VC-10 over Blackbushe

[gatman]

Ok may not be the correct forum but...

Just driving west along the A30 (Tuesday 24/9) and have seen a sight I thought was gone forever, southbound overhead Blackbushe was a Super VC-10 at about 2000ft QNH:O:O:O

Don't know where it was going, Farnborough or maybe Wisley for one last show of respect in the form of a flypast?

[HDRW]

That'll wake the neighbours! :-) I've never been in one, but I'm told it's an excellent aircraft to fly, and to fly in.

[BARKINGMAD]

The last of the RAF ones finally bowed out after long careers as transports and tankers.

I doubt whether the same emotions will be shown when the current crop of anodyne airframes retire from airline and/or military use?

The relics of "Empire in the Clouds".................................:sad:

[jorel]

My windows are still vibrating.... And the dogs gone into hiding

[lucaturin]

It was wonderful to fly in, very quiet, well-lit and comfortable. Also a fine-looking aircraft, as was/is the IL-62.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Apparently it's going to Dunsfold. Strange thing is that I live just north of Blackbushe and did not hear it!

[KING6024]

From another site,its en route to Dunsfold which will be its final home.A joint effort between Dunsfold and the Brooklands Museum.
Colin.

[gemma10]

I used to fly in them back from Jeddah in the late 70`s regularly. Fabulous take off thrust. Left each morning at 08.15 and could be heard all over Jeddah. Were known to expats as the flying pub! :ok:

[SpringHeeledJack]

It was indeed on it's last flight, apparently it did some air to air photos with an A330 over the North Sea and then down south taking in Biggin Hill/Farnborough before doing on aborted takeoff and then a landing at Dunsfold. Such a shame that it can't be kept airworthy like the Vulcan, no doubt cost has a great deal to do with it. I heard that it would cost nearly a £million per year with the present technical support regime just to keep it working condition, let alone flying etc.

Possibly the most elegant jet transport ever to be built.



SHJ

[Hotel Tango]

Sadly, a type that eluded me as SLF. I should have tried harder. (Now where did I hear or read that before) :)

[Talkdownman]

Sadly, a type that eluded me as SLF. I should have tried harder.
You are not alone. Painful, especially after watching and talking to so many. Ho Hum...

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Flew in one back from Libya on leave once. Nice trip except when a hostie plonked a tray of drinks on our new son's head as he slept on a seat. Didn't think much of some of the crews: "THe Captain has instructed me to wish you a Happy Christmas". Dear oh dear.

[DaveReidUK]

before doing on aborted takeoff and then a landing at DunsfoldThat sounds like a neat trick. :O

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

Best VC10 moment, coming home from a pretty grim posting to Cairo on 31/03/70, seated in first class, with my girlfriend the 'A' stewardess, saying through gritted teeth "How would Sir like his eggs coddled ... or over his head?"

Worst moment a couple of months later at Antigua, sweating in the mid afternoon sun, getting the most comprehensive b*llocking down the ground interphone headset from the captain, his angry face framed in the DV window. Something to do with a consignment of mangoes in the rear hold, the dear old 'Iron Duck' out of trim and already twenty minutes over the scheduled forty-five minute transit time! He voyage reported me.

Next posting ... Moscow!

[treadigraph]

Blast, had I known it was in the Biggin vicinity I'd have taken a gander out the office winder... :{

Lost me Junior Jet Club book when still a nipper, but pretty certain I flew in a BOAC Standard out to Nairobi in '69, and back in an East African Super in '71.

[pax britanica]

What time was it over the 'bushe-I was there during this afternoon and would have loved to have seen( and heard) a ten one last time - I remember seeing G-ARVA arrive at LHR on its delivery flight-(giving my age away there) and flew on a VC10 on my first ever trip-the second leg of a LHR-Barbados via JFK , in those days BAC operated shuttles from JFK to the 'colonies' to the south.
Mind you I did have the consolation of seeing Spitfire transit over Sandhurst at 6pm tonight in a lovely clear evening sky Merlin purring gently away as it wasn't trying very hard to go fast-any one know where it was headed .

PB

[Axel-Flo]

From what I heard, and what it's worth, they did a full power go around followed by a visual circuit to land just for her to have a last blast. Heard her go from Brize and going back today to see ZA147 leave this morning on her way to Bruntingthorpe, full power again I hope and praying for less fog to be able to see her climb out. Just listening to the noise yesterday, and she was followed by a new Voyager A330 form 10 Sqn, reminds us how much difference there is between the low and high ratio by pass engines.

The VC 10, my other Lady for the last 13 years, just sounded like a Jet should.....the "crackle" from the exhaust was a real pleasure. And to those who have mentioned it Hell yes, light weight and full power....she was going up like a home sick angel and the crew were just along for the ride....:D

[vctenderness]

Quote:


It was wonderful to fly in, very quiet, well-lit and comfortable. Also a fine-looking aircraft, as was/is the IL-62.

Aah the VC10ski! Went on board one once and was gobsmacked at the interior it looked a bit like granny's Victorian kitchen.


It was an obvious knock off of the VC10 and I always wondered how much someone was paid to give the plans to the Russkies.


My time on the VC10 was very happy indeed. Great routes, long slips around the world through the West 21 days of fun. Honolulu, Fiji, Melbourne heaven!


