Savannah Jet,

Thanks for those beautiful photos. Can anyone doubt this aircraft as the best looking Transport aircraft to grace the Royal Air Force, and that from an Albert bloke ! They say all good things come to an end, the 10s departure from the scene will truly be such an occasion.

Smudge :ok:

Agreed, still looks like something from Thunderbirds

@Exascot quote
"Just standingby for someone to mention 'many happy hours' in either sim. Not holding my breath. The retiring VC10 sim was certainly an improvement on the original one though."

While technology does offer improvements I think it worth mentioning that the first RAF VC10 Flight Simulator was VERY advanced for it's time.
I was the first qualified F/E Instructor on this Redifon produced 6? axis Argus 350 digital Flight Simulator. I believe it was the first Digital Sim and the computer was tiny compared with the huge analogue computed Belfast Sim next door.

I recall we used a teaching 4 session followed by a category rating for crew. To relax the guys, and indicate we examiners were human not devils, we would put a picture of a naked girl on the visual map and that was what they would see when we opened the visual panels.
Once, whilst awaiting the next Flight Check session we were visited by a whole bunch of VIPs hosted by BZN Station Commander, who was a VC10 pilot. He asked me to open the windows so the VIPs, including some elderly ladies, could see the visual map. With great trepidition I flicked the switch, just in time to see our Master AEO/Console Operator ripping the pic from the wall....phew!:\

September 2 1985 flying my new wife & myself to Dulles en route Ottawa to start my 3 year exchange at CFB Greenwood. Happy, happy memories.

Cough.... cough

At 1056 local on Wednesday, 28 August Vickers VC10 K3 ZA148 landed at Newquay Cornwall Airport to become a permanent part of the Classic Air Force collection.

http://globalaviationresource.com/v2...148g/vc102.jpg

In this pic on the Captains side ... apparently you can see etched "BEagle woz here once" ... only kidding :ok:

http://globalaviationresource.com/v2...g/img_2826.jpg

More of the story and pics here ...

Global Aviation Resource

All pics credited to GAR

Do you think he let his pet raven go first before cutting that into the trim? Ohh hang on that was the Shawshank Redemption.. :p

I have a picture of ZA148 flying past or from (not sure which?) St Athan this morning on route to Newquay. Pic was taken by a friend who works there.

It is on Flickr here:

VC10 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Sorry but I cannot work out how to display the photo here :ugh::ugh:


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2842/9...3e3ac9f6_c.jpg

And there it was displayed!! How'd that happen????

So that's just 2 K3s left now to support Call-me-Dave's Syrian adventurism when the 3-engined things go tits up again?

Better not go on long, there is an open day planned

Forgive me for intruding on an aircrew forum, as a young cpl mt fitter posted to Kai Tak in 1977, we (wife and 2yr old) travelled out via Bahrain and Columbo (?) 21hrs in the great bird. We then had a MQ at Sunderland Rd Kowloon, right underneath the chequerboard, our flats were 3 stories high, any higher being deemed to high. My daughter would sit on the draining board in the kitchen and the a/c would approach head on to us she would run out onto the balcony as they dipped the starboard wing to watch the turn in over stinkies market. At 2 1/2 yrs old she knew the difference between Tristars and DC10's from head on. I remember the November VC10 trainers qualifying for the Ka Tak approach, and how the weekly BA VC10 was booked way in advance, a very popular ride.

How pleased were we to be offered a '10 instead of a British Eagle Britannia, when tourex Changi in '68? Very.

PM

KTB ...

Welcome to PPRuNe on your first post ...

This is not an exclusive mil aircrew forum see below ...

Best regards ...

From a Muppet
 

I was asked once by an Albert crew member why Muppets became misty eyed when they saw a 10. I think if he read this thread, he would understand.
I was tasked to Calgary on a Med. Man, just after I married Mrs. SNF. She had to return on her own as my Team had to wait for a DAC Albert. The Loadmaster asked the Captain if he would take someone on the jump seat and he mentioned the Regt. O.C. "Oh no, you don't want him, you want Mrs. SNF, she's returning home off Honeymoon." That experience cured her of her fear of flying.Superb aeroplane.:ok:
SNF

RAF VC10 - Great Memories
 

Shameless bump... Less than two weeks left in the 10's active service, we can't let this thread drop off the first page!

Can't believe the flight deck looks like that. I was on it yesterday and it was a little bit more untidy. Then again, I was trying to show the contractors how to turn the power on and cleaning it up was the last thing on my mind.

And I cannot believe that the yoke badges were still on:D

There is another forum dedicated to the VC10 which will hopefully survive longer that the A/C.
Recording the VC10 demise the contributor there laments (jokingly) that he hopes his mother, who lives in Fairford, doesn't have to re-compensate MOD for the dual window installation they funded.
I wonder about that coz' I lived both in Fairford and Brize MQ and the Conway noise, although crackling, was direct and short lived.
The noise from the Belfast was reverbating and pounding and lasting and caused all my windows to shake!

Must be something about harmonics.:8

Blimey Truck, when I was serving on the even the Winchweight were not allowed to put power on and they were crew...

'twas an odd situation as we had a loadie I served with at Odiham posted onto the Ten, he was reduced to asking us to put power on for him which considering he had come off the Chinook ( picking up a gong in the Falklands ) and I think Puma before that. They were responsible or tons of stuff on rotary aircraft and were reduced to sitting down by the aft bog and ticking his pax check lists...

Ever such a nice chap and I think he escaped back to the real world for a loadie eventually.

My recollection as an F/E on the first of the shiny fleet was..... starting the APU and transfer from APU to G/P and vv was tricky....so easy to fire the APU extinguisher bottle.
Did that problem get fixed?

Yes, they main prob was you had to hold a bunch of PFCu's switches down as I believe Boscombe had one that when they put external power on the PFCU's were still set to on and the resulting demand rotated the powerset around the genny inside it.

VC10 Simulators
 

Last Detail | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

On the 13th September the last VC10 simulator details took place.

The crew consisted of the Station Commander, Air Commodore (retd) Ian Elliott, AVM P Atherton and F/E Flt Sgt John Douglas and not forgetting the two console ops Nick Jones and Mick Rose.

They flew both simulators for about 2 hours. On conclusion of the details we had a little ceremony and powered both simulators down. Very strange to be in the totally silent computer rooms knowing they won't ever be powered up again at Brize Norton.

I was presented with the last simulator authorisation sheet suitably framed.

Just wanted to say to all the Instructors, Students, 101 and 10 Squadron aircrew and all those who have used the simulators over the last 47 years it's been a pleasure knowing you. Thank you for making my job more of a hobby than a career.

ST67