Vickers VC10 refuelling aircraft walkaround

Video from the channel The Hobby Hub - a Sarik Hobbies Channel about Vickers VC10, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 5:33. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

Exterior walkaround of an RAF VC10 tanker, narrated by a former tanker pilot who flew the Victor with No. 57 Squadron. The aircraft is a conversion of a long-fuselage civil airframe.

Its civil origin is visible in the sealed passenger door located ahead of engines one and two. The pilot shows the refuelling pod under the wing. Its drogue, folded on the ground, deploys in flight to around 2.5 feet in diameter. The pod has amber, red and green lights indicating standby, prohibited or disconnect, and fuel flowing. The wing pod serves fighters such as the Harrier or the Tornado. The centreline unit under the fuselage is used for large aircraft such as the C-17. With the three points it can refuel three aircraft at once. Also shown are the television camera under the fuselage, operated by the crew from the cockpit, the four Rolls-Royce Conway engines of 22,500 lb thrust on the tail, and the thrust reversers, which are only retained on the outer engines.

The RAF first refuelled with converted V bombers, the Valiant and the Victor. It was not until the early 1980s that it had a large tanker aircraft, the VC10. The aircraft was designed in the 1950s for BOAC and entered service in the 1960s. The narrator anticipates its replacement by an aircraft such as the A330 or the 767.