It’s becoming a rare pleasure these day, to be able to watch a documentary which is clear, relevant, crisp, factual, comprehensive, and interesting… and without irritating irrelevant background music. Cheers!
We shared the cargo ramp with YS 11A's.(80's and 90's) We called them Yamaha Suzuki one one alphas, flying dog whistles. Extremely loud is an understatement.
I spent 11,600 hours behind a couple of Darts in the F27 Friendship (Fairchild built them as well) & never had a problem with them - they were built like a Brick out House. Our Airline had two engine failures with Auto Feather & that was the accessory gear box failure. The Rotol Props had automatic Pitch control & were complicated to learn but "Bullet Proof" in operation. On start if you had a Hot Start the book said shut it down but we never did as we "Rode" the HP Cocks to control the temps. On a hot day when you hit Max power you got a real kick in the pants when the Water/ Methanol kicked in to restore your power. Question "Did you fly the F27" & the answer from those that did was "WHAT!!!!". ( They could send you deaf if you didn't were ear protection).
I was hired as copilot at Ozark Air Lines, in 1978. We had DC-9’s and FH227B’s. I flew it for 1.5 years/1,200 hours. It was a great airplane, had 44 seats and 1,875 shaft hp dry, and 1,990 shp wet (water/methanol injection.
Here in the UK us oldies well remember the distinctive high frequency turbine whine so unique to the Dart. For those who have never experienced it, listen to the intro to the Beatles song, "Back in the USSR" on their white album. My own experience of Viscount flying is confined to just 2 journeys, both cockpit rides. The first an 8 sector trip where I stood throughout due to the jump seat being replaced by a cockpit AC unit, those were the days. The second a hairy trip in poor weather to the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, in Viscount 800 G-BFZL, by coincidence G-AFZL is the registration of my own aircraft, a Porterfield. I always intended to get around to photographing them together, alas it never happened and now that Viscount sits abandoned at an airstrip in the Congo.
Yes, standard fare on the BEA routes in and out of the Channel Islands , 50's,60's and early 70's. Eeverything Dart powered, except the Vangaurd , that had Tynes.
Worked for an outfit at Burbank airport in the late 70's that leased the Viscount to Rock groups as their tour aircraft. This presentation definitely brought back some fond memories of that special time.
Years ago, one of our neighboring operators in northern Canada used HS748's. On a crisp morning, the shriek of its Dart engines at FI was nothing less than brain-piercing. You'd swear it was metal-on-metal.
You've reminded me of being kid, living close to Jersy Airport Channel Islands. My wake alarm was the Various Dart powered 'mail planes' starting up at at 6 am. 😄
When I worked for British Aerospace I used to regularly buy the 536.2 engines as spares from Rolls Royce East Kilbride to support world wide operations of the HS748. We were based in Chadderton, Manchester, UK. Happy memories.
Hello Mike. What a beautifully presented look back at these wonderful aeroplanes and the Rolls Royce Dart Engine. Very enjoyable to watch Sir. Here’s my Dart story: I was extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to fly the Rolls Royce Dart Turboprop Engine for three years from 1991-1994. The last generation of Big Turboprops that were starting to be phased out of all operational service in the U.K. and Europe even then! None of the Heralds were flying passengers anymore when I started, just freight, and virtually all Night Flying! For those that don’t know, the H P Dart Herald looks very similar to the Fokker F-27, but better looking. I do very much like the Fairchild-Hiller FH-227 though. It’s a huge improvement over the standard Fokker F-27, built under license in the United States. The FH-227 is a very nice looking aircraft, longer fuselage and vastly updated Avionics and cockpit, it’s even got an APU, something we could have done with on the Herald especially in the wintertime. I have the glorious sound of the RR Dart ingrained on my brain, and It’s something you never forget. All the noise comes from its Centrifugal Compressor, especially during start-up and idle. I was on the Handley Paige Dart Herald for three years, with now defunct Channel Express (Air Services Ltd). They eventually morphed into low cost carrier Jet2. On start up, the RR Dart’s starter motor would draw over 3000 Amps, and that’s a hell of a lot of current. Once it was set to cruise power (14.200 RPM and 730 Degrees C. EGT) it was still noisy, but didn’t have that high pitch shrill any more. The Herald had the largest of the Dart Engines, the RR Dart-532/9 driving a Four Blade Dowty-Rotol nearly 13 foot Diameter Propeller assembly. Propeller pitch was automatically and Electro-Hydraulically controlled and linked directly through the Throttle Leavers. We had NO prop levers in the cockpit, only a Ground fine/Flight fine lever. The RR Dart had NO Gearing to the propeller. It was a Direct Drive meaning, if you turned the props round, the engine turned as well, unlike the Allison on the Lockheed Electra/P3 Orion or the C-130 Hercules, which used a reduction gearbox mechanism. It was an extremely reliable aircraft and engine and I never suffered any engine issues the whole three years I flew it. Sadly, there are only two or three complete examples of the Herald in existence now, and at its height, Channel Express had about 12 of them. They were fun days, a very young 22 year old First Officer in my first Multi-Crew Airline Appointment. Where have all the years gone? Best Wishes. Doug from England. 🇺🇸🏴🇬🇧🇺🇸
I lived under the flight path of Hurn (for me it always will be) during the 80’s and every night a plane would take off quite late, I assumed the Dart Heralds based there with Channel Express and grind into the distance, it wasn’t a nasty sound at all - more the sandman sending a young boy to sleep.
I lived in Essex as a young lad in the early to mid 80's and remember the Dart whine late at night and early in the morning, I guess they were going into Stansted or Southend. I guess mostly Heralds or perhaps even repurposed Viscounts. I think the Post Office for a time ran a fleet of them. Would loved to have travelled on that Viscount with those windows back in the day.
I am afraid you do not understand the turbo propeller system very well. The reduction gears in the Dart are integral to the engine rather than being constituted in a shaft and separate gearbox. Did you think that 13 foot propeller was turning at 15,000 rpm?
The RR Dart did have a reduction gear, as do all turboprop engines as optimum propeller speed is much lower than optimal turbine speed. The Darts reduction gearbox was integrated with the forward part of the engine and was co axial to the turbo machinery behind it.
My RR Dart experience was maintaining IPEC Aviation’s three AW650 Argosy aircraft for several years. The main problem for a mechanic was maintaining a set of British standard tools for them. I spent quite a few hours having my sense of hearing assaulted in the flight deck of these aircraft both on the ground during maintenance ground running and in the air carrying out company errands around Australia. For the flight crews the cockpit intercom and noise attenuating headsets were essential equipment!
As a 7 year old in 1971 while at Sydney Airport near Victoria BC Canada I saw a Air Canada Vickers Viscount 4 engines power up, taxi and then takeoff, then a Hawker 748 twin engine did the same afterward . I noticed both planes engines sounded exactly the same. even then i assumed it was the same turbine engine type. They both sounded really cool.
Flew out of Southend on a Viscount 40 years ago. On the outward journey we sat at the front facing forward, but with rearward facing seats opposite and a table between. On our return we were over the wing with conventional seating. Having only experienced Boeing jets up until then, it seemed far more civilised, being quiet and exceptionally smooth. I didn't realise that the Dart was used in so many aircraft thank you for such an informative presentation.
I've a HP Herald a couple of hundred yds from my house at Woodley Aviation museum, the compactness of the engine is remarkable! (...the museum could do with some visitors if anyone finds themselves looking from something to do near Reading!!!) . The museum also has a Fairey Gannet ....that has the craziest turbo-prop arrangement going called the Double Mamba (2 engines coupled to a single gearbox driving a contra rotating prop...)
Flew from Memphis Tennessee to Fort Polk Louisiana for Army basic training on a Trans Texas dart powered Convair. The pneumatic folding air stair was something I did not expect. A very good experience.
