BEA and Northeast Viscount 800s

[Mooncrest]

Many of us know that Northeast was a subsidiary of BEA via the British Air Services holding company. Did the two airlines operate on each other's services at any time ? The reason I ask is I recently saw some old film from Leeds Bradford Airport circa 1971. It features a Northeast Viscount starting and taxiing and throughout there are shots of a BEA Viscount - still in red square livery - parked on about stand 5. The only BEA-liveried Viscounts I remember at LBA were in the Speedjack colours during 1976, operating BA flights while the ex-Northeasts were being resprayed for about the fourth time!

Thankyou.

[Sotonsean]

Many of us know that Northeast was a subsidiary of BEA via the British Air Services holding company. Did the two airlines operate on each other's services at any time ? The reason I ask is I recently saw some old film from Leeds Bradford Airport circa 1971. It features a Northeast Viscount starting and taxiing and throughout there are shots of a BEA Viscount - still in red square livery - parked on about stand 5. The only BEA-liveried Viscounts I remember at LBA were in the Speedjack colours during 1976, operating BA flights while the ex-Northeasts were being resprayed for about the fourth time!

Thankyou.

Didn't BEA operate a seasonal flight from Jersey to London Bradford Airport with a Viscount during the period you mentioned. If that's the case it might answer your question regarding the old footage you viewed.

Whilst we're on the subject of Northeast.

British United Airways used to operate a Southampton-Leeds/Bradford-Newcastle route in the late 1960s until 1971. It always surprised me at the time as to why Northeast didn't pick up the route. The route was axed prior to the formation of BCAL after the BUA/Caledonian merger. At the time Southampton Airport already had service with BEA to Jersey and Cambrian operated a Cardiff-Bristol-Southampton-Paris LBG route both using Viscount aircraft. On a personal note I would have liked to have seen Northeast at Southampton Airport.

​​​​​​I've always had a personal interest in the airline as my third ever flight was on a Northeast liveried Trident 1E with British Airways titles flying a return trip from London Heathrow to Palma in September 1974.

[bean]

BEA never operated LBA-JER

[Sotonsean]

BEA never operated LBA-JER

I wasn't one hundred percent sure if they did to be honest I was more or less assuming they did considering their route network at the time. But I'm glad to be corrected.

[bean]

I wasn't one hundred percent sure if they did to be honest I was more or less assuming they did considering their route network at the time. But I'm glad to be corrected.
It was a BKS/Northeast route

[bean]

By the way, there was no merger between Caledonian and BUA. Caledonian took them over as recommended by the Edwards commitee on future air transport in 1969 which was fully supported by the Labour and succeeding Conservative governments

[chevvron]

It was a BKS/Northeast route
Wasn't it 'Channel' before that?
I remember a good deal of confusion at West Drayton at the time; sometimes the FPL was addressed 'BKS - Yankee Delta' and other times it was 'Channel - Yankee Delta'.

[bean]

Wasn't it 'Channel' before that?
I remember a good deal of confusion at West Drayton at the time; sometimes the FPL was addressed 'BKS - Yankee Delta' and other times it was 'Channel - Yankee Delta'.
No. Channel never took delivery of Yankee Delta, nor did they ever at any time operate scheduled services from LBA

[Airbanda]

Wondering about the attribution of this film to 1971. The BEA Speedjack livery was on a BEA Helicopters S61N I flew on from Penzance to St Marys and return in May 68. Did red square last into the seventies?

Until the age of 9 I lved on the Beechwood estate in Horsforth with a rear garden backing onto Trinity and All Saints College. The (then) 33 approach and 15 climb out were in full view from the rear of the house.

There was a period when Viscounts in BEA Red Square livery were sighted regularly if not frequently. I seem to remember reading somewhere that when the V806 Viscounts were being transferred to BKS BEA leased them and kept them under close observation.

[bean]

Wondering about the attribution of this film to 1971. The BEA Speedjack livery was on a BEA Helicopters S61N I flew on from Penzance to St Marys and return in May 68. Did red square last into the seventies?

