medivac interior still at brize?,reqest from BROOKLANDS

[vc10boy]

i payed a visit a to Brooklands on saturday,i had a great day with Robin Voice [vc10 team leader] and all round great guy. victor mikes interior is pretty stripped out so Rob and i thought the best way to utilise the interior space would be to exhibit the RAF,s differnt interiors..maybe 5 rows of rear facing seats then the medivac interior [used alot in the falklands i beleive?]..does anyone of you RAF boys know if the medivac interiors are still at Brize?, would be fantastic to get hold of some before they are disposed of and lost forever,help us ob1?...it would perhaps be a nice tribute to number 10 squadron at Brooklands.i wounder when it was last used/is the VIP interior still around,when was that last used??,where these vickers weybridge bespoke fittings/IF SO IT WOULD BE VERY FITTING FOR THEM TO BE BACK AT WEYBRIDGE.I was at Brize 3 weeks ago and for the first time ever i didnt see a single vc10,saw monach 757,,small airbuses?..it was like visiting a favorite grandma only to find out she,d moved and some young teenagers had moved into her house...dont think i,ll be able to cope when granny finally pass,s away

[Tonkenna]

Hi there,
Yes, the medivac stuff is still here, but sadly it is used quite often! I did one myself only a few weeks ago. Perhaps they should ask in a couple of years time when they finally go??

Hoping to pop into Brooklands in a week or so, haven't been for a while!

Tonks

[vc10boy]

thanks for that..i thought all the medivac took place on the newer larger aircraft,i stand corrected..ask for Robin when you get there,would be good for brooklands to have a contact at Brize..is the VIP interior still around?..manny thanx for that.

[Tonkenna]

I have spoken to Robin before... The VIP stuff has long gone I believe, never seen it myself but I did start here on 101 and by the time I was on 10 the VIP stuff had stopped.

All the best,

Tonks

[ICM]

It would be a pity if the small Royal fit has been disposed of. People would be surprised by how plain and understated it was, and all OK'd by HM herself, I understand. As I recall (from about 35 years ago!), it was just a small lounge area, with a couple of adjacent divans and some wardrobe space. Upholstery was in an oatmeal colour, the woodwork was fairly dark, and there was a standard 10 Sqn plaque on a bulkhead. I never saw inside the Sheikh of Oman's aircraft, but I am pretty sure the bling factor there was somewhat higher .... except we didn't have 'bling' back then!

[Jelle Hieminga]

Ian, photos of the VIP fit are here: http://www.vc10.net/Memories/KenWhitePhotos.html
And photos of the inside of the Sultan's aircraft are here (scroll down): http://www.vc10.net/History/Individual/GASIX.html

Little known fact: the four tables in the rear section of A4O-AB (corners are visible in photo 2 of the bottom row) are ex-RAF, I'm guessing from the VIP fit. The Sultan never had tables between those seats, they were put in to be able to use the rear section for functions, as when the Brooklands Museum opened it was the largest room available there. It was even a licensed wedding venue.

[vc10boy]

I wounder if its still licenced?..if any of the Brize boys could ask around about the vip kit?..that would be very kind,,maybe its all stashed away in some store room?,maybe it might be wise to have a word with someone to see if any of this kit could find its way to Brooklands in a couple of years?,,,,[fogive me for sounding a bit like Arthure Daley]...a word in your shell like CO...umm and what about the loadies station at the back of the jet?...and that beautiful stainless steal urinal...the only one to be made for a passenger jet?..

[ICM]

Jelle: Many thanks for the links - I should have done a bit of digging here before that first post. That said, noting that Chalky White was working in Base Hangar till 1972, I'm still fairly certain that, by 1976, those seats in the Royal compartment were upholstered in an oatmeal coloured material rather than the leather-type finish seen in his photos. (They seemed so very plain, and that was what struck me at the time.) The US Bicentennial task in July 1976 was the first 'Royal' for 10 Sqn for some years, and it may be that an upgrade had been decided upon.

Looking further down amongst those photos, there is one of both Primary and Reserve aircraft outside the big hangar - a useful reminder of how costly in tasking time Royal flights were back then. The Staff Instructions required some 2 weeks of preparation time for the Primary and about 5 days for the Reserve, so the selected airframes were not available for anything else. And 'Royals' also had the Reserve positioned on standby at the designated departure airfield, something that was not done for other VIP tasks. I have often wondered to what extent, if at all, such demands were made of BA -or, indeed, the RCAF or RAAF - when HM travelled with them.

[DangerMouse]

I wounder if its still licenced?..if any of the Brize boys could ask around about the vip kit?..that would be very kind,,maybe its all stashed away in some store room?,maybe it might be wise to have a word with someone to see if any of this kit could find its way to Brooklands in a couple of years?,,,,[fogive me for sounding a bit like Arthure Daley]...a word in your shell like CO...umm and what about the loadies station at the back of the jet?...and that beautiful stainless steal urinal...the only one to be made for a passenger jet?..

There is definitely, 100%, no VIP items at Brize for the VC10 anymore!