VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Any VC10 related discussions.....
Bill1980
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Bill1980 »

Whilst looking around the cabin of ZA147 after her final landing, I noticed the main door had been replaced with some kind of escape hatch, weren't the K2s and K3s originally fitted with an escape chute of some kind? If it is opened up at Brunty for the big line up tomorrow, I'll try to take some photos.

I will have to try out that DC6 diner :D
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Tonkenna
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Tonkenna »

The 2s and 3s were indeed planned to have an escape system... it was tested on 141 (B) with Crash Test Dummies but never implemented. The doors stayed firmly shut. I have a picture of it open in flight. I believe it was only tried once and there were lots of issues with it thus never put into service.

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EGDGZTCW
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by EGDGZTCW »

Inside of escape door on 148, formerly the forward pax door.....

Image

Image
petet16
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by petet16 »

We disabled the escape doors as part of the acceptance check on a/c delivery, the theory was that when the door was operated a chute dropped into the airflow to act as a blast shield which would allow the escaping person to drop below the wing, I think you'd have been safer staying on board personally, a trip into the l/e of the wing doesn't appeal, nor does missing the wing and going over the the upper surface
Bill1980
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Bill1980 »

Thanks for the info, Tonks :D

I had to chuckle about those issues with the chute, having to bail out and run the gauntlet of the leading edge of the wing and those hungry Conways :lol:
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EGDGZTCW
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by EGDGZTCW »

petet16 wrote:We disabled the escape doors as part of the acceptance check on a/c delivery, the theory was that when the door was operated a chute dropped into the airflow to act as a blast shield which would allow the escaping person to drop below the wing, I think you'd have been safer staying on board personally, a trip into the l/e of the wing doesn't appeal, nor does missing the wing and going over the the upper surface
Why were they disabled? ..... Was it because they were seen to be a failure following test flights or just deemed as no longer needed?

I've heard both reasons given but not sure which is accurate.
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Jelle Hieminga »

There was a long discussion on PPRuNe about these doors. In the original specs for the K2s and K3s these escape doors were included based on a plan where in a war situation the tanker could offload all of its fuel to a strike aircraft whereupon the crew would abandon the aircraft. There were two issues with this plan: getting out past the wing and engines could be a bit troublesome, and sending crews on what was essentially a suicide mission would not be very popular. The plan was abandoned around the time the aircraft entered service.

I'll see if I can find the relevant posts, it was an interesting story.

Edit: here we go: http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/ ... ost8084837
There were some earlier and later posts about it in that thread as well but this one summarizes the story nicely.

Might as well add the photo:
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EGDGZTCW
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by EGDGZTCW »

Ah yes, I see now, thanks Jelle, interesting photo. I thought it hinged from the top but I'm not sure where the chute thingy comes from or was/is stowed....
AJW
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by AJW »

EGDGZTCW wrote:Three Conways available on ebay.....take a look ....£27,995 each Buy it Now.

Andy, they're in Devon !!
That's cheap for a jet engine, but very expensive if you bear in mind you can pick up conways for £2200!!

http://www.ex-mod-aircraftspares.com/sh ... 89028.html
AJW
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by AJW »

Having said that, I notice they now show as 'out of stock'. They weren't last week though!
petet16
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by petet16 »

EGDGZTCW wrote:Ah yes, I see now, thanks Jelle, interesting photo. I thought it hinged from the top but I'm not sure where the chute thingy comes from or was/is stowed....
The chute was fitted to the inside of the door by a system of levers, which allowed the chute to deploy as the door opened.

As a few mentioned it made a splendid rubbish bag carrier, a bit ££££ though.
Ron
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Ron »

Well, its looks as though those of you who didn't want to see ZA148 turned into a diner MIGHT have got your wish.....

This has been published today - anybody else got an airliner airframe they no longer require ?

Article from BTNews 18 NOVEMBER 2013
Airplane diner wanted
Upstairs a 747 or an Airbus wide-bodied next. This is the Coventry Airport DC6 Diner
Classic Air Force (CAF) in Cornwall (as recently featured twice on BBC TV) is in the market for a large redundant transport aircraft, and will collect.

With the move from Coventry to Newquay (see BTN 17 September 2012) the ‘living museum’ lost its popular DC6 Diner which still continues to flourish at Coventry Airport.

The plan was to turn Classic’s recently acquired ex-RAF VC10 (see BTN 26 August 2013) into an eating place but it seems that this is not as easy as first thought. Certain modifications carried out by the military are proving a headache when it comes to conversion. A nice, interesting pure civil airliner would be far easier.

If any airline, anywhere in the world, has a suitable candidate, CAF would be please to offer a well looked after home, with a 10,000ft runway for a final flight, and a chance to become the most famous eating place west of Plymouth (with respect to Rick Stein in nearby Padstow). Enquiries please to mcollett@airatlantique.co.uk http://www.dc6diner.com http://www.classicairforce.com
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I can't see this drastically affecting 148's future, certainly not in the short term anyway. Newquay has plenty of outside available space so that isn't an issue. If you are reading this Mike, do have any ideas you'd like to bounce off anyone? Would you be looking for any additional voluntary assistance to help with anything ? If so, just say so....
petet16
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by petet16 »

I would say that they've probably discovered that removing the fuselage tanks and A frames is going to be quite an undertaking, the door has no hydraulic mechanism so would require a crane and frame to open it safely.
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Thumper
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Thumper »

Good news that pleases me! :D
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Re: VC10 to Classic Air Force Newquay

Post by Jelle Hieminga »

Also the other doors at the back and the forward passenger door (now escape hatch) have been sealed shut and will be a pain to get working again.

I can see that this is a sensible decision and from my viewpoint I don't mind ZA148 staying intact!
Buttons . . . check. Dials . . . check. Switches . . . check. Little
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