Until the age of 9 I lved on the Beechwood estate with a rear garden backing onto Trinity and All Saints College. The (then) 33 approach and 15 climb out were in full view from the rear of the house.

There was a period when Viscounts in BEA Red Square livery were sighted regularly if not frequently. I seem to remember reading somewhere that when the V806 Viscounts were being transferred to BKS BEA leased them and kept them under close observation.
Not correct. BKS/Northeast had own AOC watched over by CAA
Please. This is degenerating into an airlines and routes thread. This forum is not like that!!!!

[bean]

Speed Jack was premiered at Farnborough in September 1968
NOT BEFORE

[Airbanda]

Speed Jack was premiered at Farnborough in September 1968
NOT BEFORE
That's consistent with other information in which case I've misremembered and am mixing trips to the Scillies. We went in in both 68 and 69.

[Airbanda]

Not correct. BKS/Northeast had own AOC watched over by CAA
Please. This is degenerating into an airlines and routes thread. This forum is not like that!!!!

So far as I can see the presenting question was about the presence of a BEA 'Red Square' liveried Viscount at LBA in 1971. I can certainly remember seeing them in the relatively early days of the 15/33 runway.

One possibility is Manchester diversions. Another some swapping of machines between BAS and its parent to cover tech etc issues. I'm fairly sure we saw the odd Cambrian V806 at Leeds as well; similar livery but red instead of yellow and a stylised dragon on place of the NE compass point.

I stick by my original assertion that I've read somewhere that the V806 machines were for a time either leased to BKS or operated on their behalf by BEA including some augmentation of LBA ground crews.

FWIW the G INFO register shows several of the V806 series machines with BKS/Northeast as Charterers.

[Airbanda]

Wasn't it 'Channel' before that?
I remember a good deal of confusion at West Drayton at the time; sometimes the FPL was addressed 'BKS - Yankee Delta' and other times it was 'Channel - Yankee Delta'.

Which Yankee Delta was this?

The V806 machines were in the G-AOYx sequence. The first was AOYF (C/N255) but was written off at Johannesburg before entering BEA service.

[ATNotts]

No. Channel never took delivery of Yankee Delta, nor did they ever at any time operate scheduled services from LBA

I'm not quite sure on the time line, but if my memory serves me correctly, towards the end of the "British Air Services" operation that was Northeast and Cambrian didn't the BA bean (pardon the pun) counters, possibly in collusion with the marketing department split up the regional operations of BEA into "Channel Islands Division" based nominally at BHX, and "Scottish Division". The Channel Islands and Scottish fleets were V.802s with Northeast and Cambrian being allocated V.806 variants. Is the "Channel" being referred to the BEA Channel Islands operation perhaps, rather than Channel Airways? Again my rusty memory recalls that the BEA Channel Islands operation used the callsign "Bealine" at least to begin with, though later on BHX service flew under the IATA prefix "BZ" with callsign "Albion".

I can't readily think of which airframe "Yankee Delta" would have been, it certainly doesn't show on any of the BEA, Northeast or Cambrian fleet lists that I can find.

[treadigraph]

BEA and Channel both operated Comet G-APYD, though I tend to think Chevvron's quoted callsign was illustrative rather than exact... :}

[Airbanda]

I'm not quite sure on the time line, but if my memory serves me correctly, towards the end of the "British Air Services" operation that was Northeast and Cambrian didn't the BA bean (pardon the pun) counters, possibly in collusion with the marketing department split up the regional operations of BEA into "Channel Islands Division" based nominally at BHX, and "Scottish Division". The Channel Islands and Scottish fleets were V.802s with Northeast and Cambrian being allocated V.806 variants. Is the "Channel" being referred to the BEA Channel Islands operation perhaps, rather than Channel Airways? Again my rusty memory recalls that the BEA Channel Islands operation used the callsign "Bealine" at least to begin with, though later on BHX service flew under the IATA prefix "BZ" with callsign "Albion".

