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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 2104.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 July 1964 125 VC10 ACADEMY overshadowed by so much political to-ing and fro-ing, the superbly engineered Vickers VCIO, which has now been in service for over two months and on to which some 200 pilots have already been converted, has so far had the smoothest introduction of any major BOAC type, including the 707. Last week Flight International was privileged to spend a very full day accompanying a VCIO on a typical training mission from London Airport to Shannon, with two 4hr training sorties from the Irish base before returning. Such energetic exercises, more than any other, will normally reveal an aircraft's weaknesses, especially when the type is so new and has comparatively little service back- ground. In the event the VCIO behaved impeccably, and it soon became clear to the observers on board why everyone coming into intimate contact with the aircraft, from captains to ground crew, waxes lyrical over its fine detail design and the craftsmanship of the construction (which, for instance, permits the main door to shut with the lightest of touches). As described in some detail by Capt Norman Bristow in his article on BOAC's VCIO crew training in the May 7 issue of Flight International, Shannon Airport, on the south-western Atlantic coast of Ireland, was chosen for a number of reasons as the most suitable base for the programme. With some 600 captains and co-pilots and about 230 engineer officers to train in a programme lasting something like four years, the availability of such desirable airport and local flying area characteristics as empty skies, good weather, and freedom from noise restrictions could save the corpor- ation a lot of money. Shannon is almost ideal. On the occasion of our visit the aircraft concerned—registered G-ARVL and bearing the new quick-change colour scheme in the Nigeria Airways version—had just arrived from Lagos. With the cabin still a shambles, but with the urns filled with strong black coffee, Victor Lima was soon ready for Ireland in the hands of Capt T. B. Stoney, Capt Norman Bristow and some half-dozen other pilots and flight engineers in various stages of their conversion. The flight to Shannon was Capt Bristow's instrument rating renewal check. Using the comprehensive autopilot for the airways cruising part of the flight only, his first manual ILS approach at Shannon down to 200ft with No 4 engine shut down was made at 155kt aiming for a threshold speed of 140kt; full power on three for the overshoot surged the aircraft up to the 180kt climb-away speed. The second practice approach was a touch-and-go without flap but with the wing leading-edge slats extended—a manoeuvre not recommended with Brand X. The threshold speed penalty in this configuration was 20kt up on the full-flap-and-slats-figure of 128kt for the weight—again no trouble with the seat raised to give a better view owing to the greater incidence, extra care being needed to be very gentle with the flair to avoid rotating too sharply and driving the mainwheels on to the runway. The aircraft certainly appeared nicely "groovy" on the approach and not too lively on the ailerons, despite a lOkt cross component—the limit-is over 20kt. Nosewheel down, spoilers out, coast down to about 80kt and the "touch" was complete and the "go" initiated. Spoilers in, check with the position indicators in the roof, take-off flap, 95 per cent power, rotate, and once more -VL lunged irrevocably into the air. A strange sensation to unaccustomed ears was the slowing down of the rotating nosewheel in its bay as all noise from the engines was left behind by the mounting speed—a funny time to be hearing something slow down and everything going quiet just when things ought to be going faster. A glance at the a.s.i. and the r.p.m. gauges confirm that we were not about to stall power off. The third approach, with a full stop landing, was made with the Hobson feel-unit isolated—a condition that might be encountered with partial hydraulic failure. Effect: lack of self-centring on the control wheel, and sluggish response. Verdict: no trouble. While we spent a relaxed lunchtime at the Shamrock Inn at Bunratty, -VL was quickly turned round and sent off on a 4hr "Airwork One" detail. The flying conversion syllabus described in greater detail in Capt Bristow's article) is, briefly, divided into three "airwork" sessions during which the handling is explored at progressively higher altitudes and speeds. Most trainees also progress well enough on their first airwork to perform a landing. This gives remarkably little difficulty, the hardest part seems to be in getting the nosewheel down quickly enough, without slamming it down, so that the spoilers and the reversers can be brought in to aid retardation. Further circuits and bumps, night flying, and emergency handling come at the end of the second and third airwork-session. Actual left-hand-seat flying time needed for a captain to complete the Shannon syllabus is working out at around 15hr, and for co- pilots about lOhr, which is something like 4hr less than the corpor- ation's experience on 707s. After Shannon, pilots are ready for their first route flight under supervision. The most astonishing feature of the training programme is the ease with which pilots of all ages, regardless of previous experience, check out with no trouble at all. Men of over 50 with no previous jet experience come straight from DC-7Cs or Britannias and have no difficulty. Whereas quite a few pilots never did manage to master the 707 technique and went back on to propeller aircraft, none has yet been beaten by the VC10. Many things obviously contribute to the VClO's ease of handling. Apart from being very stable on the approach and having virtually no asymmetric-power problems of control or performance, the VC10 has an enormous and magnificently laid out flight deck which saves a lot of training flying time: two trainee pilots can sit behind the one in the left-hand seat, while at least the same number grouped around the systems panel can be learning the job of flight engineer. Anything up to ten souls at a time can be squeezed into this biggest front office in the business. Though training economies are one of the VClO's hidden assets, no corners are being cut by BOAC to ensure that all crews are perfectly happy with every aspect of the operation. With us on the trip to Shannon was a captain who had been flying VClOs on the routes for some months and yet who was not perfectly happy about the noise-abatement climb procedure. Three overshoots and he was happy, plus one to make sure—an instance typical of the VC10 fleet personnel's enthusiasm and determination to do the job right. A worthy tribute too, to this magnificent British long-range airliner. N.F.G.H. A large inboard fence, intended to minimize pitch-up in the flaps-up case, has now appeared on Standard VCIOs. It was incorporated at the same time as the stick pusher. These two measures to define the stall have led to an approach-speed increase of 6kt. This and the above "Flight International" photographs were taken during BOAC crew-training at Shannon last week
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