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A Little VC10derness

The sleek lines of the VC10
Photo copyright BAE SYSTEMS

What? An internet site dedicated to the Vickers VC10.
Where? You've just found it, on the internet (at https://www.VC10.net).
Why? Two reasons: 1 - because I think the VC10 is a magnificent design that deserves some attention. 2 - It hasn't been getting that attention, as far as I know this was the first dedicated VC10 site, two other sites have been active but one has disappeared and the other one has been inactive for several years now.
When? I started thinking about this sometime in 2000 but I finally got around to doing some actual work in April 2001. The site has been 'on air' since 27 April 2001.
Who? Made by me, Jelle Hieminga.
How? This site was initially created using Frontpage 2000/2003, with a little help from Microsoft Notepad. For several years now I've been managing it using Adobe Dreamweaver.

What's on this site

A lot of info. I started out without a real structure but as the number of pages grew I have tried to get it all organised. To get you back on track if you get lost on this site I have produced a Site Map, which can be found by clicking on the Site Logo that is at the top left of each page.

  • News - This page is also used for VC10 related items that have come to my attention but don't fit in another category. As they are new to me I treat them as 'News' items.
  • History - The career of the VC10, from the early Vickers beginnings up to its RAF service and retirement.
  • Airframes section - Pages on all the 54 individual airframes that were built. Some of these pages were previously in Photo Archives or History.
  • Technical - Mainly technical info on the aircraft's systems and structure, specifications and dimensions can be found here, along with other articles about technical aspects of the aircraft. Now also includes several pages of performance data from operations manuals.
  • Data - Look here for production numbers, type designations and first flight dates. A new addition here is a page with routes and timetables.
  • Photo Archives - This section will eventually contain a large collection of photos related to, or showing, the VC10. Contributions always welcome!
  • Miscellaneous - Anything that I couldn't fit in a category above. Includes background info on me, sources used, info on books and videos and info and pictures from the Brooklands Museum Summer Project.
  • VC10 Memories - On these pages I have collected serious, humorous, sad or otherwise noteworthy memories involving VC10s, in stories, photos or other combinations. Your help is needed to fill these pages!
  • Fly a VC10 - I wish I could, but here you can find the next best thing: several VC10s available for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
  • VC10 Forum - The place to discuss anything VC10 related.
  • Merchandise - A link to a Spreadshirt shop with a limited range of my VC10 designs as well as some other related designs on other sites.
  • Links - Several pages that I would recommend. Not all VC10 related, but as I mentioned before, there aren't many pages with VC10 information available.
  • Search this site - To quickly find information on this site use this page, the search facility is powered by Google (with apologies for the ads).

Legal bits

Where possible I have tried to credit source or photographer for the images used on this site. If you know where credit is due for an image on this site, please contact me. Sources are listed in the text or on the Sources page, all other material is copyright J. Hieminga. Some images still show the old redirect address fly.to/VC10, which was an alternative address for this site. It does not work anymore, but due to a backlog of other tasks, I haven't gotten around to changing this on the older images. The copyright is still as noted on the image, while the source should be read as: www.VC10.net.

There have been several instances now where material from this site has been copied for use on other websites or on social media sites. Please note that while I may have permission to use photos and text on this site, unless you contacted the copyright holders yourself, you do not! Blatantly copying material from this site is therefore not allowed! I will be more than happy to arrange permission when needed, and when kindly asked, but until this has been arranged any material on this site is for personal use only! This does NOT include reposting images, text or other material to any kind of social media.

Questions that will be asked frequently

BOAC advertising - Buy the T-shirt!!!

What's with the name? During it's service with BOAC the VC10 gained a lot of passenger appeal and BOAC responded to this by using these appealing features such as it's quietness and smooth ride in their campaigns. At some point someone coined the phrase 'a little VC10derness' and it appeared in some of BOAC's commercials from that point on to describe the 'special treatment' you got when flying on a VC10. I picked it to reflect on the fact that it's time some of this tenderness is aimed back at the VC10 itself before it fades from public memory. The picture on the right shows an example of BOAC's advertising which used to be available on a T-shirt from Skyshirts.com. Below is a small version of the bumper sticker that BOAC issued with the 'A Little VC10derness' phrase on it.


Image via S. Frampton

Why do you care, you weren't around back then, right? Indeed, when I evolved from design phase to prototype form around 1975 the VC10 had already been flying for 13 years, and it wasn't until a lot later before I even knew what a VC10 was. This occurred around 1998 when I got involved in a project through my school which involved restoring Brooklands Museum's VC10. Look up my personal history for the longer version of this story.

What are you, an aviation nut? Well, basically yes. I became interested in aviation early on in my life and instead of just drooling over nice airplane pictures I decided to try to do something more productive with my ambitions. I've been studying Aeronautical Engineering, Airworthiness and got a 'frozen' ATPL with an instructor rating. So to be more precise: I am someone who is extremely interested in his own field of work. Again, look up my personal history for the longer version of this story.

Where does all this info come from? From various sources. I listed them elsewhere on this site but initially I started with several books about the type and also there's a lot of info that I picked up through spending three summers working on the Brooklands Museum Summer Project, mainly on their VC10. Since then a lot of people have contributed material from their personal archives for use on this site. (Unless they did not want to be named, you can find their names throughout the site.) I have also continued to collect VC10 related material.

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