I can't readily think of which airframe "Yankee Delta" would have been, it certainly doesn't show on any of the BEA, Northeast or Cambrian fleet lists that I can find.

The BZ IATA prefix and call sign Albion were used by BA's Regional Division from around 1977.

With the merger of the Northeast, Cambrian and Channel/Scottish operations in April 1976 the practice seemed to be Bealine for domestic flights and Speedbird for international sectors with four digit flight numbers. However by the summer of 76 aircraft operating from Leeds had reverted to NS/Northeast and three digit callsigns. One suspects a possible overload of similar callsigns either on Airways or in the London TMA.

Was BZ/Albion used before c1977?

[Airbanda]

No. Channel never took delivery of Yankee Delta, nor did they ever at any time operate scheduled services from LBA

Are we barking up the wrong tree with YD being Yeadon?

[kcockayne]

Maybe I have misunderstood the reference to “YD”; but doesn’t it refer to the Trident G-AVYD, which Northeast operated.

[DaveReidUK]

Are we barking up the wrong tree with YD being Yeadon?

Only to the very lazy. :O

For as long as I can remember, Leeds-Bradford/Yeadon has been LBA/EGNM. Unless ATC were in the habit of inventing their own designators, which seems unlikely.

[GAXLN]

Many of us know that Northeast was a subsidiary of BEA via the British Air Services holding company. Did the two airlines operate on each other's services at any time ? The reason I ask is I recently saw some old film from Leeds Bradford Airport circa 1971. It features a Northeast Viscount starting and taxiing and throughout there are shots of a BEA Viscount - still in red square livery - parked on about stand 5. The only BEA-liveried Viscounts I remember at LBA were in the Speedjack colours during 1976, operating BA flights while the ex-Northeasts were being resprayed for about the fourth time!

Thankyou.

For the record, when the BKS 748’s were replaced by Viscounts at the time the runway extension opened in May 1965, initial services were operated for a period of time with BEA Red Square Viscounts using BEA flight crew and BKS cabin crew. I am not sure how long this lasted. Perhaps until BKS got the Viscount onto their AOC? If the film you mentioned is 1971 which ties in with Northeast liveried Viscounts perhaps this was a one-off substitution or, as someone else has suggested, a Manchester diversion.

[Sotonsean]

By the way, there was no merger between Caledonian and BUA. Caledonian took them over as recommended by the Edwards commitee on future air transport in 1969 which was fully supported by the Labour and succeeding Conservative governments

I knew that I had written it incorrectly when I typed it but thought it was rather irrelevant to spell it out in the way that you have as I knew others would know otherwise.

Being a huge BCAL fan I should have known otherwise and put more effort in explaining the takeover rather than the merger.

[Mooncrest]

Amazing how one question can provoke such a range of responses; I am grateful for them all.

The film is on Twitter, posted by Captain Brent@Birdseed501. It claims to be 1972. I say 1971 but, either way, I'm not old enough to remember.

It's off-topic but Channel Airways (the mixed-fleet outfit, not BEA Channel Islands Division) DID operate schedules through Leeds Bradford, namely the Scottish Flyer service, circa 1969/1970.

I'm meeting an ex-LBA ATC chum later this month. I must remember to ask him about this subject.

[Helen49]

'YD' was the flashing green identification beacon [common on civil aerodromes in the past] and WFU probably in the late 60s.

[Mooncrest]

H49 is right on cue!

[Airbanda]

'YD' was the flashing green identification beacon [common on civil aerodromes in the past] and WFU probably in the late 60s.

We could see the YD beacon from our back window mentioned upthread; t lasted well into the seventies and possibly up to the runway extension.

Morse light beacons were common on aerodromes well after the sixties. LHR had something on the SW extremity as late as 78.

[Airbanda]

Only to the very lazy. :O

For as long as I can remember, Leeds-Bradford/Yeadon has been LBA/EGNM. Unless ATC were in the habit of inventing their own designators, which seems unlikely.

The Trident suggestion re G-AVYD covers the Yankee Delta oddity.
How far back to four letter ICAO codes go?
East Midlands IATA designator was CDD as late as 1975.

