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The VC10 managed to reach the eye of the public in many ways. This page shows some of the publications and other artefacts that are related to the VC10 in its civil life. VC10 Brochure from Ranger Magazine First Flight (and other) Covers Cut-out BOAC VC10 from Shredded Wheat VC10/Cruising 600 by the Jet Set This wonderful toy was marketed by Airfix, well known for its plastic model kits. It enabled the lucky owner to play the part of a BOAC VC10 Captain, complete with matching hat. Compared to the toys available nowadays it did require a bit more imagination, although according to the box the engine noise was simulated (batteries required).
Photos A. Townshend VC10 Brochure from Ranger Magazine The VC10 was every boy's dream of course, and it is not surprising that Ranger, the National Magazine for Boys, took the time to tell them about it in this brochure. As the text may be hard to read on some pages here are some quotes: "Four Rolls-Royce Conway engines power our VC10. They have no silencers - because they are already quiet enough without them." And after explaining briefly how the engine works: "That busy process is often accompanied by considerable noise. Not so with our aircraft. Not only are its Conway engines extra quiet but they are mounted at the rear of the plane. The effect of this clever idea is that the aircraft flies ahead of its own noise. For passengers like us it is like flying in a gentle giant." The people on the ground were not really considered in those days I guess! Apart from this the real gem in this brochure is the poetry on the last page titled 'To the Captain of a VC10'.
Where better to park a pint.....
Images via A. Townshend and D. Garwood A favourite of mine, and the inspiration for the title of the site: A BOAC bumper sticker.
Plenty of post cards have been produced over the years, the two below were specific promotion items from the airlines. Have a look at the Postcard Database here to see more about this, including various examples.
There are many, many lovely paintings that show one or more VC10s, I could never list them all. I do have to share this one that was done in gouache by Dutch artist and aviation historian Thijs Postma. It shows G-ARVG in its development colours against a large cumulonimbus cloud. I can recommend getting hold of a copy of Thijs Postma's book that showcases his painting career: Aviation Art - The Artworks and Life of Thijs Postma (Dutch and English text), or have a look at his other paintings here: https://tpaviationart.com/
I could not resist adding these two. The first is the original painting by Frank Wootton that was used by BOAC on a lot of publications and souvenirs, from menus to postcards and biscuit tins. The second painting is by an unknown artist (the signature just says SAM) and shows Air Malawi's single VC10 7Q-YKH. It could be available to a new home... so get in touch if you're interested!
The VC10 reached many a magazine cover, especially in the first years of its existence.
1. Flight International, 21 June 1962 Images via A. Townshend Thanks to Paul Robinson here are some more covers featuring VC10s.
1. Airlines & Airliners, issue 2, summer 1993 Images via P. Robinson First Flight (and other) Covers First flight covers were flown on several of BOAC's inaugural flights, organised by their 'exclusive philatelic agents'. Judging by the examples below, there was a range of these covers, which were issued over several years.
The first service to the Seychelles was flown on 3-4th July 1971 using G-ASGM. Image via A. Townshend
Another category is special philatelic covers to commemorate events such as G-ARTA's first flight. Aerodynamicist Heinz Vogel was the driving force behind the VAFA covers that were flown on various VC10s over the years, as well as on other types to commemorate various significant dates from British aviation history. The main VC10 related cover is VAFA number 9, as shown below, as that was produced to commemorate the first flight of G-ARTA on 29th June 1962. The commemorative flypast by XR806 25 years later was the main event where these covers were carried and Heinz Vogel organised signatures from the crew as well as various people who had been involved with the type. The text of the insert is reproduced on this page.
British United Airways also flew some special covers, in this case to East Africa on the occasion of their first service in November 1964.
Special covers were initiated by either airlines or philatelic societies. This Zurich based club organised a cover for the first Ghana Airways Accra-Rome-Geneva service on 1st April 1966.
