What could, with some justification, be said to be the world’s first V-bomber – the Vickers FB 27A Vimy II – is always a popular performer when it appears at Farnborough and this year is certainly no exception.
Farnborough 2008 is also the first time that the Vimy has been displayed on the same day as its illustrious successor – the Avro Vulcan. Watch out for them at Farnborough’s public days on Saturday and Sunday!
An accurate replica of the First World War bomber – and first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic in the hands of John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown in June 1919 – this Vimy is the only one to have flown from England to Australia (1994); England to South Africa (1999); and trans-Atlantic (2005).
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Powered by two Canadian 8.4litre Orenda OE600 V8 engines (de-rated to 400hp each), the Vimy has a wingspan of 68ft, a length of 43ft 6ins and a height of 16ft 4ins.
It cruises at a stately 75mph (65kts) and the landing speed into wind is said to be ‘a swift trot’! At its maximum gross weight of 12,500lbs, the Vimy can reach 1,200ft.
The pilot here at Farnborough is Australian Lang Kidby and the aircraft – usually hangared at the Dunsfold airfield in Surrey – is owned and operated by the Brooklands Museum (www.brooklandsmuseum.com).
The aircraft is named after the victorious First World War battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917 when the Canadian forces won what’s often referred to as the greatest battle in their gallant history.
Source: Flight International
