Absolutely not, the CAA would immediately disallow all fast taxi runs for classic jets in the UK. That would ruin a number of great operations like the lightning preservation group for instance. The wing and structure life of the Victor tanker is very, very much spent. Taking to the air in one would be running a real risk of structural breakup. I mean, the wing life was expired in the 80s, another 40 years of being outside in the elements and sitting under its own wing weight will have made things much worse.
@Commies Are Bad I totally understand! The DC3 is an amazing aircraft, but, it had a very rigid and strong wing compared to the Victor's extremely flexible load bearing wing. The comparitively light payloads the DC3 carried, combined with this rigid wing meant much less wing flex leading to fatigue - a wing like this, properly maintained, gives an almost indefinite wing life. The Victor was retired in 1993. When they flew the last sortie, not one airframe had any remaining wing life left. The fatigue index was over the limit on practically all airframes. (Interestingly operation Black Buck pushed a significant number of ailing Victor tankers near, or over their design wing life) Case study; the Victor gate guard at Marham had been left outside untouched (like the Victor at Brunty) and was at risk of wing spar/ structural collapse because of corrosion. These old cold war birds are beautiful, they always will be. Just never forget that these airframes are old, old tech and anything could happen at any time. As a pilot myself with several thousand hours in the Bulldog, Provost TMK3/4/5, Hawk T1/2 Tornado GR3/4, I can attest to any aircraft being lovely and friendly - up to the point one has a serious emergency caused by mechanical breakdown. But that's why we have Martin Baker allowing us the opportunity to part company with the aircraft in difficult situations.
What an absolutely beautiful tribute to Man and Machine. If you saw this old warrior walking down the street you would not give him a second look, but look at what his skill, training and demeanor was able to accomplish. My veteran friends and I are much younger so we do tend to swagger a bit from time to time, but we are all wounded and a bit more "sensible" in our actions compared to when we were younger. I hope that when I am as old as this Man I am as capable. What a fine example he is for all those who served before us. Never judge a book by its cover and never underestimate the power of ingrained training.
This takeoff gave it some extra character in my opinion.. shows the capability and readiness to takeoff and also how responsive it was to the pilots inputs, what an amazing machine.
A very modest gentleman. Years of experience in these ships had given him an edge that would be hard to duplicate. Very well done Sir. Fabulous aircraft too!
He is very much missed as my Father and Grandfather - these messages are so touching to read.. he was indeed very modest and was grateful for the recognition received following on from the 'accidental take off'.. very missed and left shoes hard to fill..
Handley-Page's early aircraft from 1909 onwards had crescent shaped wings which aided longitudinal stability. The use of crescent shaped wings (curving forwards rather than the earlier rearwards design) with decreasing thickness/cord ratio led to near constant characteristics across the whole wing at the near-mach speeds the aircraft was originally designed to operate at. And judging from the video and explanation by the pilot, impressive control at much lower speeds and altitudes.
Twoggsy: Beauty ? Are you joking ordo you really have no taste ? V-Bombers are pure bred ugly killer monsters with no honour and no romance and no beauty. An early Hawker Hind or Fury had a sould and beauty, a wooden Meteor, a Sikorsky S44 etc etc-they and many others had beauty !
Man she really wanted to fly, he only loosened the reins for a second to close the throttle and she was off. Some grade A skills to bring her back under control, if my flight wasn't going to plan I'd be relieved to have this guy in the captains seat. Total legend.
@@brettcoyle2399 Any pilot worth his/her salt is ALWAYS looking below for a safe place to land if good turns to bad! I did that every single time I flew, it's just a natural habit! You know that aircraft has to come down, you hope it doesn't want to before you get it home but you always need to be ready for the unexpected!
@@MJLeger-yj1ww yeah that's true man pilots r quick decision makers which in perspective u have to be my dream was to go to military at 19 and be a fighter pilots but I had my first seizure at 18 and they wouldn't let me in I come from a military background and most of my friends r vets or still active military
What a great pilot BOB was even after 20 years of retirement he could have flown that beautiful aircraft of into the skies for one last time thank you for your service BOB RIP
Some points: 1) There are no Victors with any fatigue life left: this means you cannot fly one without replacing major components like wings and tail sections as any flight on these original wings could lead very easily to in flight breakup. The Victor was also never that strong structurally. Another point to make on this; the aircraft has been sitting on its landing gear for at least 20 years at the time of filming, meaning the structure of the Victor may be compromised due to the weight moment of the aircraft acting against its own weight and placing stress on the wing roots. It would have been nice to see a circuit flown, but there would be an untenable and very real risk of a structural breakup, like a wing breaking off or a tail breaking off. 2) The V bombers, although great machines, never had a very good safety record. 3) Some people are asking about the possibility of returning a lightning to flight: this again would not be possible. The lightning did not have any hydraulic redundancy, the CAA would like to see triple redundancy in experimental a/c. Like the Gnat or JP.
Ha haa, what a great story. I bet Bob never imagined the most exciting tale from his many years of flying would come 20 odd years after he retired! Just goes to show though how thorough RAF training is that it all just kicked back in after all those years. Good on ya Bob & thanks P1 Mag for the upload.
I wish I was the Co Pilot here,give Bob a wink as I move the throttles to FULL. "Sorry everyone,I never trained as a pilot"!!! Something tells me Bob enjoyed this just a bit more than he let's on! This guy can really fly and knows his craft better than anyone alive,as witnessed. Thank you Bob for keeping the Commies at bay when I was boy, And for the fantastic Victor display you gave us here. Never give up flying my friend,and if you ever need a Co Pilot send me a message!
Bob Prothero, such professionalism in reserve and ready to go when needed. Good man! I'm an old Cranwellian and a pilot too so feel a bit of a bond. Can't compete with that amount of cool though!
