Inside The Cockpit - Sea Vixen

Twin-engine, twin-boom, two-seat, missiles, no guns and with a personalized starter pod - the Sea Vixen sure is unique. Let's jump onboard this one maintained by Navy Wings to explore its ins-and-outs.
- Navy Wings -
Support Navy Wings here: bit.ly/NWBrand_Join
- Check out my books -
Ju 87 Stuka - stukabook.com
STG-44 Assault Platoon - sturmzug.com
German Panzer Company 1941 - www.hdv470-7.com/
- Support -
Patreon: / milavhistory
Channel Memberships: / @militaryaviationhistory
PayPal: www.paypal.me/MilAvHis
- Social Media -
Twitter: / milavhistory
Instagram: / milaviationhistory
Facebook: / militaryaviationhistory
- Timecodes -
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Sea Vixen
03:33 - Walkaround
21:01 - Observer position
25:34 - Cockpit
32:54 - Start-up to Landing
37:00 - Outro
- Audio -
Music and Sfx from Epidemic Sound
#insidethecockpit #seavixen #militaryaviationhistory

[@Drachinifel]

I think the lower part of my arm is probably my best cameo so far. 😅

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

The NATO Maverick and Goose... 🤣

[@danieltaylor5231]

@@WALTERBROADDUS Now we know why Drach has a rubber duck!

[@papadopp3870]

Good to see you, Drach! Or parts of you!

[@deaks25]

Oscar-worthy performance from your arm I say

[@tedferkin]

I was going to say, I'm sure I heard a Drach asking if "you were there yet"

[@briantincher9284]

So thrilled you started doing "Inside The Cockpit" again. Missed seeing all of these awesome warbirds. Thanks Biz.

[@jpgabobo]

Great look at the observers station. These early jet cockpits look like they were tar mopped rather than painted. Outstanding access and always love naval aviation subject matter. Keep up the quality work.

[@whtalt92]

Love the Drach cameo :D

[@Drachinifel]

So did I 😀

[@timgosling6189]

The 1952 crash wasn't during a supersonic manoeuvre. Derry did start with going supersonic in a shallow dive but that was at high altitude. He then did a low pass in front of the crown and circled round into a climbing turn. He has doing about 450kts when the aircraft broke up. The second prototype had already been built at the time of the accident and in fact was the designated display aircraft, having flown several times at Farnborough earlier in the week. They were flying 236 only because 240 had that morning gone U/S. However 240 was then withdrawn from flight pending the finding of the investigation and then modified. This was completed in 1954. The radar was typical of the time with no look-down/MTI features, although it was pretty good at picking out ship targets as the clutter over the sea is much less generally than over land. But it was primarily designed to spot those big Soviet bombers and eventually illuminate them for a semi-active RF missile, or at least to slave a Red Top IR seeker in the right direction. The bit of aileron forward of the hinge is a mass and aerodynamic balance. The outer pylon stations weren't used for bombs. If you think about it, the aircraft was armed up in the hanger if possible with the wings folded and that would put an awful lot of strain on the pylons as well as being an armourer's nightmare! If bombs were carried they would be a pair of 1000 pounders on the inner stations or 4 x 500 lb bombs on the inner and central wing stations. The outer stations were reserved for the drop tanks or refuelling pods. Earlier IR AAMs didn't see the hot exhaust, otherwise they could have locked on from any aspect. What they need to see was the turbine and the inside of the tailpipe. The 2" rocket packs were carried on the wing pylons, not in the fuselage. You will see them in your own picture at 20:44. I'd personally have liked a bit of a mention of the aircraft's fairly high loss rate in service. This wasn't because the Sea Vixen was inherently more dangerous to operate from a carrier than many other similar aircraft but rather that it was often asked to train for missions where the avionics hadn't really caught up with the requirement. For example, attacking a (simulated) Soviet Surface Action Group with iron bombs with a level loft/toss delivery from low level, at night, over the sea in bad weather was always going to end in tears on occasion.

