Vickers Viking

My most memorable flight was in Viking G-AJBT, 15-07-60, Blackbushe-Gatwick-Renfrew-Bergen-Ostend-Renfrew-Gatwick, spread over two days. The Viking was owned by Claydon Holdings, and flown under the name Pegasus Airlines, based at Luton.

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I flew many hours in Vikings from Blackbushe on training flights. G-AIXR, IXS, JFT, JFS, HOP. During a single engine approach to 08 at B /Bushe, other engine stopped at 250feet, a slightly heavy landing but didn't even burst the tyres.

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I frequently flew from Freetown to Blackbush in the 50's.
This was the 'Safari Service' run by Airwork and Hunting Clan. Three days, two overnight stops, no in flight refreshments, generally stewerdess and two pilots. Always loaded like a arab bus and often a struggle to get off the ground. Very good hotels in Gibralter, Tangier, Bathhurst, (now Banjul), Agadir, and Casablanca, depending on route, weather and inward /outward. Lunch at Villa Cisneros was totally unbelievable. Never had so much fun. Of course, my grandchildren and their friends find it hard to believe. (I've written a full record of one trip for them).

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Like gblanks,I too flew to Malta in a Viking. It was on the 4th.May 1952 from Blackbush, refuelling at Nice and took 8 hours. I particularly remember landing at Nice as we appeared to be landing in the sea when the runway appeared at the last moment! As a seven-year old, this was very memorable. Three years later on our return, we flew back in a Viscount. Twice as many engines, but it still took 6 hours.60 years on and things certainly have changed, although I can still go to Malta today to many places that are just as they were in 1952.

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I remember, about 1964, a Victa Airways (from memory, research indicated it was one of those 3 men and a dog operations) Viking flying out of Elmdon on a day so windy and gusting that nobody without a desperate need for money was flying.

It trundled down the tarmac, started to stagger into the air. Then it was hit by and almighty blast of wind head on, and immediately rose up an unsolicited 100 feet. Then the gust fell away, and there was a long moment where the flat out engines clawed the now highly nose up aircraft forwards. I swear I could see the pilot looking up at the sky and saying, "I'll go to church, I'll go to church!". They got away with it. Wonder if he kept his word?

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My father worked on the ill fated Ground Nut Scheme in Tanganyika.My mother and two sisters and I flew out to join him in 1949,we flew in a Viking from London Airport refuelled in Nice Broke down in Malta,overnighted,refuelled in North Africa I dont reacall where(I was 9 years old)and landed finally in Dar es Salaam.I remember the in flight food was sandwiches,and the pilot passed round an houly sitrep on paper

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The RAF had a version of this plane known in the service as the Valleta or as we called it "The Pig". In 1953 we left Shajah in the Gulf on our way to Baghdad when the under cariage stuck up but would not lock or drop. Redirected to Manama in Barain,in flight,everything movable was dumped, it made the sweetest belly landing, bent props, flat bottom, we had one hell of a thirst.

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He may have been wearing a mask or it could have been that the cockpit was just too noisy.

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GAGRP belonged to Hunting Clan air transport. I flew as a passenger from Nairobi to Heathrow in 1956. It took 3 days with night stops on the ground. Routing was Nairobi, Entebbe, Juba, Khartoum, Wadi Halfa(nightstop, Benghazi, Malta(night stop) Nice, Heathrow. This was my first airline trip, I returned along the same route a month later. I too remember the stewardess having to climb over the mainspar whilst serving people.

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my1st flight -Blackbushe to Luqa Malta 1953 when in RAF, took 8 hours!Refueled Nice-told not drink the water!

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I flew round trip on a Viking from Frantfurt's Rhein-Main Flughafen to Blackbushe outside London in March 1957. The purpose of the flight: The Senior Class Trip of the Mannheim American High School, operated by the U.S. Army for military dependents. I recall thinking it looked like an obese DC-3.
This was not my first flight- my most recent trip before that was from Idlewild in New York (now JFK) to Frankfurt aboard an Pan Am B-377 Stratocruiser, which was the Airbus A380 of it's day. That flight was in October, 1954, and was the first of over six hundred Atlantic crossings over the next fifty-five years as both a passenger and as a crew member.

Bill Gibson
International Captain, Delta Airlines (Retired)

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I worked and flew on this aircraft many times as I was working for Hunting Clan, an airline operating flights mainly to Africa from Heathrow. For example the "Safari" route took four days to get to Salesbury in Rhodesia with four overnight stops on the way.
We had about four of this type and being a Licenced Radio Enginer i maintained the communications and navigation systems.Have many memories of those days.

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The Viking, together with C47, started charter holiday flights to North Sardinia in summer 1954 on behalf of Horizon Holidays in UK. It was the beginning of the tourism in the island.

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I lived in Greenford Middx., Vikings frequently overflew our house coming in and out of Northolt, as a lad in the late 1940's I got quite used to hearing those lovely Bristol engines droning across the summer skys.

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Was a youngster working as a lineboy in Louisville, Kentucky in the late '50s... At dusk one rainy autumn Sunday night an old Viking with Mexican Air Force markings landed just as I was preparing to close and go home. I parked her - occupants were a MAF Colonel and a Captain, plus the Colonel's lady. They were headed for Europe. Acft required unusually large amounts of oil and a load of gas. While the Col and lady went for dinner, I serviced the plane and helped the captain as he crawled up in the belly through a hatch to fix a leak in the de-icing alcohol system. He passed out in there and I pulled him out by the feet. After a while the Col.& company returned, they climbed aboard and all departed for Newfoundland, their next stop. Interesting airplane. Haven't seen one since. Left a big oil puddle on the ramp under each Bristol.

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The Kings flt. Later the Queens flt. had 5 Vikings.
VL246, VL247, VL232, VL233. The 5th. a /c being a flying workshop used on the post war South African tour. (its RAF No.escapes me.

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My first flight on any aircraft was in an Aer Lingus Viking.
I was about six years old. Even so I recall taxying past various aircraft before take-off (from Manchester airport I think). When in flight I was invited to the flight deck where I sat in the co-pilot's seat. The pilot spoke to me but I couldn't understand him. He may have been wearing a mask or it could have been that the cockpit was just too noisy.

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I flew in an eagle airways viking to malta in 1957. my father was in the uk forces stationed there. We left Blackbush late at night (foggy memory - i was 11 years old )and refuelled in Nice early in the am before flying on to Luqa. I remember the stewardess had to climb over the main spar to serve people at the front. Was the first time I ever flew in an aeroplane - fantastic. By the way the return to the UK after my dad's tour was in a Cunard Eagle DC6B to Gatwick
rgds
Joe

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I flew in an eagle airways viking to malta in 1957. my father was in the uk forces stationed there. We left Blackbush late at night (foggy memory - i was 11 years old )and refuelled in Nice early in the am before flying on to Luqa. I remember the stewardess had to climb over the main spar to serve people at the front. Was the first time I ever flew in an aeroplane - fantastic. By the way the return to the UK after my dad's tour was in a Cunard Eagle DC6B to Gatwick
rgds
Joe

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First aircraft I ever flew in...operated by Orient Tata I believe, December 1949 and travelling from Karachi to Bombay...aged 5 all I can recall is the rattle and vibration. Later I again encountered them as "Lollypop special" charter planes on the W.Africa run.

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