[DaveReidUK]

The Trident suggestion re G-AVYD covers the Yankee Delta oddity.

But that Trident never had any connection with Channel.

[pax britanica]

Air Banda

The LHR beacon, which was very large and flashed I think LN in morse was more S than SW at LHR , and its location is easily identified today from the junction of Beacon Road and the Southern Perimeter Road .

Its very bright green glow was reflected of lower clouds and lit up the skies east of Stanwell where I grew up. Always referred to locally just as 'the flashing beacon' it is extra ordinary it went on so long into the days of CAT III ILS and autolands.

Sadly very little left at at all from the LHR of the 60s which I suppose is the fate of most airports. New Tower , four less runways, T4 T5 .away from central area, BEA base , in some ways its a miracle that they have been able to chnage so much without expanding the airports footprint at all , even the western runway extensions were as far as I know still within the original boundaries. Yet less than a mile down the road from the perimeter to Stanwell village the church with tis less than straight spire has watched over it all for close on 900 years and even closer to the airport the original village school will be 400 years old in two years time what on earth would the builders have thought of what happened to the fields north of the village.

[kcockayne]

I think that treadigraph got it right when he stated that chevvron had used YD illustratively rather than as an exact example. I don’t think that there was any real suggestion of an actual link between G-AVYD & Channel Airways, Dave.

[Mooncrest]

All this YD business is fascinating but it doesn't answer the original question! However, it would appear from the various responses that the BEA Viscount in question was either a diversion or on a Channel Islands rotation. If there is a third explanation (or more), we haven't heard it yet.

[GAXLN]

All this YD business is fascinating but it doesn't answer the original question! However, it would appear from the various responses that the BEA Viscount in question was either a diversion or on a Channel Islands rotation. If there is a third explanation (or more), we haven't heard it yet.

Mooncrest, I have completed some research on the BEA Viscount. I am 99% certain it is G-APIM. This appears to have been the only BEA Viscount in summer 1971 that was not in the Speedjack colour scheme or had already been passed onto Northeast or Cambrian. I have based this on examination of a large number of BEA pictures from the late 60’s and early 70’s dotted around the internet. If you freeze frame the video, it also very much looks like a G-APXX registration rather than a G-AOXX one. G-APEX was out of Red Square livery by May ‘70 and G-APEY by June ‘69. G-APIM itself appears to have passed to Cambrian Airways on 3rd November 1971. It may well have owed the fact it was the last one in Red Square livery due to being stored at Marshall’s of Cambridge between February and November 1969 at a time when repaints into Speedjack livery were well underway.

I have also perused some Yorkshire Air Magazines I stumbled across online looking at LBA movements in summer ‘71. There was no mention of the VC-10 movement which appeared to be XR808. Annoyingly, the only reference I could find to BEA Viscounts movements at LBA that summer was in September ‘71. G-AOJC visited on 14/9, G-AOHW on 16/9, G-AOJB on 21/9 and ‘JB again on 23/9. These were all well out of BEA Red Square livery by this time. I did wonder whether these might have been Channel Islands, Belfast or Dublin movements as they were all Tuesdays or Thursdays. Unfortunately, I do not have a Northeast timetable for ‘71 to hand to see what the aircraft rotations were and whether that might be why G-APIM was there. However, there also looks to be part of the film from inside a Viscount parked where G-APIM was. Was this the usual LHR stand being close to the terminal? I have come to the conclusion that G-APIM was probably on the Heathrow service and that the film company were from London and filmed the Viscount’s engines after start-up from inside the aircraft on their return to London. Perhaps Northeast were short of a Viscount for the whole or part of that summer and borrowed one from BEA. All speculation of course on my part, of course.

Anyway, this helps what I found to be an fascinating thread.