Yes, that all makes sense but really she just wanted off the ground again for a moment, hence being still so responsive to an experienced pilot when the time came. I love that Mr. Prothero still had the skills and the presence of mind and familiarity with her to react quickly and calmly, after nearly 30 years. A small thing, compared to some problems, but still shows he was the real deal at what he did.
Thanks to Mr Hewes and Partridge Exterior Cleaning this beast is returning to a similar clean state after being stuck gathering green moss/mould for a while. Who knows what will happen after that, but there’s certainly positive activity. Well worth checking out their videos on it.
Frankly, if I were him, I would've just said fuck it, gotten on the radios, and declared going around for a proper landing attempt. The guy obviously knew his plane, but damn.
I'm thinking that there would have been minimal fuel in it for a high speed taxi run, otherwise it would have been safer to make a run around the pattern and then land.
+Viking Pisces Ofcourse the cold war never really ended, because the threat of nuclear war hasn't subsided. It's always been there and actually has only worsened by unstable and chaotic countries now also possessing such power.
I was in Kingston Jamaica with the US Navy in August of '62 for Jamaica's celebration of its independence from being a British crown colony and I remember these majestic birds swooping through the sky. They looked like something from a sci-fi movie.
+peanuts2105 The pilot had experience on this type. The co-pilot may not have even been a pilot, and were just there to control the throttle. It was just the lack of experience which caused this. If the pilot would have chosen to take off after this, he would have had to go to another aiport, as the Bruntingthorpe runway is not long enough to (in theory) land a Victor.
Lovely video, what a gent. Ordinary looking chap, would never guess he was a pilot if you didnt know him. When you see elderly men and women in the shops, you have no idea what they did for a living and it always fascinates me.That plane was like a bird, wanting to fly one more time. Heartwarming story.
@@michaelbitetti5300 Part of the Bruntingthorpe display is to re-create the take-off sequence of the aircraft they have, so you can hear and see the full power. Also important for the photographers to see the aircraft configured in a typical take-off configuration. If the AOH says flaps then you add flaps, because people who fly these types of aircraft do what the checklists say because it keeps you alive. You don't half-measure these machines.
@@ChrizRockster You missed my point. If the intent was to not take off then at least one (or more) of the AOH items would have to be modified, or, the aircraft will leave the ground, or worse. If I were PIC (I've been flying since the 70's) If you want to hear full power, no flaps! If you want to take pictures, not full power. Safety First!
They should've kept going and made a final approach and land. Very lucky to have hauled that monster back down and stopped in a very short time. Outstanding flying skills.
@@michaelbitetti5300 there’s no way this takeoff was planned, the precaution to prevent the takeoff was to have one pilot applying forward pressure to the control column, while the other manages the throttles. As the video says, the guy on the throttles froze up, forcing the other guy to let go of the control column to close them, resulting in the nose suddenly pitching up. As soon as the nose went up you can see they immediately act to get the aircraft back on the ground - the plane wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it back had they chosen to remain airborne.
Honestly I don't understand what the big problem is we live in the modern era we can remanufacture anything we want we have 3D printers and 40 Milling machines that can reproduce any part out there so I don't see what the hell the problem is we have the technology to easily reproduce these things
During the run-up to the Falklands war, the Victor's were based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. My abiding memory of these is witnessing tip - to - tail, low level, tanker formation excersises at a couple thousand feet or so. Watching them glide by, almost weightless, and then the pilots putting the power on, cor' blimey they roared. Not the prettyist aircraft around, but you could always tell it was a bomber. That huge 'Y' shaped tail, made it particularly recognisable from miles away.
My God Bob, she is such a beauty. You lucky devil to have piloted Victors throughout your whole flying career, and bravo sir for taking charge and with your exceptional flying skills saving her from almost certain ruin. I think she just wanted to fly. It is such a pity that there is no Cold War Victor, Vulcan, Lightning memorial flight. They are such wonderful aircraft. I remember looking around a Victor at Finningley, and witnessing both a Vulcan and Lightning scramble at the air shows there as a lad. The things that a boys dreams are made of. Awesome!
Bob! I love the hands off the yoke explanation, and the co-pilot freeze (Never saw a co-pilot freeze LoL) I know that you did a proper pre-flight even to taxi. Proud of You!
Yes actually I do, the plane was flying, maybe I should have added full power but I thought anyone with an inkling of aviation knowledge would have sussed that for themselves
A lot of people having issue with the co-pilot freezing, but he wasn't a pilot, that's just the designation given to the person in the 2nd chair in this case. He was a young technician assisting an experienced but retired pilot to taxi for a few hundred yards. He probably laid an egg on the chair the moment he felt the thrust of that thing against his body.
***** Take any flight you have been on, combine it with any rollercoasters you have been on then multiply the result by 10. The acceleration of a Victor can make you conscious of the fact that pressure is now higher at the back of your head and your arms want to spring back and hit you in the chest if you don't assert, and exert, control over them. If you have not been pre-warned that "this won't be like taking off in a jumbo" then it's not hard to imagine someone freezing at the controls. The Victor was ready to be airborne after about 9 seconds, it takes a 747 about 55.
That's BS...if you have your hand on the throttles and the plane is in motion and the captain is giving you orders you damned well better be qualified to fly that airplane...you don't do a 100 knot taxi test with a freaking technician on the throttle. Or are the Brits that messed up? Maybe rethink those rules, huh?
+gtc1961 I have, and I don't have a pilot's license (yet). Every time I've flown has been either with a licensed pilot or a certified flight instructor. As long as there is at least ONE licensed pilot at the controls to take over at any time, it is ENTIRELY legal to let a non-licensed person take command of any part of the aircraft at any time. The pilot then assumes responsibility for what the other person does whilst they have control. There were no laws or regulations broken here. The only thing that wasn't done properly was the technician probably wasn't properly briefed on how intense the acceleration would be from an aircraft designed to fly way faster than any passenger jet airliner. But they did do one thing right in that the PIC (Pilot In Command) was a highly experienced Victor pilot who knew EXACTLY what to do in this situation, and still had the reflexes and instincts to react the instant the Victor rotated and became airborne at such low airspeeds. So cool your jets.
it might be noted this plane was probably barely fueled and had no payload... a situation the pilot in all his years of previous experience had never encountered. All his trim settings were surely set for an aircraft with substantial fuel and possibly a training weapon. The plane leapt into the air because it was as light as it would ever be.
