VC-10 Flightdeck: Full approach and landing into RAF Brize Norton (Full audio)

[MrRonnieG]

A comment/question/observation ~ While employed with JAL (70's & 80's) I logged more than 400,000 nautical miles in B747 jumpseats and another 125,000 in DC8F jumpseats so I've seen a few forward instrument panels but this forward panel is different. Usually (on a 4-engine airplane) you have 4 rows of 4 instruments per engine (EGT, FF, EPR and EPR/2, or something similar) but I see nothing like that on the forward panel of this VC10 and I'm a bit puzzled. Can someone comment, please?? Thanks.

[woodleyj99iscool]

it is nice to see that they are still flying to this day. :)

[LIGHTSVALE]

I too recall the VC-10's out of Accra and Ghana as well Heathrow, but never flew them unfortunately. Incredible birds of a long bygone era now.

Thank you for posting this video, 5 for 5. Simply excellent.

**favorited**

[Christian1213]

@LIGHTSVALE Thank you.

[Budmetro]

I flew on the BOAC VC-10s to and from Accra, Ghana, in the 1960s when I was a boy. I've liked their look ever since.

[baswallow]

I wonder why they are wearing gloves?

[kizitoutube]

In beauty it is for jets what the Constellation is for big props.

[mjd1949]

Absolutely bloody brilliant, "Old chap!" Interesting how they're wearing gloves. You'd think they'd be rather cumbersome. Further interesting that the Pilot in Command is wearing white gloves and the First Officer is wearing black. Is this indicative of seniority, I wonder? It was fantastic when my brother-in-law flew his VC10 into our civilian airport in Victoria, British Columbia (CYYJ). I was filming him from the control tower, but can't find the damn film! Great film here! MJD.

[MrCagivaman]

@mjd1949 The gloves are wonderfully thin pigskin and we mechanics used to steal them whenever we could as the feel through them is fantastic. The crews would then exchange them at stores for us although it cost us a beer or two. The white ones were the old ones and as you can imagine that they showed up the dirt and soon became grubby, so the MOD went for black as they did not have to change them as often for picky pilots !!!!

[SN3Productions]

are you a pilot in the RAF by any chance?

[Christian1213]

@SN3Productions Just visiting I'm afraid!

[TheGTAJake]

How did you get in this? Are you a flight person or sumitt?

[Sarge084]

I sat in the jump seat for a landing at Lisbon airport, the captain was a Canadian exchange pilot.

Notice the throttles, the pilots don't operate them, that is the job of the Flight Eng who sits just behind the co-pilot (Right hand seat.).

Looks like an approach from the Witney (West) side of the airfield. 101 Sqn HQ is on the south side of the airfield.

[gert83]

It's a heavy aircraft for its size. I bet it spanks along like a freight train on approach.

Beautiful design though.

[Sarge084]

The 101 Sqn tankers are very heavy, the RAF hybrid was the standard VC10 body with the super VC10 engines and fuel system (It had the addition tanks in the tail.) with the cargo door. This made the aircraft multi-role and very versatile.

In its time it was the very latest in technology, but its time was nearly 40 years ago.

[gert83]

Yeah, the VC10 structure was heavy anyway before RAF mods - capacitywise it falls somewhere between modern designs such as the A320 and the 757, but it's probably 30% heavier than either.

Lots of structural strengthening to cover the tail engining, and, dare I say it, desire to avoid a comet style disaster at any cost.

It worked though - the example on display at Brooklands hit a patch of clear air over the Andes strong enough to temporarily knock hydraulics out yet remained in the air.

[xaero101]

My old man used to fly these at Brize. If you sit at the end of the runway on the road between Brize and Bampton when a VC10 goes overhead it sounds like the end of the world. :)

[12365paul]

they should keep these planes on and give them a upgrade like the nimrod new cockpit and wing tips and engine upgrades

[symonh2000]

The problem with the VC-10 is that they are very noisy compared to modern planes. Many countries won't allow them to fly in their airspace unless a tax ia paid.

[Sarge084]

The VC10 has a noise ban on it in the US, so it is limited to using military airfields, where a noise ban isn't applicable.

There is an old airframe in the Movements school hanger at BZN which was used as the test bed for the RB-211 engine, a single engine was more powerful than the two Conway engines it replaced. The airframe was twisted because the throttles were opened too much on the RB-211 on the port side, while the Conway's on the starboard were unable to match the power output.

[rcplaneguy1]

@Sarge084 the noise ban isnt true all over the U.S. I was spotting at minneapolis/st.paul intl and a RAF VC-10 landed..