Victor flies accidentally? Keerrrist

BBKing · 17-05-2009, 17:50

Amazed I didn't hear about this sooner (it was two weeks back) - major cock up on a Victor fast taxi run:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57189808@N00/3498640032/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57189808@N00/3498639828/

*very* lucky to get away with that:

**Kymmy** · 17-05-2009, 18:05

Oh what a classic

More on the incident HERE

Jon T · 17-05-2009, 18:25

I heard about this the day after it happened from a one of from an external contractor at work, he lives at the end of the runway(Gillmorton).

Got to say, I have concerns over the future of the fast taxi runs of the Bruntingthorpe Victor after this. :-(. Just think of how hard it would have been to land one of the Lightnings if the same thing happened to one of them!

A very popular question on the XH558 forums is if the Victor will ever be the subject of a restoration to flight project in the same way as the Vulcan. So, before the question is asked here, i'll answer it. Unfortunately the answer is no. Reason being that the Victor has very little or no fatigue life left on it's airframe. XH558 only needed a major service to take the airframe to the next level of cleared fatigue life.

BBKing · 17-05-2009, 18:44

Actually, there's a good precedent for accidentally flying a Lightning:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/t...htning%20pilot

Halcyon · 17-05-2009, 22:38

Fan-bloody-tastic!
I have been to a few of these Cold War jets days at Bruntingsthorpe and so wish I had been there when this happened.
It must have been great seeing it take off even for a very short moment of time.