I want to know what he was doing there in the first place. Surely when the pilot told him to move the throttles, he knew what to do? Froze! What on Earth?
Wow! That could have been disastrous.. I don't understand why the co-pilot froze??? Good thing this gentleman knew the aircraft as well as he did to be able to recover it........
"SIR" I respect your humility, your honesty ,your skill , and your courage for sharing your ordeal.( very few pilots would dare to do the same) But what the hell........we saw this bird flying again.GREAT. God bless the queen 👍 cheers from France " mes Amis anglais"
acg smith Bonjour my dear American friend.....lived 5 years in your great country,Houston TX,the best years in my life, WELL your question made my smile right away! Then I told myself "jee" What can I say? And I turned blank. As an ex pilot , my main "task" was to avoid troubles, so that I would avoid meeting my boss.And I did meet him a couple of times for "tea and biscuits " ( not a pleasant way to enjoy a cup of tea!!!!!!) So I decided to call myself "AVOIDIND TREES" God bless you , cheers from the French Alps.
You don't understand, she wanted to fly one more time! She wanted to stretch her legs, spread her wings and feel the stream along her fuselage and wings once more, it really is shameful you grounded her... :'(
This sounds fishy to me. Wonder what the elevator trim tab setting was...and gross weight? Rotate and unstick speeds correct? Co-pilot froze? Where's the throttle quadrant on this bird? Center console, right? And speed brakes .... and brakes? There must be more to the story here.... But obviously this bird wanted to fly! :-) Operated with Victor tankers in Desert Storm as part of our strike packages. I was in the venerable KC-135 (E model). Built about the same time. Got to hand it to the Brits. They make beautiful aircraft...and the Vulcan/Victor pair was quite a sight to behold ... on the ground and in the air. Same for Concorde, Mosquito, Spitfire, Lancaster, Vampire, Meteor, etc. Hat's off to you!
+Rodger Burkley What a wonderful person you are! Its the first time I've ever heard an American aviator (or any American posting comments here on UA-cam) say we British made good aircraft!!!! Thank you indeed. Gosh.
+Rodger Burkley From the video it looks like the throttle is away from the centre console, it looks like it's on the copilot's side so the captain would have to reach right across the cockpit. Odd design, but there were a lot of odd designs in those days. Just have a look at the "shotgun panels" of most aircraft of the era.
brilliant recovery awsome quick thinking and reactions what with the wind and all well done that could very easily have ended very differently , well done pilot
+Barry Sabahat Nothing, really. He was an engineer, not a pilot. Since they were only supposed to taxi along the runway no real pilot was needed. No legal action was taken as a result of the incident. However I guess mr. Prothero had a thing or two to say once he'd collected himself.
+Tahititoutou they do but i don't know why. It is a ridiculous phrase that makes absolutely no sense. A good landing is one where there is no damage to the aircraft or aircrew. Anything below that is a bad landing.
unapro3 Please try to see there is a difference between humour and ATC orders or FAA regulations. There are many humorous sayings in aviation. Like : "We have a 100% safety record : we never forgot a plane up there" "Fuel, airspeed, altitude and brains : at any time you need at least two of them" "There are bold pilots. Then there are old pilots. But there are no old bold pilots" "Flying is not dangerous : crashing is" "Take off is optional ; landing is mandatory" "Automation separates the novice from the veteran. The novice says "What is she doing???" The old pro says "There she goes again!" " "Crew to ATC : "Mayday mayday mayday : we lost engine number 2". ATC to crew : "We found it : it is under your right wing"." ...and many others. You need not take them all seriously. Only the worse ones. :-D
Tahititoutou fair enough, I have the same book, but I have actually had "discussions" on social media where people who know five fifths of fuckall about aviation, have heard this saying and actually believe it, i shit you not.
unapro3 I believe you unapro. Except for one thing : those people don't know five fiths but BELIEVE they know seven fifths of real aviation! So they are VERY SERIOUS about it! Do you remember that the ability to laugh (including at oneself) is a sure sign of mental health? LOL! :D
Tahititoutou 'Do you remember that the ability to laugh (including at oneself) is a sure sign of mental health? LOL! :D " HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA .....er...no?
Happy days indeed, I used to be based at Marham in the 70's and got to work on these bad boys on 55, 57 & 232 OCU. Seats in and out, fuel tanks on and off and the odd top disarm to keep us busy.
Spent a few years at Brunt' helping to preserve this awesome and quite sinister looking classic. Bob is a total legend. I was in the back when she went down the runway in August 2006 and the Man definitely put daylight under the tyres on that occasion. The fucktard in the co-pilot's seat that day just froze with his hand on the throttles. Be grateful it was Bob in the left-hand seat as I'm convinced that a lesser man...oh dear. Salute to Dave Walton and ALL at Bruntingthorpe keeping these (mainly) all British CLASSICS running and all by voluntary efforts. Not a penny off those government bastards as they shower our tax-money everywhere but here.
Yes but Britain has to import more Mau Maus so that's where the money goes. In America we will be getting more because we had a Mau Mau in the White House.
Indeed..in an aircraft that hasn't flown for 17 years and hasn't been maintained to full airworthy condition since then and has time expired parts...what could possibly go wrong ?
Coulda snuck some extra fuel on-board, just get airborne, then punch it full throttle all the way to south africa.. they'd probably allow the plane to stay flying, their flying laws are pretty chill :D
I am a 21st century kid, please enlighten me about this Aircraft my Aviation Seniors/Sirs. Because I don't know why this thing touches my heart. I wanna see it flying again, perhaps, me too
I love all these dopes that say "you should have done this." or "I would have done that." He's experienced in this plane and landed the thing just fine. Why do anything any different?