[@mikestirewalt5193]

He did mention that one third of this design was lost, which made me wonder why. You explained that. Thanks.

[@MrHws5mp]

The aircraft was designed to have the rocket packs in the fuselage and they were initially fitted, but IIRC their use was discontinued as some point.

[@Spiritus_Invictus]

This thing looks like it could have been straightly pulled out of 1965's series Thunderbirds.

[@mensch1066]

All those switches remind me of the movie "Apollo 13", where extensive testing has to be done to tell the crew of the crippled craft the exact sequence they need to do to power off/power on their craft (I forget which - haven't watched the movie in over 20 years). But perhaps this is a common feature of these old, all-analog systems where there isn't an advanced UI or even a computer to cut down on the amount of stuff that the human user has to deal with.

[@the_bigdaddy420]

This guy commented 2 months before the video went out...Tell us more of the future

[@WhiskyCanuck]

I was thinking that bit in the movie Airplane! where the camera panning over the instruments just keeps going, and going, and going, and going, ....

[@davedarling4316]

@@the_bigdaddy420 -- Patreon supporters get to see the videos early. Sometimes very early.

[@DickHolman]

@@WhiskyCanuck :D I'd forgotten that pan, thanks very much for reminding me!

[@ianmangham4570]

We got a main bus b undervolt 😀

[@jerryjeromehawkins1712]

The Sea Vixen is indeed a Vixen. Sleek, sexy... but also deadly! 👍🏾🇺🇸

[@everettsharp1917]

My brother served on HMS Eagle and told me that the aircraft was 'deadly' on several occasions.

[@johnhargreaves3620]

My father was an independent engineering contractor that supplied parts to most of the aviation industry at the time, one of the main ones being DeHavilland. When I was a small boy I was allowed to visit with him to the works in N Wales and was able to sit in the cockpit of a vampire, a sea vixen and the comet 4b, it was and extraordinary adventure particularly with our connection with the RNAS. This video has brought so many wonderful memories back including meeting some of the great pioneers of aviation design; thank you. Regards JohnH

[@heyidiot]

KZbin's English captions call this aircraft the Sea Vaccine. 🤣

[@Gattobuono]

Such a pleasure to hear English, my mother tongue, spoken so beautifully and grammatically correctly. Love your informative videos, the Vixen is an aircraft from my childhood. I still love those classic British Jets. Thanks! 🙂

[@jrbeeler4626]

RE the improvised tube to the oxygen cutoff switch: As late as the 1980s, UK Automobile Association road atlases suggested carrying a roll of soft iron wire a roll of PVC insulating tape, and a tube of superglue in your repair kit. They noted that "This is an aspect of car repair that Baden-Powell would have loved, for the techniques and materials used are little removed from the native wit and cunning methods of the great Scout leader."

[@lexthemystic3541]

And now War Thunder is gonna make *big stonks* with the Premium Sea Vixen in the British Tree.

[@ianbell5611]

Thank You. Another Brilliant informative video. They have a Sea Vixen at NAS Nowra the Austrakian Navy's air museun From memory tgere maybe another at the air museum at Parafield airport North of Adelaide South Australia. Cheers Ian

[@johnwax8419]

Thanks! Alway love looking at vintage UK aircraft, especially military. Once got lost on a side road near Datmouth heard an unusual siren noise go off. Shortly after this a small squadron of Harrier Jump Jets rose from the field and I tried to get a photo, but they flew off on a drill. Someone came up to my vehicle and asked me, " what the Hell was I doing there/" I told him that I was somewhat lost and was trying to find my way Bach to Dartmouth, and I was blown away by the exercise of the jump-jet. He looked at some ID I had and told me I was in a restricted area, but there was no gate or warning signs. That was June 1973, and I'l never forget it.

