FLYING THE GUARD'S VAN

摘要

The first man to fly the vanguard was, appropriately enough, Vickers' chief test pilot, G R 'Jock' Bryce. On January 20, 1960, Bryce and his deputy, Brian Trubshaw, took the first prototype, G-AOYW, for its inaugural flight from the company's airfield at Weybridge, Surrey. It was a brief flight but not quite as brief as originally planned. The intention had been merely to ferry the aircraft to Vickers' main base at Wisley, just 3 miles (5km) away, but the pilots found the handling much to their liking and decided to prolong the flight. Accordingly, Bryce brought the big turboprop back to Weybridge where many Vickers employees were watching. He made a low pass over the runway before making his approach to Wisley in the fading light.