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Post by kiwi285 on Oct 14, 2019 18:35:53 GMT 12
Bruce, Des and I have been sorting, cleaning and entering details of spares into a data base we have created for the last 3 or 4 weeks. Some part numbers are easy to read, some not so and others leave us wondering. See the photos below for an item we cannot fasthom. It is really big for a valve and it certainnly did't come as a Vampire spare. Anybody out there care to hazard a guess as to what it might be from. It is new.  111019 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  111019 (4) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  111019 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  111019 (5) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr |
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Post by agalbraith on Oct 14, 2019 19:50:02 GMT 12
Oh my goodness Mike! That's an impressive collection of spares you have there.....no idea what that valve is off, someone will know.
great photo's thanks
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Post by curtiss on Oct 14, 2019 20:39:35 GMT 12
Looks like some form of Klystron. Surprised that Des cant identify it .
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Post by l29 on Oct 15, 2019 15:00:53 GMT 12
What is the intention with all the spares and other engines?
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Post by camtech on Oct 15, 2019 15:13:41 GMT 12
Those boxes with yellow painted ends bring back memories of going through shelves at Te Rapa and in various flight stores.
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Post by kiwi285 on Oct 16, 2019 13:45:38 GMT 12
Des and I are going thru those boxes again and I can tell you that a lot still have RNZAF Te Rapa stores labels on them with stocktake quantities on them.
Not sure exactly at the moment I29 but I guess that most will probably be for sale at some stage.
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Post by tbf25o4 on Oct 16, 2019 14:54:21 GMT 12
The item definitely looks like a valve from a ground radio transmitter, what markings were on the box?
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Post by aircraftclocks on Oct 16, 2019 19:13:27 GMT 12
The valve is a 1960's radiation cooled transmitting triode made by STC rated at 300W or 400W with forced cooling, NSN 5960-99-000-0635.
I would say it is for some type of ground radio.
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Post by kiwi285 on Oct 19, 2019 15:53:28 GMT 12
Yesterday they wheeled the Vampire outside and used the cockpit controls to give the engine a dry run. They are looking to do this again next week and open the fuel cock to test that there are no leaks in that area. We are getting closer to lighting the Goblin up for an onboard power run.  181019 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  181019 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr  181019 (4) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr |
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Post by baz62 on Oct 19, 2019 17:43:23 GMT 12
Great stuff. This will be the only ex-RNZAF Vampire to run since at least the 1980s when the Air Force Museum used to run the T11 NZ5707 which is now at the Ashburton Aviation Museum.
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Post by markrogers on Oct 19, 2019 21:42:27 GMT 12
Awesome. When was this Vampire's last engine run? Late 60's or early 70's?
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Post by tbf25o4 on Oct 20, 2019 8:23:42 GMT 12
The valve is a 1960's radiation cooled transmitting triode made by STC rated at 300W or 400W with forced cooling, NSN 5960-99-000-0635.
I would say it is for some type of ground radio
Noting the power output indicated above, my guess is that it is from a T1509 300W ground based HF transmitter commonly used at all of the stations/bases in the 1950s and 1960s Frequency rang
from memory was 2 - 20MHz
The output mode was CW or AM. Interesting in that "tuning" the 1509 we had a 300W light bulb fitted to the top of the transmitter and when it and the dial indicated full power
it was tuned!
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Post by aircraftclocks on Oct 20, 2019 12:28:19 GMT 12
I was wrong, this valve has been around from the 1940's, just seen it mentioned in a 1944 document.
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Post by kiwi285 on Oct 24, 2019 12:35:14 GMT 12
I am amazed that after 75 odd years such a fragile item still exists and looks like it could be plugged in and used now.
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 20, 2019 20:16:07 GMT 12
After weeks of working away at the various systems on the Vampire and numerous run ups we finally heard the sounds of ignition coming from the old girl. Although I didn't catch it I was told there was a burst of flame from the tail pipe. Ken looked satisfied when he climbed out of the cockpit. I guess that is the first of several run ups that will happen now.
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Post by kiwi285 on Nov 21, 2019 9:33:11 GMT 12
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Post by planewriting on Nov 21, 2019 11:04:21 GMT 12
It is great to have the Vampire reach this stage after a relatively short time since re-assembly commenced. Notice in the above photos the airport's impressive new fire engine watching from a distance and Dominie ZK-AKU peering out through hangar doors.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 21, 2019 16:33:38 GMT 12
You guys have the best Mens' Shed in the country. Even the Air Force doesn't get to play with jet fighters!
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Nov 21, 2019 16:46:59 GMT 12
What a wee gem of NZ aviation history! Wish she was airworthy.
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Post by Venomnut on Nov 21, 2019 20:58:26 GMT 12
Well done to the team for reaching this milestone in such a short time. Keep up the great work.
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