Jan621117 I wouldn't say people who do that are boys rather just nerves get to them more than most people. Can't stop that. Its just genuine genetics and differences. Ah well at least it got her back in the sky for a bit.
Saddened to hear of the passing of Wing Commander Bob Prothero last month. Fly high sir.
Thank you. We hope he is flying high now ..
Clearly remained a good pair of hands, even in retirement. Very impressive. RIP Sir.
Blue skies sir
Likewise. A very personable gentleman and loved his flying career. Let’s hope he’s flying a victor in another world now
RIP Bob Blue skies
The old girl got to fly one last time! Notwithstanding the mortal danger to Bob and his co-pilot, this was such a thrill to watch. You are a hero Bob.
I don't think the co pilot froze- I think he said "fuck it, let's fly!"
who wouldn't say that lol
That's what I'm thinking
I agree. Sounds like a BS story to be able to claim himself "the last Victor pilot."
If it was a plan to have one last hurrah it wasn't a very good one, because they were super close to ending up in a fireball.
I mean at least it would have been memorable, better to go out with a bang than to slowly fade away?
The most beautifully sinister looking aircraft ever built.
Always reminds me of the Great White Shark.
Toe nail fungus
@@JohnSmith-fr7js She certainly has a predatorial look about her!
@navnig Almost an art deco look about it. Particularly the cockpit glass.
I remember when I was a kid seeing a Vulcan flying over head. It made me cry haha
I love this Aeroplane. Although she’s a veteran she still looks really futuristic. I’d love to see one fly again one day.
Me Too!!! 40 tons of thrust is nothing to sneeze at! No wonder it got airborne so easily!
Excellent flight recovery by Bob. His flight experience and quick reaction saved both his and his co-pilots life.
For a moment I thoguht he was going to say "so we just we thought we may as well go for it, and gave a great series of flybys for the audience."
lmao right, I'm severely dissapointed
Absolutely not, the CAA would immediately disallow all fast taxi runs for classic jets in the UK. That would ruin a number of great operations like the lightning preservation group for instance. The wing and structure life of the Victor tanker is very, very much spent. Taking to the air in one would be running a real risk of structural breakup. I mean, the wing life was expired in the 80s, another 40 years of being outside in the elements and sitting under its own wing weight will have made things much worse.
@Commies Are Bad I totally understand! The DC3 is an amazing aircraft, but, it had a very rigid and strong wing compared to the Victor's extremely flexible load bearing wing. The comparitively light payloads the DC3 carried, combined with this rigid wing meant much less wing flex leading to fatigue - a wing like this, properly maintained, gives an almost indefinite wing life.
The Victor was retired in 1993. When they flew the last sortie, not one airframe had any remaining wing life left. The fatigue index was over the limit on practically all airframes. (Interestingly operation Black Buck pushed a significant number of ailing Victor tankers near, or over their design wing life)
Case study; the Victor gate guard at Marham had been left outside untouched (like the Victor at Brunty) and was at risk of wing spar/ structural collapse because of corrosion.
These old cold war birds are beautiful, they always will be. Just never forget that these airframes are old, old tech and anything could happen at any time. As a pilot myself with several thousand hours in the Bulldog, Provost TMK3/4/5, Hawk T1/2 Tornado GR3/4, I can attest to any aircraft being lovely and friendly - up to the point one has a serious emergency caused by mechanical breakdown. But that's why we have Martin Baker allowing us the opportunity to part company with the aircraft in difficult situations.
What an absolutely beautiful tribute to Man and Machine. If you saw this old warrior walking down the street you would not give him a second look, but look at what his skill, training and demeanor was able to accomplish. My veteran friends and I are much younger so we do tend to swagger a bit from time to time, but we are all wounded and a bit more "sensible" in our actions compared to when we were younger.
I hope that when I am as old as this Man I am as capable. What a fine example he is for all those who served before us.
Never judge a book by its cover and never underestimate the power of ingrained training.
I was proud to work on the Victor at Handley Page during the early 60's. Great footage and a very honest commentary from the Pilot.
The RAF and England’s designers sure came up with some interesting planes. Kudos from an American admirer.
England's?
This takeoff gave it some extra character in my opinion.. shows the capability and readiness to takeoff and also how responsive it was to the pilots inputs, what an amazing machine.
A very modest gentleman. Years of experience in these ships had given him an edge that would be hard to duplicate.
Very well done Sir. Fabulous aircraft too!
Yes,...spot on!
He is very much missed as my Father and Grandfather - these messages are so touching to read.. he was indeed very modest and was grateful for the recognition received following on from the 'accidental take off'.. very missed and left shoes hard to fill..
I've never seen this plane before, what a beauty.
Lmao
Handley-Page's early aircraft from 1909 onwards had crescent shaped wings which aided longitudinal stability. The use of crescent shaped wings (curving forwards rather than the earlier rearwards design) with decreasing thickness/cord ratio led to near constant characteristics across the whole wing at the near-mach speeds the aircraft was originally designed to operate at. And judging from the video and explanation by the pilot, impressive control at much lower speeds and altitudes.
Agreed.
Alf Noakes you're wrong. Handley-Page's early aircraft did not have crescent wings, only the Victor did.
Twoggsy: Beauty ? Are you joking ordo you really have no taste ? V-Bombers are pure bred ugly killer monsters with no honour and no romance and no beauty.
An early Hawker Hind or Fury had a sould and beauty, a wooden Meteor, a Sikorsky S44 etc etc-they and many others had beauty !
Man she really wanted to fly, he only loosened the reins for a second to close the throttle and she was off. Some grade A skills to bring her back under control, if my flight wasn't going to plan I'd be relieved to have this guy in the captains seat. Total legend.