[@markhemzy8433]

It was great that the technicians were able to demonstrate the wing folding mechanism as well as to see the flaps operating. Nice video and very informative. When I was an RAF engineering apprentice we used a Sea Vixen for some elements of our training and I'm pretty sure it was the first time we were introduced to Ram Air Turbines for emergency electrical power. Loved the design of the Vixen, very futuristic shape.

[@johnp8131]

Used them for seat fit' training too, back in the seventies. Actually quite similar in mark of seat and positioning on the aircraft to a PR9 Canberra.

[@mpersad]

Love your description of the observer's seat as "a bit forlorn". I think that is a very accurate impression from what I know about the crew who sat there!

[@jimlatosful]

I've always loved how the Sea Vixen looks, happy to be learning more about it!

[@Spitfiresammons]

great on the history tour and inside of the only airworthy sea vixen it looks good as new since the 2017 landing incident hope it stay flying for the next 50 years till the last flight retirement.

[@bdh985]

Unfortunately the foundation that owns the aircraft has announced that they will no longer be trying to bring this aircraft back to flight status.

[@Spitfiresammons]

@@bdh985 oh dear so that the end of the era for both the sea vixen and two seater sea fury only left is the seafire swordfish and singer seat sea fury I’m wonder they going to buy a seafire mk.iii that is up for sale.

[@karlbark]

- Very impressive...that you were able to show us the folding-up wings *in motion* and the flaps too ! Really great ! Also, the Sea Vixen is such a great looking plane, (although not having a spectacular service history, as far as I know). Anyhoo, best regards from Iceland, -K.

[@frankbarnwell____]

Thanks for the wing folding! Full function museum!

[@arcticbrox6328]

Thanks for covering the Sea Vixen, one of my favourite planes of all time. Such a beuaty.

[@Rincypoopoo]

Just to help. Your English is fluent and very good. The English term for fluid control systems is Hydraulic. plural Hydraulics. "There are three Hydraulic systems, but this aircraft always had problems with its hydraulics ", for example. Brilliant show. Please keep them coming. I learn so much. Thanks

[@wbertie2604]

Working hangar? Chris is in his happy place. It's wonderful to get to do what you love like this, but he's also actually good at it, and also the primary research.

[@gaz63]

A very well-versed and informative presenter, it's obvious to me he knows his way around an aircraft.

[@michaelevans205]

Nice video! One of my favourite aircraft. Currently building a model of one and remember seeing these when HMS Hermes visited Cyprus in about 1970 (?). The Sea Vixens visited RAF Akrotiri where my dad was based and they made a lasting impression on this then schoolboy!

[@birlyballop4704]

Have you looked at the F4U on the ground?

[@DONALDSON51]

Great video. Always had a soft spot for this aircraft. You mentioned the two missile variants as Firestreak and then Firestreak again (but you did mention the red top shortly after) so just for anyone that was unaware of the missile types he meant to say that the Red top replaced the Firestreak

[@FrankC321]

I can almost smell the aircraft grease, hydraulic fluid, and other 'hanger smell's. After all these years, one would think the services would pick an airframe to be the future museum bird. Thanks to the maintainers for demonstrating wing fold's several times. Very cool. As the other comments said, yes, there are quite a bit of switches and knobs. Nice detail Chris.

[@adamrodaway1074]

There is one in the fleet air arm museum.

[@nickbayer7847]

Glad you're back in the cockpit 🤠🤠 (Thx for sweatin' it out so us viewers could see this awesome bird)

[@MultiZirkon]

Lifting the wing WITH drop tanks... Impressive! Fantastic to see that someone keeps this exotic engine in such a good shape!

[@kilianortmann9979]

Really interesting aircraft, always love the twin boom designs. I always found it weird that during the late 50s to early 70s the Royal Air-force and -Navy had two seemingly very similar designs in service. The Sea Vixen and the Gloster Javelin, both two-seater, transsonic and nearly identical in size, just a coincidence or some inter service rivalry?

[@whtalt92]

There's always that :P More prosaic is that the Sea Vixen is a natural follow-on for the already in FAA service DH Sea Venom.