Another interesting cover is this one, which was issued for the first Bahrain-London operation for Gulf Aviation on 5th April 1970. By this time, the operation was carried out using leased or borrowed BOAC VC10s, it would take another four years until Gulf Air would fly the route using its own VC10s, starting with G-ARVI on 1st April 1974. This cover also includes special stamps.
This cover has had quite a journey but it still cannot match the mileage clocked up during the daring flights of Amy Johnson who is commemmorated on it. It was flown on six sectors on two different Super VC10s (G-ASGI and G-ASGB), travelling from London to Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, Seychelles and back along the same route. It left London on the evening of 28th April 1976 and returned on 5th May 1976. The reverse side of the cover only has a postmark from the RAF Museum, Hendon, where it appears to have been delivered a day after returning to London Heathrow.
Sometimes, a famous passenger led to the creation of an unplanned souvenir. Knowing that his wife was a great fan, when Captain Frish found out that Yehudi Menuhin was a passenger on flight BA772 on 2nd September 1967, he asked him to sign a menu.
When prototype G-ARTA was damaged in 1972 it spelled the end of its flying career. It took a while before the airframe was cut up, but not all was recycled as BCal apprentices used small skin offcuts to create silhouettes of the VC10 and mounted these on wooden blocks. The resulting souvenirs were sold off to raise funds for the Golden Lion Children's Trust. This trust is still active and maintains its links with Gatwick Airport and it was at the Gatwick Aviation Fair, from a stand that was raising funds for the trust, that I was able to buy one of these for my own collection. So this particular silhouette has been used to support the Golden Lion Trust on two occasions already. See also: Bits and Pieces.
In the days before in flight entertainment systems the Flight Bulletin was the way to let the passengers know how high and how fast they were flying.
1. The early position reports were firm cards with a colourful map on the front, with the route drawn in.
1. Another position report from G-ARVE on a Nairobi to London flight, unfortunately the date is not mentioned.
Images via G. Hall / collection J. Hieminga
1-3. A menu from a BOAC service between London and Salisbury via Frankfurt and Nairobi.
1. This Nigeria Airways service WT929 flew from London to Barcelona, to Kano and then to Lagos.
1-3. The rest of the menu. When airline personnel retired, they often received a framed print that was signed by all their colleagues. There are many variants around, each different as a range of related prints was available and the team that signed it differed for each retirement. The print below is in the care of the Brooklands Museum. Get in touch if you recognise any signatures/names. There are more retirement prints on this page.
1. This print was presented to Joe Searle upon his retirement from the VC10 fleet in July 1980. In April 1980 he had been part of the crew for G-ASGC's last flight. Before each flight a loadsheet is prepared to determine the aircraft's weight and balance and to ensure that each is within the limitations of the aircraft. This particular sheet is for flight BA591, Super VC10 G-ASGC from London Heathrow to John F. Kennedy Airport, New York.
For a larger and better readable version click here. Image via G. Hall Another important piece of paperwork: the itinerary for a five man cabin crew scheduling them for a 17 day trip to the far east. Some ports of call: Tokyo (HND), Hong Kong (HKG), Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB), Seychelles (SEZ), Johannesburg (JNB) and Nairobi, Kenya (NBO). Of interest is the note: After Take Off from Tokyo the aircraft suffered an engine failure and had to turn back. The next sector to Hong Kong was then flown as a three-engined ferry flight without passengers.
Image via G. Hall If you get the chance to do the applicable course and pass it, you can fill out this form to get the VC10 type rating added to your licence.
When A4O-AB carried out its last long flight from Oman to London Heathrow, it was a final farewell for this civil VC10 that had operated as a private airliner for thirteen years. Below are the documents used for the trip to London, the flightplan as produced by the dispatcher and the E/O log as filled in by Jan George during the flight. Not only did the dispatcher add a personal message to the flight plan to wish them a good flight, after arriving at Brooklands the next day the E/O had his log signed by George Edwards, who added a miniature VC10 drawing. Two historic documents.
With thanks to Richard King These photos show the safety cards that were used by Gulf Air on their VC10s between 1974 and 1978
Images via A. Townshend This poster was produced to show the new colourscheme that was introduced for BUA in September 1966.
