Vickers Valliant

[andy johnson]

After spending last season flying a model that I bought I have decided to do some building , I really love flying the Victor but it is big and heavy and difficult to transport on my own ,so I have decided to build smaller .When at the Longhorsley show earlier this year I found the start of a Valliant by Simon Stegels on eBay .I quickly rang him and it was mine, the only thing was the small drive to Norwich to pick it up .When I got it home and had a good look at it I realised it would need allot of work to put what he had started right .I have scraped the wings he had started and pulled of the sheeting on the fuzz to allow me to take over 2 and 1/2 1b of weight out of the back end alone this took me nearly a month to do but things are now moving in the right direction and the fuzz ,fin and tail plane are almost finished ready glassing . The Valliant when finished will be 12ft long and 12ft span with an estimated weight of 75 1b powered by 2 Wren Super sports.

16102010005.jpg (34.05 KiB) Viewed 14229 times

16102010004.jpg (32.58 KiB) Viewed 14229 times

[Paul Holt]

Looking good, question is, will we see the Vulcan, Victor and Valliant in the air at the same time??

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

we MUST, but how does Andy fly 2 at the same time?

[Nick Reeves 3055]

i recon he'll use some magic

[DAVE JOHNSON]

Alan--no problem at all,the 3rd generation of Johnsons[the one holding the model]is already flying jets and will hopefully be fully qualified and trained up to fly it by next year !!!!

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

NICE, but its the old you are not wise till you are 18 routine you will have to get Chris out of retirement

[andy johnson]

I am now working on the tail planes , when I got the model the tail planes had been started but were way to heavy , I have spend a couple of hours with a dremal and cut away allot of the first 4 ribs that were solid 1/8 ply and also removed the hardwood spar and replaced it with balsa this has save a good amount of weight of the tail but still giving more than enough strenth in the tail .Today I have finished of the tail planes and have sheeted them on both sides and have made a good start on the elevators.I should have the elevators finished and on before taking it to gaydon this weekend

tail plane2.jpg (46.12 KiB) Viewed 14097 times

[andy johnson]

NICE, but its the old you are not wise till you are 18 routine you will have to get Chris out of retirement

Hi Alan , Adam has been flying jets and scale models for a while now and am hopping that he will be ready to fly the Valliant next year but we will have to see how things work out .having three generations of Johnsons flying together is something we would love to do and the three V bombers together would be fantasic but I won't risk any of my models ,if Adam was to fly the Valliant he would also have to have a good pilot helping him ie Steve posibly .The tree flying together will proberly only happen at Cosford as it will be a nightmare trying to transport both the Victor and Valliant at the same time.
Andy

[Bob Thompson1894]

Alan/Andy- about ten years ago we tried (and tried) in vain to persuade the committee to let under 18s join the LMA (in particular young Andy Brown) and were told categorically it would never happen as it was an insurance matter. Would your young 'un be flying on a 'B', then?

[andy johnson]

Yes kids under the age of 18 can and do fly at LMA events on BMFA B's as long as there parent / gardian are a menber of the LMA ,it has been this way for many years now .
Andy

[paul hughes]

Dave, perhaps you should correct your son Andy, before all hell breaks loose. I can amagine people all over the country reaching for their rule book.

[DAVE JOHNSON]

Afternoon Paul--which part would you like me to correct??? its been the case since the AGM debate 5 years ago that competant teenagers with a BMFA B are allowed to fly at our events ,as long as they are accompanied by a parent or gaurdian at all times----this came about because youngsters like Andrew Brown as Bob mentioned,were being excluded from the LMA ,and it was decided then that these youngters were the future of the Association,and to exclude them would just turn them away for future years.I and many more would like to see the age limit removed,but can accept there are valid reasons --CAA paperwork and Insurance just being two---but by agreeing the present ruling it was the best we could do for the future of the LMA.At the moment we have many young pilots who have flown at our shows this year,and there have been no reported incedents or complaints---lets hope this continues----DAVE

[PHIL ATHERTON 2400]

hey andy.....whos the midget holding the plane in the photo, i knew the circus was in to town because all the clowns were at goodison yesterday wearing red shirts......

sorry mate........you can let us know what the championship is like next season

[Alan Cantwell 1131]

CRIKEY, didnt want to start a war guys!!! but i did not know the ruling either, it would be good to see some of the younger end doing their thing, its nice to see Chris is still flying, what a family eH

[Tony Collins 1073]

The RAF V Bomber Force.

This consisted of Three aircraft which comprised the Strategic Nuclear Strike force which was namely made up of the Vickers Valiant, Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan in which the Valiant entered service in 1955, The Vulcan in 1956 and the Victor in April 1958

VVVV.jpg (108.94 KiB) Viewed 13953 times

Hi Andy. What a marvellous job of work you and your old man are doing. As an old rigger in RAF Bomber Command who who had the honour of working on all three of these marvelous aircraft I am overcome at the thought of seeing them fly in formation. That is something that I did not actually see for real.

The original strike force were all painted white with the red white and blue roundels on the wings. They looked truly beautiful. As they were meant to drop the hydrogen bomb, the white was a reflective anti flash measure.
I would be in heaven if the Johnson family had a Strategic Nuclear Strike force all in white. Boy how good would they look flying past.

[andy johnson]

Hi Tony ,I am copying the Valliant that's in the Cosford Museum I went to see it last weekend and took lots of photo's so it will be in white to match the Victor but you may have to work on my Dad as the is copying 558 in Green/Gray camo .
Andy

[Tony Collins 1073]

Andy, why mix and match. It would spoil the whole effect. Dave if you are reading this. Vulcan B2 XH558 1960 ---- part of the original RAF Strategic Nuclear Strike Force in white 'Anti-flash' paint scheme.

XH558 Changed colours again in 1970 and again a few years ago into a drab camouflage livery which represents little more then its rebirth.
Ok it is more recogniseable to the general public because of all the media attention but the true origins of XH558 should not be forgotten. If you want original and authentic its gotta be a beautiful gleaming white. It'll still be XH558, but different to all the other XH558s because thats how it was when it started life in the RAF at Waddington where I worked on them.
There, now I've got that out of my system I'm off to bed cos tomorrow I'll be in Crete so Fun Stuff will have to hang on for a week. Think on DAVE.

[DAVE JOHNSON]

Morning Tony---thanks for your comments and info,but surely we dont have to wait a full week for another fun post?? dont you have internett access over there----enjoy your hols,speak when you get back--DAVE

[Tony Collins 1073]

Hi Dave, Cor it aint arf ot mum. Im in Sisse 10 am crete time and 8 am UK and its already eighty degrees.
I've hired a small car and am just about to go off sploring. Sorry that you are going to have to wait for your fun stuff fix
but my source is from my brother in law who is a a radio ham with contacts all over the world. They mail him on a regular basis with some unbelievable stuff which I'd love to be able to post but PC prevents me I'm afraid. Sigh.......bring back the old world. But we would'nt have puters then would we. Anyway I'm of to enjoy my day. Thinking of you lot slaving away.
Cheers Tony.

[AndyHopwood]

two things I want to say.
1. wow!!!!! all three flying in formation will sure be a sight and be the talking point of the model world all over the world!! I propose to rename LMA to JMA !! Johnson's Model Association!!!

2. I didn't know u can fly large on B License ?? or it is the LMA have different rule from BMFA ?? regards

Andy Hopwood