The Brooklands Vickers Viscount "Stephen Piercey".

[@lylethomas6956]

Incredibly fond memories of flying between Chicago and Toronto with my parents back in the sixties when visiting family in Toronto. My Dad worked at Trans Canada Airlines where he met my mother. Trivia: when Viscounts operated regularly out of Toronto Malton airport, there were no rat problems at the airport because of the Dart engine whine. Now it's called Toronto Pearson International. There is nothing left of the old Malton terminal, Trans Canada Airlines is now Air Canada, and I too will be superseded in the not too distant future. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Tom. All the best...

[@Cobraguy321]

Great video, thank you. I remember flying in a British United Viscount in 1961 from Gatwick to Malaga in Spain. It had a very distinctive engine sound, especially when changing the poop pitch. Happy memories.

[@mikezinn7212]

As a 10 year old, loved my flights on the Viscount, South African Airways 1960s. Thought seating pattern was two and two, Perhaps my memory of my first flight on a DC 4.. Really felt like flying, not like today!

[@BaldiAndMario]

COOL

[@martindehavilland-fox3175]

Many memories of seeing the Viscount in and out of Aberdeen when I worked there. They used to do the runs up to Sumburgh with the offshore workers. The RR Dart was a very familiar, ear-piercing, sound between the Viscounts and our F27s. The apron was a noisy place to be back in the day!

[@Free_Ranger_CT110]

A few months ago here in Queensland, Australia I visited 'Possum Park' near Miles. It is an old WW2 ammo depot. They have a Viscount which is being prepared for people to spend the night onboard, I was lucky enough to have a tour inside. A real 'air bnb.' It's ex TAA & reg VH-TVL, named George Evans.

[@richardtowns8948]

Thanks for that info. I'm an ex BAF engineer and spent a lot of time operating India Mike in Aberdeen. Aviation, I now live in Brisbane, and I just told my wife that we're going on a road trip Possum Park. It won't be the first time that I've slept on a Viscount, but it'll be nice to be in one with a bed.

[@Free_Ranger_CT110]

@@richardtowns8948 thanks Richard, the owner Julie is a really nice lady, I had an old TAA flight bag that I posted to her to add to the memorabilia collection. I have a video on my channel riding the ct110 into the outback, the aircraft inside & out & Possum Park is shown at the end of the video. At the time of the video they were finalising the o h & s hurdles, I haven't heard whether it's now all finished. I have another video called 'hidden in 'plane' sight you may be interested in. Highlight is a bbq under the wing of a Canberra at Brymaroo. All the best, Darren.

[@richardtowns8948]

Awesome video. It gave me a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. Way back in the mid 80s, I was an Engineer at BAF's outstation in my home town of Aberdeen, where we operated four rotations per day up to Shetland. We operated one and kept another as a spare. India Mike was often our main aircraft and I remember when it was renamed. Because we were an outstation, we had no hangar space and our ground equipment was ancient and always breaking down, the ABZ winters were quite hellish and I went off to Saudi Arabia to work for Lockheed on Hercs. BAF was my first airline job after I left the RAF and the contrast was wonderful. I'd already worked at Filton on the VC10 IFR conversion and on Concorde, but this was the first time I'd worked on a flight line and it felt like the aviation I was denied in the RAF because I spent seven years in Herc hangars. As I write, I'm remembering the inflatable door seals and having to fill the water meth tank every morning. And there was the unpleasant task of having to use the drip sticks on each tank because the flight deck gauges could never be trusted. The Darts were astoundingly reliable, and during my three years with BAF, we had only one engine change, one prop change and one accessory gearbox change. In contrast, when I worked for Southern Air Transport on their Hercs in Africa and Papua New Guinea, engine and prop changes were common. I saw in the comments below that there's a Viscount here in Queensland and I've just told my wife that we're going on a road trip. A couple of hours north of Brisbane there's Caloundra museum where they advertised a Viscount as one of their exhibits, but on my first visit there about ten years ago, I found that war only the flight deck portion and not in very good condition. Thank you for posting this most excellent and heartwarming video. I notice that, in your display cabinets there are a few BAF stickers that I have, but are not there. If you don't have them, I'd be happy to send them.

[@Free_Ranger_CT110]

Thanks for the reply, Possum Park is worth a visit as is the Canberra at Alex Campbell Park, Brymaroo Qld. If you look on google maps it looks like a spy photo of an a/c in a random place. I often go there have a coffee & have the jet to myself for hours & for free!

[@simongray8019]

Hi Tom. Great video. I worked as cabin crew for BAF for about 3 years in the 80s and have many happy memories of my hours spent on Viscounts. Best trip was 32 days carrying press and engineers on the Paris-Dakar rally, we spent 3 weeks literally living onboard. My airbed and sleeping bag in the galley was very comfortable

[@johnalston2354]

A brilliant presentation Tom. Oh so professional and very well done.

[@billdempster3134]

Great aeroplane superbly maintained . I worked next door at Brooklands on the Varsity for 32 years and had great fondness for this aircraft which I flew on several times in Scotland when I worked there for BEA in Stornoway .Happy days .

[@Tirana44]

A great video Tom. It’s great to see ‘IM in the hands of people such as yourself. I worked alongside Roger Hargreaves back in the late 70s into the early 80s on the restoration of the Monarch Britannia at Duxford. We became great friends during that time. We had a few visits to the Britannia from Steven. He was a great guy. I still have the first issue of Propliner which he signed for me. It was thanks to Roger what I had a 30yr career in the airline industry. Sadly, neither Steve or Roger are with us anymore, but both the Viscount and the Britannia are still here, memorials to them both.

[@RayhanAhmed-qr3vz]

I remember the British midland Viscount going over my family roof 1980s From Heathrow / Southall middx 😊

[@Ben-xe8ps]

I have flown on Viscounts on several occasions in the 70's on the BEA/BA Channel Islands routes and also in the 70's and 80's on several occasions on the GibAir/GB Airways Viscount on the GIB-TNG route. I also flew on a British Air Ferries Viscount which in (I think 1985) operated the morning British Caledonian flight LGW-BRU on Saturdays only in place of the normal BCAL BAC-1-11. I have also flown on BEA/BA Vanguards. I recall the rear facing seats in row 1 although by the 70's the arrangement was slightly different to the photo with normal Y seats and individual tables which folded down from a central table height divider between the two rows of seats. There was a similar arrangement in the front row of BEA Trident 2's and 3's. Are you sure that F class was at the front in two-class configuration? I was always under the impression that on propeller aircraft F class was at the rear. I have never travelled aboard a two class Viscount but on BEA Vanguards the F cabin was definitely at the rear in a two class configuration. Don't forget that two class configurations were not introduced until the early 60's. Prior to that they were always ALL F class or ALL Y class. I think that photograph which looks 50's with the large seats and table at the front was probably a single class (all F) configuration. I always liked the Viscount although they could be a bit noisy in the front rows. They also felt more secure (perhaps heavier?) than modern propeller aircraft such as the ATR's.

[@simongray8019]

You are correct. I was cabin crew for BAF and we operated the last flight LGW-BRU in the evening and the first flight BRU-LGW in the morning. The aircraft was painted in BCal colours and the markings were British Caledonian Commuter. I think we operated this contract for about a year