FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1621.PDF
FLIGHT, 2 September 1960 BAC VCII No official details of this "junior VC10" have been published but sufficient is known about it to make informed speculation possible. It is the medium-range member of the Vickers iet transport family, falling between the standard VC10 (to which it bears a strong family resemblance) and the BAC-107. Powered by four Rolls-Royce RB.163s, and with a maximum weight of the order of 170,0001b, the VC11 will have a full payload (138 seats plus freight) range performance, with fuel reserves, of about 1,800 st miles. Tankage would be over 7,000 Imp gal and cruising speed a genuine 600+ m.p.h. For its range/payload performance the VC11 appears to be a remarkably small and light aero- plane. It may be assumed that full advantage has been taken of Vickers' military (Scimitar) experience with boundary-layer control, and it is believed that a flap-blowing system is applied to the VC11 to produce a wing which is the optimum compromise between the requirements of high cruising speed and good slow speed and airfield performance (field length is of the 7,000ft order). Delivery could be made in 1964-65. Vanguard Due to come into service with BEA towards the end of this year, the Vanguard was the result of two years' discussion between BEA, Vickers and Rolls-Royce to determine the optimum replacement for the Viscount. When it comes into service it may well prove to be the cheapest producer of air transport yet built. With a maximum seating capacity of 139 and a payload nearly three times that of the smaller Viscounts and Convairs that it will replace or supplement, the Vanguard promises to reduce costs in an unprecedented way. Vickers claim that the potential profitability of a Vanguard over a period of seven years in US operation is $6i million, and (because of higher revenue-rates) nearly $19J million in European operation. It is claimed also that the 139-seat Vanguard operating 65 per cent full can make a 10 per cent profit at promotional fares of up to 50 per cent cheaper than current tourist rates, or 20 per cent cheaper than current US rates. The basic requirements that the Vanguard is designed to meet are (1) low seat-mile costs over stage-lengths as low as 200 miles; (2) the ability to carry full payload and fuel reserves on stages of up to 3,000 miles, thus offering one basic vehicle for a route system with widely varying stages; (3) large payload capacity to exploit most economically the rising traffic volume in the years ahead (the theory being that larger transport units are the best way of handling increased traffic); (4) high speed, and a design engineered for fast turn-round at the terminal; (5) moderate airport demands and reasonable noise; (6) economics which are not too sensitive to the air traffic control delays that are being experienced in the congested air of the sixties; (7) ability to carry a large proportion of capacity payload in off-peak passenger periods in order to maintain high utilization —which means big freight hold volume. (The Vanguard has exceptional freight hold volume, and it might fairly be termed a mixed-traffic airliner); (8) structure, systems, engineering, instrumenta- tion, cockpit layout and interior accommodation conforming with the best modern practice. Besides BEA, who have ordered 20 Vanguards (six 951s and fourteen 953s), TCA have ordered twenty-three V.952s. The first Vanguard flew in January 1959 and the flight-test programme— unfortunately disrupted on the eve of certification by a fault in the Rolls-Royce Tyne engine—is complete except for 25Ohr of route-proving flying by BEA to satisfy engine certification require- ments. It is expected that the first BEA Vanguard services will be operated on an ad hoc basis during the Christmas rush and that full operations will begin on the London-Paris route on March 1 next. Meanwhile, TCA hope to inaugurate Vanguard services on January 1. The Vanguard 951, of which only BEA's six will be built, is powered by Rolls-Royce Tyne 506s of 4,985 e.h.p. and has a maximum weight of 135,0001b. The remaining fourteen BEA aircraft will have the same engines but increased weight (141,0001b) and payload. TCA's aircraft will be Type 952s powered by Rolls-Royce Tyne 512s of 5,545 e.h.p. There is also an all-freight version of the Vanguard with a 64,0001b payload and a maximum weight of 166,0001b. 345 Vanguard starting engines Vanguard powerplants Vickers-Armstrongs Vanguard V.952 W ^iprr
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
