History of Brooklands’ This Type 818 Viscount was destined for Cubana with a 52-seat configuration.
needed to make the aircraft longer and heavier to cope with more passengers. The company’s Chief Test Pilot Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers first tested a VC2 on 16 July, 1948 and reported how smooth and powerful the new turboprop engines were. This turboprop design uses a turbine rather than a piston engine to turn the propeller.
Yet development was moving on
quickly. By early 1949, the V.700 Viscount could accommodate 43 passengers and had a cruising speed of 335mph. This recognised the wider appeal of flying to the public and the versatility of the Viscount’s design that it could be changed to suit these changing needs.
Viscount G-APIM The Vickers Viscount in Brooklands’ Aircraft Park is a 1958 V806 version. It was registered G-APIM and first flew from Brooklands on 4 June, 1958, making it the 50th
of its type and one of the last
Viscounts to be built. Originally named ‘Robert Boyle’, it went into service with British European Airways (BEA). However, it was stored for almost a year in 1969 before returning to work with BEA. Late in 1971, India Mike as the
aircraft is known for its call sign, became part of the Cambrian Airways fleet before this name was absorbed into the newly formed British Airways. In its BA livery, India Mike skidded off the runway after landing at Kirkwall in wet conditions in December 1977. Luckily, everyone onboard was unharmed and the aircraft suffered only minor damage. India Mike was soon back earning its keep until it was retired by BA in 1982 and stored at Cardiff, where it was sold to British Air Ferries (BAF) in 1984. This was when G-APIM was rechristened Viscount Stephen Piercey in honour of the founding editor of Propliner magazine who was tragically killed at the Hanover Air Show at the age of just 26. Now configured to carry 76
Guests from Lufthansa are shown how the turboprop design works.
passengers, India Mike was still in service when a Shorts 330 lost hydraulic power while taxiing and collided with G-APIM at Southend. This destroyed the left-hand side of the Viscount’s nose and it was uneconomical to repair. Many serviceable parts were used to keep other Viscounts flying, but in June 1989 the aircraft was offered to Brooklands for preservation. BAF agreed to a long-term loan and between August 1989 and February 1990 the aircraft was dismantled and repaired by Proteus Air Services and then transported to Brooklands. As a result of being trailered through the Dartford Tunnel, India Mike is the only Viscount to have travelled both over and under the River Thames. It’s now cared for by Museum Volunteers and Friends of the Viscount Stephen Piercey.
A Type 803 Viscount fuselage destined for KLM awaits pressure testing. MARCH - APRIL 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 41
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