Vickers Vivid

The Vickers Vivid was an all-metal version of the Vickers Vixen and was initially designated by Vickers (Aviation Department) as the Vickers  Vixen VII.

 

Problems with the durability of the Vickers Vixen’s wooden wing structure in hot and humid climates suggested that an all-metal variant might be of interest to Chile, which had become an important operator of Vickers aircraft. The Vickers Vivid was therefore built as a private venture, fitting a new all-metal wing structure to the Vickers Vixen III (G-EBIP). It was initially completed as a landplane, powered by a 490 hp Napier Lion VA engine, receiving a new registration (G-EBPY).

 

It was flown for the first time at Brooklands on 27th June 1927.

 

 

The type was then modified to a floatplane configuration (with Short-designed floats) and tested initially at Hamble before being officially evaluated at Felixstowe in May 1928. In this configuration, a 540 hp Napier Lion XI was fitted and the Vickers designation was changed to Vickers Type 146.

 

The Vickers Vivid was then reverted to landplane configuration (as the Vickers Type 142) and was flown to Bucharest on 6th September 1928, to participate in trials against a Romanian requirement for a general-purpose biplane.

 

 

After the failure of these early marketing efforts, Vickers-Armstrong sold the aircraft (G-EBPY) to a private owner JR Chaplin in 1931, Chaplin then proceeded (with Neville Stack as pilot) to set the one day 'out-and-return' speed records between Heston and Berlin, followed by the same between Copenhagen and Warsaw in 1931. They also made an attempt on the England to Australia record.

 

The aircraft was subsequently sold and was unfortunately destroyed in a hangar fire at Broomfield Aerodrome, Chelmsford on 18th September 1932.