VC10ski in Darwin!

[Capt Claret]

Didya see the VC10ski in Darwin overnight? Any idea of how many survive or how they perform compared to a regular Super VC10?

It must have blocked about 3 parking bays, parked E/W as it's too long (I'd guess) to park N/S.

[Eastwest Loco]

Nah Capt Claret

You didnt see it at all, it was just an Ilyushin.:p Sorry - couldnt resist that!

I last saw an IL62 at SIN way back when Seletar was the airport.

Impressive looking 4 holer, but apparently an uncontained turbine failure almost always led to 2 failures and most often a further failure to complete the flight The VC10 on the other hand had a fairly clean record on the (Rolls Royce Speys??) turbines they carried.

I have heard it said that if you like Russian aeroplanes, just buy a property near a Russian airport, and wait. You will have your very own in no time.

Love to see the girl though, and hear some real turbine noise.

Aeroflot strip or a regional Capt?

Best regards

EWL

[olderbutyzer]

Eastwest Loco, think you might mean Rolls Royce TAYS here?!!

[gas path]

Speys? Tays? where U blokes bin? CONWAYS Gents:) :) :)

[Eastwest Loco]

Ahah!!! Thanks gas path. The Comet 1 was Speys wasnt it or have I totally lost the plot? Tays were a more recent development also from a fairly jaded memory.

Best

EWL

[Kwaj mate]

Agree with gas path, they used Real engines.
Speys were used in their Phantom, the BAC.1-11 & Tridents.
Tays just don't make enough noise.
The Poms liked Conways for a number of uses, including some of their very fast warships.
The following quote may be useful:
The Conway, with a thrust of 21500lbs, is used to power the RAF fleet of VC10 long range transport and tanker aircraft.
It was the first by-pass engine to go into service in the World.

[Torres]

The VC10 predated the RR TAY by a number of years. Or was it a number of decades? :D

[Chimbu chuckles]

EWL and while we're all giving your memory a flogging I think you mean "...back when Paya Lebar was the airport".

I was based out of Seletar until last August...imho one of the most georgous airports in the world before the Sin Govt ruined it by fencing in the runway...and I mean a fence all the way around inside the hangars etc with electric gates so you could tow your aircraft from the hangar to the apron...after paying a fee to said Sin Govt's employee to open said gate.

Riding to work on my Honda and weaving along the base roads between ex RAF buildings built in the 30s and the fairways of the Seletar Golf Club to arrive at our hangar, still with the original armour plate on the lower doors complete with cannon and bullet damage from WW11, is a memory I will cherish for ever.

The large population of Black (spitting) Cobras on base was a bit interesting though :eek:

Chuck.

[Kanga767]

The comet 1 had goblins or ghosts.
The nimrod has speys.

K

[AMRAAM]

Hi Clarrie

As I understand it, these and other jets of its manafacture have to park E/W because there is no tow bar in Darwin that fits it. So it is taxi in and taxi out only.

I belive it causes no end of headaches for the DIA groundies.

The Antinov does have a tow bar which they carry with them, and may even have one in Darwin now as they are there so often.

Can't help with the engines, im not old enough !

Have a wet, wet

[Fris B. Fairing]

Further on the subject of Pommy rivers, the Comets had Avons.
The Comet 1 had Ghosts.

Cheers

[Samuel]

Chimbu beat me to it, but I would have pointed out also that the Il62 operated from the old Payar lebar airport and not Seletar. The latter was a GA airport after the RAF left it, though Lockeed had a facility there.

It was always know for the Cobras, I lived at Seletar [Hyde Park Gate!] briefly in 1974 before moving to a much more salubrious home [Kenya Crescent}in Woodlands! Two years ago that house was being leased for $10,000-00 a month!

I flew Aerflop Singapore -Moscow-London on a 62 in 1975. Terrible food, worse service, and lots of 'technical' stops for fuel. Quite noisy compared to the VC10.