[@michaelevans205]

A symptom of the unrealistic British government policy of supporting as many manufacturers as possible. The Javelin was a deeply unsatisfactory aircraft for most of it's career and took about nine marks to reach a satisfactory stage of development, by which time it's successor, the Lightning, was entering service. The Sea Vixen was less troublesome in development but only two marks were produced, possibly a sign that the navy was allocated less money to upgrade it's aircraft than the RAF?

[@scoot155]

Neither. de Havilland's Sea Vixen (originally DH 110) and Gloster's Javelin were both designed and built to an RAF specification to have an all-weather fighter-interceptor. The DH 110 had a troubled testing period where one of the prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough airshow. Long story short, RAF went with the Javelin and the DH 110 was held in limbo until the Navy needed a replacement for the Sea Venom. The remaining DH 110 prototypes were navalised (and I think new ones were built?) and after some redesigning, out came the Sea Vixen FAW Mk 1 and the rest is history.

[@altair1983]

And if you think that is complicated, I can name three (there were probably more) British jet engine manufacturers that were all competing for the same market: Rolls-Royce, Bristol and Armstrong-Siddley.

[@jackroutledge352]

@@altair1983 Not to mention DeHavilland themselves as well!

[@Lucky_MiTo.]

This is my favorite KZbin series

[@JDWDMC]

Thank you, I've always loved the look of the Sea Vixen and the odd crew accommodation always fascinated as well. I feel very lucky to have a look inside by proxy.

[@Backwardlooking]

Much more sophisticated than I thought We had some very advanced engineers. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇩🇪

[@sultros]

Such a gorgeous design.

[@rickashcroft8226]

Your audio is good, even with the background noise. Bravo, and very interesting episode!

[@Nimrod-Studios]

That co-pilot hole looks nice and cozy! What i would give for a ride in this seat xD

[@VeraTR909]

The sound of the hangar is no problem at all, you are miced up well enough that it just gives some 'atmosphere'.

[@johncashwell1024]

Chris & Drach! What a pair... of historians, that is. I have been fascinated by both military aviation history and military naval history ever since I was child. Growing up in eastern N.C., I had B-52s and later F-15s flying overhead from Seymour Johnson A.F.B., going to our place at the beach we passed by Cherry Point M.C.A.S. and watched the A/V-8Bs taking off (out on our boat we would watch them flying over the ocean; heading inland to the gunnery range), sometimes we would drive from there down to Wilmington, N.C., which took us through Camp Lejeune M.C.B. and past New River N.A.S. with various U.S. naval assets flying overhead, then finally arriving in Wilmington to go aboard the U.S.S. North Carolina battleship. Of course since we spent a lot of time at the beach we often visited the U.S. Coast Guard Stations and Cutters that were docked and their air assets were usually seen as well.

[@jetnavigator]

That cockpit makes me feel anxious. What a nightmare of design!!

[@whtalt92]

You don't buy British for excellent ergonomics :D Much as I love a Spitfire, the layout of essential controls is really lacking. Whoever decided to put the flap lever in the upper left corner of the instrument panel instead of near the throttle quadrant clearly hadn't had enough tea that day.

[@tonywilson6032]

Buccaneer cockpit was described as an ‘ergonomic slum’

[@anselmdanker9519]

Thanks for presenting this beautiful aircraft .

[@terrancecoard388]

The cockpit was absolutely amazing!! Thank you!

[@svanteforsberg5212]

This is one of my favorite planes, really cool to actually se someone else noticing it and making a video on it!

[@martinc9215]

Another excellent video. Thank you.

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

Hello there :)

[@dannyphillips995]

Superb! Really enjoyed it.

[@jmp.t28b99]

Thanks for the tour.

[@lindaf675]

Your memorization of the systems and controls is amazing 👏

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you Chris, Navy Wings et al. Great video.