I also always think of the 'real' BOAC Captains with wonderful beards and chests full of medal ribbons ( but never any boasting about how they obtained them).


I once asked what the little silver wings were on one ribbon to be told "oh that's just the pathfinders" only later did I find out that the pathfinders had the most dangerous job in the RAF flying low and unarmed to mark out the targets Blimey!


Also should be able to wear the I was bought a drink by Captain Gillete Sir (razors) medal as this was a very rare event!

[KelvinD]

I was one of those expats using the VC10 to and from Jeddah in the late 70s.
I also flew on one from Hong Kong via Colombo to Seychelles. In Hong Kong, an extremely irate American boarded and wouldn't stop telling all and sundry how awful Hong Kong was; he couldn't get a hotel room apparently. The whingeing suddenly got louder when we took off. Remember the air conditioning on the VC10? After leaving the high humidity of Hong Kong, the air conditioners did a great job of condensing all the moisture out of the cabin air. As the aircraft nose went up, all this condensation ran down the overhead bins and poured all over this bloke's head! Marvellous! He was the only one to get rained on and more than a few passengers applauded.
A few days later, again on a VC10, leaving Seychelles for Nairobi and Khartoum, I was fascinated by the HF radio modulating the cabin lighting. As the HF radio was transmitting, the cabin lights dimmed and brightened in sync and you could actually hear a distorted voice coming from the lights.
Having missed Nairobi, due to fog, we went to Mombasa. Unfortunately, so did everyone else so we spent a few hours there, waiting for the solitary fuel bowser to get round to our aircraft. Arrived in Khartoum for a connecting flight to Jeddah (missed) and fell out with the immigration chap. Next step was a walk back up the aircraft steps with the words "I am deporting this man, take him away"! So I ended up in London instead of Jeddah but being staff (IAL) was able to buy a ticket to Jeddah for 6 quid.
Incidentally; while getting some training in Dallas in 1978, more than a few of the local Rockwell Collins staff were telling me how they would hang around JFK looking for someone to swap their B707 flight for a VC10 one. They all said it was the better option for crossing the pond.
A great aircraft but I wouldn't have wanted to pick up the tab for the fuel though!

[LAS1997]

I saw the VC10 over head EGLF en-route to Dunsfold; the fog had cleared by lunchtime and she looked great in the sunshine. So sad in a way that a chapter in British aviation has come to an end. Graceful, elegant and powerful; the VC10 will always be one of my favourite British airliners. I was lucky enough to fly in XV105 in 2008 and enjoy a refuelling sortie over the North Sea; sat on the flight deck with the crew and enjoyed an RAF boxed lunch served by a Hostess who's name escapes me! Managed to video the experience and you can view it now on YouTube. Happy retirement VC10; you served the nation well! :{

[joy ride]

In 1964 my dad was posted to Washington D.C. but my brother (10) and I (8) were in boarding school in UK, flying out to US for holidays unaccompanied; we were thrilled to be in the Jet Set.

We had several flights in 707s and DC 8s (BOAC, Pan Am and TWA) and then our first of many flights in BOAC/Cunard Super VC 10s. These were like going from a school bus to an Aston Martin, we absolutely loved the VC10, even at 8 years old I knew this was a thoroughbred of ultimately quality and still is my favourite airliner. When climbing or descending the rear steps you could look right into the Conways, exciting stuff for a schoolboy!

KelvinD's comments about condensation and overhead bins reminded of one turbulent approach to JFK in about 1966 (called New York then, perhaps?) in which my brother was violently sick, but I will spare you the full details!

Last time I saw a VC 10 flying was about 8 years ago when we were cycling towards the Eden Project in Cornwall when an RAF one flew low overhead. Everyone in the group including my brother-in-law was amazed at the sight of this elegant plane and I was able to tell them what it was. The odd thing was how amazingly quiet it was. It was 500-1,000 ft up and preparing to land, so it seems to me that the range of the noise levels depends heavily on engine revs and the plane's location relative to the observer, perhaps more so than with other engines.

When I went to buy my Heinkel-Trojan bubble car from a man near Brize about 10 years ago, 1 or more VC10s were flying in and out at nearby Brize (or doing touch and goes), and filling the whole sky with their tremendous roar and crackle.

An era has ended.

[thing]

Spent many a happy hour flying backwards on board 'Shiny 10's jets. When you have a choice between that and a Herc to fly you around the world there is really no contest.

I once spent three days getting from Germany to Belize in a Herc, with stops obviously. The return in a 10 took half a day.

[Wycombe]

Like "thing" I spent many happy hours aboard the 10's, sitting backwards and sliding around in the ventral hold.

A few recollections:
- a "max angle" departure from Teeside once whilst positioning back to Brize. Up to FL240 in about 5 minutes (I timed it!)
- visiting the Flight Deck en route to Deci at FL410 and balancing a 50p on it's side on the Nav's desk - it didn't fall over
- being told that I had "misread" the Mach meter when it seemed to indicate a bit more than 0.84 once!
- returning from Akrotiri with a baby in incubator on board. Not above FL250 all the way (for cabin alt. reasons I assumed), which added an hour to the flight time, but didn't mind a bit

Although it's payload was pathetic for the amount of fuel it burned, it will be sadly missed.