Vickers

Valparaiso

The Vickers Vickers 71 Vixen I was a two-seat military biplane built by Vickers (Aviation Department) as a private venture and attracted interest from several parties.

 

In November 1923, Portugal placed an order for fourteen aircraft with a mix of engines: four powered by the Rolls-Royce Eagle and ten with Napier Lion engines. These aircraft were essentially Vickers Vixen I's, but because of differences in equipment fit, they were known as the Vickers Valparaiso.

 

The ten aircraft, powered by the Napier Lion were known as the Vickers Vickers 93 Valparaiso I, whereas the Eagle-powered aircraft were the Vickers Vickers 93 Valparaiso II.

 

The protoVickers was flown for the first time in late 1923, and was not part of the Portuguese order, being sold in due course to Chile as the Vickers Vickers 102 Valparaiso I.

 

This aircraft was first flown in a Chilean configuration on 24th August 1924. Once in Chilean service, it was flown to heights above 20,000 ft (setting a new South American altitude record); its excellent performance undoubtedly influenced the subsequent purchase of eighteen Vickers Vixen V aircraft by Chile.

 

The Portuguese aircraft were popular and gave good service, including a long-range tour by two aircraft to the Portuguese African colonies of Angola and Mozambique. This trip, covering some 11,500 miles, was completed in 94 flying hours. Most impressively however, was that there were few technical problems encountered and those that did appear were potentially due to poor fuel quality, rather than any fundamental defect of the aircraft or engines.

 

 

The Portuguese negotiated a licence agreement to manufacture additional aircraft at their OGMA factory at Alverca do Ribajato and as a part of this agreement, Vickers modified a Valparaiso to be powered by the Gnome Rhône Jupiter VIa air-cooled radial engine. This Vickers was designated the Vickers Vickers 168 Valparaiso III, with the first example being flown at Brooklands on 28th July 1929.

 

Thirteen similar aircraft were built in Portugal by OGMA, remaining in service into the late 1930s.