Product Description

Built in response to the famous Brabazon Committee's requirements for an aircraft to replace the Douglas DC-3 on European and Empire routes, the Viscount became the world's first turboprop-powered airliner, and the most successful British airliner of all. Operated initially by BEA, the Viscount soon became a favourite of passengers, pilots and aircraft enthusiasts alike. Its heyday was brief, as the advent of the jet airliner soon relegated it to secondline service, in which it remains - just to this day. This book presents the complete design, development and operational history of the Viscount and its bigger sibling, the Vanguard.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163545 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 200 pages

Customer Reviews

Forty Years of a British Aviation Success Story
With one or two reservations, I enjoyed Malcolm L Hill's account of the Vickers turboprops. The book is part of the Crowood Aviation Series and like the other titles in the series, it has a good look and feel to it. Well illustrated throughout including several colour pages in the centre, the book will look good on the shelf. As for the content Hill has concentrated on the airline operations of both Viscount and Vanguard rather than the technical aspects of their airframes. The concept, development and pre-production flying is covered but briefly - all too soon we are detailing the Viscount's inaugural commercial flight.

However, the subsequent detailing of the many different airlines that operated the Viscount and the few that operated the Vanguard is comprehensive, albeit with a slight bias towards the UK operators. This alone makes the book a useful reference. One aspect where Hill could well have spent more time studying is the Viscount's rather poor safety record. Accidents are mentioned but with one or two exceptions are not analysed to any great degree. I would have also appreciated more detail to the production list with the aircraft's subsequent histories rather than simply the original operator though with over 400 different aircraft to consider, this might well have been too much work.

These niggles aside, if you are remotely interested in a British civil aviation success story this book is well worth making the effort to get hold of.