RAF VC10 C1 Serviceablility
Having flown the RAF VC10s for six years in the 1980s, I can only say that the serviceability rate was never a problem affecting my small part in that sphere of operations. Of course there were the occasional times when snags occurred.<br />One such event happened to me when the centre windscreen started double-delaminating whilst climbing up through FL290. A return to the departure airfield after a lower level jettison of fuel was carried out. As soon as a few of the windscreen securing bolts were removed by the ground engs, the whole screen shattered into a million small pieces. We weren't going anywhere.<br />A new windscreen was ordered from the nearest RAF base holding one (HKG) but it was then was lost in transit by the civilian carrier in Melbourne, Aus. A new window had to be ordered from the UK but would take a week to reach us. - Oh I forgot to say that we were climbing out of Nandi in Fiji when we had the failure and it was in mid-December. We had to suffer a week in Fiji getting a suntan, before returning home just in time for Christmas. As a penance for our enjoyment we later had to suffer many a night flight to Cyprus and back, as recompense for a week in the South Pacific whilst all at home were shivering.