The 806 originally had the Dart 520. The 525 was a more powerful yet version destined for the 810 and other aircraft. I hear that most (but not all !) of the 806 fleet had their engines 'robbed' for the Argosies and have always been interested to try & find out which were and were not downgraded to the Dart 510.

Lucky escape by you.

Does “suffered complete engine failure on the approach...” mean they ran out of fuel? :ooh:

No, the engines flamed out due to a malfunctioning de-icing system leading to ingestion of large chunks of ice.

Of the 21 V806s built, G-INFO has engine data for 18, all of which show the Dart 510/510F/510G.

briani,

G-AOHP, 17/11/1957.

I did hear that the 2 aircraft which were leased to Cyprus Airways kept their 520 engines whilst they were there at least. G-AOYJ/K? They lived in Nicosia and only returned to Heathrow for major maintenance, they were crewed by BEA pilots on a few weeks rotation with CY cabin crew. Otherwise the whole lot had their engines nicked.

My first flight in an airliner was in a Viscount, from BEA Heathrow to Dusseldorf. I enjoyed several after that and the most memorable was a night landing at Munich when the touch down was so smooth I never felt it.

My last experience of a Viscount was not quite so pleasant. I was invited to have a look inside one at Bournemouth one hot Summer evening. At the time there was a dock strike and this aircraft had just been used to ferry meat out to Jersey. In the heat it smelled rather like a slaughter house. When I got off, they put all the seats back in ready for the next load of happy tourists, at least some of whom were probably looking forward to their first taste of romantic air travel.

Yes, both of those flew for Cyprus AW for 4-5 years before returning to BEA.

G-INFO has no engine details for YK and shows Dart 510G for YJ, but it's quite possible they had 520s during their spell in Cyprus.

Thanks Jn4|6 - I remembered that it was HP and that there was no lack of fuel. The only casualties were chickens - part of the cargo. There was a story that the crew had to walk to a farmhoiuse and 'phone ATC to let them know that they had landed!.

Vickers Viscount
 

I had one flight on EgyptAir (or was it Misrair?) from Tripoli to Benghazi on a 700 series. The crew had difficulty starting engines and after several attempts on each engine, decided that the problem was caused by the GPU. They then tried to start with all internal electrics on including lights and air using the a/c batteries only. I asked the Egyptian stewardess to pass a message to the crew, advising turning off all non essentail electrics. The stewardess returned and asked if I would go to the cockpit. I declined the invitation!. Eventually,, having managed to start engines, they taxied at high speed in an attempt to catch up on schedule. My confidence was further reduced when the captain walked through the cabin eating a large filled bread roll!. My employers banned travel with the airline soon after my experience.

In memory land, my first Viscount flight was KLM to Schipol in 1959, although actually we had a weather diversion to Frankfurt and were bussed to Schipol, where the bus drove airside to drop us off at the gate so we could enter the country as air pax!
Then I flew from Ghana a number of times on Ghana Airways 700s, including once with my good friend Peter Dorkenoo in the left hand seat. But the most memorable time was landing at Bathurst (now Banjul) with a sudden almighty din from the gear. It was only when I walked down the steps I realised the runway was still wartime PSP.
Later I flew on Aden Airways 700s. One early memorable time I was on the jump seat on a flight Aden-Jeddah (not staff, just the advantage in those days of working for Shell Marketing). I think the PIC was Jimmy Gross, great guy but a bit of a show off. He claimed he got to Jeddah by flying up the Red Sea for some exact period ( about two hours I think) then turning due East and looking out for the airport's radio mast. The FO and I played his game of looking for the mast as he gently side slipped one side to the other ("mustn't frighten the pax") until one of us spotted it.
Aden Airways was famous for its attractive stewardesses on the 700s, notorious for the number of times they were to be found in the right hand seat, especially Chrissie Chambers who was definitely not tall and couldn't reach the pedals easily so resulted in some decidedly disturbing yawing of the aircraft.

Only flight I had on the viscount was a Euroair viscount charter to Holland for the Dutch grandprix from gatwick fantastic flight especially over the North Sea actually you could see the flames on the gas and oil rigs fantastic Windows

Flew on Air Rhodesia Viscounts several times in the 1970's.

First time was in about 1976 when travelling from Cape Town to Victoria Falls when travelling to Wankie (Hwange) for a job interview at the colliery. It was certainly an experience as it was the middle of the war and on boarding the aircraft most of the other passengers checked in their firearms, hand guns, rifles, automatic rifles, all handed to the cabin crew to be retrieved after landing.

Repeated the trip a couple of years later when leaving SA, I took the wife and kids to Vic Falls. This was memorable for landing at Kariba and Wankie before Vic Falls. The climb out from Kariba was notable for its lack of altitude and the commentary on the visible wildlife by the (presumably) non-flying pilot. This low level was maintained until well away from land over lake Kariba. I believe this low flying was to minimise the possibility of being hit by surface-to-air missiles from Zambia. The aircraft we flew on was VP-WAS which was brought down by a missile about 6 months later.

As mentioned by others it was a comfortable aircraft to fly in with great views from the relatively large windows.

Air Rhodesia took on G-BCZR and G-BGLC, the two 810s previously operated by/for Dan-Air. As well as this pair, 800s G-CSZB and G-BBDK also flew in Dan-Air colours. However, I don't know for certain if any of these aircraft were actually owned by Dan or simply leased or chartered. I know Dan damp-leased a few 700s from Alidair in the 1970s.

A fascinating thread Mooncrest, particularly interesting to people 'of a certain age'!

Notwithstanding the popularity of the Decca system in those days, I am interested to know why BEA opted to have it fitted......what was the particular advantage which it provided?

H49

G-BCZR, later Z-WGC, still exists as a roadside restaurant at Chegutu in Zimbabwe. Here she is on Google Earth.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@-18.1...m1!1e3!5m1!1e1

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@-18.1...8i2688!5m1!1e1


The ownership during the Dan-Air lease was Air Bridge Carriers (ABC). Although in full Dan-Air colours, like other Viscounts over time, I believe Dan-Air always leased them and didn't have them on their AOC.

Always glad to oblige, H49 !

Thankyou WHBM. Curious that Dan-Air never bought any of their own Viscounts but were clearly happy to have the aircraft bearing their name. I remember being quite chuffed seeing one of 'their' 800s at LBA for the first time back in about 1979-80. It was on a Jersey run, hitherto the preserve of the HS748.

I think Dan-Air used Viscounts just for summer capacity on their oddball collection of scheduled routes, a number of which were notably seasonal, and others would drop back to their own 748s for the winter. Although some of the leases were multi-year, as this one, I guess they were leased by the hour and got little or no use in the winter; they don't appear in winter schedules.

Helen49 - The Decca installation (when working) was a very good navaid. When the flight log was fitted, the a/c position was shown on the moving map, which was popular especially when the R/O's were no longer carried. The weight and size of the installation must have been a concern, The modern GPS systems do a similar job for a fraction of the size and weight.

Many thanks Briani, I did appreciate how it operated but just wondered what advantage it offered over and above the primary navaids, particularly as it occupied such a large central space on the instrument panel.