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Vickers Viking


G-AGRR
G-AGRS
G-AGRT
G-AHOR
G-AHOS
G-AGPH
G-AHPL
G-AHPP
G-AIVB
G-AIVC
G-AIVL
G-AIVO
G-AJBN
G-AJBO
G-AJBP
G-AJBV
G-AJBX
G-AMGJ
G-AMNR
G-APAT

To quote Tony Merton Jones
"Drop the name Eagle into any conversation amongst old aviation friends, and immediately those grand nostalgia filled stories begin to flow. Add the word Viking and those stories will never end".

Eagle
Vickers Vikings lined up at Blackbushe

In 1944 the Vickers design team lead by Sir George Edwards, produce three designs for a short haul passenger aircraft. The three designs were know as the Warwick Continental, the Windsor Empire and the Wellington Continental. The most promising design was the Wellington, this was modified with parts from the other 2 designs. Vickers gave this plane the name VC1 - Vickers Commercial 1 - and in October 1944 the spec. was issued for 3 prototypes, they were issued the registrations G-AGOK, G-AGOL and G-AGOM.

After a massive effort at Vickers the first plane G-AGOK took to the air on 22nd June 1945 in the hands of test pilot "Mutt" Summers from Wisley Airfield. The three planes few 160 hours of initial development flying.
G-AGOK was written off when it was involved in anaccident when it had to make a forced landing at Wisley
on the 23rd April 1946.

On the 5th April 1946 the Ministry of Aircraft Production placed an order for 50 aircraft. The first aircraft off the production line was G-AGON, which was used by BOAC Development Unit team at Hurn. It then when on to BEA and was used at Aldermaston by their trainning unit and then on to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, the reg. was changed to VW214 for its time at the RAE. Eagle Aircraft Services bought the plane on 21st July 1954.