Originally Posted by
Jhieminga
That is indeed one of the nicknames that were used for the VC10. Stemmed from the fact that some of the parts were milled from solid, coupled with the higher weight when compared to the 707.
You're quite right. Milled from solid they were - but ally, not iron or steel. They took us down to Weybridge to see VC10 production and I well remember the massive German computer-controlled milling machines carving out huge fuselage panels including doors and windows. It was most impressive as were the mountains of shiny and curly swarf. I remember the billets of ally were several inches thick. It was quite a sight and quite a shock for us Handley Page lads used to more conventional construction methods.