Renovation of G-APIM
Early in the build process for a Type 813 Viscount in June 1958. It went into service with South African Airways.
All of this was enough to convince British European Airways
(BEA) to order 20 Viscounts. This was later increased to 26 aircraft and they had seating for between 47 and 53 passengers. The first production example of the Viscount, G-ALWE, flew in August 1952 and the Viscount entered full passenger service on 18 April, 1953.
It rapidly became a mainstay of BEA’s operation and this encouraged other airlines to follow suit, with orders from Aer Lingus, Air France, Capital Airlines, Trans Australia Airlines and Trans-Canada Airlines. By the end of its working life in 2009, the Viscount had served with more 60 operators in 40 countries. This success was again due to Vickers-Armstrongs’ ability to adapt the Viscount coupled to the growing power of the Rolls-Royce Dart engines. A V800 version that could take 86 passengers was mooted, but in the end Vickers found it easier to move the rear bulkhead back and extend the fuselage to carry 65 passengers.
In 1956, a new three-stage turbine Dart engine was
introduced for the Viscount V806 and this is the model of Brooklands’ G-APIM aircraft. However, there was still more to come and Vickers launched V807, V808 and finally the V810. By the time the last Viscount was built in 1964 and sold to the national airline of the People’s Republic of China, the Viscount could cruise at 365mph and had doubled in gross weight. By any measure, the Vickers-Armstrongs Viscount was a
great success. It was the first turboprop aircraft to enter regular passenger service, became ever more efficient and sold in large numbers. In total, 444 Viscounts were sold to make it one of the most commercially successful aircraft ever produced in Britain and all were made at Brooklands.
The work to keep Brooklands’ Viscount in good order is a non- stop job for the Volunteers who work on the aircraft. As well as maintaining G-APIM, affectionately known as India Mike, it has taken a huge effort to restore the aircraft since the Viscount arrived at Brooklands in February, 1990. One of the first tasks was to repair the damage to India Mike caused by the collision that took it out of service when it was at Southend Airport. Many hours were spent by the Volunteers to bring the aircraft to a condition where it could be opened to the public. This included creating the display cabinets to show off the Viscount’s history. Original seats were re-used for visitors to experience what it was like to fly on a Viscount. Outside, a set of period correct steps were sourced from Stanstead Airport and repainted in the original livery that India Mike’s passengers would have spotted when it went into service in 1958. The stairs have also been improved with a covered entrance to make it more pleasant for visitors if it’s raining. This also helps keep water out of the aircraft and preserve its condition. The G-APIM cockpit interior panelling and pilot chairs had become very tired over the years. The team has replaced and restored much of the cockpit lining panels and had both of the crew leather seat covers restored and returned to original appearance. To improve the visitor experience, team member Steve White
redeployed a spare hi-fi unit, locating speakers within the nose and main undercarriage bays. This enables the playing of actual Rolls-Royce dart engine sounds.
The team also played an important part in the development of the new Aircraft Factory. They took the scrap forward fuselage section of a Viscount that had been donated to the museum, stripped it out, undertook the necessary corrosion restoration work, and fully repainted the unit as well as commissioning a display cradle.
Another just finished project was the restoration and use of a
spare viscount rudder as a memorial to the recently deceased Ron Macdonald. Ron, a former Air Canada pilot, spent many years working in the Brooklands archives. He was a great friend to the team, spending many a happy hour with them. The result now sits proudly outside the Cosy Corner crew rest area.
The scale of the Viscount production line at Brooklands is clear in this image, with a Type 812 in the foreground. MARCH - APRIL 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 43
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