It seems incredible that a mere 33 years separates the maiden
flights of the Barnes Wallis-designed R.100 airship from the
beautiful VC10 airliner. It is also remarkable that, in 2013, the
latter is still in service, albeit in dwindling numbers, but still
representing a company that was formed 102 years ago! Although the
VC10 was prefixed with BAC by the time of its entry into service,
the aircraft represents the rapid rise of Vickers, which actually
embarked on its first aeronautical project in 1908, before
establishing an official aviation department in 1911. Vickers
produced over 70 different types of aircraft during a 49-year
period, not including a host of sub-variants, the Wellington, for
example, having 19 alone. Not all were successful, but every one
contributed, however small, another nugget of experience, which was
either ploughed into the next aircraft or stored away for the
future. An ability to think outside the box', was another of
Vickers' fortes. A good example of this was not only employing
Barnes Wallis, but having such faith in his ideas, which must have
seemed quite radical at the time, especially his perseverance and
ultimate success with geodetic construction. Wallis had no shortage
of critics and many dyed in the wool' employees of Vickers, during
the early days, left the company because of his ideas. However,
history has shown us that he was right about geodetics, and like
Hawker with its Hurricane and Supermarine with its Spitfire, only
God knows what the RAF would have done without the Wellington at
the beginning of the Second World War. This book gives readers an
insight into the aircraft produced by Vickers, as well as a history
of the aircraft company itself.
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