The Vickers VC10, a British design, first flew in June 1962. The Standard VC10 was designed for the hot high short runways in Africa which is why it was configured with engines at the rear, giving a large clean wing with leading edge slats and large trailing edge Fowler flaps. In May 1964 a longer… Continue reading The Vickers VC10
Category: Flashback
Pilot and controller stories from yesteryear
Bright sunshine from historic Ferihegy
I guess young people to-day are enjoying their days working at Budapest Ferihegy Airport as we did when we were young and felt that the whole world was ours. There was bright sunshine in those narrow corridors even on rainy days, making even the government-issue gray office doors look somehow inviting. Of course the sphere… Continue reading Bright sunshine from historic Ferihegy
Article writing – music by any other name
My grandfather on my daddy’s side studied to become an architect but after finishing the university, he soon succumbed to his real calling and went on to become one of the best known operetta composers of 20th century Hungary. My dad was an engineer and we all picked vocations that had nothing to… Continue reading Article writing – music by any other name
With thanks to Susie – wherever she is to-day
One of these days I will tell you all about my office at BluSky Services, the place from which we run all the operations of the group. But not now. This story is about something totally different. It is about a memory that was triggered by the 1965 edition of the Collins English Gem Dictionary… Continue reading With thanks to Susie – wherever she is to-day
When things go wrong…
The aviation industry has such a wonderful safety record that people boarding an aircraft rarely, if ever, think about the possibility of an accident happening to them. Of course the same people will have driven down the highway to the airport similarly unaware that, statistically, they were in a much more dangerous place than on… Continue reading When things go wrong…
Relative secrets
I have an old book here, entitled “On the highways of the sky”. Published in the 60’s in Hungary and translated from the original East-German edition, it did reflect the spirit of the times but for me at age 13 or 14 it was the most wonderful book ever. It talked about all the fascinating… Continue reading Relative secrets
At least the Red-Arrows survived…
I am pretty certain that few in the travel industry would have believed when this photo was made in April 1985 that the Queen Elisabeth 2 would actually stay in operation longer than Concorde would… Yet that is exactly what had happened. Concorde’s future was sealed when F-BTSC crashed in Paris on 25 July 2000.… Continue reading At least the Red-Arrows survived…
Train them well… but watch your step!
During my ATC years and also after, I did a fair amount of training that ranged from ICAO Annex 14 (Airports), radio telephony procedures and ATC automation to HMI design and airspace user requirements in the future ATM system. The students represented a similarly broad spectrum from ab-initio controller trainees to ATC supervisors, engineers and… Continue reading Train them well… but watch your step!
When reality meets your dreams
Admit it, you too have had dreams of one day coming face to face with a famous actress, or one not so famous but with attributes that made you feel weak inside just thinking about them. Think Pamela Anderson in her early Bay Watch episodes… I most certainly had such dreams but I must also… Continue reading When reality meets your dreams
A venerable old lady – the Ilyushin IL-18
She was born at a time when glasnost and perestroika were still only words in the dictionary. A four-engine, turboprop transport that was noisy inside and out, was difficult to fly and needed an oil-well to keep her in the air. Yet she formed the backbone of East European air transport for more years than… Continue reading A venerable old lady – the Ilyushin IL-18