RAF VC 10 returning from exercise at Kinloss air base, Morayshire. Scotland. XAV 3963-377
A British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd From early on in the VC10's career the RAF was interested in the type, but it wasn't until after the airlines had sold their aircraft that the main career of the VC10 in RAF service started. 20 years after the last fare paying passengers disembarked from a VC10 the type is still flying every day as a tanker or transport aircraft with two RAF squadrons. The link between the RAF and the VC10 had been strong from the beginning, as the RAF originated the requirement for the Vickers was well aware of their requirements. Several developments in the airline VC10s were of interest to the RAF, especially the cargo door that Vickers had developed for BUA. The type 1106 that the RAF eventually ordered was different in many ways compared to the Standard VC10s that had been built until then. It had the fuselage length of the Standard but incorporated many changes that were designed for the Super VC10, such as the fin fuel tank and the uprated Conway engines. The wing planform was similar to the type 1102 / 1103 wing but, as on the Super, may have incorporated a different profile, optimized for a higher cruise mach number. With the higher thrust from the more powerful Conways but without the performance penalties incurred in the Super because of the stretched fuselage and therefore increased take off weight, the RAF VC10s are even more impressive performers than the Standards. The design includes a strengthened cabin floor with a loading system, and this combined with the cargo door in the forward fuselage means that the RAF VC10s are very capable load carriers. The RAF ordered 5 airframes initially in September 1961, followed by 6 more a year later and the final three in July 1964. The first aircraft was delivered to 10 squadron in 1966 and training flights were quickly scheduled to get the squadron operational as quickly as possible. Once the squadron fleet had been built up to its full strength t
Size: 5555px × 3462px
Location: RAF Kinloss, Moray, Grampian Region. Scotland. United Kingdom.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, ., 000, 10, 43, 85, 108, 151, 580, 1977, aeroplane, aerospace, african, air, air--air, aircraft, airliner, airways, aviation, base, boac, british, cabin., capacity, capped, carrier, ceiling:, commercial, completely, contract, conversion, convert, converting, designated, difference., east, engine, extra, fin, force, ft, fuel, full., high, increased, installed, jet, k2, k3, kinloss, late, load, making, maximum, military, morayshire, mounted, mph, narrow-body, passenger, placing, plane, pods, practice, previously, raf, redundant, refuelling, registration, royal, service, speed:, standard, started, studies, super, tail, tank, tanker, tankers, tankers., tanks, theoretical, tonnes, tons/77, transport, troop, variants, vc, vc10, vc10s, vickers-armstrongs, weight, wings, xv
