Vickers (BAC) VC-10
A truly beautiful airliner which provided a level of refinement that was ahead of the field. I travelled back from Aden in a BUA example and still recall being impressed with the smooth flight and quiet cabin thanks to those RR Conways being at the back. the VC-10s ability to operate 'hot & high' was better than the 707 .
Empress of the skies methinks.
My personal view is that we could, indeed did, build some of the finest aircraft in the world. Sadly we lacked the necessary hard nosed commercial approach that is necessary to succeed in the numbers game of big business.