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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0012.PDF
Down breaks at Bahrein shortly before departure on the final leg REAR-ENGINED TROOPER TEXT BY ROBERT R. RODWELL "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM HAMILL WITH FOUR OF THE FOURTEEN VClOs ordered for RAFTransport Command now delivered, training of crewswhich will operate the type with 10 Sqn from RAF Brize Norton is now in full swing. The introduction of the heavy jet transport to Transport Command's scheduled ser- vices is expected to take place in April, with delivery of the remaining aircraft continuing until early 1968. The ultimate aircrew strength of 10 Sqn will be 40 crews and manning of aircraft will be organised on a "pool" basis identical with airline practice. All the aircrew at present under training are newly off Transport Command Britannias and Comets; in time, some ex-V-bomber aircrew will take the VC10 course. Already formed at Fairford, Glos—temporarily the VC10 base until Brize Norton reopens, after alterations, in the spring—is 10 Squadron's associated Air Training Squad- ron, which will be responsible both for the initial type-training of VC10 crews and their periodic checking when operational. The Air Training Squadron, which contains aircrew personnel in the three relevant categories—pilots, navigators and en- gineers—together with AEO's, who are responsible for super- vising the radio management of pilots who, as in civil airline practice, handle the communications task. The Air Training Squadron is made up of members of the RAF's VC10 project team, and graduates of the first conversion course. The introduction into RAF service of the VC10 follows the closest co-operation yet between the Service and a civil airline. The Transport Command project team worked side by side with its BOAC counterparts in the early days and RAF air- crew flew, as supernumeraries, in both BOAC and BUA crews during the flight development and route-proving phases. The close links continue, with much BOAC documentation being used while the RAF equivalents are being prepared and, more tangibly, the contract awarded to BOAC for the ground train- ing of RAF VI0 aircrews before their conversion flying begins. Until the RAFs own VC10 flight simulator is delivered, BOAC is also providing 36hr simulator training for Service trainees. Local conversion training to type averages 30hr for captains and 20hr for co-pilots. This is followed by one long route- training trip under Air Training Squadron supervision, during which captains fly two or three sectors in the left-hand seat but also log some co-pilot time to become experienced at handling the high civil and military radio workload. The supervised route-training trip, with a screening crew embarked, is followed by a solo route flight, normally to Bahrein and back or, if two crews are sharing the flight, to Singapore and return. After the satisfactory completion of these flights, and a further check by instructor crews, trainees are ready for squadron service. Flight had the pleasure of flying from Hong Kong to Lyne- ham, via Gan and Muharraq, immediately before Christmas aboard XR8O8, Transport Command's third VC10, on the return portion of a route-training flight which on the outward leg had routed through Nairobi and Singapore. Aboard was a crew of 17, comprising two complete trainee crews, instructor personnel and full cabin staff, together with a ground servic- ing party of 12, necessary in these early days of VC10 route flying before staging posts are equipped and qualified to handle the aircraft. The flight was commanded by Fit Lt H. Liddell, a staff captain with the Air Training Squadron. The first stage from Hong Kong to Gan is an augury of a Flight planning at Kai Tak (I). The VCIO flight deck (2) is spacious enough for the normal fight crew of four but on this crew training flight was often more full than this, with both trainee crew and instructors in all aircrew categories
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