[WHBM]

But that Trident never had any connection with Channel.
I believe it did. Channel ordered it, one of their five Tridents, frame numbers 2135-9, registration allocations G-AVYA to E. At some stage before delivery they didn't have the funds, and only took two, 'YB and 'YE. Air Ceylon took 'YA, which never wore UK marks and went straight onto the Ceylon register. BKS then took 'YC and 'YD, and as the frames had already been allocated UK marks, that was what they got. When Channel went under their two came to Northeast as well

Getting the one that spent the last year of Channel's existence being stripped for spares at Stansted to keep the other going, when Hawker Siddeley put Channel on 'cash with order', must have been an interesting job. Ostensibly it went to BEA first, for 18 months, but I wonder if it ever actually ran a BEA flight (being a unique 1E model there), that being just the time the BEA engineers took to make it airworthy again.

[chevvron]

I flew Gib to Heathrow on 19 Feb '76 in a Trident reg GAWFA (some of the seats faced backwards); was this BKS/Northeast?

[chevvron]

I believe it did. Channel ordered it, one of their five Tridents, frame numbers 2135-9, registration allocations G-AVYA to E. At some stage before delivery they didn't have the funds, and only took two, 'YB and 'YE. Air Ceylon took 'YA, which never wore UK marks and went straight onto the Ceylon register. BKS then took 'YC and 'YD, and as the frames had already been allocated UK marks, that was what they got. When Channel went under their two came to Northeast as well

Getting the one that spent the last year of Channel's existence being stripped for spares at Stansted to keep the other going, when Hawker Siddeley put Channel on 'cash with order', must have been an interesting job. Ostensibly it went to BEA first, for 18 months, but I wonder if it ever actually ran a BEA flight (being a unique 1E model there), that being just the time the BEA engineers took to make it airworthy again.
Had a girlfriend who was a trolley dolly for Channel Tridents but I don't know when; early '70s?

[DaveReidUK]

I flew Gib to Heathrow on 19 Feb '76 in a Trident reg GAWFA (some of the seats faced backwards); was this BKS/Northeast?

I don't think you did - that reg belonged to a Cherokee Arrow (which would have been fun), but it wasn't around in 1976.

Probably either Trident 2 G-AVFA or Trident 3 G-AWZA, both BA.

[chevvron]

I don't think you did - that reg belonged to a Cherokee Arrow (which would have been fun), but it wasn't around in 1976.

Probably either Trident 2 G-AVFA or Trident 3 G-AWZA, both BA.
My mistake; musta been 'VFA then as I have it logged as a T2; definitely had some backwards facing seats.
I'd flown out to Gib that day in GAVZL a T3.

[Mooncrest]

Mooncrest, I have completed some research on the BEA Viscount. I am 99% certain it is G-APIM. This appears to have been the only BEA Viscount in summer 1971 that was not in the Speedjack colour scheme or had already been passed onto Northeast or Cambrian. I have based this on examination of a large number of BEA pictures from the late 60’s and early 70’s dotted around the internet. If you freeze frame the video, it also very much looks like a G-APXX registration rather than a G-AOXX one. G-APEX was out of Red Square livery by May ‘70 and G-APEY by June ‘69. G-APIM itself appears to have passed to Cambrian Airways on 3rd November 1971. It may well have owed the fact it was the last one in Red Square livery due to being stored at Marshall’s of Cambridge between February and November 1969 at a time when repaints into Speedjack livery were well underway.

I have also perused some Yorkshire Air Magazines I stumbled across online looking at LBA movements in summer ‘71. There was no mention of the VC-10 movement which appeared to be XR808. Annoyingly, the only reference I could find to BEA Viscounts movements at LBA that summer was in September ‘71. G-AOJC visited on 14/9, G-AOHW on 16/9, G-AOJB on 21/9 and ‘JB again on 23/9. These were all well out of BEA Red Square livery by this time. I did wonder whether these might have been Channel Islands, Belfast or Dublin movements as they were all Tuesdays or Thursdays. Unfortunately, I do not have a Northeast timetable for ‘71 to hand to see what the aircraft rotations were and whether that might be why G-APIM was there. However, there also looks to be part of the film from inside a Viscount parked where G-APIM was. Was this the usual LHR stand being close to the terminal? I have come to the conclusion that G-APIM was probably on the Heathrow service and that the film company were from London and filmed the Viscount’s engines after start-up from inside the aircraft on their return to London. Perhaps Northeast were short of a Viscount for the whole or part of that summer and borrowed one from BEA. All speculation of course on my part, of course.

