Thanks for posting those links ErrolC! They make a great read alongside the wonderful photos that Gavin took.

I have a feeling that the picture posted is of the front panel, not the rear. This shot on Flickr supports that thought: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39411748@N06/6909869664/

There is a lot in the first few pages of this thread, but it isn’t very structured. Lance Cole has had access to Shenstone’s unpublished autobiography and other papers, it is definitively worth a read if you’re interested in this subject.

“More coal on the fires please Engineer…” 😀

Great shot, feel free to post more.

Hi Frampers, welcome! You could of course always put up a link to a page on a certain site… 😉

TonyT, thanks but we’ve missed the 50th anniversary by now so there’s not really a point anymore. To be honest the remark was a bit tongue in cheek…

AFAIK four were built. Three participated in the Melbourne race and one additional airframe was completed.

Edit: the number should be five, the Wikipedia article isn’t too bad actually: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_DH.88

If you want some info on the pros and cons of the VC10 layout when compared to the Il-62’s, have a look at this article on my site: http://www.vc10.net/History/Comp_il62.html (written by Peter Skipp).

I thought the K4 was in the Falklands?

It has been in the UK since 30 July but has been undergoing maintenance at Brize, ZA150 is currently down south to replace it. The formation flight was planned now as this may have been the last opportunity to fly the three types together but on the 28th ZD241 was still groundbound although she was seen on the detuners making noise.

Great photo by the way!

In a very “loose” sense! I think it depends on the definition of passengers!

There’s passengers and there’s passengers… I should’ve stuck the word ‘officially’ in there somewhere I guess. 😀