Powering Up After 18 Years – Another Ground Power Unit Comes Back to Life
Sometimes the biggest victories on a heritage project don’t happen on the aircraft itself.
This weekend, our engineering team turned their attention to the other Ground Power Unit (GPU) that has been acquired to support the current project.
After around 18 years out of service, expectations were deliberately modest. The aim was simple: carry out essential safety checks, assess its overall condition and see whether the diesel engine would run again.
To everyone’s delight… it did.
A little smoky? Absolutely. After nearly two decades of standing, we’d expect nothing less. What matters is that the engine fired up, settled down and proved there’s plenty of life left in this classic piece of RAF ground support equipment.
With a little careful preparation, the engine started and settled into life remarkably well considering how long it had been standing. Hearing it running again after nearly two decades was a fantastic moment for everyone involved and a testament to the quality and durability of the engineering that went into these military support vehicles.
Yesterday’s work was deliberately limited to proving the GPU itself. The objective was to establish that the engine would start, run reliably and that the unit was fundamentally sound after so many years in storage.
Connecting the GPU to XV232 and testing its electrical output was not part of this initial trial. Before that stage, aircraft connection cables will need to be found, inspected, prepared so they can connect safely. Those tests will form part of a future engineering session as we continue the careful recommissioning of both the aircraft and its supporting ground equipment.
Each component we recover, each system we understand and each piece of equipment we return to service brings us another step closer to preserving not just XV232 herself, but also the specialist ground equipment that kept the RAF’s Nimrod fleet operational throughout its service.
There’s still plenty of work ahead, but another piece of Cold War engineering has taken an important step back towards operational condition. It’s another small but significant milestone in the current project, and one the whole team can be proud of.
If you’d like to help bring more moments like this to life, please consider making a donation to support the current project. Every pound helps preserve an important piece of Britain’s maritime aviation heritage.
Donate here: XV232 Donations page