Collection Item

BAC One-Eleven

This exhibit was retained by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) throughout its 29-year flying career. During this time it was used as a development and test aircraft for 1-11 variants and testing technical equipment.

The BAC 1-11 was developed from a Hunting Aircraft Ltd design and was one of Britain’s best-selling airliners. The first prototype flight was from Hurn in August 1963 and the initial customer was British United Airways.

The type was then developed through several variants, including some licence-built in Romania, and attracted worldwide sales. The largest version was the Series 500, which carried 119 passengers and cruised at 541 mph at 21,000 ft.

Donated by British Aerospace Airbus Ltd, G-ASYD made its final (5,004th) landing at Brooklands on 14th July 1994.

The BAC 1-11 still operates with corporate services and in 2007 an RAF Tornado pilot successfully flew a 1-11 remotely whilst simultaneously piloting his fighter and three simulated aircraft during testing of the TIARA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control system.