VC10 OPERATIONS WITH EAST AFRICAN AIRWAYS CORPORATION

VC10 OPERATIONS WITH EAST AFRICAN AIRWAYS CORPORATION

By RuthAS - Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link

A few words about the company

East African Airways Corporation,  was a consortium  airline jointly run by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as were  Air Afrique, Gulf Air and S.A.S. It was set up on 1 January 1946, starting operations the same year. The airline was headquartered i n Nairobi, Kenya. Management assistance from Aer Lingus was contracted in mid-1976 amid deteriorating relations between the three countries that ran the airline. Financial difficulties deepened when both Tanzania and Uganda struggled or failed to pay their outstanding debts for the operations of the airline The airline ceased operations on  January 1977 and was later dissolved.

A few words about the Vickers VC10

The Vickers VC10 was  a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrong (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown, in 1962 and the Super VC10 in 1964. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes from the shorter runways of the era and commanded excellent hot and high performance for operations from African airports. The VC10 is compared to the larger Soviet  IL62, the two types being the only commercial airliners to use a 4 rear-engine  layout

The super VC10 differed from  the 1100 standard type by having  its fuselage strengthened by 3.9 m,  increase in  the accommodation from  115-135 passengers to 139-163 depending on the configuration ,23000lb increase in max weight and powered  by 4x R-R Conway RCo43 22,500 lbst instead of 21000lbst. Range was sensible the same  9590 km versus 9410 km. There was 3.0% more wing area with the leading edge extension reducing aspect ratio and wing root thickness/chord ratios, improving low speed lift and reduced high Mach drag.

EAAC's differed from the similar BOAC aircraft by having a cargo door on the font left hand side to accommodate extra cargo

EAAC was the last customer to order the comet., but if the plane proved reliable and a workhorse, the  advent of the big jets such as the DC8 and B707 with longer ranger and higher capacity  started to undermine the company competitive position  ain East Africa and especially at Nairobi as the B707 and DC8 became permanent visitors on NBO apron. Ethiopian Airlines had already ordered the  Boeing  720 and inaugurated services to Nairobi  on January 15.1963

The board  of EAAC decided to  acquire the super VC10 after funding assistance  from the British government and  ordered  3 frames. The first (5X-UVA )

By Clinton Groves - http://www.airlinefan.com/airline-photos/1654983/East-African-Airways/Vickers/Super-VC-10/5X-UVA/, GFDL 1.2, Link

was delivered in September 1966, 

the second  ( 5H-MMT) in December 1966 




By Clinton Groves - http://www.airlinefan.com/airline-photos/1516377/East-African-Airways/Vickers/Super-VC-10/5H-MMT/, GFDL 1.2, Link



and the third  (5Y-ADA) in  May 1967. 




By Ken Fielding/https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link



A fourth one (5X-UVJ) was added on November 30,1969




 The aircraft has just been fitted with a 5th pod, spare engine in North Pen Technical Block A at the BA engineering base at Heathrow. 
By Steve Fitzgerald - Gallery page http://www.airliners.net/photo/East-African-Airways/Vickers-Super-VC10/1822833/L Photo http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/3/3/8/1822833.jpg, GFDL 1.2, Link


and the fifth and last one (5H-MOG) being the last VC10 produced   was delivered on February 27,1970.

 

By Manfred Groihs - http://www.airliners.net/photo/East-African-Airways/Vickers-Super-VC10/0006180/L/, GFDL, Link

1968

The summer timetable of 1968

from www.timetableimages.com Bjorn Larsson collection

shows that EEAC  deployed its VC 10 on ots European routes, adding Athens as a new destination in 1968. Mauritius, Pakistan and India routes and selected African destinations such as Ndola, Lusaka and Mauritius. As expected , return flights did not always match the outgoing flights  for example we had Nairobi-Entebbe-Athens-London-Eome-Athens-Nairobi or Cairo was en route stop to London but never fogured on any return legs

 
1970

from www.timetableimages.com Bjorn Larsson collection

The timetable shows new additions in the network of the company as the service to rome is extended to Copenhagen, Hong Kong is linked to Nairobi either via Bombay and/or Bangkok. Addos Abeba becomes an enroute stop on the company's route to London

1971

from www.timetableimages.com Bjorn Larsson collection

The year will mark  the introduction  of New York on the company's map. The city will be served on a weekly basis  from Nairobi via Zurich. The sevice will be however short lived. Bangkok is dropped from the network

1973

Paris, Hongkong are dropped from the network,  and the Douglas DC9 replaces the VC10 on the Lusaka-Dar E Salam and Dar Es Salam-Mauritius segments

1976

This timetable dated December 10.1976 is probably the last timetable ever issued by East African Airways before closing

from www.timetableimages.com Bjorn Larsson collection

New routings appear as the Seychelles , a new destination, is linked to Monbasa and Nairobi,   Mauritius is linked again to Dar Es Salam .
Many return  flights are routed via Mombasa : Zurich-Mombasa and London -Mombasa 

MISSHAPS

EAAC suffured a full hull loss during its VC 10 (5X-UVA) operations, on April 10 1972,  when flight EC720 overran the runway at Bole International Airport following an aborted takeoff and then broke up and caught fire. The aircraft was due to operate the Addis Ababa–Rome leg of an international scheduled passenger service . 43 out of 107 occupants were killed in this accident


OTHER 

Aeroclassics 1/400 5H-MOG