A day of servicing duties and maintenance, together with a small number of pre-booked visits lay ahead when the volunteers arrived at the pan on Saturday.

 

 

Being the first of the month meant running the ground equipment and the Coleman, Sentinel, Houchin, Palouste and aircraft AAPP were all started and run successfully, although the AAPP gave us a few missed beats when it did not start first or second time, third time was the charm.

Whilst the fuse and circuit breaker checks were being undertaken, a slightly different collection of vehicles were arranged in front of XM655 for a group photo – 3 HGV cabs!  The fuse and circuit breaker checks involve accessing a number of panels throughout the aircraft, located in the Power Bay, Bomb Bay, Nosewheel Bay and Cockpit with panel 48P being tricky to access as it is situated under the Nav Radar station.  The circuit breakers were checked for any trips and the triple feed fuse carriers were removed, in turn, and tested before being refitted to the busbar.

Derek and Fred continued with the starboard painting whilst under the aircraft tyre pressures were checked and topped up where necessary.  The nitrogen level for the crew door was also checked and refilled and PFCU levels were inspected and replenished were required. At the same time a program of checks were carried out for the intakes that spend most of their time blanked off, to ensure that nothing un-expected was happening behind them.

The number 2 engine fuel line was again disconnected from both ends and re-aligned so that the connector mating face angles were correct, then filled with fuel under pressure and checked again, all appeared ok  with no visible signs of a leak.

Pictures courtesy of Helen, Len, Isi, James and Matt.