Flew on a British Air Ferries Viscount from Holland to Denmark in the early nineties for work. They welcomed us on the "British Aerospace Viscount" to make us feel like we were on a less classic plane, I guess. We visited the cockpit in flight and remember the dials to sync the engines to minimize sound ( droning?).t
I flew a trip with Sir Freddie Lakers wife, Jackie D. we were both F/A s with Eastern Airlines at the time. Thanks for all your videos they are all top notch.
Mike, Sorry I'm late to the party, but back in the 1970s I owned three Viscount 745d aircraft, all executive configuration and flew entertainment groups on dry leases. I personally got about 50 hrs in them, mainly positioning flights. We had pro pilots who went on the 30-60 day tours. It was the perfect bird for the gig. I am very familiar with Darts, ours were 510, and had about 1,600 hp with about 1225 from the Dowty-Rotol props and 375 from the exhaust. Hi-bypass fan jets of today put out 80% from the fan and 20% from the exhaust. In almost six years of operation before I sold the company, we had a 100% dispatch reliability record. We used 280 kts as our block speeds. Our slipper tanks gave use an almost 2,000 mile range.
There is nothing like the unique engine sound from a Dart. Especially on a Viscount where we have four of these engines all singing in unison. I flew on South African Airways Viscounts back in the 60's.
Been in love w the Dart since I was a boy, after having received “Aviation: The Story of Flight,” by (who else?) Bill Gunston. Funny how a single positive interaction can remain in effect a lifetime.
Well done Sir, I especially loved the bit about the Gulfstream, as I has spent several years working on them as an A&P. You are right about the engine cowling, it was as beautiful as it was functional. Boy, do they make some noise though. I had the opportunity back in the 80's to fly from Detroit to Birmingham England on a G-1... great memories...thank you...
My family first visited Atlanta via a United Viscount. One can never forget the high pitched scream of the Dart engines. We also once flew on a Piedmont F-27, which had the same sound. I loved the high wing and the big oval windows, which would never fly in today's airline environment. By the way, we flew back to Newport News, VA in an Eastern Lockheed Electra. Different sound. We got to sit in the lounge area in the tail! Thank you for another great program, Mike.
Greetings from Christchurch NZ. While the London Christchurch air race was a little before my time the unique ear piercing screech of the Darts is a very familiar memory. Travelled many times on the Viscounts and Fokkers that made up the NAC domestic fleet during the 60s and early 70s. Both great to fly in. The HS748s were used locally by Mt Cook Airlines on the tourist routes and the RNZAF had Andovers. Safe Air had a couple of Argosy freighters that were probably the last of the Dart powered aircraft flying in this country into the 90s I think. Thanks for the video!
The purr of a turboprop is soothing, yet powerful to enjoy. They remind me of hot, Summer afternoons down at the airport. The Ozark and Frontier F27s sang as they throttled up to takeoff power. I can listen to them anytime.
Frontier flew Allison powered CV-580s, never F27s. When they bought Central Airlines in 1967 they inherited some CV-600 powered by Darts, but they immediately retired them because of their poor performance at high elevation airports. The Convair 600 could not carry a normal passenger load out of Denver, Frontier's base. Before the buyout, Central operated only DC-3s into Denver.
Thanks, Mike, for another wonderfully historic and visual treat! In the early to late 1960s, my Dad was a photographer for McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, when they were pumping out LOTS of F-4 Phantoms, and my Mom went to work for Ozark Airlines (based in St. L.), eventually becoming their head maintenance clerk. The mainstay of Ozark's fleet at the time was DC-3s, since at the time they served many smaller towns and cities in the Midwest, like Hannibal, MO., Jefferson City, MO., Columbia, MO., and the like. This was, of course, during the time of CAB regulation. Anyway, they acquired a good number of FH-227s for longer flights into larger hubs, like Chicago, Kansas City, etc. Once my Mom got flight privileges, we started flying to various places in the Midwest....LOVED having window seats and watching the TALL mains retract / extend from the aft nacelles - that was magic to a kid of 10! Later Ozark acquired some of the early DC-9s, which was the 1st pure jet I ever flew in, but they just weren't as visceral and exciting as the FH-227s. Great airplane!
I still have a set of British Standard tools my dad had and some he modified, to work on the Viscounts at Capital Airlines before United bought them. I also got to fly the Darts on Convair 600's and 640's at Wright Airlines. We called them dog whistles.
The YS-11 flew freight in the US until the late 90s, affectionally known as the Rice Rocket (RR). Get it? I had the pleasure, if it can be called that to work on that engine on the YS with Rotol 16.5 feet prop, and G-I many years ago. Made a horrendous roar on water-meth inhection. Great video.
This one did not humm tough, it was a verry loud wining engine. I you'd fly regulary on an aircraft equiped with RR-Darts, you'd really get a dip in your hearing ability
The last time I flew on a RR Dart powered airliner was about 1988 when I flew on a Simmons Airlines, YS-11 from Chicago (ORD) to Milwaukee. Two things I recall from that short flight were that my seat would not move forward for the takeoff (I pointed this out to the stewardess and she said, "Oh, don't worry") and that the passenger windows were somewhat smaller and lower than in other airliners. Great video on the iconic Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop and thanks for sharing!
Amazing to see your comment, as my first impression sitting in the YS-11 was exactly the same thing - smaller and lower windows! (Designed for the baseline Japanese physic in 1962.)
Thanks Mike - another fascinating wander down a road I didn't even know I wanted to go down! Loved seeing those Argosys (Argosies?) again. What an amazingly long lived design this engine was.
This was the sound of my early teens, living in Greenford, Middlesex, directly below one of the main flight paths to London Heathrow. Being mad about aviation and a registration collector, I couldn't have been happier! I do believe that the Dart went on to serve as a stationary, industrial engine long after its retirement from aviation use. Thanks, Mike, for a great video and a great channel.
Lovely video again Mike, makes my Monday when at the work bench and listening and watching to your narration. I seem to remember but could be wrong in that the turbo props were more silent and therefore could go into some airports / airfields that the jet engined planes couldn't, but probably wrong. Apologies if you mentioned that. Oh, and I'm not nit picking, just that over here Canberra is pronounced Can bar ra and not Can bear ra, good old english language :) Take care nad model on
Brough back memories of the HS 748 production line at Woodford. I was an engineering apprentice soaking up everything and learning what was involved in designing and producing remarkable and profitable aircraft. The Dart was a screamer in the days before noise was an issue. Thanks for the video.
I remember Viscounts of British European Airways flying over my home in the 1960s and 70s. I think they were louder than most modern aircraft but they were much quieter than the 1960s jets. Also the musical sound was much more pleasant than that of the jets, most of which made a heavy rumbling sound like thunder (similar to the later Concorde). Recently the opportunity has arisen in the UK to compare the sound of 1960s turboprops to modern aircraft, because of a number of cargo airlines from Ukraine (and Belarus until aircraft from there were banned from the UK after a certain incident) that fly An-12s that in the 60s and 70s would almost never have flown over the UK. These are louder than most modern aircraft, but I think most of the noise comes from the propellers rather than from the engines.
Thankyou. That was exceptional. I recently spoke to an ex NZ airforce engineer who worked on the fleet of Dart powered Andovers. Fascinating facts. The Andoveres had a very powerful version of the Dart and with injection could take off from very short runways. Ideal for some of the remote Pacific islands. Sadly when they got decommissioned, nothing could replace them .
I flew on Capital Viscounts several times in the late 50s and early 60s. The smooth and comfortable Viscount was a revelation compared to the noisy and non-pressurized DC-4s that Capital was still flying then.
My father worked with Dick Ifield (father of Frank Ifield - the singer) designing the fuel system for the Dart. This was for Lucas Aerospace, who no longer exist, but supplied RR with fuel control systems from around 1945 until 1990. Thanks Mike for the great content on your site. Cheers Andy
When I first became seriously interested in aviation in 1972, my local airport was Birmingham (Elmdon), in the UK, and the most commonly seen airliner at the time was the Viscount, which were operated by BEA and British Midland. I can still remember that high pitched sound of the engines as they taxied in and out, magical! As an expat Brit, I can't help but feel saddened by the way the UK aerospace industry went from being a world leader after the war to where it is today - thank goodness Rolls Royce is still carrying the flag!
