Yes.. Swiftsure was G-APES. The chances of you NOT having flown it Peter are slimmer than a slim thing on a very slim day
You're right Dave...I flew G-APES 97 times from the right hand or middle seat, including my first ever flight in a proper Merchantman. Later I flew it another 37 times from the left hand seat
I don't think the Merchantman was any different to the 953 to fly. I've heard many pilots complain they didn't like the Vanguard because of the monotonous routes and while the Merchantman had defined routes, I guess the occasional oddball run made all the difference. I suppose much depends on if you like flying pax. There are lots of them.. they have to be looked after.. they have problems.. at least one is always late.. none of these things apply to cargo/freight. However, flying bloodstock around must have had it's down side too
I remember Peter saying once, they had a trip to fly currency to some nondescript corner of the world and when they arrived, there was no one available to offload it so the crew had to! Sounds like one of the many Airline series from the 60's/70's.. Airline springs to mind
Tomliner wrote:Hi Peter.From a pilots point of view,was there much difference between the Vanguard and Merchantman?EricT
Well..... the cargo was a lot quieter on a Merchantman
(just summarising your post Dave)
Due to shortages and cutbacks the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off.
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A Little VC10derness - http://www.VC10.net - Visit the Forum!
Well..... the cargo was a lot quieter on a Merchantman
Yes indeed though I'm not sure about the 'living' freight. Carrying the '94 British Equestrian teams horses to Barcelona must have been a joy. I wonder if they flew low and kept the FD windows open
I was once told that you'd never believe the mess made by a Merchantman full of frightened animals and some engineers didn't want to go into some of the underfloor areas on the bloodstock machines.............one of the few time where talking bullsh!t is the truth
Garry
"In the world of virtual reality things are not always what they seem."
Sounds like one of the many Airline series from the 60's/70's.. Airline springs to mind 
