Wednesday 3 November 2010

Reposition RV-12 in Wales with the help of an Airbus Pilot


Long day yesterday but a very worthwhile one it was time to move my RV-12 from Manchester to my parents house in Wales something I have been dreading as its a long way from Manchester and I didn’t want to damage anything in the move..... I needn’t have worried.

Got up at 6:15am and headed over to Ashton to collect my friend Rob who was to assist with the move to Wales. He’s back in the UK right now from Dohar in Qatar to get married so he’d offered to help with the move and drive the lorry as he’s an ex HGV driver turned Airbus Pilot for Qatar Airways!

After collecting the lorry we arrived back at mine around 8:30am and had a quick brew then started to pack the truck up which went well with Rob suggesting we put the wing stand on bricks to stop it moving around then tie it into the side of the truck, it wasn’t going anywhere. After that the tail cone and other finished parts went onboard along with the fuselage kit and off we went for the 2 hour 30 minute journey to my folks place in Wales.

Without the aid of his Airbus FMC (flight management computer) Rob predicted our arrival time within 8 minutes of his original estimate which was rather impressive. A quick off load and then to decide how best to store the wings, tailcone, flaperons and horizontal stabilizer outside......? Wings on the stand, tail cone on pallets and other bits carefully placed around these pieces. I have to say Rob was brilliant at this having worked in general haulage for many years he looked at the problem and had it solved and securely wrapped in around an hour. After the unload it was time to head back to Manchester for the workshop benches and tools and this time we brought my Dad back as extra help.

On arrival back in Manchester another cup of tea was required then outside in the rain to load the workshop up before returning to a very damp Wales to unload in the dark. After the unload it was time for tea and then back to Manchester to return the lorry and drop Rob off at home, after being up for 20 hours the airplane move was completed safely and I guess at some in the future I’ll be moving it again once I get another job but for now it lives on a mountain side in Wales.

Plenty of photos online at www.build12.co.uk in the general photo section.