Great video, Mike. Thanks for highlighting one of the great turbo-prop aircraft engines. I flew all over the east coast on Piedmont Airlines F-27s and YS-11s many times. Both superb aircraft, and a lot of fun to fly on. The Rolls-Royce Darts had a unique sound as well. Always learn something new here.
I flew in a Viscount in the late 60’s,it was a quite and comfortable flight…no crowding in those days,it is also a beautiful and graceful aircraft.Thank you for your well narrated and informative video.Roly 🇬🇧.
In relation to the Avro Athena, the images you have here are of Athena serial number VM125. This was one of the two prototypes (Avro 701 Athena T.1) powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba 1 engine (VM125, VM132), whereas a single Avro 701 Athena T.1A (VM129) was powered by a Rolls-Royce Dart engine. It's a minefield to try and capture all of the variations during that period of great experimentation!
A tribute to my channel to see comments of this caliber, and many thanks for pointing this out. I worked extra hard on this one to find the correct photo and still got it wrong! Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the memories....the first airliner I ever flew in was a Vickers Viscount in 1967. I too remember those big windows. Great video, thanks again.
I've ridden on an F-27 from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Chicago, O'Hare in 1991. It was United Express. Those Darts are noisy. Worked on a flight line in late 80's thru early 90's and dealt with several Gulfstream G-1's. Even with ear plugs AND ear muffs, the sound was still pretty unmistakable.
really loved the sound of the darts. so simple inside. very clever, especially for the time. the viscount, another one of george edwards finest productions.
A great engine for sure. I liked the look of the Viscount installation - very streamlined. On some aircraft the installation looks quite bulky (no doubt for practical reasons such as undercarriage etc).
Yes, good observation. Interesting also that the Gulfstream, YS-11, H.S.748, Accountant, and Andovers all share the same basic nacelle configuration. Thanks for watching!
My first passenger flight on a Dart powered airplane was on a Continental Viscount in 1960. Later I was a mechanic at Central Airlines, hired in 1965 a few months before Central put the first RR-powered Convair 600 Dart into passenger service. At 10:02 you see N74859, the first in service, at Dallas Love Field Gate 9, Yellow Concourse. N74858 was the first to be delivered, but was assigned to pilot training duties until its paint job could be updated to Central's new look. The Rda10 engine was a new design at the time, rated 2700 hp with water injection at 15,000 rpm. The engine had some serious teething problems, including leaks from flexible fuel hoses that hardened and cracked in the heat of service, excessive coking of fuel nozzles, air leaks from inter-combuster can connector seals, and progressive cracking of the compressor casing originating at the top engine mount and eventually causing the inflight loss of the front half of the engine with propeller from a Trans Texas CV-600. Somehow no crash ensued, but it was a close call. The Dart 600 was a very smooth airplane in flight with none of the vibration that plagued the CV-580 and its powerful Allison engines. However, the Dart could not match the high-elevation performance of the Allison. In 1967 Denver-based Frontier Airlines, already operating the CV-580, purchased Fort Worth-based Central Airlines in order to gain access to the Dallas market. Central at the time was operating into Denver not CV-600s but DC-3s because the Dart's poor performance at high elevations limited the load it could carry out of Denver, much less Frontier's many mountain airports. Frontier retired and later sold the Darts.
Remembering as a young planespotter at IDL (now JFK) around 1958, hearing the whine of those Rolls-Royce Darts on the TCA (then Trans Canada) Viscounts 700s. The sounds of those engines were unmistakable. And of course the F-27 coming along. I did build that Revell kit as well. Great video Mike! Thank you again! ✈️ 😎
Nice Mike. Aren't we all nuts? I can listen to jets/turboprops running all day long. The "smell of money" (burnt jet fuel), and the whines, shrill whistles, the roar, howl, etc. of jets is just the coolest thing. The modern high bypass commercial engines are just too quiet and smoke free now. Oh well...I know.....efficency, and all the rest but.....a Voodoo blasting 40k lbs into the air w/ two J-57's was just TOO COOL! If you are going to do some Engine vids Mike, you might do my favorite. You know what it is I think.....the mighty PWA J75. Imagine a PURE TURBOJET at 29,500 lbs thrust (for Super Crusader). TOTAL mass flow All supersonic. (fan engines have whatever percent bypass ratio subsonic untill AB is used) It was a total beast of a motor. The 105 and 106 were BIG and just used one...Anyway, Mike,...thanks, another good one!!
When you are old enough to have seen the aircraft involved, have flown on one at some point and remember what they sound like you never forget the whine they made. As a kid standing behind them as they taxiied out was magic for the sound and smells. Memories are made of this and good ones they are.
My first flight was Seattle to Anchorage on a Connie PNA. Second was Anch to McGrath Ak on an F27 Wein Ak all in 1961. We called the Dart engines “screaming memies”.
Excellent presentation again. Always thought the Dakota was named after the state. In addition to showing how well the British aircraft industry was doing from the end of WW2 into the 60s, it also is a reminder that how much was lost by said industry. Most enjoyable and I found out about a lot of aircraft I never knew existed. And the box art is a must.
Great Video Mike. Never got a chance to work on a Dart, but did get to work on quite a few Allison 501-D13s on Electra freighters we were contracted to Maintain. Taxied an L188 to a run-up pad once, when you drop the power levers out of the Beta detent and just give them a nudge, it threw you back in the seat. Instant thrust. I miss the scream of the Darts on the F27s at the gates close to our hangars.
Thanks for the great video and highlighting the history of the Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engine. I flew the NAMC YS-11 for Mid-Pacific Airlines in Hawaii. There were some memorable things about flying a Japanese designed airplane powered by British turboprop engines. The Mid-Pacific Airlines Dart engines were the more powerful 3,000 shp versions augmented with water methanol injection that was used with heavy payloads and hot temperatures. By the way, Dart comes from the way Rolls-Royce named their engines after rivers, in this case the Dart River in England. The Dart engine on the YS-11 turned a large, four bladed, 14 foot Dowty-Rotol propellor. The combination of the 14 foot propellor and the Dart engine created a truly deafening, high-pitched scream that always caused people to turn, watch and pray our airplane would move further away. At first, you think they are waving but they are covering their ears. There were jet powered B-737s and DC-9s on the same ramp, but people always complained about the YS-11 Rolls-Royce Dart noise. I wore a David-Clark head clamping headset to block most of the noise; uncomfortable but not as painful as the noise from the engines. The sound of the blades changing pitch and the sound of engine shutdown and the propellors windmilling down was always pretty cool. The Dowty-Rotol propellor was a complicated system of propellor stops and indicator lights. A most unusual quirk for most pilots was applying LEFT rudder on takeoff. Most propellor aircraft require RIGHT rudder for takeoff. Applying the wrong rudder on takeoff will run the aircraft off the runway or worse. While flying the NAMC YS-11, I got to tell people, “I drive two Rolls-Royces at work.” When I flew the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, I got to tell people, “I drive three Rolls-Royces at work.” The NAMC YS-11 and the Rolls-Royce Dart were good to me. I never had an engine failure and they always brought us back safely. Thank you NAMC, Rolls-Royce and the Mid-Pacific Air maintenance team!
@@johnyoung1128 Okay, I deleted the sentence about tightening screws. The point was that flying the Rolls-Royce Dart equipped YS-11 during takeoff was different.
