Quote.... I was lead to believe that the VC10 was second only in speed to Concorde. With Concorde having retired, is the "10" now the fastest again ?
Smudge....Unqoute.
I remember that the RAF VC10 originally had three speeds depending on range required...I recall Mach O.88 or 0.86 or 0.84 and the VNE was 0.94.
The airline I joined had Convair 880's and I was told the 990 model cruised around Mach 0.9.
I later flew on B707/320C at only M 0.78 but that was around the time oil prices shot up and reduced cruise speed became the norm.
My other recollection was the VC10 speed had to be closely monitored as its Hi-Tail had the tendecy to Dutch Roll at altitude. I think it had 3 separate Yaw Dampers as this could be critical. There was also a concern for the very close margin between hi and lo-speed stall. It also had auto-relight in case the rear engines became air-blocked and stalled.
Anyone else have better info on this speed concern at altitude?
EDIT
Thanks for the correction ICM...That is indeed the gentleman although I think the pic must have been taken a little bit before I met him. Also, I heard that he was murdered by a mugger when back in California...hope I'm wrong.
Was Jerry Poole a tall lanky guy who became the local Carterton darts champion?
Last edited by Davita; 14th Jul 2013 at 09:39.