Or the pilots that landed in the Hudson Bay
@@brettcoyle2399 Any pilot worth his/her salt is ALWAYS looking below for a safe place to land if good turns to bad! I did that every single time I flew, it's just a natural habit! You know that aircraft has to come down, you hope it doesn't want to before you get it home but you always need to be ready for the unexpected!
@@MJLeger-yj1ww yeah that's true man pilots r quick decision makers which in perspective u have to be my dream was to go to military at 19 and be a fighter pilots but I had my first seizure at 18 and they wouldn't let me in I come from a military background and most of my friends r vets or still active military
@@brettcoyle2399 Hudson Bay 🤣🤣😂
What a great pilot BOB was even after 20 years of retirement he could have flown that beautiful aircraft of into the skies for one last time thank you for your service BOB RIP
That's the problem with all V bombers...they just want to fly...:)
'
who is a word - THEY -
@@bestamerica I hope the same will happen with the Lightings and the Buccaneer. And then it must be flown back on the runway again.
Some points: 1) There are no Victors with any fatigue life left: this means you cannot fly one without replacing major components like wings and tail sections as any flight on these original wings could lead very easily to in flight breakup. The Victor was also never that strong structurally. Another point to make on this; the aircraft has been sitting on its landing gear for at least 20 years at the time of filming, meaning the structure of the Victor may be compromised due to the weight moment of the aircraft acting against its own weight and placing stress on the wing roots. It would have been nice to see a circuit flown, but there would be an untenable and very real risk of a structural breakup, like a wing breaking off or a tail breaking off. 2) The V bombers, although great machines, never had a very good safety record. 3) Some people are asking about the possibility of returning a lightning to flight: this again would not be possible. The lightning did not have any hydraulic redundancy, the CAA would like to see triple redundancy in experimental a/c. Like the Gnat or JP.
Brilliant flying.... you naughty boy....you loved it
and so did we...
I think the smile on his face says it all.... he loved that bird
I'd have sucked up the gear, dropped some flaps, gone around.
The old girl deserved that much.
@@spvillano I'd have done a barrel roll followed by an outside loop. ...But that's just me.
@@sparky6086 don't be silly! Obviously, one should perform an Immelmann turn while still on the ground. ;)
otto1066 Hahahaha cool comment
This is a wonderful story. I love how the old girl wanted to get airborne again. Bless her x
Ha haa, what a great story. I bet Bob never imagined the most exciting tale from his many years of flying would come 20 odd years after he retired! Just goes to show though how thorough RAF training is that it all just kicked back in after all those years. Good on ya Bob & thanks P1 Mag for the upload.
She really wanted to get up in the air just one more time and she knew you were her first. You never forget your first.
I wish I was the Co Pilot here,give Bob a wink as I move the throttles to FULL.
"Sorry everyone,I never trained as a pilot"!!!
Something tells me Bob enjoyed this just a bit more than he let's on!
This guy can really fly and knows his craft better than anyone alive,as witnessed.
Thank you Bob for keeping the Commies at bay when I was boy,
And for the fantastic Victor display you gave us here.
Never give up flying my friend,and if you ever need a Co Pilot send me a message!
Bravo Bob, I never get tired of watching this amazing and historic video, Well done
Wow, what a gorgeous aircraft, and for the time, even more so. Kudos to you, Mr. Bob Prothero, long may you, and the Victor, live!
Bob Prothero, such professionalism in reserve and ready to go when needed. Good man!
I'm an old Cranwellian and a pilot too so feel a bit of a bond. Can't compete with that amount of cool though!
Yes, that all makes sense but really she just wanted off the ground again for a moment, hence being still so responsive to an experienced pilot when the time came. I love that Mr. Prothero still had the skills and the presence of mind and familiarity with her to react quickly and calmly, after nearly 30 years. A small thing, compared to some problems, but still shows he was the real deal at what he did.
Me- So how did you get the call sign "Iceman"?
Iceman- Well this one time I froze at the throttles of a Victor bomber.
Few people would ever do THAT twice! lol
:facpalm:
Thanks to Mr Hewes and Partridge Exterior Cleaning this beast is returning to a similar clean state after being stuck gathering green moss/mould for a while. Who knows what will happen after that, but there’s certainly positive activity. Well worth checking out their videos on it.
His skill surely saved the day! My hats off to him.
Frankly, if I were him, I would've just said fuck it, gotten on the radios, and declared going around for a proper landing attempt. The guy obviously knew his plane, but damn.
+1 on that if he had the fuel on board.
perhaps with a frozen co pilot on board he was thinking I better just get the hell down and away from this guy??
I would have flown that plane until the fuel tanks where almost empty! If I was him!
if i were him i would have shat my pants and crashed
I'm thinking that there would have been minimal fuel in it for a high speed taxi run, otherwise it would have been safer to make a run around the pattern and then land.
So many beautiful aircraft from all periods now quietly sitting in museums, still dreaming of flight.
Now that the Vulcan is retired, let's get the Victor flying again!
Well , the cold war seems to be up and running again . We may as well
It is claimed by ex agents that it has never stopped and is bigger now than it ever was.
+Viking Pisces Ofcourse the cold war never really ended, because the threat of nuclear war hasn't subsided. It's always been there and actually has only worsened by unstable and chaotic countries now also possessing such power.
Apparently they're restoring a Canberra
oisiaa
all u need is someone to pay for new wings!
Nicely done, last Victor Pilot - you are a true pilot!
I was in Kingston Jamaica with the US Navy in August of '62 for Jamaica's celebration of its independence from being a British crown colony and I remember these majestic birds swooping through the sky. They looked like something from a sci-fi movie.
Great story of a plane most people today never heard of. And, the exact right person was at the controls to straighten her out and land safely.
A great pilot,a great man, an a Hero.
let the girl fly. she is born to be in the blue
+peanuts2105 yup
+peanuts2105
Uglyest bitch that ever flew straight out of a sci-fi film but she looks wonderful.