@@pascalcoole2725Convair had their own Turboprop Conversion Program for the Convairliners. CV-240s became CV-600s, CV-340s and CV-440s became CV-640s these conversions were done in house by Convair or by the airlines with kits supplied by Convair. Of course the Allison Engine Corporation had their own program for the CV-340 and CV-440 airframes using the Allison 501 Turboprop and Aeroproducts propellers and a 10% increase to the surface area of the tail along with other modifications. This conversion was nor available for the CV-240 because the wing structure was not strong enough for the more powerful Allison 501 which was derated to 3750 Shaft Horse Power. Frontier Airlines was the first airline to put the Allison-Convair into passenger service and it was their marketing department that came up with the CV-580 name (officially these converted aircraft are designated as either CV-340A of CV-440A depending upon the original aircraft model). Frontier also nicknamed the 580 The Mountain Master because of its ability to handle the sometimes terrible weather conditions over The Rocky Mountains. Which was partly due the Convair’s rugged airframe and the powerful Allison 501d-13h engines that seriously overpowered the aircraft. Also the first Turboprop Transport Aircraft to fly in the USA was The Allison Turboliner, a CV-240 that was outfitted with a pair of Allison T-38 Turboprops (Predecessor to the 501/T-56) which was used as a test aircraft by Allison and the US Air Force, I’m fairly sure that 2 aircraft were converted for this program and after completion both aircraft were converted back to their original P&W R-2800s. KF Aerospace (owner of the Type Certificate for The Convairliners) modified 6 C-131 airframes (US Military Designation) were rebuilt and “stretched” almost 16’ to produce the CV-5800 whit Allison 501d-22 Turboprops with Hamilton Standard props and the original tail configuration, all of these aircraft are flying as freighters today!
Frontier only used the CV-600s for a short time before selling them, compared to their CV-580s with the Allison 501 they were not powerful enough for their operations.
Ahhh, my favourite plane, the Vickers Viscount…..the sound of the RR turboprop is so identifiable……you can even hear it on Dark Side Of The Moon…track 2 ‘on the run’ with the the voice in the background’ BA255 to Rome’……..just saying
I love all your videos, Mike, and this may be my favorite. I grew up loving the Darts I heard at Love Field: CO Viscounts, Gulfstream 1’s, Trans Texas and Central CV600’s (“Silver Clouds” at TTA). Then at age 14 a nonstop LHR-Templehof flight in a BEA Viscount 700, Return flight in an 800. Oh the windows as you pointed out. Fine video, Mike. My this part Englishman and former Rolls-Royce employee happy.
Thanks for another fantastic and detailed video, Mike. I had the pleasure of flying on a number of Ozark FH-227s in the 70s. I found out much later the crew nickname for the airplane was the "Whistle Pig"...I sure understand why!
That was excellent, Mike. I had no idea the Dart was so widely used. As a young man in Canada I often flew on Trans-Canada Airlines / Air Canada Viscounts. I loved those huge windows and those long, long engines. Happily, the British Columbia Aviation Museum has a Viscount in their collection, in my current hometown of Victoria, BC. And as a lifelong aviation fan I has no idea where the name ‘Dakota’ came from. The things you learn on this fantastic channel! 👍
Convair considered building an enlarged 4 engined aircraft based on their legendary Convairliner Series which would have used the RR Dart but it never progressed passed the concept stage. Too bad Convair never built a competitor to the Lockheed L-188 Electra using the Allison 501d13, that would have been one outstanding and beautiful aircraft.
At times in the 1960s and possibly well into the 1970s there were a lot of twin engine planes flying in and out of National Airport in Arlington across the river from Washington D.C. Most of these planes made a rather characteristic and similar whine noise,almost raspy. I wonder if these were Darts and whether any of them were YS 11 I think the airlines were the likes of Allegheny and Piedmont ,maybe there was an Appalachian Airlines seems I remember some of these types of planes overflying the University of Virginia in the first years of 1970 and maybe until about 1972,then I think they disappeared, replaced by the much much louder early model Boeing 737 with narrow bore torch like jet engines
Another excellent presentation, Mike. The collection of photos is outstanding ! I miss the F-27's as they whistled over my house to land at San Diego's Lindbergh Field.
Great presentation, as always Mike... I had a few rides in turbo-prop planes... What I remember about them was the amazing smooth/powerful acceleration on take-off... A little noisier than the jets, but such a cool view, seeing those props doing their best work...
Cool video, I had the privilege of flying the HS748 until switching jobs a few months back. I still miss the scream of the darts firing up on a cold morning!
Brilliant video. I am amazed at your knowledge, love of the lines and the grace of aircraft. I think a channel called "Aviation celebrating Mike Machat" makes sense. Best to you Mike.
What I like mostly about your videos is that every time I learn something very interesting regardless how esoteric it is. Next to my hometown there was an air base and also a paratroopers base. I remember as a kid that at least once a week we would see not far from us, Dakita aicrcrafts with paratroopers jumping out of them. Now I understand why we all called them Dakotad. I guess at came from the Brits
I’m so old I still remember riding them. Viscount, F-27, Herald. The most impressive was the large circular window of the Viscount. The sound of the engine was different than present day prop engines. If my memory is correct they needed methanol injection for additional power.
Excellent presentation, Mike! I love your artwork, too. I remember as a kid back in the 1950s observing Capital Airlines' V745Ds at MDW and ATL and well into the 1960s in United livery but finally got to fly in a Viscount 700 series with Alitalia from NAP to FCO in 1966. I never got to fly on either an F-27 or FH-227 but flew a number of times with Piedmont Airlines on their YS-11As.
I have fond memories of riding aboard Ozark Airlines F-27s when I was a kid. “Jet Prop” was emblazoned upon the nacelles of those screaming Darts. It left quite an impression upon this aviation nut…
Thank you for this video. The Rolls Royce dart is responsible for initiating my aviation career : My oldest conscious memory is that of the inboard engine starting on a Vickers Viscount, I was three years old. The high pitched whine was so loud and the crescendo so interminable that I thought the damn thing was going to explode ! When it coasted to ground idle it made that distinctive purring sound… I could tell a dart approaching with my eyes closed.
Good Day. Excellent. My father worked for American Airlines when I was young. I've flown on DC3, DC6 and Electra II with American. Always loved prop planes and turboprops. Thank You for this fine video. Best Regards
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It’s becoming a rare pleasure these day, to be able to watch a documentary which is clear, relevant, crisp, factual, comprehensive, and interesting… and without irritating irrelevant background music. Cheers!
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
We shared the cargo ramp with YS 11A's.(80's and 90's) We called them Yamaha Suzuki one one alphas, flying dog whistles. Extremely loud is an understatement.
YES,very loud distinctive sounds!!
I spent 11,600 hours behind a couple of Darts in the F27 Friendship (Fairchild built them as well) & never had a problem with them - they were built like a Brick out House.
Our Airline had two engine failures with Auto Feather & that was the accessory gear box failure.
The Rotol Props had automatic Pitch control & were complicated to learn but "Bullet Proof" in operation.
On start if you had a Hot Start the book said shut it down but we never did as we "Rode" the HP Cocks to control the temps.
On a hot day when you hit Max power you got a real kick in the pants when the Water/ Methanol kicked in to restore your power.
Question "Did you fly the F27" & the answer from those that did was "WHAT!!!!". ( They could send you deaf if you didn't were ear protection).
Good morning fellow aviation nuts.
👋
morning
I was hired as copilot at Ozark Air Lines, in 1978. We had DC-9’s and FH227B’s. I flew it for 1.5 years/1,200 hours. It was a great airplane, had 44 seats and 1,875 shaft hp dry, and 1,990 shp wet (water/methanol injection.
Here in the UK us oldies well remember the distinctive high frequency turbine whine so unique to the Dart. For those who have never experienced it, listen to the intro to the Beatles song, "Back in the USSR" on their white album. My own experience of Viscount flying is confined to just 2 journeys, both cockpit rides. The first an 8 sector trip where I stood throughout due to the jump seat being replaced by a cockpit AC unit, those were the days. The second a hairy trip in poor weather to the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, in Viscount 800 G-BFZL, by coincidence G-AFZL is the registration of my own aircraft, a Porterfield. I always intended to get around to photographing them together, alas it never happened and now that Viscount sits abandoned at an airstrip in the Congo.
Great Beatle fact there!
Oh yes I remember that awful whine/scream.
