CABIN CONFIGURATION
Previously, the independent carriers had not
been allowed to have a rst-class section
on these ights, a restriction in place since
- Freddie Laker, then chairman of BUA,
had ordered the company’s VC10s to be
tted with cargo doors so freight could be
carried in the forward area, to help offset the
perceived loss of revenue.
Once the new African routes had been
awarded and the restriction eased, BCal
was able to recon gure the aircraft with 16
First Class and 93 Economy Class seats,
the latter being in a six-across con guration
(before that it was an all economy layout).
Cargo traffic to and from the region was then
handled by a dedicated Boeing 707 freighter
leased from American Airlines.
The original performance requirements
for the VC10 had been largely set by BOAC.
However, aeronautical design is inevitably a
compromise. Optimising the airframe and
the powerplants to take off from ‘hot and high’
air elds for BOAC with what were relatively
short runways at the time, resulted in a
concession that ultimately restricted its range,
but it suited their operations in Africa and
parts of the Middle East. The combination of
altitude and heat are anathema to jet engines,
which are designed to operate at their best in
thin, cold, air. At that time, so critical were the
performance parameters that a ight could be
delayed for an hour in order for the outside
air temperature to drop a couple of degrees,
thus bringing the performance to within the
take-off limitations.
This performance requirement, while
suited to speci c routes, restricted the
VC10’s wider appeal to other carriers.
Although the few airlines with similar needs
ordered the type, the aircraft did not achieve
high sales gures, especially as the Boeing
707 and Douglas DC-8 were appearing on
the scene.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 39
Main photo: British Caledonian VC10,
G-ASIX, taxiing at London’s Gatwick
Airport in November 1972.
AirTeamImages.com/Caz Caswell
Right: VC10, G-ARTA, at Gatwick – the
main base for British Caledonian.
Bob O’Brien Collection
Below right: A busy scene at Gatwick
Airport with a VC10 ‘resting’ between
ights. Bob O’Brien Collection
Below: Loch Lomond was the name
given to G-ASIW. It joined British
Caledonian in 1970 and four years
later was sold to Air Malawi. Bob
O’Brien Collection