+peanuts2105 The pilot had experience on this type. The co-pilot may not have even been a pilot, and were just there to control the throttle. It was just the lack of experience which caused this. If the pilot would have chosen to take off after this, he would have had to go to another aiport, as the Bruntingthorpe runway is not long enough to (in theory) land a Victor.
+ehsan74827 how do you think iy got in to Bruntingthorpe in the first place? there is a vedeo on youtube of it landing there
+ehsan74827 Nonsense. The runway is more than long enough.
Lovely video, what a gent. Ordinary looking chap, would never guess he was a pilot if you didnt know him. When you see elderly men and women in the shops, you have no idea what they did for a living and it always fascinates me.That plane was like a bird, wanting to fly one more time. Heartwarming story.
Poor girl, she just wants to fly :(
your comment made my day !! hehehehe !!
Don't make me cry dammit I'm a huge fan of the Western world and all it's accomplishments.
'
who is a girl and she
@@bestamerica It's how avgeeks describe aircrafts.
@@bestamerica He, and it doesn't look good
Now THAT is the definition of "Jet Age" styling!
I the Brits blended the engine nacelles into the wing, like in the Comets...
Great to hear from this pilot. It was a nice save and his words fleshing it out make good sense.
Legendary aircraft. Legendary pilot. Great film. Thanks
Sure ... “accidentally” 😂. Couple of old boys who secretly said stuff it, let’s just pop up the nose!
Exactly! If it were to be only a taxi, why did they have take-off flaps out?
@@michaelbitetti5300 Part of the Bruntingthorpe display is to re-create the take-off sequence of the aircraft they have, so you can hear and see the full power. Also important for the photographers to see the aircraft configured in a typical take-off configuration. If the AOH says flaps then you add flaps, because people who fly these types of aircraft do what the checklists say because it keeps you alive. You don't half-measure these machines.
@@ChrizRockster You missed my point. If the intent was to not take off then at least one (or more) of the AOH items would have to be modified, or, the aircraft will leave the ground, or worse. If I were PIC (I've been flying since the 70's) If you want to hear full power, no flaps! If you want to take pictures, not full power. Safety First!
They should've kept going and made a final approach and land. Very lucky to have hauled that monster back down and stopped in a very short time. Outstanding flying skills.
@@michaelbitetti5300 there’s no way this takeoff was planned, the precaution to prevent the takeoff was to have one pilot applying forward pressure to the control column, while the other manages the throttles. As the video says, the guy on the throttles froze up, forcing the other guy to let go of the control column to close them, resulting in the nose suddenly pitching up. As soon as the nose went up you can see they immediately act to get the aircraft back on the ground - the plane wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it back had they chosen to remain airborne.
It would be lovely to see one in flying condition again. The air shows were a bit mundane this year with no Vulcan. We live in hope!
I wish Victor, Vulcan, Concorde, SR71 could all fly again
Honestly I don't understand what the big problem is we live in the modern era we can remanufacture anything we want we have 3D printers and 40 Milling machines that can reproduce any part out there so I don't see what the hell the problem is we have the technology to easily reproduce these things
@@ethanspaziani5269 money
@@LuccaEsteves and
Fantastic! Goes to show the quality of our aircraft and our pilots! Well done sir!
During the run-up to the Falklands war, the Victor's were based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. My abiding memory of these is witnessing tip - to - tail, low level, tanker formation excersises at a couple thousand feet or so. Watching them glide by, almost weightless, and then the pilots putting the power on, cor' blimey they roared.
Not the prettyist aircraft around, but you could always tell it was a bomber. That huge 'Y' shaped tail, made it particularly recognisable from miles away.
Wow. This thing looks awesome
It looks like it was designed by Darth Vader.
It looks like something out of halo (pelican )
But the real question is: Can it bull's-eye Womp Rats like you did in your T-16 back home?
It does, I personally prefer the victor over the vulcan when it comes to looks.
It is.
My God Bob, she is such a beauty. You lucky devil to have piloted Victors throughout your whole flying career, and bravo sir for taking charge and with your exceptional flying skills saving her from almost certain ruin. I think she just wanted to fly. It is such a pity that there is no Cold War Victor, Vulcan, Lightning memorial flight. They are such wonderful aircraft. I remember looking around a Victor at Finningley, and witnessing both a Vulcan and Lightning scramble at the air shows there as a lad. The things that a boys dreams are made of. Awesome!
Bob! I love the hands off the yoke explanation, and the co-pilot freeze (Never saw a co-pilot freeze LoL) I know that you did a proper pre-flight even to taxi. Proud of You!
great man,what a story to hand down to your children.
Pretty darn awesome Bob, thanks for the video!
If it was me, gear up, up up and away
+Paul Dogon you clearly have no idea about aviation then, or you wouldn't make such an assertion.
Yes actually I do, the plane was flying, maybe I should have added full power but I thought anyone with an inkling of aviation knowledge would have sussed that for themselves
+unapro3 could you add an explanation to your patronisation please?
I am with you Paul, I would have took it around the patch!
+unapro3 Talk about lack of sense of humour.
Brilliant story, beautiful aircraft.
A lot of people having issue with the co-pilot freezing, but he wasn't a pilot, that's just the designation given to the person in the 2nd chair in this case. He was a young technician assisting an experienced but retired pilot to taxi for a few hundred yards. He probably laid an egg on the chair the moment he felt the thrust of that thing against his body.
Laid an egg, I liked that. Have you ever laid an egg?
Glen Paterson Totally. Laid several eggs in aircraft meself.
***** Take any flight you have been on, combine it with any rollercoasters you have been on then multiply the result by 10. The acceleration of a Victor can make you conscious of the fact that pressure is now higher at the back of your head and your arms want to spring back and hit you in the chest if you don't assert, and exert, control over them.