I used to travel on viscounts a fair bit as a child and that noise was almost unbearable to young ears.
The sound on the Beatles song sounds a bit heavier than a Dart, perhaps Bristol Britannia or Russian turboprop.
Yes, standard fare on the BEA routes in and out of the Channel Islands , 50's,60's and early 70's. Eeverything Dart powered, except the Vangaurd , that had Tynes.
Worked for an outfit at Burbank airport in the late 70's that leased the Viscount to Rock groups as their tour aircraft. This presentation definitely brought back some fond memories of that special time.
Years ago, one of our neighboring operators in northern Canada used HS748's. On a crisp morning, the shriek of its Dart engines at FI was nothing less than brain-piercing. You'd swear it was metal-on-metal.
You've reminded me of being kid, living close to Jersy Airport Channel Islands. My wake alarm was the Various Dart powered 'mail planes' starting up at at 6 am. 😄
Excellent presentation on the RR Dart.
Glad you liked it!
When I worked for British Aerospace I used to regularly buy the 536.2 engines as spares from Rolls Royce East Kilbride to support world wide operations of the HS748. We were based in Chadderton, Manchester, UK. Happy memories.
I was at Chadderton from the mid 70's manufacturing the 748 & then ATP, then went onto Airbus wings good times 👍
Hello Mike. What a beautifully presented look back at these wonderful aeroplanes and the Rolls Royce Dart Engine. Very enjoyable to watch Sir. Here’s my Dart story: I was extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to fly the Rolls Royce Dart Turboprop Engine for three years from 1991-1994. The last generation of Big Turboprops that were starting to be phased out of all operational service in the U.K. and Europe even then! None of the Heralds were flying passengers anymore when I started, just freight, and virtually all Night Flying! For those that don’t know, the H P Dart Herald looks very similar to the Fokker F-27, but better looking. I do very much like the Fairchild-Hiller FH-227 though. It’s a huge improvement over the standard Fokker F-27, built under license in the United States. The FH-227 is a very nice looking aircraft, longer fuselage and vastly updated Avionics and cockpit, it’s even got an APU, something we could have done with on the Herald especially in the wintertime. I have the glorious sound of the RR Dart ingrained on my brain, and It’s something you never forget. All the noise comes from its Centrifugal Compressor, especially during start-up and idle. I was on the Handley Paige Dart Herald for three years, with now defunct Channel Express (Air Services Ltd). They eventually morphed into low cost carrier Jet2. On start up, the RR Dart’s starter motor would draw over 3000 Amps, and that’s a hell of a lot of current. Once it was set to cruise power (14.200 RPM and 730 Degrees C. EGT) it was still noisy, but didn’t have that high pitch shrill any more. The Herald had the largest of the Dart Engines, the RR Dart-532/9 driving a Four Blade Dowty-Rotol nearly 13 foot Diameter Propeller assembly. Propeller pitch was automatically and Electro-Hydraulically controlled and linked directly through the Throttle Leavers. We had NO prop levers in the cockpit, only a Ground fine/Flight fine lever. The RR Dart had NO Gearing to the propeller. It was a Direct Drive meaning, if you turned the props round, the engine turned as well, unlike the Allison on the Lockheed Electra/P3 Orion or the C-130 Hercules, which used a reduction gearbox mechanism. It was an extremely reliable aircraft and engine and I never suffered any engine issues the whole three years I flew it. Sadly, there are only two or three complete examples of the Herald in existence now, and at its height, Channel Express had about 12 of them. They were fun days, a very young 22 year old First Officer in my first Multi-Crew Airline Appointment. Where have all the years gone? Best Wishes. Doug from England. 🇺🇸🏴🇬🇧🇺🇸
I lived under the flight path of Hurn (for me it always will be) during the 80’s and every night a plane would take off quite late, I assumed the Dart Heralds based there with Channel Express and grind into the distance, it wasn’t a nasty sound at all - more the sandman sending a young boy to sleep.
I lived in Essex as a young lad in the early to mid 80's and remember the Dart whine late at night and early in the morning, I guess they were going into Stansted or Southend. I guess mostly Heralds or perhaps even repurposed Viscounts. I think the Post Office for a time ran a fleet of them. Would loved to have travelled on that Viscount with those windows back in the day.
I am afraid you do not understand the turbo propeller system very well. The reduction gears in the Dart are integral to the engine rather than being constituted in a shaft and separate gearbox. Did you think that 13 foot propeller was turning at 15,000 rpm?
The RR Dart did have a reduction gear, as do all turboprop engines as optimum propeller speed is much lower than optimal turbine speed. The Darts reduction gearbox was integrated with the forward part of the engine and was co axial to the turbo machinery behind it.
Most props do roughly 1,000 rpm, while the turbines and compressors do 13-14,000 rpm, so there was a gearbox.
The photos and the artwork are great. Another great video.
Thanks John, and I decided to give the opener a new look. Record-breaking video today, and thanks for watching!.
My RR Dart experience was maintaining IPEC Aviation’s three AW650 Argosy aircraft for several years. The main problem for a mechanic was maintaining a set of British standard tools for them. I spent quite a few hours having my sense of hearing assaulted in the flight deck of these aircraft both on the ground during maintenance ground running and in the air carrying out company errands around Australia. For the flight crews the cockpit intercom and noise attenuating headsets were essential equipment!
As a 7 year old in 1971 while at Sydney Airport near Victoria BC Canada I saw a Air Canada Vickers Viscount 4 engines power up, taxi and then takeoff, then a Hawker 748 twin engine did the same afterward . I noticed both planes engines sounded exactly the same. even then i assumed it was the same turbine engine type. They both sounded really cool.
Excellent presentation! Fond memories of Viscounts, 748s and Dart Heralds at my local airport during the 1960s.
Flew out of Southend on a Viscount 40 years ago. On the outward journey we sat at the front facing forward, but with rearward facing seats opposite and a table between. On our return we were over the wing with conventional seating. Having only experienced Boeing jets up until then, it seemed far more civilised, being quiet and exceptionally smooth. I didn't realise that the Dart was used in so many aircraft thank you for such an informative presentation.
Great episode
I've a HP Herald a couple of hundred yds from my house at Woodley Aviation museum, the compactness of the engine is remarkable! (...the museum could do with some visitors if anyone finds themselves looking from something to do near Reading!!!) .
The museum also has a Fairey Gannet ....that has the craziest turbo-prop arrangement going called the Double Mamba (2 engines coupled to a single gearbox driving a contra rotating prop...)
Flew from Memphis Tennessee to Fort Polk Louisiana for Army basic training on a Trans Texas dart powered Convair. The pneumatic folding air stair was something I did not expect. A very good experience.
Flew on a British Air Ferries Viscount from Holland to Denmark in the early nineties for work.
They welcomed us on the "British Aerospace Viscount" to make us feel like we were on a less classic plane, I guess.
We visited the cockpit in flight and remember the dials to sync the engines to minimize sound ( droning?).t
Neat story, thanks!
I flew a trip with Sir Freddie Lakers wife, Jackie D. we were both F/A s with Eastern Airlines at the time. Thanks for all your videos they are all top notch.
My mum (also Jackie as it happens) worked with Freddie Laker at Aviation Traders in the 50's
Mike, Sorry I'm late to the party, but back in the 1970s I owned three Viscount 745d aircraft, all executive configuration and flew entertainment groups on dry leases. I personally got about 50 hrs in them, mainly positioning flights. We had pro pilots who went on the 30-60 day tours. It was the perfect bird for the gig. I am very familiar with Darts, ours were 510, and had about 1,600 hp with about 1225 from the Dowty-Rotol props and 375 from the exhaust. Hi-bypass fan jets of today put out 80% from the fan and 20% from the exhaust. In almost six years of operation before I sold the company, we had a 100% dispatch reliability record. We used 280 kts as our block speeds. Our slipper tanks gave use an almost 2,000 mile range.