Anyway, this helps what I found to be an fascinating thread.

That was an interesting and meticulously researched response. Thankyou for going to such an effort.

I suppose another possibility is the BEA was doing a charter, either to the Dutch bulbfields or perhaps to Lourdes.

[Mooncrest]

As an aside, where did the heavy maintenance for the Cambrian and Northeast Viscounts take place ? Cambrian had a hangar at Cardiff whilst Northeast's was at Leeds Bradford. I imagine each company was responsible for its own fleet but there could have been potential for crossing over, IYSWIM.

[treadigraph]

I'd flown out to Gib that day in GAVZL a T3.
That'll be G-AWZL :)

[WHBM]

We certainly got away from Northeast Viscount 800s pretty quickly ! I suspect there was an element of passing the aircraft back and forth short term, BEA had a pretty long tradition of this with their various offshoots, who each seemed to be the first port of call for one another, leading to things like Comets on BEA services well after the official last flight (this was of course ones passed to Airtours, brought back to Heathrow during yet another Trident shortage). Cambrian One-Elevens, which often seemed to not have a lot to do, operating BEA internal German services out of Berlin, was another. Viscount 800s loaned to Cyprus Airways as cover for their dedicated two ... the list probably goes on.

These Viscount 800s probably had some sort of record for different airline names, and liveries, carried in short order. From the BEA Red Square scheme, I don't know if any went into the Speedjack scheme before going to BKS and the globe logo, followed by the Northeast yellow rebranding, then the BAS scheme which some had, and then back into British Airways initial colours, and on into Channel Islands or whatever. I make that seven names/liveries in about the same number of years. I haven't done the detail but likely someone can.

Cardiff was the Cambrian maintenance base, and in time became the all-BA Viscount centre, and where they were all stored as withdrawn. I wonder if any of the most senior 777 engineers there nowadays started on Viscounts.

[chevvron]

That'll be G-AWZL :)
Can't read my own writing (I transcribed both entries from another log book and obviously got them mixed up); yes it was GAWZL outbound and GAVFA inbound.
Just a one day trip on an ATCO familiarisation flight from RAE Farnborough; co-incidentally an ATCO from RAE Bedford was on the same flight.

[Airbanda]

Is the film referred to in the OP available on the net?

[Mooncrest]

Is the film referred to in the OP available on the net?
I'm not sure, Airbanda. Your best bet is to look at it via Twitter.

[WHBM]

The BKS/Northeast Viscount 800s were all ex-BEA mainstream fleet I believe, unlike their predecessor Viscount 700s, which BKS had picked up round and about on the secondhand market. Ultimately they were merged back in, with the ones which had stayed in the mainline fleet all along, into the BA fleet, and lasted there into the early 1980s, when they were finally withdrawn, and then sold as a job lot to British Air Ferries at Southend, where they put in further work for the best part of another 10 years.

It was in the early-1980s that I had a business trip (non-aviation) for a week in Southend, and stayed in the hotel right by the runway 06 threshold. Each afternoon that week a different one of these Viscounts, just the BA name painted out, would turn up, ferrying in from Cardiff. I guess the crew must have spent each morning going by train or taxi over to Cardiff, getting the aircraft ready, and bringing each one back.

In an unusual coincidence, these aircraft were associated with the same aviation entrepreneur twice. BKS originally was Barnaby, Keegan and Stevens, a 1950s secondary airline, and although long associated with the North-east of England, were originally based at Southend (one of their first routes was a low frequency Southend to Newcastle). The Keegan was Mike Keegan, who ran various enterprises over the years from Southend and Stansted, and eventually bought up the British United elements which became British Air Ferries, and still owned BAF when the Viscount 800s were bought from BA. I believe it was Keegan who, after the BKS ownership had been sold to BEA, made an issue of them still having his initial in the name, and after some legal intervention led to the change to Northeast.

