RAF VC10 - Great Memories
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A BOAC that when realising the Pax loved them and requested to fly on them went back to ask for more, unfortunately too late.
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Great crews and gentlemen (mostly)
I was sent to Dakar with four hours notice to look after the VC10s during a skirmish down south.
One Ten came in for crew change heading north with the Co-pilots window completely crazed. Captain of on-coming crew asked "How long to fix"?
"Three days I'm afraid"
"Don't worry about it, bloody co-pilots blind anyway".
Next event- Off going crew reported that the No 4 Thrust reverser clamshell doors didn't go to the reverse position; no reverse thrust, no light but the RPM increased. This indicated serious mechanical failure of the baulk stop. On going captain asked how long. I told him that it would take about four hours as it is dificult to get to. His reply "He must have been seeing things, it's only an indication problem and we are taking it"
I also worked the Hercs due to my past experience and they were an absolute pain to get off the ground, I think the crews were getting a bit tired, but that's another story!
One Ten came in for crew change heading north with the Co-pilots window completely crazed. Captain of on-coming crew asked "How long to fix"?
"Three days I'm afraid"
"Don't worry about it, bloody co-pilots blind anyway".
Next event- Off going crew reported that the No 4 Thrust reverser clamshell doors didn't go to the reverse position; no reverse thrust, no light but the RPM increased. This indicated serious mechanical failure of the baulk stop. On going captain asked how long. I told him that it would take about four hours as it is dificult to get to. His reply "He must have been seeing things, it's only an indication problem and we are taking it"
I also worked the Hercs due to my past experience and they were an absolute pain to get off the ground, I think the crews were getting a bit tired, but that's another story!
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Now it's out of service rumour has it OPEC have reduced their output 
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I've often wondered how well a rejig of the airframe with 2xRB211s in place of the four Conways (following on from the testbed experiments) would have worked. Unfortunately I suspect there were too few airframes and too little money to make it a viable proposition.
I still say said airframe had so much potential, given the time it was developed, that it was bordering on criminal to have set it aside so early.
I'm glad that so much of the expertise wasn't entirely wasted and lives on in the Airbus projects, but I still despair at our ability at the time to unerringly shoot ourselves in the foot.
I still say said airframe had so much potential, given the time it was developed, that it was bordering on criminal to have set it aside so early.
I'm glad that so much of the expertise wasn't entirely wasted and lives on in the Airbus projects, but I still despair at our ability at the time to unerringly shoot ourselves in the foot.
Last edited by DozyWannabe; 20th Sep 2013 at 17:32.
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Sad day indeed. Did 9 years with the old girl and am devastated to have missed her final sortie. Mr B - Unfortunately stuck in Liberia so won't be able to make the dinner tonight but please have a beer or 2 for me and send regards to snake, smartie, coconut head and Phil (1eng approach) king.
Thoughts with you all
Thoughts with you all
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Thread Starter
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Nutloose,
Thanks for the link and a massive thank you for your contribution to this thread. You and I worked on these aircraft. We can look at all the pictures and know that we had touched them, cared for them and loved them. To us it really is end of an era of something special.
Cheers mate, I raise my glass to you tonight, a fellow VC10 aircraft engineer and of course the VC10 itself
Thanks for the link and a massive thank you for your contribution to this thread. You and I worked on these aircraft. We can look at all the pictures and know that we had touched them, cared for them and loved them. To us it really is end of an era of something special.
Cheers mate, I raise my glass to you tonight, a fellow VC10 aircraft engineer and of course the VC10 itself
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Seems everyone was invited bar the ex engineers.
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Srennaps
My pleasure, a timeless design and a pleasure to have worked on, the highlight of a 35 year plus career in aviation.
Have toasted its departure tonight and I am working on going to Brunty to see the final flight, sad sad days.
And sadder that the final flight to Brunty couldn't have been into a museum such as the Moravia one at Kinloss.
Sigh.... It's dusty in here.
My pleasure, a timeless design and a pleasure to have worked on, the highlight of a 35 year plus career in aviation.
Have toasted its departure tonight and I am working on going to Brunty to see the final flight, sad sad days.
And sadder that the final flight to Brunty couldn't have been into a museum such as the Moravia one at Kinloss.
Sigh.... It's dusty in here.
Last edited by NutLoose; 20th Sep 2013 at 21:53.
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Thank you, but as with you all, simply a small cog in a big thread, and one had to put something to keep it up there.
You ALL deserve to applaud yourselves, and we all have one thing in common...
EX VC 10
And no one can ever take that away from us. You can all hold your heads up with pride and remember the things we did with this remarkable aircraft.
Both the good times and the bad, 47 years in service says it all, a fitting epitaph to a great Aircraft.
..
You ALL deserve to applaud yourselves, and we all have one thing in common...
EX VC 10
And no one can ever take that away from us. You can all hold your heads up with pride and remember the things we did with this remarkable aircraft.
Both the good times and the bad, 47 years in service says it all, a fitting epitaph to a great Aircraft.
..
Last edited by NutLoose; 20th Sep 2013 at 22:03.
I suppose I can now finally say farewell to my youth! Argosy, Belfast, C-141 all already gone and now, much later than I might ever have imagined, the VC 10. C'est la vie!
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A funny thing...
Let's face it, the aircrew know how this lovely old thing behaved at work, (and occasionally misbehaved), and the groundcrew knew what a bugger she could be to nail back together. Nonetheless, it's apparent that the old bird is regarded with great affection by all involved; With love, ex-groundbound dirty , filthy rigger 😘
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There was an "unofficial" 101 Sqn Engineers reunion at the end of August in Brize village organised online via Facebook and word of mouth. Quite a few from the 90's / Gulf War I / Incirlik / Bahrain era were there, although I couldn't make it due to my latest detachment on the other side of the world. But a pity that there was no "official" reunion event organised as these days it is quite easy to track people down.
Certainly the 'frame where I learnt my trade and have great memories of getting covered in fuel changing wing pumps, cabin compressor changes, butty boxes, CSD's, linvars, HDU's & pods - hose and drogues, oil consumption EGR's on the tubes, FCU changes and rigging, slam accel checks, skydrol mist in the boiler room......double donk drop, up on sticks out in the bondu etc....Can't remember the trips these days as I've got too much blood in my alcohol stream!
Certainly the 'frame where I learnt my trade and have great memories of getting covered in fuel changing wing pumps, cabin compressor changes, butty boxes, CSD's, linvars, HDU's & pods - hose and drogues, oil consumption EGR's on the tubes, FCU changes and rigging, slam accel checks, skydrol mist in the boiler room......double donk drop, up on sticks out in the bondu etc....Can't remember the trips these days as I've got too much blood in my alcohol stream!