Just how far do you think a manufacturer should go to attend a breakdown asks Biglorryblog? Try asking John Pettitt. For little did the Hartshorne Potteries Volvo workshop technician realise that when he was asked by his boss to attend an 'off-site' repair, it would involve a round trip of nearly 16,000 miles.
It all began when the Commanding Officer of the Mount Pleasant RAF base on the Falkland Islands contacted Hartshorne's service department at Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Royal Air Force workshop, he said, needed some technical assistance with the diagnosis and repair to the fuel system of a Volvo FL6 fire tender operated by the base.
Now click through here to read all about it and see a typical Falkland Islander.....
Although Hartshorne’s service team first gave technical advice over the telephone, it soon became apparent they were going to have to send a workshop technician to the Falklands to sort the job out. The RAF have been a Hartshorne customer for some time and the dealer team were delighted to respond positively and travel plans were quickly made.
Having been 'volunteered', John was quickly on his way to the military air-base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to catch the 17-hour long scheduled flight to Port Stanley---stopping only to refuel at Ascension Island. I wonder what the in-flight film was? A range of Volvo Parts, including an injector set, was also despatched in the hold of the DC10.
On arrival, John was taken straight to the base, which is located about 35 miles from the capital Port Stanley, where he worked with two RAF technicians to diagnose the fault and fix the problem – which turned out to be fuel-pump related.
John tells BLB that his only mistake in the rush to prepare for the long journey was to pack full thermals and winter clothing. Unfortunately, when he arrived, he quickly discovered that it was mid-summer and a baking 80 degrees. However, the welcome he received from the RAF ground crew more than made up for that and he describes the trip overall as a “once in a lifetime experience.”
….and John’s take on the Falklands? “Like Derbyshire ….. only with penguins !”
And what better way to end this blog?
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