Photos from VC10

[Philo]

Looks as if I am off on a VC10 jolly out of Brize next week, hopefully on a refuel trip.
It basically because they run local appeasment sessions for district and parish councilors to discuss noise and operational contraints and explain basically why they have to operate as they do. It generally coincides with a major excercise or some particularly busy period.
Part of the day is a flight, if you are intersted of course, if not you can have a tour of the base .
Last time i did it we had a very pleasant trip around the western isles in a Tristar.
Our council clerk asked if I might be interested in going:D :D .
Anyhow I was wondering if its a VC10 as suggested and its a refuel trip as suggested is there anywhere i should try to get for taking the odd shot of the babies feeding ?. I know on the US stuff they have a viewing window.

[Cameraone]

As far as I remember from my trip in a VC10 (Down the Mall on the Queens Jubilee!), there are plenty of windows along the side of the aircraft where a good view can be obtained!

[Philo]

Yep Cameraone I am aware of the windows along the side, I see VC10's every day, every hour in fact overhead and have flown in one before. What I really meant was is there any specific viewing window designed to see recipient aircraft at closer quarters as there are on , say KC135 (I appreciate that KC135 does not refuel from a drogue and you can get above the probe), other than looking out of my distorted perpex porthole.

[BEagle]

No there are no specific visual locations fitted in the VC10 for the purpose of viewing receiver aircraft. The Air Engineer uses a rearward-looking CCTV to assess receiver activity.

Certain cabin seats may provide you with a reasonable view, but on no account may perspex scratch guards be removed to facilitate happy snaps.

[DamienB]

philo - chances are they won't refuel anything with civvy pax on board, the best you'll get is some fast jet types formating either side. The cabin windows are awful - find a good one and stick by it - it'll be a bunfight with all the other pax anyway. The cockpit windows are nice and big and clear, but you'll probably only get a minute or two in there if that. Stick to a wide open aperture or the scratches and other faults in the windows will ruin your shots.

[jumpseater]

Don't use a polarising filter through the perspex, you'll get all sorts of rainbow colours!

[BEagle]

I wish I could give said councillors a piece of my mind about their ludicrous speed limits, road humps and constant persecution of law-abiding motorists in the fair county of Oxford.....

[Jhieminga]

Looking forward to seeing the photos Philo!

[Duckbutt]

I stand to be corrected but on first reading this flight sounds like some sort of jolly.

IF I am right who the hell is paying for all this?

[ronbvr]

As this will probably be a standard training flight anyway, with some pax added, there shouldn't be any additional cost over and above what the average tax-payer contributes.

:D

regards

[Duckbutt]

OK, fair enough - enjoy everyone!

[Philo]

Thanks all for advice.
I think I might just take a 35mm Point and shoot camera and hope for the best.
'Jolly' !!!!, god forbid that tax payers money be wasted on us mere councilors . It's to explain why some aircraft are noisey (a la VC10) and why some flights are necessary at unsocial hours, not that councilors would complain of course (not this one anyway !).Its probably to prepare us for the impending ex Lynham traffic.
Talking of complaints I have had a couple recently about hedge hopping Puma's, clearly nothing to do with BZN.
BEagle -I should explain that I am a councilor but only at parish level and as such am as much a victim of the Oxfordshire motorist persecution programme as you are. Having said that we do have audience with county council and I will be sitting at a meeting next week to discuss traffic calming in our village, a level that I absolutely believe in.

[BEagle]

Philo - I presume you mean traffic calming in Brize village? Or perhaps Charterville Allotments? The stupid new road is exactly the same length as the old one (1.1 miles between the roundabouts) with the added joy of 2 more roundabouts and a very dangerous road junction - so it's actually slower even at the posted speed limits. It is in the wrong place (as the highway authority were warned by the Witney Society and others) and does absolutely nothing to improve access between Carterton and either Witney or the A40; neither does it do much to reduce traffic in either Charterville Allotments nor in Brize village.....

