VC10 at Benbecula
 

Many years ago I can recall reading somewhere that an RAF VC10 landed at Benbecula. I remember reading in the article that a Viscount was considered substantial for Benbecula and that a VC was definately out of the ordinary. I have tried to search for any info or pictures which may have captured the moment but no luck. Can anyone offer any info.
Thanks.

6000' runway - in a VC10's stride. Especially at an airfield that rarely reaches ISA!

In the late 70s I had to charter an aircraft to transport 120 people, 20 motorcycles and a pile of military band equipment from Gibraltar back to London. We ended up with a Vanguard. Apart from being offered a freighter plus a passenger aircraft the only other offer was a DC10 which made me wonder at the time.

What's ISA !

ISA
 

It stands for International Standard Atmosphere and is an Internationally accepted model of how the Pressure, Temperature, Density and Viscocity of the Atmoshphere changes with Altitude.
At Sea Level the model is based on an Air Temperature of +15 Deg C, a QNH of 1013.2Mb and a Temperature Lapse rate of -1.98 Deg C per 1000ft.

Richard

Did plenty of trips courtesy of "Albert" (sorry, the C130 Hercules for the uninitiated) to Benbeculiar, never heard of a VC10 going there, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

As Dan said though, not beyond the realms of possibility....a picture in the Tower Building there that I remember seeing suggested a Swissair DC9 once visited.

A VC10 did visit Biggin Hill (which has a runway of similar dimensions) last year, I believe for the first time.

There was a visit by the Sultan of Oman's VC-10 (A40-AB?) some time late 70's or early 80's in connection with Rapier missile firings on the Hebrides range.
During the period 83 - 86 the largest visitors were a Swissair DC-9, Air Bridge Merchantman, and the occasional BAC-111 and Trident substituting for the usual BA 748. Also remember a Nimrod doing a touch and go one day which was impressive. There was 6000 feet of runway but only around 5400 usable.

I did a trip to Benbecula from Farnborough in the BAC 1 11 XV919. It must have been late '70s as I don't think I was commisioned at the time, but I was accompanied by 10 cadets from my ATC squadron. The aircraft wasn't fitted with full seating so there was a pallet towards the rear with ballast presumably for trim purposes.
RAF VC10s used to operate in/out of Benson which has roughly the same LDA as Benbecula, so I don't see why one shouldn't have visited Benny, possibly in support of the CRP?(RAF Air Defence Radar Unit established for the Army Rocket Range)

I think you'll find that a Viscount was "considered substantial" because of the thin commercial loads normally on offer, nothing to do with performance. BEA/BA nevertheless scheduled Viscounts through there for many years. It's progressively worked down in size since, through 748s to today's Saab 340s.

Now that IS bizarre.

Perhaps I should have explained that the substitution was because the usual 748 had gone u/s, not to cope with a sudden increase in pax!

Surely a VC10 could do anything that a Trident ('Groundgripper') could do?

Except maybe fly quite as fast.

The VC10 A40-AB is now at Brooklands. It was flown in there too!
mmitch.

I think you might find that's not the only VC10 to have used the runway there .......

Yes, WHBM, but when the VC-10 flew in IIRC the runway was a bit shorter than it had been during the days of Vickers-Armstrongs. And by the time the Merchantman (Vanguard) arrived, there was a Tesco and a car park at about the point where you'd expect to see 60 kt and everything slowing nicely... Respect to both pilots for those landings, the aircraft are stunning exhibits in the museum.

Incidentally, Brooklands was deemed too short, even in 1963 and '64, for a VC-10 recovery. After each first flight to Wisley, that was where they were intended to stay. Unfortunately the drag-reduction (engine re-mounting) modifications found necessary from the flight test programme meant that they had to come back into Brooklands for some heavy engineering, and I think it was Brian Trubshaw who did it first in G-ARVF in July '63. The trains were stopped and I think a few Weybridge trees were felled in preparation. As many people turned out to see it as had for G-ARTA's first flight a little over a year before, on the time-honoured grounds that if you were a witness you couldn't get lumbered with doing the inquiry.:ok:

I seem to recall Brooklands hard runway was about 1200m. When I first arrived at Farnborough, we had a procedure notified for fixed wing traffic in/out, usually the company B206, until the day (must have been mid '75) either Beamont or Trubshaw took off, and his first words to Farnborough were 'I think I'll have to land with you, my propellor's just fallen off'!! (that's what Honey Monster told me anyway; he took the call, I was on a days leave)

Out of interest are there any films of the VC10 landing at Brooklands and for that matter the Vanguard as well ? I seem to recall seeing something some time ago, but the mists of time have closed in and i can't find anything even on yootoob....


SHJ

I saw a DVD last year (can't recall title now) about aviation at Brooklands.
It had a shot from the ground of the VC10 landing and the crew being greeted by George Edwards.
mmitch.

Hi Guys,

The Runway at Brooklands was the original (tarmac) length when the VC-10 landed in 1987 and as it has already been said this was not the first VC-10 to land there. During production some flew back for mods.

By the time the BAC 1-11 G-ASYD landed in 1994 the runway had lost about a third of its length and the same applies for the Vanguard G-APEP in 1996.

I was/am a volunteer at the Museum for 20 Years and it was sad to see the runway go.

Cheers

I have now found out the DVD I mentioned in #17 is called
'Brooklands the Birthplace of Aviation'
I don't think it had the Vanguard landing in it though.
mmitch.

The ultimate "squeeze it in job" had to be the Comet into Strathallans grass.
The undercarriage partially collapsed but it was to be it's last flight anyway.
A Viscount was also flown into Perths 853 mtres.
D.O.