[washoutt]

Can someone show a picture of a Northeast Viscount, to see how the livery looked like?
Thanks

[Airbanda]

Can someone show a picture of a Northeast Viscount, to see how the livery looked like?
Thanks
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Northeast-Airlines-British-Airways/Vickers-806-Viscount/393631

Edit, another example, this one at LBA on stand 3.

https://www.airteamimages.com/vickers-viscount_G-AOYH_northeast-airlines-28uk29_63619_large.html

[Mooncrest]

The film can be found on the Yorkshire Film Archive - yfanefa.com.

[chevvron]

The BKS/Northeast Viscount 800s were all ex-BEA mainstream fleet I believe, unlike their predecessor Viscount 700s, which BKS had picked up round and about on the secondhand market. Ultimately they were merged back in, with the ones which had stayed in the mainline fleet all along, into the BA fleet, and lasted there into the early 1980s, when they were finally withdrawn, and then sold as a job lot to British Air Ferries at Southend, where they put in further work for the best part of another 10 years.

It was in the early-1980s that I had a business trip (non-aviation) for a week in Southend, and stayed in the hotel right by the runway 06 threshold. Each afternoon that week a different one of these Viscounts, just the BA name painted out, would turn up, ferrying in from Cardiff. I guess the crew must have spent each morning going by train or taxi over to Cardiff, getting the aircraft ready, and bringing each one back.
I did a Gatwick - Rotterdam trip with BAF in a Viscount but I failed to note the date however it must have been later than '81 (possbly even late '80s);because for some reason I stopped keeping my log of passenger flights.
I do remember 2 or 3 trips in the GB Airways Viscount from Tangier to Gib (complete with kids standing in front of their parents) however from '81 to '87.
I also remember that on the Rotterdam flight, having done several trips in Tridents and 737s, what luxury it was to sit next to one of those huge oval windows of a Viscount compared to jet airfliners. .

[WHBM]

I did a Gatwick - Rotterdam trip with BAF in a Viscount but I failed to note the date however it must have been later than '81 (possbly even late '80s);because for some reason I stopped keeping my log of passenger flights.
BAF found an enormous variety of work for their Viscounts, not a lot under their own name, but many subcharters and contract operations far and wide, oil industry work from Aberdeen and Algeria, Royal Mail flights, etc. Was this flight actually a B Cal operation which BAF ran for them. They did the same for Virgin from Gatwick to Maastricht. One aircraft was liveried up appropriately, but the rest of the fleet would stand in as required.

Must have been about 1992. My regular Air UK 146 Stansted to Edinburgh, we got a rejected take off and returned to stand. Time rolled on, there were messages that an alternative aircraft was being sought. There was a BAF Viscount idle on the next stand. I was hoping, I was really hoping ... :) .

Alas not.

[washoutt]

Thanks Airbanda, never seen it before.

[WHBM]

I did a Gatwick - Rotterdam trip with BAF in a Viscount but I failed to note the date however it must have been later than '81 (possbly even late '80s)
Was this flight actually a B Cal operation which BAF ran for them.
The dedicated Viscount put into B Cal livery for Gatwick-Rotterdam connections (a very long established BUA and their own predecessors route going back into the 1950s, and possibly initially operated from Croydon) was G-AOYR, which ran as such from March 1985 to May 1986. It was a onetime BKS/Northeast aircraft. There's a detail of its history here, but apart from these aspects note how it records the aircraft being "borrowed" occasionally by BKS while still in BEA ownership, and thus livery, and thus doubtless turning up at Leeds in this condition, hence the original post question. Possibly others did the same.

Viscount c/n 266 operational record (vickersviscount.net) (http://www.vickersviscount.net/Index/VickersViscount266History.aspx)

[bean]

So far as I can see the presenting question was about the presence of a BEA 'Red Square' liveried Viscount at LBA in 1971. I can certainly remember seeing them in the relatively early days of the 15/33 runway.

