Vickers Viscount refurbished and saw new service with African operators; sales of these second-hand aircraft continued into the 1990s. It is believed that the last airworthy Viscount, 9Q-COD, last flew in January 2009 for Global Airways in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. See "List of accidents and incidents involving the Vickers Viscount". Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Viscount was well received by the public for its cabin conditions, which included
Vickers Valiant military aircraft. It was followed by the Vanguard, a passenger turboprop designed in 1959, and the Vickers VC10, a jet passenger aircraft in 1962, also used as a military transport and tanker by the RAF. The Valiant was a conservative design of the era, having a shoulder-mounted wing and four Rolls-Royce Avon RA.3 turbojet engines, each providing up to of thrust, installed in pairs in fireproof bays in each wing root. The design of the Valiant gave an overall impression of a plain and clean aircraft with simple aerodynamics. George Edwards described the Valiant appropriately and simply as an "unfunny"