Every time I see a VC10 I get a little dewy eyed... regardless of livery or slf. Just a gorgeous airframe. After WWII, the UK produced some of the finest looking aeroplanes ever to fly.

Edit: I'm sorry, but the voyager (of the damned) is just another etops, barely discernable from all the other etops, even in a hot pink tu-tu.
Dull -- dee, you, el, elle dull!

Given that Boris was a member of the Bullingdon Club, with their strange pig rituals, shouldn't it be called Piggles?

When the CSAT fleet get replaced by G650s, that's the time to start throwing your toys out of the pram.

....coming to you shortly

Blair Force one was cancelled because Blair was cancelled. The project was cancelled because his successor didn’t like the sound of ‘Brown force One’...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2b7c7465bc.jpg


You mean like the RAAF? The exact same aeroplane (I suppose, had the common sense to keep the boom also :E)

junior.VH-LFA

Saw it (the RAAF one) practicing(?) a missed approach into Canberra today

Noise was the give-away … awfully quiet around Fairbairn at the moment

Saw a BBJ the last week. Any idea how far afield they venture? I seem to recall the BBJ has been used on flights as far as Jakarta (and Hawaii?)

I think this is a great idea...the UK seems to be almost embarassed to show a little bit of national pride, and maybe Boris is going to try to put that right. Although I didn't realise that there is one of the Voyagers assigned to VIP duties specifically.

A variation on Nutloose's scheme and / or the old VC10 scheme would look really well. Need a little bit of red (just a little) in there somewhere too.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....178c67956.jpeg
This too....The larger transport is also moving to the Air Force this year

Ahem: it's not just used by government but by Royals too.

My man on the inside reckons its the AirTanker leased Voyager to Thomas Cook - now defunct. So it wouldn't have been in grey if it were needed. Calm down remoaners.

Always thought the RCAF Airbus A310s were nicely understated:

https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/43711_1519234653.jpg

Definitely subscribes to the 'less is more' philosophy, which is not something that you can apply to the idiot in Number 10. According to the Times, an 'RAF source' is quoted as saying of the new paint job, “It is a patriotic, smart and global Britain-esque design."

Oh, God.

But that wouldn't be the one fitted with a VIP interior and available for use whenever required by the PM etc, would it? And cut out the remoaner jibes. It's says far more about you.

Yes, the Canadian VIP up until the repaint were also in grey


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....519c468e91.png


Red would be easy to add, the BMI scheme had it.

https://live.staticflickr.com/8109/2...42310346_z.jpgBMI British Midland International Airbus A330-243 G-WWBM Aircraft Profile Art Print by Nick Knapp, on Flickr

The a/c is the normal VIP fit ZZ336, never anything to do with Thomas Cook. Think your "man on the inside" may not be as "inside" as you think and may need to calm down himself and get a few facts right.

Just slap a couple of vinyl stickers on it.

I don't really see why you guys are objecting to a bit of UK advertising itself around the world. Aircraft get repainted so no real extra cost there. If it is used on the AirBridge, so what. If it is used for tanking over the N Sea why does it have to be grey - it is not as though it will be operating at sea level! Why are they painted grey in the first place?

It's called camoflague, it generally helps to visually hide from the bad guys you know.

As a 'military asset', low-visibility in the air and on the ground enhances survivability. Yes, i know there's stuff called radar and all that, but there's no sense in making the asset stand out like canis testiculos

I think it's time to resurrect a VC-10 or a Comet.

It was the Piers Gaveston which was alleged to indulge in interesting displays of swinophilia. Not sure if Boris was a member of that one.

Jehovah
 

I’m going to go against the grain on this one. Sorry.

For large aircraft I’m not sure it makes the slightest difference what colour it is unless it plans to operate in the LL environment and even then I would take some convincing it matters that much.

In these days of high fidelity radars, live satellite uplinks, targeting pods, HMCSs etc the colour of the paint isn’t going to matter at all when anyone who wishes to do you harm can either see you anyway (think large aircraft on approach and a guy with a MANPADs) or will have a targeting system that doesn’t care what colour your aircraft is.

In fact, couldn’t we actually make a better argument nowadays for high visibility paint schemes for all of our aircraft to aid with visual acquisition for safety purposes?

If an aircraft is on the ground does the colour of the paint really make it less easy to see? I mean really? Whatever colour you paint it there is no secret about the fact it is going to be parked on an airfield.