A 400 piece puzzle showing a BOAC VC10 over an exotic harbour (could it be Hong Kong?)
This biscuit tin shows a familiar advertising image, showing a BOAC VC10 in the early colours that were only worn during testing. This artwork shows up in many places and was obviously also the basis for the puzzle shown above. The inside of the lid has a bit of information about the type and a welcome aboard message. These tins (measuring 195 x 103 x 35 mm) may have been sold on board as souvenirs, or they may have been produced as gifts.
Photos K. Moulijn Pre-printed air mail letters were used in the past to save on weight when using this expensive mode of transport for a simple letter. Some of these were issued with a VC10 stamp on them.
Photo G. Pollard Cut-out BOAC VC10 from Shredded Wheat Free with Shredded Wheat: your very own VC10. This is a deluxe version, it flies and sounds just like a real one! For those with spare time, click here for a PDF version that can be easily printed to build your own aircraft (don't forget to e-mail photos).
Images via J. Downes This wonderful item was donated by Mr. Uwe Horn. An original BOAC VC10 tie, made from sturdy polyester.
Photos J. Hieminga This brochure shows the various items that could be purchased, either on board or at the airport, from BOAC's 'Speedbird Gift Shop'. It includes the BOAC VC10 tie shown above but also other gems like a BOAC VC10 silk scarf and a set of BOAC cufflinks.
In 2013 after XR808 was delivered to Bruntingthorpe, two members of the forum on this site (Helen and Andy) took it upon themselves to design and produce a commemorative polo shirt. Any profits from this undertaking were earmarked for the preservation of XR808. Two batches of these quality polo shirts were produced and they were regularly seen at both the Brize Norton photo event and the two last retirements during September 2013. In 2015 once XR808 was safely at RAF Museum Cosford the money collected (GBP 285) was handed over to the museum, earmarked for the upkeep of XR808.
Photos J. Hieminga VC10/Cruising 600 by the Jet Set Inspired by the VC10, Michael Travis of 60's band the Jet Set composed a musical tribute to the VC10. This 'modern' styled tribute with a catchy theme tries to capture the grace and elegance of the design, while the B-side, 'Cruising 600', tries to capture the feeling of comfort and delight as enjoyed by the passengers. Mr. Michael Eskriett was kind enough to let me use these images and MP3 recordings of the record that he bought (with autographs of the band!).
Here is something that might spark some memories for some people: I spoke to someone a while ago, and he told me that his father had an old record which was issued to commemorate the entry into service of the VC10. He made a recording from it and converted this to MP3 format so that I can let you listen to these unique sound fragments. There are several things on the record, on side A you will hear about the VC10's construction, including sounds of the Conway engines on the engine test bed, and it ends with the sound of G-ARTA taking off from Brooklands on its first flight. On side B you will fly along with a BOAC crew from Nairobi to London, and you can hear fragments of radio communications with Nairobi, Rome and London controllers. With many thanks to Jeroen Braat for converting the files and providing them to me! Additional images of the record itself and the inlay were provided by A. Townshend.
This small box with a short Super 8 movie was most likely sold aboard BUA flights to holiday-goers or on the airport. According to the text on the box it would make your home movie have that 'extra touch of distinction'. From that it was probably meant to be spliced into people's own movies so that it would look different but also to show the viewers that this family flew with BUA!
The files below are my first attempt at recording from vinyl and editing the results, so please accept my apologies at the relatively large filesizes, and the lack of quality in the recording. I tried my best to get rid of some of the clicks etcetera but this also left me with a more muddled sound (yes, even more) so the MP3s below are not as clean as I wanted, but they do deliver a relatively simple sound experience. The first file is a continuous recording of a VC10 starting up and taxiing away, the second file contains two segments recorded inside a VC10, as explained on the label. I recently found an online BBC Sound effects collection, which may well contain these same sound files in much better quality: BBC Sound Effects (VC10).
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