Designed and manufactured by the men who would make Concorde, the
Rolls-Royce powered Vickers VC10, and its larger variant, the Super
VC10, represented the ultimate in 1960s subsonic airliners. The
VC10 was Britain's answer to the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8.
The VC10 was a second-generation jetliner designed in the 1960s and
manufactured into the 1970s. It incorporated advanced engineering,
new aerodynamics, and design features, to produce a swept, sculpted
machine easily identifiable by its high T-tail design and
rear-engine configuration. The VC10 could take off in a very short
distance, climb more steeply and land at slower speed than its
rivals the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8\. These were vital safety
benefits in the early years of the jet age. At one stage, the Super
VC10 was the biggest airliner made in Europe and the fastest in the
world. On entry into service, both the VC10 and the longer Super
VC10 carved out a niche with passengers who enjoyed the speed,
silence and elegance of the airliner. Pilots, meanwhile, loved its
ease of flying and extra power. Yet the VC10 project was embroiled
in political and corporate machinations across many years and more
than one government. BOAC got what they asked for but went on to
criticise the VC10 for not being a 707 - which was a different
beast entirely. Questions were asked in parliament and the whole
story was enmeshed in a political and corporate affair that
signified the end of British big airliner production. Yet the men
who made the VC10 also went on to design and build Concorde. Many
VC10 pilots became Concorde pilots. In service until the 1980s with
British Airways, and until 2013 with the RAF, the VC10 became a
British icon and a national hero, one only eclipsed by Concorde. It
remains an enthusiast's hero.
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