Vickers Viscount

The Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world. It would go on to be one of the most successful of the first-generation post-war transports, with 445 being built.

Design and development

The design resulted from the Brabazon Committee's Type II design, calling for a small-sized medium-range pressurised aircraft to fly its less-travelled routes, carrying 24 passengers up to 1,750 mi (2,816 km) at 200 mph (320 km/h). British European Airways (BEA) was involved in the design and asked that the plane carry 32 passengers instead, but remained otherwise similar. During development, Vickers advocated the use of turboprop power, believing piston-engines to be a dead-end in aviation. The Brabazon committee was not so convinced, but agreed to split the design into two types, the Type IIA using piston power, and the Type IIB using a turboprop. Vickers won the IIB contracts, while the IIA was the Airspeed Ambassador.

Prototype aircraft

The resulting Vickers Type 630 design was completed at Brooklands by Chief Designer Rex Pierson and his staff in 1945, a 32-seat airliner powered by four Rolls-Royce Dart engines providing a cruising speed of 275 mph (443 km/h). An order for two prototypes was placed in March 1946, and construction started almost immediately. Originally to be named Viceroy, the name was changed after the partition of India in 1947. There was some work on replacing the Darts with the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba, but this was dropped by the time the prototypes were reaching completion.

File:Vickers 663 Tay Viscount.jpg

Type 663 Tay Viscount demonstratiing at Farnborough in September 1950

The prototype Type 630 flew on 16 July 1948. It was awarded a restricted Certificate of Airworthiness on 15 September 1949, followed by a full Certificate on 27 July 1950, and placed into service with BEA the next day to familiarize the pilots and ground crew with the new aircraft. However the design was considered too small and slow at 275 mph (443 km/h), making the per-passenger operating costs too high for regular service.

The second prototype Viscount was named the Type 663 and was built as a test-bed. This aircraft fitted with two Rolls-Royce Tay (turbojet) engines and first flew in RAF Markings as VX217 at Wisley on 15 March 1950. It demonstrated at the Farnborough SBAC Show in September and was later used in the development of powered controls for the Valiant bomber. Subsequently, Boulton Paul Ltd used it as a test bed for electronic control systems until scrapping in the early 1960s.

Type 700 Viscount

File:Viscount 700 G-AMAV NZ Air Race.jpg

Viscount 700 prototype G-AMAV in BEA colours as competitor No. 23 in the NZ Air Race at London Airport 8 October 1953

The designers then went back to the drawing board and the aircraft emerged as the larger Type 700 with up to 48 passengers (53 in some configurations), and a cruising speed of 308 mph (496 km/h). The new prototype G-AMAV first flew from Brooklands on 28 August 1950. It was used in flight tests and proving trials throughout 1951/52.

In October 1953 the Viscount 700 prototype G-AMAV achieved the fastest time (40 hours 41 minutes flying time) in the transport section of the 12,367 mi (19,903 km) air race from London to Christchurch, New Zealand. The aircraft averaged 320 mph (520 km/h) in the event, crossing the finishing line nine hours ahead of its closest rival, a Douglas DC-6A of KLM, with the latter winning on handicap. En route, equipped with extra fuel tanks, it flew 3,530 mi (5,680 km) non-stop from Cocos (Keeling) Island to Melbourne's Essendon Airport in 10 hours 16 minutes. Vickers Viscounts later served with New Zealand's National Airways Corporation.

Viscount production and operation

Type 700 series

File:Cambrian viscount g-amon in 1963 arp.jpg

Viscount 701 of Cambrian Airways at Bristol Airport in 1963

The Type 700D added more powerful engines, and the Type 724 included a new fuel system, two-pilot cockpit, and increased weights.

Type 800 series

The final major change to the design was the Type 800, unofficially named the Super Viscount, stretched 3 ft 10 in (1.2 m) for up to 71 passengers. Wider, more square doors were fitted to the airframe at this time. A further change to the fuselage was planned, but later renamed as the Vanguard instead. The last Viscounts built were six for the People's Republic of China state airline Civil Aviation Administration of China, which were delivered during 1964, giving a total production total of 445.

The Viscount continued in BEA and British Airways service until early 1985, eventually being passed on to charter operators such as British Air Ferries (later British World). The last British-owned Viscounts were sold for use in Africa.

Accidents and incidents

See List of accidents and incidents involving the Vickers Viscount.

Variants

File:Bea vickers viscount g-aohj arp.jpg

British European Airways Vickers Viscount 802 at London Heathrow Airport in 1964. Behind it is a BEA Hawker Siddeley Trident and on the right a BEA Vickers Vanguard

• 700 - the first production version, 1,381 hp (1,030 kW) engines, 287 built
  • 700D - 1,576 hp (1,175 kW) engines
• 724 - 15 sold to Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) of Canada, included increased electrical power, new fuel system, and cold weather operation provisions.
• 745D - 40 sold to Capital Airlines of the USA
• 757 - 35 for Trans Canada Airlines with upgraded 1,600 hp (1,120 kW) Dart 510 engines
• 771D - improved 770D
• 785D -
• 800 - fuselage extended by 3 ft 10 in (1.2 m), 67 built
• 810 - 1,991 hp (1,485 kW) engines, 84 built

Operators

Civil operators

In May 2008, a total of three Vickers Viscount aircraft remain in airline service in Africa. In addition to these, one (a series 700) has also been restored to airworthy condition in the USA, and it is hoped that the Viscount will be attending several air shows in the future.

