VC10 Professional – Operations Manual
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INTRODUCTION
The Standard VC10, along with its larger sister the Super VC10, can rightly be described as a true icon of the
60s. She was cooler than James Bond riding a tiger, faster than her competitors and supremely comfortable
for the jet-setter lifestyle. For all her glamour, though, the VC10 owes her design to the early 1950s and the
developing Cold War. Vickers had launched the Valiant bomber and its swept-wing design and speed proved to
be the basis of a new passenger aircraft. BOAC had seen a sketch of the Valiant in civilian form, which proved
interesting enough for the company to push ahead with a new jet. Designated the V-1000, she was to carry 120
passengers over 2,100 nautical miles. New Conway engines from Rolls-Royce helped increase the range and,
with significant belief in the project, Vickers presented it to BOAC as the VC7.
The V-1000 was put into production, with a prototype planned, but weight was a major problem. Vickers planned
to solve this by getting Rolls-Royce to produce even more powerful Conway engines and by redesigning the
aircraft’s structures to save weight. The Ministry of Supply disagreed, however, and in 1955 the V-1000 was
cancelled. At the same time, across the Atlantic, both Douglas and Boeing were readying their own aircraft for
the jet era – the Douglas DC-8 and Boeing’s 707. With Vickers out of the way, and with BOAC being somewhat
lukewarm about the VC7, the Government allowed BOAC to purchase 15 Boeing 707 aircraft, with a caveat that
no more money be spent on the American-made aircraft. Fearing it had made a mistake, the Government tried to
backtrack on its decision to scrap the V-1000 and with it the VC7. The damage, though, was already done.
In another twist of fate, a year later BOAC sent out a brief for a new high-performance, long-range airliner that
would be suitable for the airline’s ‘hot and heavy’ routes in Africa and Asia. In 1958, after beating off a challenge
from de Havilland, Vickers won the contract to produce 35 aircraft, with an option on a further 20. Suddenly the
old VC7 was back in play, although it was quickly discarded. The VC10 was to be an entirely new design, and
from the outset its design brief was challenging. It had to be able to operate from short runways where the 707
and DC-8 feared to tread; it had to cope with high temperatures and even higher airport altitudes. To meet all
three challenges would require some original thinking and so the iconic VC10 shape was born.
By moving the engines rearward, engineers were able to furnish the VC10 with bigger flaps and larger control
surfaces. The four powerful Rolls-Royce Conway engines allowed a much greater payload to be carried,
especially when leaving a short runway. Neither of the American offerings could compete with the VC10 in this
respect. The clean wing and rear-mounted engines also allowed the VC10 to fly farther and for longer. The swept-
back wing also made her fast. Even today the VC10 still holds the record for the fastest subsonic transatlantic
crossing, from JFK to Prestwick in just five hours and one minute. Passengers loved the aircraft too. The rear-
mounted engines meant that cabin noise was much lower than in its competitors’ aircraft. Even BOAC began to
promote the VC10 for its passengers.
By the early 1970s the VC10 and Super VC10 were starting to leave the BOAC fleet. The energy crisis of 1974
did little to help and the aircraft was removed from the transatlantic route. Airports had also been lengthening
runways to allow for DC-8 and 707 operations, taking away the advantage the VC10 had been built to exploit.
The VC10’s last commercial flight for British Airways, BOAC’s successor, took place in 1981. The aircraft had
barely been in service for 15 years before its retirement and there’s a case to be made that if BOAC’s demand
brief had not been so demanding, the VC10 could have sold better. But this is not the end of the VC10 story.
Alongside BOAC during the 1960s, the RAF had a tender out for a strategic transport aircraft, designated
Specification 239. The VC10 largely fitted the bill, although not without a few changes. The VC10 C Mk1 differed
from a standard VC10 in that she had the more powerful engines and the fin tip fuel tanks of the Super VC10.
The first aircraft was delivered in 1965 for testing and deliveries began in 1966 to No. 10 Squadron. Besides
operating as a strategic transport, the VC10 C1 also worked as a MEDEVAC aircraft and as a VIP transport,
carrying prime ministers and even the Queen. Margaret Thatcher insisted on using the VC10 while she was in
power.
By 1977, as the VC10s began to leave commercial service, the RAF launched studies into converting VC10s
into tanker aircraft and five VC10s and four Super VC10s were converted to K2 and K3 tankers. The last of the
BA Super VC10s were bought in mid-1981 and were stored and used for parts for the existing fleet. The VC10
continued in RAF service until 2013, when the final VC10 flew into Bruntingthorpe airfield for preservation, having
seen everything from the Falklands War to the invasion of Iraq.
We hope you enjoy flying this new Professional edition of the VC10, Super VC10 and the RAF C1K, K3 and K4
variants.
Summary of Contents for Standard VC10
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