Vickers Viscount pilots, cabin crew and engineers.
I worked at Field Aircraft Services (FAS) EMA from 1973 and at that time they were involved in bringing the Viscount 814 series ex Lufthansa aircraft onto the UK register. FAS held CAA design approval and their design office produced numerous modifications for the BMA Viscount fleet.
FAS were also involved in re sparring a number of Viscounts and during such work the staff was much increased by the use of contractors. I recall one occasion when a hapless contractor fell from the wing of a Viscount in the hangar and broke his leg. The hangar manager was summoned to assess the situation and his instructions were, first to clock the unfortunate guy out and then to summon an ambulance to get him fixed up. Those were the days!
FAS were also involved in re sparring a number of Viscounts and during such work the staff was much increased by the use of contractors. I recall one occasion when a hapless contractor fell from the wing of a Viscount in the hangar and broke his leg. The hangar manager was summoned to assess the situation and his instructions were, first to clock the unfortunate guy out and then to summon an ambulance to get him fixed up. Those were the days!
(and did you own a Triumph 500 circa 1979? Fields' place was close to my dad's BMA MT workshop, and I recall a very tidy one passing daily)
I had the pleasure of flying the Viscount for around 3k hours as a 21 to 25 year old co-pilot. As previously mentioned the cockpit (black hole of Calcutta) was an ergonomic nightmare! Initially we had 4 different marks of 700, most of which were the 700D from the US market. The only thing in the same place were the throttles and HP cocks. Then we hired an early 702 with the slitty DV windows and no Collins FD101 flight director and on one memorable occasion I was let loose on an ex Aer Lingus 707 after a briefing from the base Captain, flying 4 sectors with him and the zero reader I never did understand. Then a couple of years later we got half a dozen 806x’s from BEA. These were a massive step backwards. They had the same Dart 510 engines as the 700s but of course were heavier so the performance was worse. They had no heated windscreens relying on drip fed de-icer to keep the windscreens clear and one had to select the engine de-icers from fast to slow at an ioat of -10C the 700s had been delivered with Janitrol cabin heaters and Freon air conditioners which the CAA wouldn’t wear and they had to be deactivated. Likewise a couple of them had auxiliary slipper tanks which weren’t allowed. Of course the 800s had the Smiths flight system which having been ordered by BEA were subsequently put it in the Vanguard and the Comet 4B for commonality.
Someone asked about the range, the longest sector I remember doing completing was NCL - PSA which must have been close to 4 hours, for reasons previously mentioned this was on a 700. It was however a brilliant aircraft to fly and operate and I still remember it with affection.
Someone asked about the range, the longest sector I remember doing completing was NCL - PSA which must have been close to 4 hours, for reasons previously mentioned this was on a 700. It was however a brilliant aircraft to fly and operate and I still remember it with affection.
Join Date: Dec 1999
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My very first flight was on a Viscount from either Teesside or Newcastle to Heathrow in 1968, then we got a taxi to Gatwick to catch a BUA VC10 to start a new life in Zambia. I must confess that I’m not sure the Viscount made a big impression on me, but the VC10 certainly did. It fired a strong drive to become a pilot.
Maybe someone could shed some light on which airline the Viscount would have belonged to, possibly BMA which I’m guessing flew from both Newcastle and Teesside?
Maybe someone could shed some light on which airline the Viscount would have belonged to, possibly BMA which I’m guessing flew from both Newcastle and Teesside?
The wing spars on the Viscount were not a fatigue weak point but were designed under the "safe life" criteria which means they were subject to a service life limit in flight cycles before they had to be removed and replaced. Vickers had developed a cost effective technical solution to allow the spars to be replaced which was taken up by a number of operators.
I recall that another ageing aircraft issue on the Viscount was with the Pren wiring. The rubber insulation on the wires would age harden and when a loom was disturbed the insulation would crack resulting in some major rewiring.
I had left FAS in 1978 for pastures new so no it was not me riding the Triumph 500. I do now venture out on a Hinckley Triumph Thunderbird in the warmer weather!
