Vikings, Varsities and Valettas

Here’s a drawing of one:

These would have been Valettas of 30, 84 & 114 Sqns. Yes there are B&W pictures in of the Valettas with their ‘Stripes’ in Wings over over Suez.
Bill

These would have been Valettas of 30, 84 & 114 Sqns, and yes there are pictures of Valettas with their ‘Stripes’ in Wings over Suez.

Regards
Bill

I don’t suppose anyone has a photo of a Varsity with the Suez stripes? I believe there is one in Wings over Suez but I don’t have access to it. I’ve seen some profiles which are reportedly accurate but would like to see the photos to confirm it.

The pole could be an attempt to create a true static pressure source. On later types such as the 1-11 and VC10 a trailing static ‘bomb’ was used for this. It is needed to calibrate the static source on the aircraft.

I’ve edited the previous post, to remove reference to sound and colour, and will add this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_6BBGT5Rkc&t=197s

It includes part of the footage linked in the previous post and, again, you can see that “pole”:

That ‘pole’ intrigued me. This is another bit of Pathe News footage:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/vickers-viscount-for-america

About a minute and a half in, there is a shot of a Viscount flying past and you can see the same pole (or one very similar)? Someone here must know what it’s for. Here’s the still:

Thanks, Mike, for the information. I think your identification is correct. I have just found this piece of footage on-line (8 minutes of it but fascinating to watch) and it seems to prove it.

Did I see part of this footage earlier on this thread? If so, I think this is longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbsOdyAVJw

It starts and ends with G-AGOK (which has “VIKING” painted on the nose, which G-AGOL does not) but the middle portion (it starts just before the 5 minute marker) shows G-AGOL in flight. And there is that ‘pole’, sticking up above the cockpit area. More than that, it shows G-AGOL flying on one engine – the other engine compared with the photo I posted but it was clearly a featured capability.

Some of the people in the earlier part of the footage are identified if you press the “Show More” button.

Ian’s photo with the feathered engine is, I think, the 2nd prototype, G-AGOL but as to the ‘antenna’ I haven’t a clue.

This thread jogs my memory. My late father was on the staff of V-A Ltd working at Wisley from 1943. He was aboard the Viking prototype that went into a field at one end of the Wisley runway on June 22nd 1946.

Later he was also aboard the Nene Viking flying at high altitude when it was forced to land after being intercepted by several Meteors whose pilots apparently said later that they could not believe what they were seeing – an ‘airliner’ at that altitude ? At a later date he was nominated by the company to be one the V-A reps loosely attached to the King’s / Queen’s Flight.

When I was young, I was given a bunch of fairly large format photographs including this one of a Viking. It is noteworthy not only for the feathered prop but also the protuberance above the front fuselage. It is presumably undergoing a test of some kind and I hope someone here can explain all.

My first ever flight was in a Viking of Channel Airways from Southend to Jersey, probably in the summer of 1958. We spent the first week in St Helier when the Battle of the Flowers took place, so it was probably the Saturday before that. I don’t know which of their Vkings it was but G-AGRU is one of the four possible aircraft.

We spent the second week at a holiday camp in the north of the island and the taxi was late picking us up, so we missed our flight back. Channel Airways gave our seats to early arrivals for their next flight and we took their seats on that later flight. The result was that our return flight, presumably two Saturdays after our arrival, was in a Bristol Wayfarer.

No photos, sadly, but I do remember seeing a Rapide of Air Caen at Jersey Airport on the way back

For fans of these aircraft if you don’t know about these:-

Recovering Vickers Viking from Cosford to Brooklands 1991 https://youtu.be/aPkJPVfulpY

Recovering Vickers Varsity aircraft from Sibson to Brooklands in 1988 https://youtu.be/6nwo5VpqeWA

The last Vickers Varsity WL679 Fly Past at Brooklands 1992 https://youtu.be/FbqR5ufrtyM

I have about 10 tons of varsity parts in store some may fit.

I have a section of engine cowl from a Varsity – the section near the wing

http://www.farlamairframes.co.uk/styled/page11/files/varsity.jpg

Happy to gift it to a restoration if the postage is paid.

Greetings all from Johannesburg South Africa,

I am sure you will be pleased to learn that at long last we have relocated our Vickers Viking 1A c/n 121, ZS-DKH, from OR Tambo International Airport (previously Johannesburg International Airport and before that Jan Smuts Airport) to our museum at Rand Airport, Germiston, just south of JHB.

Our Viking has the geodetic wing.

See http://www.saamuseum.co.za/our-aircraft/74.html

Now the long task of restoring her begins.

We are going to need numerous parts – I expect most will need to be made from scratch.

Engine cowlings
Tail cone
Pax door
Seats
Windows

et cetera.

Anyone got a genuine 1A workshop manual?

If you have any contact details for folk involved with surviving Varsity, Valetta and Viking please pass on my details.

We will need to correspond with as many folk as possible in the hopes that some spare parts are lying around and in need of a good home!

Any leads/help will be appreciated please.

Cheers,
Jaws

John Austin-Williams

Chairman: South African Airways Museum Society www.saamuseum.co.za
[email]john@austinwilliams.co.za[/email]

Hello, saw your piece on 897, it served with 1 Squadron at Manby then at Strubby 1964 – 1972 that was when Strubby closed and the pigs were all flown out to Oakington.
I was present at the closing ceremony, I had worked on Varsities since 1964 and we only lost one that was 680 when we were at Manby in 1964, she was on approach on one engine with the other stopped and feathered, the pilot was F/O Williams QFI, the live engine seized and he put her down just short of the airfield at Stewton both pilots were uninjured and after a de-brief and full medical F/O Williams was back in the air 2 hours later, shortly after he went on leave and when he returned he had been promoted to Fl Lt.

The aircraft was cut up on site but the cockpit section was retained as it was proposed that it be made into a simulator, it stood for many years near the ground school at Manby, what happened to it I don’t know.

Any Varsity info I had was sadly lost in a fire some thirty years later, if anyone has photographs of Manby Strubby Varsities I would be grateful of copies, I will cover any costs incurred.

http://forum.keypublishing.com/images/icons/icon6.png

Has anyone a decent photograph of the instrument panel/cockpit interior of a viking they could post please?

In Flying training these aircraft would do 6-8 hrs per day and were fairly reliable.Exhaust leaks were a common fault but otherwise they just kept going!!Oil usage per day about 15 gallons per engine! I worked on the RAE one at Little Staughton after I came out of the RAF from Oakington(5FTS).

Hello, saw your piece on 897, it served with 1 Squadron at Manby then at Strubby 1964 – 1972 that was when Strubby closed and the pigs were all flown out to Oakington.
I was present at the closing ceremony, I had worked on Varsities since 1964 and we only lost one that was 680 when we were at Manby in 1964, she was on approach on one engine with the other stopped and feathered, the pilot was F/O Williams QFI, the live engine seized and he put her down just short of the airfield at Keddington both pilots were uninjured and after a de-brief and full medical F/O Williams was back in the air 2 hours later, shortly after he went on leave and when he returned he had been promoted to Fl Lt.

The aircraft was cut up on site but the cockpit section was retained as it was proposed that it be made into a simulator, it stood for many years near the ground school at Manby, what happened to it I don’t know.

Any Varsity info I had was sadly lost in a fire some thirty years later, if anyone has photographs of Manby Strubby Varsities I would be grateful of copies, I will cover any costs incurred.