If you have not been pre-warned that "this won't be like taking off in a jumbo" then it's not hard to imagine someone freezing at the controls.
The Victor was ready to be airborne after about 9 seconds, it takes a 747 about 55.
That's BS...if you have your hand on the throttles and the plane is in motion and the captain is giving you orders you damned well better be qualified to fly that airplane...you don't do a 100 knot taxi test with a freaking technician on the throttle. Or are the Brits that messed up? Maybe rethink those rules, huh?
+gtc1961 I have, and I don't have a pilot's license (yet). Every time I've flown has been either with a licensed pilot or a certified flight instructor. As long as there is at least ONE licensed pilot at the controls to take over at any time, it is ENTIRELY legal to let a non-licensed person take command of any part of the aircraft at any time. The pilot then assumes responsibility for what the other person does whilst they have control. There were no laws or regulations broken here. The only thing that wasn't done properly was the technician probably wasn't properly briefed on how intense the acceleration would be from an aircraft designed to fly way faster than any passenger jet airliner. But they did do one thing right in that the PIC (Pilot In Command) was a highly experienced Victor pilot who knew EXACTLY what to do in this situation, and still had the reflexes and instincts to react the instant the Victor rotated and became airborne at such low airspeeds.
So cool your jets.
why on earth would hundreds of folks "dislike" this clip? extraordinary!!
Great story and thank God a great pilot like you were at the controls, salute ❤
Fantastic work by a capable pilot to keep his wits and avert disaster and damage to a historical aircraft.
So what's the deal with the actions of the "co-pilot?
Any repercussions?
Sad that these amazing aircraft no longer fly. I remember when they very first were made, along with the Avro Vulcan, back in the 50s.....
Awesome 👏 thanks for posting 👍
it might be noted this plane was probably barely fueled and had no payload... a situation the pilot in all his years of previous experience had never encountered. All his trim settings were surely set for an aircraft with substantial fuel and possibly a training weapon.
The plane leapt into the air because it was as light as it would ever be.
I like your screen name...
@@LSD123. Its probably her real name. :-)
or he would have done his pre fight correcting taking into account the weight, cg, air density etc and set the trim right.
@@Jack-hg1hq maybe not if he didnt plan on taking off.
@@batvette from what I know about these they plan everything as if they are taking off and then rotate too early and shut the throttles
I assume the co-pilot wasn’t going to be sitting in a flying a/c for some time after this incident...
I want to know what he was doing there in the first place. Surely when the pilot told him to move the throttles, he knew what to do? Froze! What on Earth?
Wow! That could have been disastrous.. I don't understand why the co-pilot froze??? Good thing this gentleman knew the aircraft as well as he did to be able to recover it........
Bloody legendary stuff sir...you and your first love airbourne once again....my utmost respects...
I really appreciate that you've credited the photographer! Great job!
Nice flying. Your quick thinking averted what could easily have become a deadly accident.
"SIR" I respect your humility, your honesty ,your skill , and your courage for sharing your ordeal.( very few pilots would dare to do the same)
But what the hell........we saw this bird flying again.GREAT.
God bless the queen 👍 cheers from France " mes Amis anglais"
Monsieur, why are you avoiding trees? Bonjour from America.
acg smith Bonjour my dear American friend.....lived 5 years in your great country,Houston TX,the best years in my life,
WELL your question made my smile right away!
Then I told myself "jee" What can I say?
And I turned blank.
As an ex pilot , my main "task" was to avoid troubles, so that I would avoid meeting my boss.And I did meet him a couple of times for "tea and biscuits " ( not a pleasant way to enjoy a cup of tea!!!!!!)
So I decided to call myself "AVOIDIND TREES"
God bless you , cheers from the French Alps.
What a honest MAN.Very rare in this business to say "I screwed up" .cheers from the French Alps gentlemen.
AVOIDING TREES
great story
You don't understand, she wanted to fly one more time! She wanted to stretch her legs, spread her wings and feel the stream along her fuselage and wings once more, it really is shameful you grounded her... :'(
She was delivered to Bruntingthorpe on her last flight under RAF control...there was never any plan to fly her again
But she's still here, witnessing her children take wing.
IT, is a machine IT doesn't 'want' anything. IT just does at it is directed to do. You anthropomorphizing twits.
Top bloke ...... good flying mate.
Saw this Victor now a tanker at Teeside Airshow 1988, blew my mind away how awesome and beautiful they looked.
whooo this is the first time i'm seeing this craft, she's a beauty, gorgeous plane love the design
nicandlucian the noise is unbelievable 👌
@@Dave85626 love the way it sounds too.
This sounds fishy to me. Wonder what the elevator trim tab setting was...and gross weight? Rotate and unstick speeds correct? Co-pilot froze? Where's the throttle quadrant on this bird? Center console, right? And speed brakes .... and brakes? There must be more to the story here.... But obviously this bird wanted to fly! :-) Operated with Victor tankers in Desert Storm as part of our strike packages. I was in the venerable KC-135 (E model). Built about the same time. Got to hand it to the Brits. They make beautiful aircraft...and the Vulcan/Victor pair was quite a sight to behold ... on the ground and in the air. Same for Concorde, Mosquito, Spitfire, Lancaster, Vampire, Meteor, etc. Hat's off to you!
I imagine the plane was super light. They're not going to put thousands of pounds of gas and a load of bombs for this flight.
+Rodger Burkley What a wonderful person you are! Its the first time I've ever heard an American aviator (or any American posting comments here on UA-cam) say we British made good aircraft!!!! Thank you indeed. Gosh.
+Rodger Burkley From the video it looks like the throttle is away from the centre console, it looks like it's on the copilot's side so the captain would have to reach right across the cockpit. Odd design, but there were a lot of odd designs in those days. Just have a look at the "shotgun panels" of most aircraft of the era.
Thank you kind Sir
Throttles can be found on both the left & right side consoles.
