Originally Posted by
pax britanica
Its along time ago now but as I remember seeing both fly for BEA I wondered how the Viking and DC3/Dakota compared against one another.
I've posted this before on another forum but the quote fits here as well:
From 'Britain's Airlines volume 2': "The Viking was significantly faster than the Dakota although it had slightly higher operating costs and needed longer runways. When the German charter airlines began taking to the sky in the mid-50s, over twenty Vikings were used, their higher speed proving a real benefit on the longer sectors to Spain and the Balearics."
So even though the wing design on both types dated back to 1932 or thereabouts Vickers did manage to improve a bit on the DC-3 design. On the other hand having the main spar run through the fuselage, however interesting the views it provided for the passengers nearby, messed up its prospects as a cargo carrier. And then of course you've got the simple problem of having loads and loads of C-47s available at very reasonable prices against a new, and suitably priced, Viking. The production numbers clearly show what happened next: VC-1: 163, DC-3: 16079.