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Not really a Caravelle

Actually, the aeroplane at Brooklands is not really a Sud Aviation Caravelle, it is a BAC One Eleven – an aircraft designed and built at Brooklands. I was misled by the rear passenger access via an integral staircase under the tail – a characteristic which I remembered from having flown in a Caravelle.

Another aircraft which I flew in, a long time ago, was a Vickers VC10. Returning from Karachi on our way to Heathrow, the 'plane did a refuelling stop at Riyadh, picking up a number of British engineers on their way home. With great relief they busily ordered alcoholic drinks from the hostess, only to be told that due to martial law operating in Pakistan, the crew had been forbidden to break their customs bond on the alcohol which remained inaccessible in the hold. Oh the irony!

But my VC10 was not quite as luxurious as this one. Used by the royal flight of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, it is now in retirement at Brooklands. I was a little concerned on looking through the inspection hatch in the toilet at the rear of the aircraft to see just how close one was sitting to the fuel pipes and engines. This was where the driver sat.

Posted by Martin Lloyd at 10:25