There is nothing like the unique engine sound from a Dart. Especially on a Viscount where we have four of these engines all singing in unison. I flew on South African Airways Viscounts back in the 60's.
I flew on Piedmont Fairchild-Hiller and YS-11 planes. Those Darts were screamers!
Agreed!
Been in love w the Dart since I was a boy, after having received “Aviation: The Story of Flight,” by (who else?) Bill Gunston.
Funny how a single positive interaction can remain in effect a lifetime.
1) Vickers Viscount........Very popular airliner (in America) well into the '60's
Well done Sir, I especially loved the bit about the Gulfstream, as I has spent several years working on them as an A&P. You are right about the engine cowling, it was as beautiful as it was functional. Boy, do they make some noise though. I had the opportunity back in the 80's to fly from Detroit to Birmingham England on a G-1... great memories...thank you...
I've been an aviation geek/pilot for 53 years.
This was an excellent video. Very informative
Much appreciated, thanks!
My family first visited Atlanta via a United Viscount. One can never forget the high pitched scream of the Dart engines.
We also once flew on a Piedmont F-27, which had the same sound. I loved the high wing and the big oval windows, which would never fly in today's airline environment.
By the way, we flew back to Newport News, VA in an Eastern Lockheed Electra. Different sound. We got to sit in the lounge area in the tail!
Thank you for another great program, Mike.
Greetings from Christchurch NZ. While the London Christchurch air race was a little before my time the unique ear piercing screech of the Darts is a very familiar memory. Travelled many times on the Viscounts and Fokkers that made up the NAC domestic fleet during the 60s and early 70s. Both great to fly in. The HS748s were used locally by Mt Cook Airlines on the tourist routes and the RNZAF had Andovers. Safe Air had a couple of Argosy freighters that were probably the last of the Dart powered aircraft flying in this country into the 90s I think. Thanks for the video!
The purr of a turboprop is soothing, yet powerful to enjoy. They remind me of hot, Summer afternoons down at the airport. The Ozark and Frontier F27s sang as they throttled up to takeoff power. I can listen to them anytime.
Frontier flew Allison powered CV-580s, never F27s. When they bought Central Airlines in 1967 they inherited some CV-600 powered by Darts, but they immediately retired them because of their poor performance at high elevation airports. The Convair 600 could not carry a normal passenger load out of Denver, Frontier's base. Before the buyout, Central operated only DC-3s into Denver.
Thanks, Mike, for another wonderfully historic and visual treat! In the early to late 1960s, my Dad was a photographer for McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, when they were pumping out LOTS of F-4 Phantoms, and my Mom went to work for Ozark Airlines (based in St. L.), eventually becoming their head maintenance clerk. The mainstay of Ozark's fleet at the time was DC-3s, since at the time they served many smaller towns and cities in the Midwest, like Hannibal, MO., Jefferson City, MO., Columbia, MO., and the like. This was, of course, during the time of CAB regulation. Anyway, they acquired a good number of FH-227s for longer flights into larger hubs, like Chicago, Kansas City, etc. Once my Mom got flight privileges, we started flying to various places in the Midwest....LOVED having window seats and watching the TALL mains retract / extend from the aft nacelles - that was magic to a kid of 10! Later Ozark acquired some of the early DC-9s, which was the 1st pure jet I ever flew in, but they just weren't as visceral and exciting as the FH-227s. Great airplane!
and the Gulf stream 1 !!!!!!!!!❤👍❤❤👍👍👍 (correction, oh, you got it, 👍)
I still have a set of British Standard tools my dad had and some he modified, to work on the Viscounts at Capital Airlines before United bought them.
I also got to fly the Darts on Convair 600's and 640's at Wright Airlines. We called them dog whistles.
As always, thoroughly enjoyed. I love when you sneak in the box art. I myself always save my airplane model boxes just for the art.
Same here!
The YS-11 flew freight in the US until the late 90s, affectionally known as the Rice Rocket (RR). Get it?
I had the pleasure, if it can be called that to work on that engine on the YS with Rotol 16.5 feet prop, and G-I many years ago. Made a horrendous roar on water-meth inhection. Great video.
I've always loved the unique deep humming sound produced by the large turboprops.
This one did not humm tough, it was a verry loud wining engine.
I you'd fly regulary on an aircraft equiped with RR-Darts, you'd really get a dip in your hearing ability
The last time I flew on a RR Dart powered airliner was about 1988 when I flew on a Simmons Airlines, YS-11 from Chicago (ORD) to Milwaukee. Two things I recall from that short flight were that my seat would not move forward for the takeoff (I pointed this out to the stewardess and she said, "Oh, don't worry") and that the passenger windows were somewhat smaller and lower than in other airliners. Great video on the iconic Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop and thanks for sharing!
Amazing to see your comment, as my first impression sitting in the YS-11 was exactly the same thing - smaller and lower windows! (Designed for the baseline Japanese physic in 1962.)
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I thought the same thing about "the baseline Japanese physic" when I encountered those windows on the YS-11.
Model Box art! gotta love it!
Thanks Mike - another fascinating wander down a road I didn't even know I wanted to go down! Loved seeing those Argosys (Argosies?) again. What an amazingly long lived design this engine was.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
This was the sound of my early teens, living in Greenford, Middlesex, directly below one of the main flight paths to London Heathrow. Being mad about aviation and a registration collector, I couldn't have been happier!
I do believe that the Dart went on to serve as a stationary, industrial engine long after its retirement from aviation use.
Thanks, Mike, for a great video and a great channel.
Thanks Mike!
Super informative and interesting topic
Many thanks!
Lovely video again Mike, makes my Monday when at the work bench and listening and watching to your narration.
I seem to remember but could be wrong in that the turbo props were more silent and therefore could go into some airports / airfields that the jet engined planes couldn't, but probably wrong. Apologies if you mentioned that.
Oh, and I'm not nit picking, just that over here Canberra is pronounced Can bar ra and not Can bear ra, good old english language :)
Take care nad model on
Brough back memories of the HS 748 production line at Woodford. I was an engineering apprentice soaking up everything and learning what was involved in designing and producing remarkable and profitable aircraft. The Dart was a screamer in the days before noise was an issue. Thanks for the video.
I remember Viscounts of British European Airways flying over my home in the 1960s and 70s. I think they were louder than most modern aircraft but they were much quieter than the 1960s jets. Also the musical sound was much more pleasant than that of the jets, most of which made a heavy rumbling sound like thunder (similar to the later Concorde). Recently the opportunity has arisen in the UK to compare the sound of 1960s turboprops to modern aircraft, because of a number of cargo airlines from Ukraine (and Belarus until aircraft from there were banned from the UK after a certain incident) that fly An-12s that in the 60s and 70s would almost never have flown over the UK. These are louder than most modern aircraft, but I think most of the noise comes from the propellers rather than from the engines.
Thankyou. That was exceptional. I recently spoke to an ex NZ airforce engineer who worked on the fleet of Dart powered Andovers. Fascinating facts. The Andoveres had a very powerful version of the Dart and with injection could take off from very short runways. Ideal for some of the remote Pacific islands. Sadly when they got decommissioned, nothing could replace them .
Good information, thanks!
I flew on Capital Viscounts several times in the late 50s and early 60s. The smooth and comfortable Viscount was a revelation compared to the noisy and non-pressurized DC-4s that Capital was still flying then.
My father worked with Dick Ifield (father of Frank Ifield - the singer) designing the fuel system for the Dart. This was for Lucas Aerospace, who no longer exist, but supplied RR with fuel control systems from around 1945 until 1990.
Thanks Mike for the great content on your site. Cheers Andy
When I first became seriously interested in aviation in 1972, my local airport was Birmingham (Elmdon), in the UK, and the most commonly seen airliner at the time was the Viscount, which were operated by BEA and British Midland. I can still remember that high pitched sound of the engines as they taxied in and out, magical!
As an expat Brit, I can't help but feel saddened by the way the UK aerospace industry went from being a world leader after the war to where it is today - thank goodness Rolls Royce is still carrying the flag!