When I joined Sleeve Wing and the merry band I was slightly mystified by the need to take the Pneumatics General CAA exam...all was explained by Pete Hill. And a remarkable explanation it was. IF you happened to have a total electrical failure there was a big red guarded button on the OHP. What it did was to activate a pneumatic ram which forced the main cb closed and prevented it from opening......short circuit or not! Anyone remember the starting technique of pulling CB133A and turning all the air relights on? I was threatened by the late Norman Brewitt with loss of vital organs for simply knowing of the technique. The fun we had.......
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Someone mentioned range - from my fathers log books - his longest three V800 flights were all listed at 4 hrs 25 minutes - Athens/Geneva; Naples/London and London-Gibraltar.
Great windows - remember a seemingly low level flight Inverness - Stornoway - Benbecula and then Benbecula - Glasgow - Heathrow in 1975
Great windows - remember a seemingly low level flight Inverness - Stornoway - Benbecula and then Benbecula - Glasgow - Heathrow in 1975
Looking through my Viscount photos I am reminded that if the GPU went in front of the wing it was usually parked in front by the nose so that the Flt Deck could see it and wouldn't start to move off stand with the GPU detached but still in the way!!
Hopefully I have attached a photo I took at LGW that shows this
Hopefully I have attached a photo I took at LGW that shows this
The next four days weren't quite as gentle.
Yes, I was in BKS. Northeast and the yellow livery was after I left in mid 1970. BKS stopped serving MME in 66 or 67 and it was a 748 route to LHR so the Viscount ride in 68 must have been BMA.
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Is it true that the 802 and 806 aircraft were fitted with the same variant of Dart engine ? I may have read on this site that the Argosy swapped engines with the 806 some time in the 1960s.
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In the salad days of my career, I had the pleasure of flying with an ex-Cubana captain whose career extended through the Britannia…to include the Viscount. A true old world gentleman. His stories were pure gold.
What I remember of his comments on flying the Viscount is that making a bad landing was difficult. Is that the recollection of those of you who also flew the airplane ?
What I remember of his comments on flying the Viscount is that making a bad landing was difficult. Is that the recollection of those of you who also flew the airplane ?
Yes, the 806 and the 802 both had the mk 510 dart as did the 700Ds. The 806s were the last batch ordered by BEA and came with more powerful engines (mk 525s?). Then, as you say, along came the Argosy which needed all the help it could get so BEA whipped out the 806 engines and substituted the mk 510 which were obviously more readily available and probably used less fuel. The aircraft were then officially known as type 806x.
It was the 806 which usually operated the services to KWI, BAH and DOH which I guess needed all the power they could get in the summer.
It was the 806 which usually operated the services to KWI, BAH and DOH which I guess needed all the power they could get in the summer.
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I was fortunate to be based at Heathrow Central Area, with BEA 'flight engineering' looking after preflight and turnround defects. Also spent some time with 'project and developement' which gave me the opportunity for test flights. A remarkable aircraft - all of our fleet had Decca Navigator fitted which was a major navaid at the time. I was due to fly on a night freighter to Copenhagen, but missed out due to my ancient car breaking down on route to Heathrow. The Viscount (800 series) suffered complete engine failure on the approach and the crew managed to land in a field without injury, but I think the a/c was a 'write off'. The capt. was a keen member of the Silver Wing gliding club which probably helped!.
Yes, the 806 and the 802 both had the mk 510 dart as did the 700Ds. The 806s were the last batch ordered by BEA and came with more powerful engines (mk 525s?). Then, as you say, along came the Argosy which needed all the help it could get so BEA whipped out the 806 engines and substituted the mk 510 which were obviously more readily available and probably used less fuel. The aircraft were then officially known as type 806x.
It was the 806 which usually operated the services to KWI, BAH and DOH which I guess needed all the power they could get in the summer.
It was the 806 which usually operated the services to KWI, BAH and DOH which I guess needed all the power they could get in the summer.