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In the late 1960’s flight simulators were in their infancy and didn’t accurately represent the flight characteristics of actual aircraft.
Extreme manoeuvres and emergency procedures required for pilot certification were practiced in a real aircraft which was flown far from densely populated areas.
BOAC based a 4-engine, 190 seat VC10 jet at Shannon in the west of Ireland for training purposes and the licencing exercises were performed high above the Atlantic Ocean.
The majority of Training Captains were ex-RAF war time pilots and my Training Captain had taken part in the famous “Dam-Buster” bombing raid over Germany in World War II. At the end of each training session he would descend to 50 feet above the Atlantic and relive his illustrious foray.
An excerpt from my book-”Dancing the skies and falling with style.”
We hurtled towards the immense, dull sepia sandstone cliffs towering above us, just visible in the spray between each frantic stroke of the windscreen wiper. The gusting wind blew across the ocean current below us, stirring the slate-grey sea into a frenzied chop, from which spray was flung high in the air. We were flying at 50ft above the Atlantic at our maximum speed of 280 knots directly towards the…