[@mikethetexan76]

What a beautiful aircraft and excellent presentation. Thanks for your work!

[@andrewtolley3706]

one of my favorite cold-war aircraft. Beautiful, but rapidly rendered obsolescent by later generations of aircraft. Thank you for a fascinating talk.

[@kennethlane3896]

You obviously put a lot of time into your presentations. Thank you. They are quite enjoyable.

[@grahammutton1964]

Fantastic presentation - well done you all 10/10.

[@markgriffin8158]

Hi, my father was an observer in the Sea Vixen from 1963 to 1968. I think it was known as the widow maker,particularly for the observers. The ejection sequence for the observer was quite slow and not always reliable. Interesting videos, thank you. Mark

[@michaelchevalier9859]

Beautifully preserved aircraft. Excellent presentation.

[@Warhawknm]

I LOVE this channel. Thanks' Chris for the cool content!

[@ScrotusXL]

Beautiful attention to detail. I love your channel man!👍😊

[@emmanuelcolar7032]

I was just recently playing this in War Thunder and I was curious about this plane and its history, Thanks Chris!

[@chrisgardiner6771]

Thanks so much for this! The Sea Vixen is one of my favourite aircraft, but there's so little about it here on KZbin. There's a few videos under 10 minutes, but nothing substantial. I look often to see if any new videos have been uploaded and was thrilled to see this.

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

What a great presentation. Keep up the good work.

[@colcot50]

When I was based at Yeovilton I’m pretty sure that aircraft was stuck outside the museum with a Phantom F4 for a long time. I remember climbing on it and looking in the Observers hell hole

[@NazidKimmie]

Very interesting video and aircraft - great stuff

[@josephravu5039]

What beautiful lines!

[@stuartcrane9409]

My relation George Holt Thomas who owned Airco as a WW1 manufacturer employed DeHaviland as a designer. At the end of the war Airco was sold to BSA and John DeHaviland was funded by Holt Thomas to form the DeHaviland aircraft company. The rest is history. Great video Chris

[@richieb7692]

The Sea Vixen is easily the most beautiful twin boom aircraft. Thank you so much for showing us around her. I liked the Chippie at 37.17. I used to fly in them while in the ATC in the '90s. We would take off from RAF Turnhouse, go up to 6,000ft and throw them around doing aerobatics. A great little plane.

[@mpk6664]

The P-38 would like a word

[@tvh1505]

Such a beautiful aircraft!

[@bohuslavhumplik6744]

Nicely Done!

[@ibluap]

When the accident on Farmborough, 1952, went on, the initial fracture that destriyed the first prototype began just in the place where the port side wing fence should have been. Effectively, there were two prototypes flying that day over England. Early that morning the black one (the second prototype WG240) that had been flying the earlier days in the show at Farnborough, failed to start. De Havilland was startled because the RAF definition over the great contest for the next "night fighter" (today "all weather fighter" for the RAF) against Gloster GA.5 (later known as Javelin) was coming in soon. WG236, the silver prototype, was held in De Havillands and John Derry, Chief Test PIlot had to go flying in a DH Dragon Rapide to look for it. This brand new artifact had been tested recently with wing fences and it was decided to retain this feature, due to the good results it showed up. However, this aircraft had its experimental fences removed at the time John Derry arrived to take her to Farnnborough, and there was no time to reposition them. Now, the wing fences performed a dual role: they modified the behavior of the airflow over the wing, but in the case of the DH110, as the Vixen was named then, they unwittingly, did also reinforce the wing spars, which was not known at the moment. So, had WG236 flown with its wing fences placed on the wings, there is a good chance that the accident wouldn't have happened-

[@Verminator4]

Huge fan of this aircraft, such a distinctive looking fighter. I really hope that it can be made airworthy once again.

[@dbaider9467]

Hopefully the Sea Vixen will fly again. Currently this looks unlikely as while the damage to the skins looked reasonably minor from the outside, major components were literally ground down by friction internally. Also cracks were found in both booms upon inspection. It may just be restored for static display. A real shame.

