Originally Posted by
sycamore
Were the extra tanks single or double-skinned...?
The fuselage fuel cells are double skinned with a synthetic rubber bag inside the inner skin.
Originally Posted by Tankertrashnav
Could you perhaps give a few details? You say the system was extensively tested - were there any live "jumps" during this testing, and did the early VC10 tanker crews actually ever fly in parachutes?
As far as I know there were no live jumps, but the first installation on ZA143 was used to drop several dummies over Lark Hill on Salisbury Plain. ZA143 was also flown with the escape door open and chute extended to assess the effect on the port engines. As for the use of parachutes, others more knowledgable than me will be able to answer that one. The system was relatively short-lived (although I don't have the dates for when it was finally removed) and I don't know whether it was ever actually deemed operational on the K2/K3 fleet.
It is interesting to think that the location for the escape chute (height relative to the main cabin floor) was not all that different from the escape hatch on the VC10 prototype, which was mounted in the forward underfloor freight door. There's a story here about the windtunnel tests for that door (first story):
https://www.vc10.net/Memories/FlightTesting.html