The road should have been built to connect Carterton directly to the Asthall Barrow ('Windmill restaurant') roundabout on the A40. Bi-directional access to the A40, access to Carterton from either the old or new A40s - that was what was needed. It would also have obviated any need to upgrade the 'Shilton dip' route to Burford. Instead we have this ludicrous white elephant which I for one have no intention of ever using.

So it'll be me driving at no more than the posted speed limit along your pleasant rural roads - just as I have done for the last 20 years. Build the road in the right place and people will use it - fail to do so (as they have) and people won't.....

Enjoy your trip - hope the weather is as nice as today's!!

[Philo]

BEagle,
Sorry to de -wind your sails , but I actually live several miles from Brize/ Carterton, I live in Appleton near Abingdon some 10 miles south east of BZN. Our village is on the outer circuit for BZN at the SE turning point and all traffic (should be) at 2500ft over us.
So the roads around Witney don't really bother me too much , other than all the traffic that we get here at Eynsham where I work. This is also the westerly turning point for BZN approach on the circuit I mentioned above , so I get to see most BZN air traffic out of the office window here during the day and the remainder at home. Its mostly predictable but with the odd surprise , in fact there is a C17 and Tristar in view at the moment.

[Neil Porter]

Experiences from my various VC10 AAR flights, make sure you take a jacket with you, as if you are allowed down the back end its cold!!!!

Is great experience, i lucky enough to have seen many aircraft being refuelled such as Tornados (incl at night, great when the Tonkas engage burners!, Buccaneers, Harriers & Sea Harriers, Jags, refuelling other VC10's and E3 Sentrys & even 74Sq F4J Phantoms ( crikey must have been 1991 just before there retirement - remember that particular trip as forgot batteries for my dam camera so no photos of them!!!!! Doh!).

If your aircraft is gonna be refuelled by another VC10, then it does get abit bumpy due to the buffeting!

[BEagle]

Not if it's done properly;)

[Philo]

Ah well , no VC10 trip as hoped for but 2 1/2 hrs aboard a Tristar again.
A little different this time as we did a total of 12 approaches to demonstrate all scenarios , 6 on R026 and 6 on R06 some as IFR and some as VFR.The good part being that I spent 40mins in the obs seat on the flight deck. They did 2 overshoots and 2 T & G's whilst I was in there. The Touch and goes are quite impressive in a large aircraft.

Other stuff that happened, talked about the VC10( & Tristar) retirement, well thats 2008 on. FSTA as we know is yet to be decided (or is it!).BZN will have VC10, Tristar,(until FSTA), C130 (until T400M) and C130J as well as C17(it was indicated that numbers might increase of these as well). Oh and three PA28's !!.
All in all an enjoyable afternoon out.

Phil

[Dan Winterland]

I will point out that it's actually 4 PA28s before BEagle does.

BEagle, agreed on the 'Not if it's done properly' comment. I must have been taught well! :)

[BEagle]

If I recall correct, Dan, didn't we do a fair bit of night Rx Trg in Spring 99 before you went off to one of Bliar's bring-a-bottle Balkan wars?

And yes, it is indeed 4 PA28s!!

[Spot 4]

Thats called training to stay alive whilst operating in the interests (if not strictly defence) of your country. .....and as Pumas are in Iraq, and yes I know there are no hedges there, they need the skills required to approach and depart covertly.

No doubt the complaints came from people that have never lifted a finger to defend the nation yet still manage to sleep soundly at night knowing that others are!

Makes my blood boil, especially when these winkers get paid millions in tax payers compensation. If the truth be known, hedge hopping at night, black light is a lot more fun, oops, did I say that!

Regards

:mad:

Hedge hopper:O

[sycamore]

Tristar t& g`s, brings back a few memories of a B o I, mid `80s??

Beags, if you wanna see how it`s done,Rotorheads, Gallery, p 20.. Just for Oldtimers sake...
Syc:cool:

[Dan Winterland]

I can see her point! Now, if you had crashed admiring a VC10 - that's a completely different matter!

Commiserations regards having to go to Swindon.