§ Mr. MaplesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 October 1998,Official Report, column 223, and his subsequent letter of 2 November, if he will identify the (a) VIP fits and (b) modifications undertaken; and if he will list the special furniture purchased broken down by items costing in excess of £1,000. [58327]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 5 November 1998] A "VIP fit" comprises a number of removable fittings which are provided to convert the interior of an aircraft to a standard appropriate for carrying VIP passengers. To date 6 divan bed settee units for the VC10 VIP fit are on order; there is no record of any other special purchases since 1 May 1997.
Four modifications have been made to the VC10 fleet since 1 May 1997. They are:
- (a) The introduction of an embedded global positioning system inertial based navigation system.
- (b) The introduction of an improved flight management system.
- (c) A modification to the air to air refuelling pylon rear attachment fitting.
- (d) The renewal of existing internal bodywork panels for C1K VC10 aircraft, that is, the type of VC10 aircraft most suited to carrying passengers.