When talking to flight simmers, at some point, the subject invariably drifts to commercial aviation, where the majority of folk will admit to aspirations of flying one of the ‘big tins’, or ‘heavies’ as they’re often called. In these conversations this usually refers to one of the familiar Boeing or Airbus aircraft. Yet there are others who look back to a different era, where the pilot took a more hands-on approach to flying. I’m talking about aircraft such as the BAC One-Eleven, which, as it happens, is the latest product from Aeroplane Heaven, recently released by Just Flight.
Luton-based Hunting Aircraft was responsible for the original conception of the One-Eleven, although initially it was as a 30-seat aircraft designated the Hunting 107. Then in 1960, after pressure from the government, Hunting, Vickers-Armstrong, Bristol and English Electric merged to form BAC (British Aircraft Corporation). At that time the 107 was reworked as a 59-seat aircraft designated the BAC 107. Yet market research showed that this was still too small, so in 1961 it was redesigned to accommodate 80 passengers, becoming the BAC One-Eleven. Its original role was as a replacement (on short-range routes) for the earlier t…
