End of another British Aviation Era

shaggyd

shaggyd

shaggyd

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Sad to say that another of the magnificent machines from Britains golden aviation era is finishing today. The VC10 is making it's final voyage around most of the UK (except for ****ing RAF Valley). The Vickers VC10 had been in service for over 47 years and was part of the famous 'V' series from the 1950's & 60's. Like the Nimrod, they will be gone but never forgotten. ;(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-24165590
 
In before the "Old, out of date, inneficient and needed to be replaced so meh" crowd.

It does make me sad when I see these icons passing. Having lived in West Germany in the 70s and 80s and experienced the "realness" of the Cold War (immenent attack drills in school etc. :eek:) I find I'm reading more and more around the subject matter and a real interest in it.

If they haven't people should take a trip to the Cold War museum at RAF Cosford.

Goodbye VC10 :(
 
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Just read about this on the BBC, and it is a shame but they are old. I didn't get to go in one of these on my visit to Brize Norton a few years ago, I was in the Tri-Star :).
I hope what they're being replaced with (A330-200s) is up to the job.
 
Sorry to burst the bubble, but the VC10 was not part of the "V" series. The VC10 was designed as an airliner, whereas the V series were all design to be bombers

VC10 basically stands for Vickers Civilian design 10
 
TheMightyTen said:
It does make me sad when I see these icons passing. Having lived in West Germany in the 70s and 80s and experienced the "realness" of the Cold War (immenent attack drills in school etc. :eek:) I find I'm reading more and more around the subject matter and a real interest in it.
Click to expand...

You might find this book interesting:
Review 1
Review 2
 
clv101 said:
You might find this book interesting:
Review 1
Review 2
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've added them to my list :). It amazes me how many "accidents" and near misses with stupidly powerful weapons there were :eek:

I honestly think one of the most defining periods in my life was as a young lad standing in the Harz Mountains looking at the Inner German Border between East and West through some binoculars and noticing an East German guard in a tower looking right back at me. Being the kid I was I waved and to my surprise he waved back. All of a sudden the political behemoth of a bogeyman that I was brought up believing the Warsaw Pact was, became human. In 1989 I saw what hapenned in Germany as innevitable because German on one side of the border was still the same as a German on the other side regardless of what the Politicians said.
 
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Ceryndrion said:
Sorry to burst the bubble, but the VC10 was not part of the "V" series. The VC10 was designed as an airliner, whereas the V series were all design to be bombers

VC10 basically stands for Vickers Civilian design 10
Click to expand...

Yup
They were the Valiant, Vulcan and the Victor.
 
Squark said:
Yup
They were the Valiant, Vulcan and the Victor.
Click to expand...

I love standing next to the Valiant at the Cold War Museum at Cosford. You look up at it and think "Wow, we didn't half build the then" and then you look down and on a trolley under it's wing is a Yellow Sun Bomb and it sends shivers down your spine.
 
Such a shame, VC10 is such a glorious looking aircraft. I was getting a plane from Birmingham the other week when one did a touch and go and the noise from its engines was superb, caused everyone to look up.
 
I've been for a flight in a VC10 back when I was in the Air Cadets, lovely trip, refuelled a couple of Tornadoes.
 
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Sad day indeed. I remember sharing the circuit with 2x VC10s and a C130 at Aldergrove back when I started flying. The noise and the smell will stay with me forever.
 
Yep, we sold our souls to the yanks.

For some reason I feel sorry for the queen, she witnessed how her own empire where sun never set crumbled away each year... To the point when Putin said that Britain is a little island that has near to none relevance...
 
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