft and its systems. It is being further enlarged at Lossiemouth in three respects: practical experience of flying the Buccaneer more intensively than it has ever been flown before, under a variety of operational conditions; a close examina tion of maintenance problems; and an appraisal, based on work study, of ih: manpower requirements of Buccaneer squadrons. There is much to be said for the far north of Scotland as proving- ground for a new Naval aircraft of this type: scarcity of civil traffic gives greater freedom of operation than is possible in more con gested corners of the United Kingdom; the sea provides an un obstructed area for trying out the type of sortie Buccaneers are likely to have to undertake in service; the nearby Highlands offer the kind of terrain which may be encountered in tactical low-level operations (700Z use the recognized Scottish low-flying areas, joined by link routes); while Lossiemouth itself has the twin advantages of a good weather factor and a sufficiently northern latitude to test the Buccaneer severely under wintry conditions. On the flying side of 700Z, the pilots have a good opinion of the Buccaneer's handling qualities, particularly its instrument-flying behaviour, and like its forward and downward cockpit visibility. The latter feature is especially important in deck landings and for low- level operations; when doing "500kt-plus at 200ft" you need to have visual command of the situation: the Buccaneer offers good all-round vision to both pilot and observer. Both cockpits (en closed under one canopy, through which the Martin-Baker Mk 4 seats break in the event of ejection) have been laid out with an eye to making a complex aeroplane as straightforward as possible. For example, the fuel contents gauges give a complete at-a-glance picture of the aircraft's fuel state; the altimeters are unambiguous single-pointer instruments (backed by radio altimeters); ASI and Machmeter are both read on a horizontal display and there is an additional ASI, for deck landings, on top of the pilot's instrument panel. If changes are suggested in the siting of any pieces of equip ment, ultimate administrative authority for approval is the Flag Officer Air (Home). Externally, with aerodynamic features like boundary layer control, flap blowing, all-moving tailplane and "petal" air brakes, the Buccaneer is the most unusual aeroplane to enter RN service; but its features are accepted on 700Z as routine advance ments in Naval aireraft design. Failure of the blowing system is not regarded by the 700Z pilots as catastrophic. An unblown take off requires a longer run, an unblown landing a higher approach speed. Provided the failure is recognized and there is time to take action the emergency can be handled. To its aerodynamic attributes the Buccaneer adds a formidable amount of navigational and radar equipment—a strike radar, Doppler radar, main and standby UHF, TACAN, radio altimeter, and single sideband HF set which gives voice communication at the aircraft's maximum range. The observer therefore combines the duties of navigator, radar observer and radio operator; while the Buccaneer as a bomber can deliver its weapon (or weapons) with greater accuracy than heavy bombers of the last war and with no more than one-third of the crew complement. The more complex the aeroplane, the more intensive the ground organization needed t© back it, and one arithmetical problem they are trying to solve at Lossiemouth is just how many Buccaneers will go into a ship. A simple solution to this is to say that the more men you can leave out, the more aeroplanes you can get in; in other words, with how few men can you keep the aircraft flying? An answer is being discovered at Lossiemouth jointly by the engineering side of 700Z and by a work-study team who are watch ing their operations and measuring the results. Under Lt Cdrs Strange and Dunphy there are two electrical officers, plus 130 personnel, more than half of them NCOs— Chief Petty Officers or POs. There are also attached to the flight ten civilian representatives from firms whose equipment is in the Buccaneer—de Havilland, Ferranti, Elliott Brothers, etc. The work- study team, headed by Lt Cdr Gordon Smith, has three officers and four senior ratings. In addition, there is a representative from NAMDU (Naval Aircraft Maintenance Development Unit). Lt Cdr Smith has acknowledged "first-class co-operation" from 700Z Flight, first intensive flying trials unit to have work study applied to it since the Work Study School was started at Ports mouth in 1958, though the principles have been applied to squadrons at sea. At Lossiemouth, main instrument of application is a display board known as a Servicing Operations Moviecast, which to the experienced eye tells at a glance all that is going on in the ground services. (Boards used in this type of operation have been "miniaturized" to the same size as those to be employed in carriers.) Its main feature is a time scale showing calendar-determined items of maintenance against aircraft flying hours, over a three-month period. Each type of trade engaged is depicted by a different colour: each job done is timed against estimated duration and manpower requirement. Every obtainable measurement, whether of manpower or duration, is recorded on process sheets. From estimates worked out by a team which went to Blackburn Aircraft, and based on NAMDU calculations, the work-study men are determining the optimum in maintenance methods (which may involve eliminating some of them), spares requirements, cost and manpower of the Buccaneer in service. "Our job," says Lt Cdr Smith, "is determining facts." One of their problems may also be the amount of ancillary equip ment the aircraft requires, considering the limited area of space on a carrier: around the machine in its dispersal are the Palouste ground power supplier, lox dispenser (the Buccaneer is the first Naval aircraft to use lox) and radar cooling trolley. For an aircraft to be refuelled, re-loxed and have its batteries checked between flights, turn-round time is 20-30min. There are four men to each ground crew, plus supervisory electrician and radar and ordnance men. An engine change takes about three hours, an advantage in this respect being that port and starboard Gyron Juniors are inter changeable. When a main check IV is undertaken (taking approximately four days) the amount of engine-driven ground equipment required to stand around the aeroplane is considerable, involving much noise and pollution of the atmosphere. This is being overcome at Lossie mouth by the use of electrical instead of petrol-driven power; presumably this practice will be followed in carriers. Apart from the heaving deck, servicing follows mpch the same pattern it will take at sea. There are protective checks (as in the RAF) against tools going astray or being left in aircraft, by the use of visual racks which replace the ratings individual tool-box; there is item-for-item supervision of the issue of any spares from stores. Ground supervision of the Buccaneers goes on at Lossiemouth virtually round the clock: one shift works from 0715 to 1715, a second shift overlapping at 1700 and going on until 0300. The air craft are being flown by day and by night; by the time the squadrons are formed in July something like 1,500hr flying will have been done, and introduction to Naval service of a well-proved new aircraft will be the result of conscientious evaluation now being applied at Lossiemouth by both aircrew and groundcrew of 700Z. Bfr ^'""ig—' \ I MM 11 if " ' V >~fj 1 viHwrf' *^fli Wl •--•* t Buccaneering in a nautical environment :J^/^_r 5 ^Z/^¥m SL - ' "**•* ^. - jgp" J:
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