A British Airways VC.14 lands at London Heathrow Airport.
The Vickers VC.14 is a mid-to-long range twin-engine wide-body airliner built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. The VC.14 has a glass cockpit designed for a two-man flight crew, is powered by two Rolls Royce RB.211 turbofan engines, seats 210-295 passengers, has a supercritical wing design for decreased aerodynamic drag, and has a range of 3,900 to 5,625 nautical miles, depending on variant.
Development of of the VC.14 began in the late 1970s in response to the Airbus A300. The VC.14-200 prototype made its first flight on July 30, 1981 and entered service on July 19, 1982 with Air New Zealand.
In 1985, the VC.14 became the first twin-engined airliner to receive regulatory approval for extended overseas flights. The aircraft was then used to expand non-stop service on medium- to long-haul intercontinental routes. In the 1990s, the VC.14 became the most frequently used airliner for transatlantic flights between North America and Europe.
The VC.14 is the first twinjet wide-body type to reach 1,000 aircraft delivered. As of May 2017, Vickers-Armstrongs has received 1,204 orders for the VC.14 from 74 customers; 1,099 have been delivered. Competitors have included the Airbus A300, A310, and A330-200, while a successor, the VC.16, entered service in October 2011. Despite this, the VC.14 still remains in production.
Variants[]
- Vickers VC-14-200:
- Vickers VC-14-200ER:
- Vickers VC-14-200ER/SF:
- Vickers VC-14-300:
- Vickers VC-14-300ER:
- Vickers VC-14-300F:
- Vickers VC-14-300ERF:
- Vickers VC-14-300SF:
- Vickers VC-14-300ER/SF:
- Vickers VC-14-400ER:
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager C.1: Transport variant proposed not built
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager KC.2: Tanker-Transport variant designed to replace Vickers VC-10-1107 K.1 and Vickers VC-10-1112 K.2
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager KC.3: Tanker-Transport variant designed to replace Vickers VC-10-1164 K.3, Vickers VC-10-1166 K.3A and Vickers VC-10-1170 K.4
- Vickers VC-14 Voyager AEW.4: Airborne Early Warning variant designed to replace De-Havilland Nimrod AEW.3
- Vickers VC-14 Airseeker R.5: Signals Intelligence variant based on the Vickers VC-14-400ER designed to replace De-Havilland Nimrod R.1
