Originally Posted by
Don McI
My first BAC 111 flight was from Glasgow to London. I think the carrier was British United. I remember clearly how quiet it was compared with the Vickers Viscounts and Vanguards I was used to. It was special because they were experimenting with backward facing seats. Take off was a bit hairy because one was pushed forward held only by the seat strap.
Later I regularly flew in British Airways 111's between Aberdeen and London. I loved them so much I still remember their registrations 40 years later. BB-MG and BB-MF. One day when having my lunch at Aberdeen airport, I was surprised to see MG returning shortly after having taken off for London. Apparently he could not get his wheels up! The next day, I took off for London in MG. Within minutes, I was startled to see the sea rather too close below us. The reason quickly became clear when MG returned to the airport because once again, he could not get his legs up. From then on, he was known as "Naughty MG"
Welcome to FT,
Don McI, and thanks for the One-Eleven memories!
One of Braniff International's BAC 1-11s did double duty for the airline, not only flying regularly scheduled revenue passenger flights but also serving as a corporate jet for the carrier. It even had a name: "Little Precious".
LIAT (Leeward Island Air Transport) also operated the BAC 1-11 in the Caribbean for a time, which nearly broke the airline (the aircraft was too big for their typical interisland routes). BTW, LIAT, which is still in operation with Dash 8-300 aircraft, has two nicknames: "Leave Island Any Time" and "Luggage In Another Terminal". I've flown with them and they are an interesting carrier!
Back around this same time, an oil & gas company in Houston (which I believe was Tenneco) had several BAC 1-11s in their corporate fleet based at Houston Hobby (HOU). When I was in high school in the late 60's, we walked into their hangar unannounced and received an impromptu tour of the 1-11. Not much security back in those good old days and how the world has changed....
And much more recently (last May), I did see a corporate BAC One-Eleven parked on the west side of Dallas Love Field (DAL).