Great video, Mike. Thanks for highlighting one of the great turbo-prop aircraft engines. I flew all over the east coast on Piedmont Airlines F-27s and YS-11s many times. Both superb aircraft, and a lot of fun to fly on. The Rolls-Royce Darts had a unique sound as well. Always learn something new here.
I flew in a Viscount in the late 60’s,it was a quite and comfortable flight…no crowding in those days,it is also a beautiful and graceful aircraft.Thank you for your well narrated and informative video.Roly 🇬🇧.
Very well done indeed. Thank you.
In relation to the Avro Athena, the images you have here are of Athena serial number VM125. This was one of the two prototypes (Avro 701 Athena T.1) powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba 1 engine (VM125, VM132), whereas a single Avro 701 Athena T.1A (VM129) was powered by a Rolls-Royce Dart engine. It's a minefield to try and capture all of the variations during that period of great experimentation!
A tribute to my channel to see comments of this caliber, and many thanks for pointing this out. I worked extra hard on this one to find the correct photo and still got it wrong! Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the memories....the first airliner I ever flew in was a Vickers Viscount in 1967. I too remember those big windows. Great video, thanks again.
My first was also a Viscount, but in approx 1956.
I've ridden on an F-27 from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Chicago, O'Hare in 1991. It was United Express. Those Darts are noisy. Worked on a flight line in late 80's thru early 90's and dealt with several Gulfstream G-1's. Even with ear plugs AND ear muffs, the sound was still pretty unmistakable.
really loved the sound of the darts. so simple inside. very clever, especially for the time. the viscount, another one of george edwards finest productions.
Mike,
Absolutely incredibly interesting narration! You have a special voice and talent! My father flew HS-748’s for Zambia 🇿🇲 Airways in early 1970’s.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
A great engine for sure. I liked the look of the Viscount installation - very streamlined. On some aircraft the installation looks quite bulky (no doubt for practical reasons such as undercarriage etc).
Yes, good observation. Interesting also that the Gulfstream, YS-11, H.S.748, Accountant, and Andovers all share the same basic nacelle configuration. Thanks for watching!
Such a distinctive sound that has vanished from the skies. I would hear one every 12pm as a post mail flight flew overhead.
My first passenger flight on a Dart powered airplane was on a Continental Viscount in 1960. Later I was a mechanic at Central Airlines, hired in 1965 a few months before Central put the first RR-powered Convair 600 Dart into passenger service. At 10:02 you see N74859, the first in service, at Dallas Love Field Gate 9, Yellow Concourse. N74858 was the first to be delivered, but was assigned to pilot training duties until its paint job could be updated to Central's new look. The Rda10 engine was a new design at the time, rated 2700 hp with water injection at 15,000 rpm. The engine had some serious teething problems, including leaks from flexible fuel hoses that hardened and cracked in the heat of service, excessive coking of fuel nozzles, air leaks from inter-combuster can connector seals, and progressive cracking of the compressor casing originating at the top engine mount and eventually causing the inflight loss of the front half of the engine with propeller from a Trans Texas CV-600. Somehow no crash ensued, but it was a close call.
The Dart 600 was a very smooth airplane in flight with none of the vibration that plagued the CV-580 and its powerful Allison engines. However, the Dart could not match the high-elevation performance of the Allison. In 1967 Denver-based Frontier Airlines, already operating the CV-580, purchased Fort Worth-based Central Airlines in order to gain access to the Dallas market. Central at the time was operating into Denver not CV-600s but DC-3s because the Dart's poor performance at high elevations limited the load it could carry out of Denver, much less Frontier's many mountain airports. Frontier retired and later sold the Darts.
Terrific comment and good information, thanks!
Awesome video! the most amazing turbo-prop sound I ever heard was that of a C-133 Cargomaster! Sounded more like a B-36 at times!
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
Remembering as a young planespotter at IDL (now JFK) around 1958, hearing the whine of those Rolls-Royce Darts on the TCA (then Trans Canada) Viscounts 700s. The sounds of those engines were unmistakable. And of course the F-27 coming along. I did build that Revell kit as well. Great video Mike! Thank you again! ✈️ 😎
Thanks Mike! Fun vid.
Nice Mike. Aren't we all nuts? I can listen to jets/turboprops running all day long. The "smell of money" (burnt jet fuel), and the whines, shrill whistles, the roar, howl, etc. of jets is just the coolest thing. The modern high bypass commercial engines are just too quiet and smoke free now. Oh well...I know.....efficency, and all the rest but.....a Voodoo blasting 40k lbs into the air w/ two J-57's was just TOO COOL!
If you are going to do some Engine vids Mike, you might do my favorite. You know what it is I think.....the mighty PWA J75. Imagine a PURE TURBOJET at 29,500 lbs thrust (for Super Crusader). TOTAL mass flow All supersonic. (fan engines have whatever percent bypass ratio subsonic untill AB is used) It was a total beast of a motor. The 105 and 106 were BIG and just used one...Anyway, Mike,...thanks, another good one!!
When you are old enough to have seen the aircraft involved, have flown on one at some point and remember what they sound like you never forget the whine they made. As a kid standing behind them as they taxiied out was magic for the sound and smells. Memories are made of this and good ones they are.
Very true, and great screen name. Thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Ive been using that handle since 1982 - the year flight simulation came out. Thanks for the vid.
My first flight was Seattle to Anchorage on a Connie PNA. Second was Anch to McGrath Ak on an F27 Wein Ak all in 1961. We called the Dart engines “screaming memies”.
Excellent presentation again. Always thought the Dakota was named after the state. In addition to showing how well the British aircraft industry was doing from the end of WW2 into the 60s, it also is a reminder that how much was lost by said industry. Most enjoyable and I found out about a lot of aircraft I never knew existed. And the box art is a must.
Great vlog as always! Keep up the good work! Looking forward to the next one!
Many thanks!
Great Video Mike. Never got a chance to work on a Dart, but did get to work on quite a few Allison 501-D13s on Electra freighters we were contracted to Maintain.
Taxied an L188 to a run-up pad once, when you drop the power levers out of the Beta detent and just give them a nudge, it threw you back in the seat. Instant thrust.
I miss the scream of the Darts on the F27s at the gates close to our hangars.
Great feature Mike. Thankyou.
Love turboprops they are fun.❤😊🎉🤩😁☺️🤗💯
Thanks for the great video and highlighting the history of the Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engine. I flew the NAMC YS-11 for Mid-Pacific Airlines in Hawaii. There were some memorable things about flying a Japanese designed airplane powered by British turboprop engines. The Mid-Pacific Airlines Dart engines were the more powerful 3,000 shp versions augmented with water methanol injection that was used with heavy payloads and hot temperatures. By the way, Dart comes from the way Rolls-Royce named their engines after rivers, in this case the Dart River in England.
The Dart engine on the YS-11 turned a large, four bladed, 14 foot Dowty-Rotol propellor. The combination of the 14 foot propellor and the Dart engine created a truly deafening, high-pitched scream that always caused people to turn, watch and pray our airplane would move further away. At first, you think they are waving but they are covering their ears. There were jet powered B-737s and DC-9s on the same ramp, but people always complained about the YS-11 Rolls-Royce Dart noise. I wore a David-Clark head clamping headset to block most of the noise; uncomfortable but not as painful as the noise from the engines. The sound of the blades changing pitch and the sound of engine shutdown and the propellors windmilling down was always pretty cool.
The Dowty-Rotol propellor was a complicated system of propellor stops and indicator lights. A most unusual quirk for most pilots was applying LEFT rudder on takeoff. Most propellor aircraft require RIGHT rudder for takeoff. Applying the wrong rudder on takeoff will run the aircraft off the runway or worse.
While flying the NAMC YS-11, I got to tell people, “I drive two Rolls-Royces at work.” When I flew the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, I got to tell people, “I drive three Rolls-Royces at work.”
