Originally Posted by
Blackfriar
BAF memories
First ever flight Belfast-Isle-of-Man Viscount
Then a few BFS-JER summer hols
Fast forward 10 years and I'm a despatcher at BFS handling the nightly BAF Viscount bringing 7 tons of The Sun newspaper to Belfast. We'd offload that and then load 7 tons of live eels for Amsterdam.
Daytime work in the summer was the Jersey flights. Standing on the sunny ramp hearing the whistling Darts rushing up the taxiway and then park for a quick turnround.
I did get a ride on one when going to a friends wedding - empty positioning BFS-SOU. We were very high for a Viscount, maybe over 30,000 ft. Then standing for the SOU landing. Wonderful.
Hello Blackfriar, Happy days, I believe that on one of those flights, sea water leaked into the aircraft which caused a few rust problems.
The Viscount performance always impressed me as I had previously flown the Argosy. My most memorable moment was when I first handled the Viscount as a co-pilot while still in the RAF. We were practising a three engine take off when the instructor pulled back another throttle on the same side for a two engine take-off.
I remember applying quite a lot of rudder with the sight of grass a few inches below the wheels! The Argosy would have sunk straight back onto the runway due to its extra weight.
As I drift into retirement, I need something to replace these adrenaline stirring moments.