Welcome to the Rudloe and environs website.
Here you will find news, articles and photos of an area that straddles the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north-west Wiltshire.
Contributions in the form of articles or photos are welcome. Even those with completely contrary views to mine!
Thanks to the website builder 1&1 and Rob Brown for the original idea.
Rudloescene now, in January 2014, has a sister, academic rather than anarchic, website about Box history here: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/
It contains thoroughly professional, well-researched articles about Box and its people.
Contact rudloescene through the 'Contact' page.
Thanks to Peter Chidley, I was invited to join the Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE), Wiltshire Centre visit to Air Salvage International (ASI) at Cotswold Airport, Kemble on 14th September 2022. ASI is one of the world’s largest privately owned providers of aircraft disassembly and recovery services. The homepage of ASI's website https://airsalvage.co.uk/ outlines the services they provide. The image below provides more detail. The tour was conducted by ASI's boss, Mark Gregory, with proceeds (a contribution of £15 each was suggested by Peter) going to Wiltshire Air Ambulance, The title photos show the tail of a Boeing 747 with one of the Airbus range below and the landing gear of that 747.
GCAM is an affiliate of ASI, also based at Cotswold Airport, whose services may be seen in the leaflet below
GCAM and ASI reception desk
Mark Gregory, with the introductory discourse in hangar H1. Interesting, informal, sufficiently technical and amusing.
Inside hangar H1, an Airbus A319 at laft.
The tour started in Hangar H1. This A319 is, as far as I recall, being readied for return to service.
Mark Gregory showing an aircraft's auxiliary power unit in hangar H1 with bays of recovered components. This unit, housed in the aircraft's tail, has a resale value of £250,000.
Mark showing the engine mountings of the A319. Depending on the aircraft, an engine may weigh up to 10 tonnes (I think the A319's is 4 tonnes?) and is held in place by just a few shearable bolts.
A bay of components in hangar H1
And another bay
The A319 inside hangar H1
Didn't ask which airline this tailplane (?) belonged to and I can't find this logo on the the Web
Humberto Delgado founded the Portugese airline TAP in 1945
Discussing the 'mechanics' of the engine of a Linhas Aereas de Mocambique aircraft
Heading off to the 'Belfast' disassembly area, we pass a giant Boeing 747
Talking of Boeing 747s, following a holiday on the Gulf Coast of Florida, our (British Airways) plane developed a fault which could not be rectified in the short-term, so BA sent a replacement aircraft. All the passengers were accommodated overnight in and around Tampa (us at the airport Marriott). The replacement plane was a Boeing 747 which, apparently, never normally flies to/from Tampa. Luckily, we had exit row seats (long story here) and while taxiing, we noticed that all the ground personnel were staring, agog, at our plane. We thought that there must be something seriously wrong like the undercarriage on fire but it was simply that the Tampa workforce never see Boeing 747s and they were just amazed by its size.
The group in the area codenamed Belfast where disassembly takes place
The HOMO SAPIENS fuselage was used for a movie project and will now be sent to London to be submerged (not sure where) and used for diver training by the Metropolitan Police (if I recall correctly)
Here's a BA 747 and another (at right) with a 'wing stand' or 'aircraft jack' supporting its wing to enable engine removal
Discussing the issues with 'wonder material' carbon fibre (seen here as a mainstay in an aircraft wing) - it cannot be recycled so we are creating a considerable future problem for ourselves by using it in aircraft (and for wind turbine wings)
The undercarriage bay of a 747 - any stowaways have long departed
Undercarriage of the BA 747 - apparently (unless I misheard), the tyres can be remoulded time and time again
Under one Jumbo looking towards another with the flight deck between
Look at the length of the wing!
The auxiliary power unit (£250,000 worth) seen earlier would be located inside the hatch shown here
Jumbos and flight decks
Lots of activity at Cotswold Airport which is a working airport and home to Kemble Flying Club
This 747 is undergoing an engine test (all four) on the hard standing close to Hangar 1
The text in front of the tailplane says 'flight recorders here'
IRTE Melksham Centre, Mark Gregory and yours truly
A cheque for Wiltshire Air Ambulance from IRTE presented to Mark
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