RNZAF P 3 takes a shower

[alanw]

Hi All

You have to check out this Youtube link

Has a P 3 taxiing to ward and stopping in the
runway shower at Whenuapai, has some Andover
shots as well



Regards

Alan

[Dave Homewood]

It's called the bird bath, and I used to see that regularly when I was based at Whenuapai. It gets the salt spray off the airframe after a long, low sea patrol. Quite an impressive devise.

One question, was this installed when the RNZAF first got the P-3B's or did it come a lot later? The other planes (Hercules, Boeing 727's and Andovers) used to be taken up the other end of the flightline to get hand washed between the No. 40 Squadron Hangar and the S&S/MT hangar in my days. Guys up rigging with long handled brushes, high pressure hoses and kitted out with full wet weather gear, iot always looked like a mammoth task to me. Especially the 727 tail. I heard later when I was at Wigram that a General Service Hand fell off a 727 tail, but he somehow lived to tell the tale with broken bones apparently. By the way the Orions also occasionally got scrubbed down in the same way, so the bird bath was not the only wash they get.

[ErrolC]

Nov 27, 2010 9:50:58 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

It's called the bird bath, and I used to see that regularly when I was based at Whenuapai. It gets the salt spray off the airframe after a long, low sea patrol. Quite an impressive devise.

One question, was this installed when the RNZAF first got the P-3B's or did it come a lot later? ...

It was old hat to the locals when I started going to Whenuapai Primary in 1977 or so. Cool to watch when you are eight!

[alanw]

Nov 27, 2010 9:50:58 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

It's called the bird bath, and I used to see that regularly when I was based at Whenuapai. It gets the salt spray off the airframe after a long, low sea patrol. Quite an impressive devise.

One question, was this installed when the RNZAF first got the P-3B's or did it come a lot later? .

Hi Dave

I believe (going from memory here) it was installed
either just prior to or just after aquisition of the P 3B's

I have watched a P 3 land at Whenuapai would have been
really late 60's (1969ish) and watch it go through the Spay /
Bird bath, really cool to watch in person.( Yes just
a young tacker too) .

One of the other important factors of the wash as I understand
it, was for the engines to ingest the spray to wash any salt
spray off the Compressor fan/stator blades down
through to the turbine to reduce Salt corrosian

Just a really cool scene though, be great to watch at
night ;D

[Deane B]

Yes the good old bird bath. Mainly used on the Orion and as a rule after any flight where the aircraft flew below 1000ft above the sea. Once positioned the pilot would take the outer engine power levers up in power and the co-pilot would take the inners to reverse. After a few moments they did the opposite. This not only gave the compressor a good clean but also blew the water over the rest of the aircraft. The guys at 42 Sqn (Andovers) certainly found out how much wash is pushed forward when the props went into reverse thrust as the spray easily reached there flightline. I have been in the cockpit several times when we went through this wash. The only shortfall I believe was that many crews shut down the outboard engines shortly after and taxied back to 5 Sqn flight line on just the inboards. I reckon it did not give the outers enoughtime to dry out. If the birdbath was not available after a low level, over water flight, then the Fire Section guys were called down to 5 Sqn line to give the plane a rinse (engines running) on the parking spot.
As Dave said the birdbath was not a substitute to the other routine washes which were done between 5 Sqn and SEMS/S&S hangar. When I was on 5 Sqn these were done on each aircraft every 35 days, but I think that has been extended. Usually the aircraft was parked on the wash rack the night before and the first job the next day was to remove the engine tailpipe cowls for cleaning. This was not a fun job in winter, when many a new techie learned that a) you do get a damn good frost in parts of Auckland and b) Anti slip walkways on wings are the complete opposite when covered in ice !!! Still as a sumpie I'd rather do that task than spend the whole afternoon (or night shift) doing the post wash lubrication. Theres a jolly lot of grease nipples on each landing gear !!

Ah the memories.

Actually I must drag out all the 5 sqn/Whenuapai pics I have.

[classicman]

Yes we used the birdbath on the C130 after liferaft dropping or rubberduck insertions etc. Taxi the first half in - stop - use the pitch of the props to direct the spray around - then taxi forward enough to do the same to the rear half. All operated from the control tower I seem to recall.

[Dave Homewood]

Oh yeah, it is the No. 5 Squadron hangar, not 40 Sqn, I was getting my bearing messed up there.

One of the guys I joined up with slipped on the slipery wing of an Orion during a wash down and came a cropper onto the tarmac, lucky nothing really injured apart from pride.

Please do post your photos Deane.

[ox]

Our GSH at 3 Sqn was the one who fell off the C130 on the wash rack.

I remember them tyrapping a pilot to a chair on a trailer and towing him into the middle of the bird bath and turning it on.

Got a feeling it was Toots, but can't remember. I remeber him T handling all 4 engines on the bay and making a run for it off the ramp.

[Deane B]

For a while it was the done thing to tie up crew members after there last flight on Squadron. Usually they were tied to a chair on a trailer and then a bucket of slops (any food that could be soaked in water) thrown over them. The Fire guys came down and gave them a hosing, normally with enough water pressure that the trailer would be moving down the tarmac. A pile of us were in 5 Sqn line office having a great laugh at one of these events, when the firemen decided that the pilot was wet enough and spun around to throw some water towards us. We heard the outer pane of the double glazed glass break and luckliy we all dived out of the way as it broke through the inner pane and wreaked a bit of havoc inside the line office!! Luckily he had the sense to realise his mistake and stop as soon as he saw what had happened. Things toned down a bit after that incident !!

[Dave Homewood]

Ah, so it was a C-130 he fell off. Funny how the Chinese Whispers of interbase gossip turned it into the tail of a 727. Still, a long way to fall all the same.

Do you mena 'Toots' Tuenter? He was a Cpl/Sgt/Cpl Avionics at Wigram when I was there.

Thanks for that story Deane, quite a laugh but I'll bet there was hell to pay for wetting the office, hopefully no records, etc were ruined.

[Dave Homewood]

Here's a photo I took in about 1989-90 of a very happy Boeing getting its tummy washed:

[camtech]

The bird bath was installed very shortly after the arrival of the Orions.
Prior to that, they were washed by use of fire hoses in the gap between 2 and 3 Hangars aalong with the Hercules.
We didn't wash the Freighters the same way as they would have as much water inside as they would outside.

[camtech]

Just clarifying that 2 Hangar is the current 5 Sqdn Hangar - used to be Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, where all second line servicing for the aircraft was done. What Dave refers to as MT/S & S was then known as PTSU. In about 1976, there was a major shuffle of hangar space, when 1 Sqdn moved into 5 Sqdns hangar (4 Hangar, currently occupied by 6 Sqdn, and carried out major upgrading), 40 were left with 1 Hangar to themselves, and 5 Sqdn shifted to 2 Hangar. Ground Equipment took over the wash bay end of 3 Hangar.

While on 1 Sqdn, we did put the Andovers through on occasion if they had been at low level on a fisheries patrol.