The NAMC YS-11 and the Rolls-Royce Dart were good to me. I never had an engine failure and they always brought us back safely. Thank you NAMC, Rolls-Royce and the Mid-Pacific Air maintenance team!
British screws don’t turn the opposite way to American ones!
@@johnyoung1128 Okay, I deleted the sentence about tightening screws. The point was that flying the Rolls-Royce Dart equipped YS-11 during takeoff was different.
The convoluted story of the turboprop NAMC YS-11 airliner produced in Japan would make a good video. A good aircraft beset with company mismanagement.
Love the rare picture of the Central Airlines CV-600. They were only around for about two years before Central was merged into Frontier in 1967.
Never knew Convair used Darts.
@@pascalcoole2725Convair had their own Turboprop Conversion Program for the Convairliners. CV-240s became CV-600s, CV-340s and CV-440s became CV-640s these conversions were done in house by Convair or by the airlines with kits supplied by Convair.
Of course the Allison Engine Corporation had their own program for the CV-340 and CV-440 airframes using the Allison 501 Turboprop and Aeroproducts propellers and a 10% increase to the surface area of the tail along with other modifications. This conversion was nor available for the CV-240 because the wing structure was not strong enough for the more powerful Allison 501 which was derated to 3750 Shaft Horse Power. Frontier Airlines was the first airline to put the Allison-Convair into passenger service and it was their marketing department that came up with the CV-580 name (officially these converted aircraft are designated as either CV-340A of CV-440A depending upon the original aircraft model). Frontier also nicknamed the 580 The Mountain Master because of its ability to handle the sometimes terrible weather conditions over The Rocky Mountains. Which was partly due the Convair’s rugged airframe and the powerful Allison 501d-13h engines that seriously overpowered the aircraft.
Also the first Turboprop Transport Aircraft to fly in the USA was The Allison Turboliner, a CV-240 that was outfitted with a pair of Allison T-38 Turboprops (Predecessor to the 501/T-56) which was used as a test aircraft by Allison and the US Air Force, I’m fairly sure that 2 aircraft were converted for this program and after completion both aircraft were converted back to their original P&W R-2800s.
KF Aerospace (owner of the Type Certificate for The Convairliners) modified 6 C-131 airframes (US Military Designation) were rebuilt and “stretched” almost 16’ to produce the CV-5800 whit Allison 501d-22 Turboprops with Hamilton Standard props and the original tail configuration, all of these aircraft are flying as freighters today!
Frontier only used the CV-600s for a short time before selling them, compared to their CV-580s with the Allison 501 they were not powerful enough for their operations.
I can remember machining part for the Dart in Rolls Royce in Hillington, Scotland during my apprenticeship in the early 1980's.
Thanks, Mike. Great video, as always.
Glad you enjoyed it
Ahhh, my favourite plane, the Vickers Viscount…..the sound of the RR turboprop is so identifiable……you can even hear it on Dark Side Of The Moon…track 2 ‘on the run’ with the the voice in the background’ BA255 to Rome’……..just saying
I love all your videos, Mike, and this may be my favorite. I grew up loving the Darts I heard at Love Field: CO Viscounts, Gulfstream 1’s, Trans Texas and Central CV600’s (“Silver Clouds” at TTA). Then at age 14 a nonstop LHR-Templehof flight in a BEA Viscount 700, Return flight in an 800. Oh the windows as you pointed out. Fine video, Mike. My this part Englishman and former Rolls-Royce employee happy.
What a great presentation, very informative. 👍
Appreciate the comment and thanks for watching!
Thanks for another fantastic and detailed video, Mike. I had the pleasure of flying on a number of Ozark FH-227s in the 70s. I found out much later the crew nickname for the airplane was the "Whistle Pig"...I sure understand why!
Used to see the Vickers Viscounts flying from Southend Airport in the UK. Dart turboprop engines had such a distinctive sound.
That was excellent, Mike. I had no idea the Dart was so widely used. As a young man in Canada I often flew on Trans-Canada Airlines / Air Canada Viscounts. I loved those huge windows and those long, long engines. Happily, the British Columbia Aviation Museum has a Viscount in their collection, in my current hometown of Victoria, BC.
And as a lifelong aviation fan I has no idea where the name ‘Dakota’ came from. The things you learn on this fantastic channel! 👍
Convair considered building an enlarged 4 engined aircraft based on their legendary Convairliner Series which would have used the RR Dart but it never progressed passed the concept stage. Too bad Convair never built a competitor to the Lockheed L-188 Electra using the Allison 501d13, that would have been one outstanding and beautiful aircraft.
At times in the 1960s and possibly well into the 1970s there were a lot of twin engine planes flying in and out of National Airport in Arlington across the river from Washington D.C. Most of these planes made a rather characteristic and similar whine noise,almost raspy. I wonder if these were Darts and whether any of them were YS 11
I think the airlines were the likes of Allegheny and Piedmont ,maybe there was an Appalachian Airlines
seems I remember some of these types of planes overflying the University of Virginia in the first years of 1970 and maybe until about 1972,then I think they disappeared, replaced by the much much louder early model Boeing 737 with narrow bore torch like jet engines
Another excellent presentation, Mike. The collection of photos is outstanding ! I miss the F-27's as they whistled over my house to land at San Diego's Lindbergh Field.
Great presentation, as always Mike... I had a few rides in turbo-prop planes... What I remember about them was the amazing smooth/powerful acceleration on take-off... A little noisier than the jets, but such a cool view, seeing those props doing their best work...
Cool video, I had the privilege of flying the HS748 until switching jobs a few months back. I still miss the scream of the darts firing up on a cold morning!
I believe Wernher von Braun was rated in the Gulfstream NASA operated.
Nice video
Brilliant video. I am amazed at your knowledge, love of the lines and the grace of aircraft. I think a channel called "Aviation celebrating Mike Machat" makes sense. Best to you Mike.
What I like mostly about your videos is that every time I learn something very interesting regardless how esoteric it is. Next to my hometown there was an air base and also a paratroopers base. I remember as a kid that at least once a week we would see not far from us, Dakita aicrcrafts with paratroopers jumping out of them. Now I understand why we all called them Dakotad. I guess at came from the Brits
Another wonderfully informative video Mike. Always enjoy your episodes and the interesting stories behind some of these aviation classics.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
I’m so old I still remember riding them. Viscount, F-27, Herald. The most impressive was the large circular window of the Viscount. The sound of the engine was different than present day prop engines. If my memory is correct they needed methanol injection for additional power.
Excellent presentation, Mike! I love your artwork, too.
I remember as a kid back in the 1950s observing Capital Airlines' V745Ds at MDW and ATL and well into the 1960s in United livery but finally got to fly in a Viscount 700 series with Alitalia from NAP to FCO in 1966. I never got to fly on either an F-27 or FH-227 but flew a number of times with Piedmont Airlines on their YS-11As.
I have fond memories of riding aboard Ozark Airlines F-27s when I was a kid. “Jet Prop” was emblazoned upon the nacelles of those screaming Darts. It left quite an impression upon this aviation nut…
Thank you for this video. The Rolls Royce dart is responsible for initiating my aviation career : My oldest conscious memory is that of the inboard engine starting on a Vickers Viscount, I was three years old. The high pitched whine was so loud and the crescendo so interminable that I thought the damn thing was going to explode ! When it coasted to ground idle it made that distinctive purring sound… I could tell a dart approaching with my eyes closed.
Great comment, thanks!
Great show, Mike. Thank you for putting together. I'd love to visit your museum next time I'm down in Southern Ca.
Please do!
Good Day. Excellent. My father worked for American Airlines when I was young. I've flown on DC3, DC6 and Electra II with American. Always loved prop planes and turboprops. Thank You for this fine video. Best Regards
Appreciate the comment, thanks! American was a great airline back then.
Minor correction. Trans-Canada Air Lines took delivery of their first Viscount in late 1954 but service didn’t start until 1955.
Thank you for a cheerful and informative presentation!
Appreciate the comment, thanks Barry!