One possibility is Manchester diversions. Another some swapping of machines between BAS and its parent to cover tech etc issues. I'm fairly sure we saw the odd Cambrian V806 at Leeds as well; similar livery but red instead of yellow and a stylised dragon on place of the NE compass point.

I stick by my original assertion that I've read somewhere that the V806 machines were for a time either leased to BKS or operated on their behalf by BEA including some augmentation of LBA ground crews.

FWIW the G INFO register shows several of the V806 series machines with BKS/Northeast as Charterers.
No.BKS haf been operating 700 series since 1966. All that was required was a differences course to put them on the AOC. Look up posts by user Flightwatch who flew 748s and series 700s and 800 Viscounts for BKS. Yes BEA would have provided the necessary training. Thr same applied when Cambrian converted from 701 Viscounts to 806 Viscounts in 1971. Related in a excellent article by Ken Wakefield a very senior Cambrian Captain

[bean]

Which Yankee Delta was this?

The V806 machines were in the G-AOYx sequence. The first was AOYF (C/N255) but was written off at Johannesburg before entering BEA service.
Yankee Delta was a BKS Trident

[bean]

I believe it did. Channel ordered it, one of their five Tridents, frame numbers 2135-9, registration allocations G-AVYA to E. At some stage before delivery they didn't have the funds, and only took two, 'YB and 'YE. Air Ceylon took 'YA, which never wore UK marks and went straight onto the Ceylon register. BKS then took 'YC and 'YD, and as the frames had already been allocated UK marks, that was what they got. When Channel went under their two came to Northeast as well

Getting the one that spent the last year of Channel's existence being stripped for spares at Stansted to keep the other going, when Hawker Siddeley put Channel on 'cash with order', must have been an interesting job. Ostensibly it went to BEA first, for 18 months, but I wonder if it ever actually ran a BEA flight (being a unique 1E model there), that being just the time the BEA engineers took to make it airworthy again.
HS chartered it from Channel for a South American sales tour on 71. It was HS who put it back together. It just needed a paint job from BEA

[bean]

No.BKS haf been operating 700 series since 1966. All that was required was a differences course to put them on the AOC. Look up posts by user Flightwatch who flew 748s and series 700s and 800 Viscounts for BKS. Yes BEA would have provided the necessary training. Thr same applied when Cambrian converted from 701 Viscounts to 806 Viscounts in 1971. Related in a excellent article by Ken Wakefield a very senior Cambrian Captain
Also. The Early BKS 700s were 700ds powered bu Dart 510s. Exactly the same engines as the ex BEA 806Xs

[Airbanda]

No.BKS haf been operating 700 series since 1966. All that was required was a differences course to put them on the AOC. Look up posts by user Flightwatch who flew 748s and series 700s and 800 Viscounts for BKS. Yes BEA would have provided the necessary training. Thr same applied when Cambrian converted from 701 Viscounts to 806 Viscounts in 1971. Related in a excellent article by Ken Wakefield a very senior Cambrian Captain

It's reported elsewhere and I think in this thread that there was a period when some BKS services were operated by aircraft in BEA livery and flown by BEA crews. I lived near the airport until 69 and clearly remember 'Red Square' Viscounts operating. I don't know what the reasons were.

I'm quite happy to accept that flight crew qualified on V700 series could add the V800 with only low key training.

Maybe some other reason why this mode of operation was instigated.

[WHBM]

Yet another livery to add was the initial Northeast one, the new lowercase title font but still with the BKS red/white fuselage and the "northeast-pointing circle" logo done in black and white on the tail instead of the later yellow version.

The yellow livery concept was shared with Cambrian, who moved to the same overall arrangement for the white and grey, but with orangey-red instead of the yellow. In passing I wonder what the mainstream USA Northeast Airlines, still around at the time before being bought out by Delta, with their very well known Yellowbird fleet livery, thought of this somewhat-imitation by a UK minor airline.