Cramic Engineering - Southall.
The VC-10 has always been one of my favourite aircraft and am not looking forward to its flying demise as the Voyager takes over. I have never been a commercial pilot but have held a UK PPL in the past for my sins. My interest in aviation began when my parents moved to West Drayton and all the kids at school went to EGLL spotting. I recall the Queens building and the viewing area on top of T2 and the smell of Jet fuel always brings back memories of Alitalia DC-9's and Air France Caravelles at T2, but one of the best places to view was on the top floor of the T2 car park that overlooked part of the T3 parking area and I recall many VC-10's parking there especially the EAA ones. Anyway, my link to the VC-10 was that my father used to work for Cramic Engineering in Southall and I recall (so he told me) that he helped install the routers for the wing manufacture used for the VC-10. Now I don't know where this was but I think it was 'up north' and maybe on the Welsh borders so may be Hawarden? He did show me some pictures of the buildings being built that were to hold the router machines, but it was all a long time ago and he is sadly no longer around to ask. I live just north of Oxford now and still see the VC-10's going into Brize. I always keep an eye out for them. Another, now classic in my mind, the TriStar is also on its way out - that will be another loss, but such is life.