[@thephantom2man]

19:26 i know it was just a slip of the tounge, but when you said firestreak again, it was actually the red top missile that replaced it

[@NeonMako]

I was at the airshow this exact plane displayed at just before it's crash landing in 2017. Glad to see it's well on the way to being repaired!

[@irvan36mm]

Just read elsewhere that the owners have since indefinitely suspended repairs, due to lack of funds. 😢

[@NeonMako]

@@irvan36mm Oh, now that's a real shame, such a unique aircraft deserves to fly.

[@constantinosschinas4503]

Excellent presentation in a very nice, real environment. Felt like the aircraft is still in full service, like a time capsule.

[@HereticalKitsune]

I love twin boom planes so much, and the Sea Vixen is one of my favs!

[@guaporeturns9472]

Such a great looking plane.

[@gordonwallin2368]

Nice job, Cris. Cheers, from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@NickRatnieks]

The last time I saw one of these was in 1973- flying out of HMS Daedalus- they did have a Sea Venom and the Sea Vixen seems to have replaced it for whatever reason- the Sea Venom had red in its paint scheme- so I assume it was a trainer. My father was at Farnborough watching when John Derry died showing the DH 110 and was very lucky not to have been a casualty.

[@raymondmoore8320]

Great video on this aircraft very enjoyable thank you.

[@sprokthered]

Great video

[@keithloyal4943]

Wonderful presentation. Well done and thank you. K

[@bigblue6917]

I had a model of this aircraft when I was a kid. So I have long has a soft spot for the Sea Vixen.

[@daviddedominici1705]

Thanks Chris

[@rustykilt]

Excellent videos.

[@sicknote1558]

Excellent video thanks very interesting 👍

[@greyareaRK1]

Very cool. Thanks.

[@TheSpectralFX]

Great stuff

[@stretch3281]

I've seen this very aircraft fly at Couldrose airday, an amazing thing and much more agile than expected. So glad she will take to the air again.

[@mikemontgomery2654]

That is ridiculously cool!

[@wkelly3053]

Two GNS430’s. Good to go. All else part of the flying museum mode.

[@jimhays2772]

Very interesting aircraft. Good narrative

[@norman3605]

"Sea vixen" Bravo, sir! That must have been very difficult for a German to say with a straight face.

[@JustanOlGuy]

Such a beautiful Craft...

[@kizzmequik70four]

NGL, if I had access to any plane with powered folding wings, I'd be flipping that switch every couple of hours. Wing go up! Wing go down!

[@wkelly3053]

The Sea Vixen reminds me of the Vought F7U Cutlass and the Scimitar reminds me of the McDonnell F3H Demon. Nothing scientific, just the visual impression, and being more or less contemporaries on opposite sides of the “pond”. Nice video.

[@marcusott2973]

The shape of the nose and the canopy (F3H didn't have it asymmetrical) completely see where you're coming from.

[@landak136]

Honestly, after seeing your feature on F-5 cockpit, it feels like going from a well-tended garden into a jungle. Regardless, a unique aircraft with oh-so-British assymetrical cokpit.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Vixen and Javelin, nice aircraft. Unique.

[@wkelly3053]

Actually, always amazed you have so much information seemingly at your fingertips. Great research, but also you’re quite sharp. I think you could jump in and fly it. Sorry for three posts. Cannot edit on my iPad.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thank you :)

[@altair1983]

Perfect timing. I am building one in 72nd scale

[@leoarc1061]

Greetings, Chris. In future videos, could you please spend a few seconds talking about the wing folding mechanism and its locking system, in aircraft which do have it? If possible, a video solely dedicated to this topic would, of course, be even better! Many thanks for your great work!

[@Aquila-sz8pl]

Excellent

[@rerd6614]

Thought all repair work on Foxy Lady were suspended. Great News and wonderful insights of a neat aircraft. Hope to see it flying again.