Wow!! The Victor bomber looks like an aircraft from a Gerry Anderson " Thunderbirds " episode.
Fantastic pilot
When the aircraft is so good at flying you accidentally take off and still be able to land.
This is simply an "ah fuck it" moment.
@Noel Coward I am actually both
@Noel Coward Up to you 🤷♂️
@Noel Coward Troll
@Noel Coward 😂 whatever you say
brilliant recovery awsome quick thinking and reactions what with the wind and all well done that could very easily have ended very differently , well done pilot
There are certain things that you just don't see or hear everyday. I am pretty sure that "Accidental Takeoff" is one of them.
One of the most beautiful planes I've ever seen. Nice lines.
Such a magnificent aircraft, beautiful.
What happened to the copilot?
+Barry Sabahat they took him out and shot him, standard procedure.
I meant to say why did he freeze?
+dcanmore
hahaha !!!
+Barry Sabahat Nothing, really. He was an engineer, not a pilot. Since they were only supposed to taxi along the runway no real pilot was needed. No legal action was taken as a result of the incident. However I guess mr. Prothero had a thing or two to say once he'd collected himself.
+Barry Sabahat Wasn't wearing his thermal undies.
What a great piece of flying.
She wanted to fly again No doubt in that even she has still got some flying hours left.
great skills Mr Prothero. saved the day without any fuss
Well done Bob, bloody good reflexes.
No problem! Don't they say that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing? LOL!
+Tahititoutou they do but i don't know why. It is a ridiculous phrase that makes absolutely no sense. A good landing is one where there is no damage to the aircraft or aircrew. Anything below that is a bad landing.
unapro3 Please try to see there is a difference between humour and ATC orders or FAA regulations. There are many humorous sayings in aviation. Like :
"We have a 100% safety record : we never forgot a plane up there"
"Fuel, airspeed, altitude and brains : at any time you need at least two of them"
"There are bold pilots. Then there are old pilots. But there are no old bold pilots"
"Flying is not dangerous : crashing is"
"Take off is optional ; landing is mandatory"
"Automation separates the novice from the veteran. The novice says "What is she doing???" The old pro says "There she goes again!" "
"Crew to ATC : "Mayday mayday mayday : we lost engine number 2". ATC to crew : "We found it : it is under your right wing"."
...and many others. You need not take them all seriously.
Only the worse ones. :-D
Tahititoutou
fair enough, I have the same book, but I have actually had "discussions" on social media where people who know five fifths of fuckall about aviation, have heard this saying and actually believe it, i shit you not.
unapro3 I believe you unapro.
Except for one thing : those people don't know five fiths but BELIEVE they know seven fifths of real aviation! So they are VERY SERIOUS about it!
Do you remember that the ability to laugh (including at oneself) is a sure sign of mental health? LOL! :D
Tahititoutou 'Do you remember that the ability to laugh (including at oneself) is a sure sign of mental health? LOL! :D " HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA .....er...no?
Happy days indeed, I used to be based at Marham in the 70's and got to work on these bad boys on 55, 57 & 232 OCU. Seats in and out, fuel tanks on and off and the odd top disarm to keep us busy.
a beautiful aircraft.
Respect to you the pilot ,if it had crashed no one would ever have known why ..Your one of the best pilots in the world SIR! ..
Holy crap... That was really scary. Seriously you did an absolutely fantastic job.
Spent a few years at Brunt' helping to preserve this awesome and quite sinister looking classic. Bob is a total legend. I was in the back when she went down the runway in August 2006 and the Man definitely put daylight under the tyres on that occasion.
The fucktard in the co-pilot's seat that day just froze with his hand on the throttles. Be grateful it was Bob in the left-hand seat as I'm convinced that a lesser man...oh dear.
Salute to Dave Walton and ALL at Bruntingthorpe keeping these (mainly) all British CLASSICS running and all by voluntary efforts. Not a penny off those government bastards as they shower our tax-money everywhere but here.
I saw, literally, her accelerate, and I thought, holy rocket ship, Batman! LOL
magna4100 Absolutely.
Yes but Britain has to import more Mau Maus so that's where the money goes. In America we will be getting more because we had a Mau Mau in the White House.
***** No. The occasion I went down the runway in the back of the Vic' was 08/06, The occasion Bob is describing was 09 or 10.
I praise the co-pilot. Life is boring....Get some Co.P F/tard in yer life!
Otherwise this video wouldn't exist.
I would have been like, "Positive rate, gear up" then flew a circuit around the airport and landed lol.
Indeed..in an aircraft that hasn't flown for 17 years and hasn't been maintained to full airworthy condition since then and has time expired parts...what could possibly go wrong ?
Would make for an interesting explanation to the CAA if the landing gear seized up from years of not being flown 😂
A fool is born every second!!!
James Hodges, lol
Coulda snuck some extra fuel on-board, just get airborne, then punch it full throttle all the way to south africa.. they'd probably allow the plane to stay flying, their flying laws are pretty chill :D
I am a 21st century kid, please enlighten me about this Aircraft my Aviation Seniors/Sirs.
Because I don't know why this thing touches my heart. I wanna see it flying again, perhaps, me too
I am amazed the flight control surfaces still operated.
Awesome ...truly .
wow big plane handled well
I love all these dopes that say "you should have done this." or "I would have done that." He's experienced in this plane and landed the thing just fine. Why do anything any different?
A lot of people think 100,000 hours on the keyboard beat 3,000 in the air.
Well done Bob!
Absolutely incredible story.
Great story
the story does not say why he kept pushing the throttle. why he froze?
People do in first time situations like that. The brain _and_ body freeze in a desperate mode..
That's what differs the boys from men.
wrong
Jan621117 I wouldn't say people who do that are boys rather just nerves get to them more than most people. Can't stop that. Its just genuine genetics and differences. Ah well at least it got her back in the sky for a bit.
too much amphetamine