Air Canada Air Ferry Aer Lingus Air Bridge Carries Air France Air Rhodesia Alitalia All Nippon Airways Aloha Airlines Ansett Arkia Airlines Austrian Airlines Braathens SAFE British Air Ferries British Eagle British Midland British Airways British European Airways British United Airlines British West Indian Airways British World Airways BWIA West Indies Airways CAAC

Cambrian Airways Capital Airlines Central African Airway Continental Airlines Cubana Cyprus Airways Euroair Far Eastern Air Transport Ghana Airways Hong Kong Airways - leased from BOAC Hunting Clan Icelandair Indian Airlines Iraqi Airways Iran Air KLM Kuwait Airways LOT Polish Airlines (3) Lufthansa MacRobertson Miller Airlines Manx Mandala Airlines Maritime Central Airways Merpati Nusantara Airlines Middle East Airlines (MEA)

Misrair - Egypt Airlines Northeast Airlines National Airways Corporation Pakistan International Airlines Philippine Airlines PLUNA South African Airways SAETA (Sociedad Anonima Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aereos) Starways TAO TAP Portugal Transportes Aereos Centroamericanos (TACA) Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) Transair (Canada) Turkish Airlines (THY) VASP Union of Burma Airways United Airlines Virgin Atlantic Airways

Military operators

Template:AUS

• Royal Australian Air Force
  • No. 34 Squadron RAAF - 2 aircraft operated in VIP configuration 1964-1969

Template:BRA

• Brazilian Air Force

Template:PRC

• People's Liberation Army Air Force

Template:IND

• Indian Air Force

Template:OMA

• Sultan of Oman Air Force

Template:PAK

• Pakistan Air Force

Template:Country data South Africa

• South African Air Force
  • No. 21 Squadron SAAF

Template:TUR

• Turkish Air Force

Template:UK

Aircraft on display

File:Viscount2 wcam.JPG

Tail fin of a Viscount 757 at the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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Interior of Viscount 757 in Winnipeg museum

• Type 701 (Registration G-ALWF named Sir John Franklin) on display in BEA colours at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England.
• Type 701 (Registration G-AMOG named Sir Robert Falcon Scott) on display in BEA colours at RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire, England.
• Type 708 (Registration F-BGNR named Victoria Lynne) awaiting restoration at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport, England
• Type 708 (Registration F-BGNU) on display in Air France colours at Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, Germany.
• Type 745D (Registration N7471) in Capital Airlines colors, at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, Reading, PA, USA.
• Type 757 (Registration CF-THG) in Air Canada colours under restoration at BC Air Museum, Victoria, BC, Canada.
• Type 757 (Registration CF-THI) on display in Trans Canada Airlines colours at Canada Aviation Museum, Rockcliffe, Canada.
• Type 757 (Registration CF-THS) on display in Air Canada colours at Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
• Type 772 (Registered 9Y-TBT) fire training at Port of Spain, Piarco International Airport.
• Type 789D (Serial Number FAB2101) on display in Brazilian Air Force colours at the Museu Aeroespacial, Campos dos Afonsos, Brazil.
• Type 794D (Manufacturer Serial Number 430, registration TC-SEL changed to TC-SEV, which crashed 1959 in Gatwick) Military Aviation Museum, Yeşilköy, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Type 806 (Registration G-APIM named Viscount Stephen Piercey) on display in British Air Ferries colours at Brooklands, Surrey, England.
• Type 807 (Registration ZK-BRF named "City of Christchurch") on display at the Ferrymead Heritage Park, New Zealand
• Type 814 (Registration D-ANAM) on display in British Air Ferries colours with no titles at Flugausstellung Leo Junior at Hermeskeil in Germany.
• Type 818 (Registration VH-TVR named John Murray) on display in Trans Australian Airlines colours at the Australian National Aviation Museum, Moorabbin, Australia.
• Type 843 (Serial Number 50258) in China Air Force colours as the Beijing Aviation Museum, China.

Specifications (Type 800)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two pilots + cabin crew
• Capacity: 75 passengers
• Length: 85 ft 8 in (26.11 m)
• Wingspan: 93 ft 8 in (28.56 m)
• Height: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
• Wing area: 963 ft² (89 m²)
• Empty weight: 41,479 lb (18,815 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 72,281 lb (32,786 kg)
• Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.7/1 Mk 525 turboprop, 2,100 shp (1,566 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 352 mph (566 km/h)
• Range: 1,735 mi (2,790 km)
• Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
• Wing loading: 75 lb/ft² (368 kg/m²)
• Power/mass: 0.12 hp/lb (0.19 kW/kg)

See also

Comparable aircraft

• Armstrong Whitworth Apollo
• Ilyushin Il-18
• Lockheed L-188 Electra

References

• Andrews, C.F.; Morgan, E.B. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, Second Edition, 1988. ISBN 0 85177 815 1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Vickers Viscount

• Vickers Viscount Network, a virtual museum dedicated to the Vickers-Armstrongs VC2 Viscount that contains over 2,500 Viscount photos.
• Viscount 35 Association, a group restoring Viscount 708 F-BGNR "Victoria Lynne"
• Home page of G-APIM - Viscount Stephen Piercey

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vickers Viscount".