Have I just set the cat amongst the pigeons?!

BV

No problem, BV ... I'm sure you're broadly correct. And I assume the black Hawks, Tucanos etc. are so painted for high-visibility reasons.

I just have an aversion to 'party' colours on military hardware! Do the Army or RN behave in that manner?

MPN11
 

I’m not saying I am correct but I wonder if there is an element of painting aircraft with camouflage paint schemes because we’ve always done it that way.

Our enemies know who we are and where to find us anyway so are we just making life difficult for ourselves?!

BV

I think you make perfect sense. Everything from airliners to delivery vans carry the operators’ colours and logos so I see it as entirely proper that an aircraft representing the UK overseas does the same. The ‘camouflage’ argument is ridiculous. If an enemy is allowed to get close enough to a strategic tanker/transport to see what colour the paint is you’ve got bigger problems. This frothing about changing the colour of an aircraft comes over as a bit loony.

Didn't take long.. 🤣🤣

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....b08636f793.png

^^^^It cracks me up that tools who submit these pointless FOIs forget that answer said FOIs takes up time and money as well. :rolleyes:

Also, I don't see the same toolbags getting wound up over special Sqn tails, or 50 years of Herc tails, or WW2 commemorative paint schemes.

This forum has gone to ****, like much of the rest of the internet......let's all race to the bottom.

No problem with a decent paint scheme. However it is a Royal Air Force operated aircraft and as such should fit into the corporate theme of the organisation. Most on this thread are ultra conservative. I am like that in regards to the way RAF aircraft look for business. Wish our display aircraft had more of the creativity of other airforces, but that is a different question and matter. As long as the A330 is not a Boris 350 million to the NHS bus.

Thanks for clarifying boomer, really contributed there.

Democrary old boy. People like you shouted loudly about it in 2016. It doesn't end because it is something you disagree with. As for the internet, the other forum you are involved in, is a race to the bottom and that is why hardly anybody looks at it. It is like the Air Mech engineers forum that gone so low, no admins at all do anything to it. I run a FB group that is strong because it is actively administered and not allowed to be taken over from what it is there for, so I disagree on "the everything on the internet". As for my comments about Boris, I am taking the mick.

Yes paint them all in different airline schemes and hide them amongst the Civi clutter.. After all, they would, one assumes disperse and it was proven in Berlin, there is no point painting ones armour green/black when it operates in an urban environment.

I moaned about what in 2016? You lost me there IILKC.

I'm involved in a number of forums so not sure which one you mean anyway; Ok, maybe not everything on the internet has gone to ****, but a very large chunk of it has. You have to look hard to find anything moderate and unpolarised these days.

I can see Bozzer, now, as he stands at the top of the steps, waving to his admirers in some sort of military style suit and a big hat with plenty of medal ribbons on it. Sadly, Boris and his Svengali will never understand that, when they rock up to a G7 wrapped in the Union flag, everyone is only going to be thinking of the rate per million of deaths from Covid-19.

As flashy aircraft are the preserve of banana republics, we now qualify.

True. The truth does get drowned out with the bull and the nastiness of both sides of the spectrum. I have other things to really bother me more that the internet like a lot of the working people on here that do not work to or on a military contract.

So the spare Voyager aircraft that Air Tanker leased to Thomas Cook is now looking for a new customer. The government decides to take it on and, since it isn't required for front-line military service, they wish to replace the Thomas Cook livery with a more patriotic one for use by Royalty and government ministers - like 32 (Royal) Sqn) for instance. Hence the anti-Boris section of the population want to use it for a bit of Boris Bashing and that's only to be expected, surely? The mainstream media are certainly unlikely to broadcast anything that would calm the fuss by reporting the facts.

Quite so, a triumph for AirTanker. Mission creep = £

But it won't be the spare. It is the one with the VIP fit, and which is a permanent part of the RAF fleet as it is often required for that role.

I suspect that the repainting of the TC ac and the change to the VIP frame colour scheme are unrelated. The VIP ac (336) is the only one with the posh fit ,so, unless the MOD has decided to go to another expenditure of many millions, then I suspect that what is going on at Cambridge is simply the demodification from TC livery/fit -incidentaly paid for by Air Tanker.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3709/...7dacbbee_b.jpg

Now you're talking.

And painting it grey does that at 35,000ft? What about contrails etc?