December 24 is the birthday of a true "giant" in aviation, the birth of the Antonov An-124 Russian. Dmytro Antonov has a special tribute to this great airplane: https://youtu.be/ftCFXLvUG2w
Jump to postFound this interesting photo on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ord2sxm/3342251763
The caption says it was the last C-check on one of the airline's 727s.
We all know prices for almost everything are rising. This is certainly true for those of us who collect model airplanes. How has this affected your buying? What items are worth the extra money to you?
Jump to postToday, December 7, the [i][Washington Post/i] ran an historic piece about the Boeing 314 Clipper that had to "divert" to a round-the-world flight to flee Honolulu and Pearl Harbor.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/12/07/pacific-clipper-pan-am-pearl-harbor/
"Bahn" - Thinking of a previous start-up, Jet Train
I found this in another forum:
Fokker 70 = Baby Fokker
Fokker 100 = Mother Fokker
Have the violent and violating passengers scrub the plane's tires - with a toothbrush!
Jump to postIt's not the most Boeing 747s in a photo, but the early shots of early-production airframes awaiting their engines on the Everett ramp (while the problems of the JT-9D's overheating were being solved) surely deserve mention. At least one of these photos is in the Boeing Historical Archives.
Jump to postThe manufacturers - any one - should make models of *all* the Biman planes. Both the old and new liveries are very beautiful. And these airplanes call a beautiful country home.
Jump to postAalborg, Denmark, 1974. My father was boarding a SAS Metropolitan to Copenhagen. I got to walk out on the ramp, under the wings of that gleaming beauty. I watched the smoky engine start-up. Then, headed home in a Volvo 144.
Jump to postAny of the propliners! They were loud and uncomfortable - not a great choice for a long flight, but I would love to have sampled a short ride in one of these. Of the modern jetliners, I never got to fly aboard the Lockheed TriStar. The DC-10 was very nice; I would have loved the L-1011. Pity.
Jump to postMy very first 747 flight was aboard Pan Am's N743PA, Clipper Derby, in 1971. She still had that "new plane" smell. Also flew aboard KLM's early -200 series, along with Sabena, TWA, and Air-India. My last was aboard British Airways G-AWNA, BOAC's very first. I never flew the -400. In my lon...
Jump to postI treasure my signed copy of his Boeing 707 book. I would love to get my hands on the DC-8 volume. However, that rarity - when found - commands close to US $100. He must have been a very interesting man!
Jump to postFor all the underdogs and black sheep, I nominate the theme song from Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irI2cNmF6yU
An interesting anomaly: When KLM sold several of its first-generation Boeing 747-206s to America West, the first - PH-BUA, later N531AW - had the overwing exits deactivated. Later photos of the same aircraft, in full HP colors, show these exits reactivated.
Jump to postblacksoviet wrote:What was the world’s longest DC-10-10 flight?
"Slipping the surly bounds of Earth."
Jump to postThis love affair... it's not as much as how I found aviation, but how it found me. I still remember my five-year-old self staring out the window of a United DC-8, seeing Kennedy Airport way below. Airplanes have gripped me with a fascination that has not abated over the decades! (The aircraft I ment...
Jump to postEven more in need of updating are the roadways to EWR. They are an unmitigated disaster, a total embarrassment. Not to mention that it's very easy to take a wrong turn and end up somewhere you don't want to be. At least public transit in the area has improved.
Jump to postThe Airbus A340 was originally to be powered by an engine called the SuperFan. With the UltraFan, we have come a long way since then!
Jump to postI don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but a Dutchman by the name of Hans Wiesman has traveled the globe in search of parts from DC-3s, from wingtips to entire cockpits. He has earned the name "Dakota Hunter." These are pieces of very high artistic value. For those of us with les...
Jump to postThis article in Simple Flying discusses many parts of Boeing 747-400 N674US now gracing the pages of eBay:
https://simpleflying.com/delta-747-auction/
Here is the site for Alaska Airlines. I have purchased models from them; service was very good. Very reasonable prices, too - which is why so many are sold out. But there are some good ones still left. I think their logo is very well done - and they're a nice airline. https://companystore.alaskaair....
Jump to postI believe there are two companies doing complete rebuilds and conversions to them. The main company rebuilding old DC-3s is Basler, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They call their turboprop conversion the BT-67. It has an all-new cockpit, a lengthened fuselage and reprofiled wings. https://www.baslerturbo.c...
Jump to postIf you live in northwestern New Jersey, USA, the flight school at Aeroflex Andover offers lessons in a Piper Cub. Those lucky pilots also get a taildragger endorsement.
For fascinating historic pictures from 1987 - when China was a very different country - I recommendBig Props by Austin J. Brown and Mark R. Wagner.
https://flic.kr/p/dRGoEt
From a New York Times editorial writer: "I Tried Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. The Earth Never Seemed So Real."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/19/opin ... lator.html
For lovers of Pan American World Airways, Target has the Pan Am game. https://www.target.com/p/funko-pan-am-board-game/-/A-79396299 The only branded airline merchandise I have seen not on airline websites is for Emirates and Etihad. These carriers evoke the elegance of a high-end brand. Their logos ...
Jump to postThat's a beautiful livery! It looks great on the Boeing 757, even nicer than on the 767. Indeed, the Phoenix release is very hard to find. (GS Models produced an EC Boeing 737-300.) Personally, I would love to see more African airlines. Each nation on the continent has a fascinating history and cult...
Jump to postIf that is in fact the plan then C will come down too. Although Terminal C is the newest of the three, in my mind it's the worst. There is no architectural entrance to terminal, only small doors to the parking deck, none of which are visible until you are practically in front of them. The layout in...
Jump to postIf you are selling an item, you can get an idea of what similar pieces have sold for by using the "Advanced" feature of the eBay search engine. Then, click on the box for "Completed listings," which will also include those that have not sold. Selling on eBay is very unpredictable...
Jump to postThank you, Tango-Bravo! I saw that Sprue Brothers has the model - I think I'll buy this one.
Jump to postI'm very interested in purchasing a 1:400-scale model of the Boeing 787 in the El Al retro (70th Anniversary) livery. I see the model is produced by NG Models and Gemini Jets. Which one is more accurate? In photos of the Gemini Jets example, the livery looks a bit too light. I was wondering if that ...
Jump to postThank you, VirginFlyer for your very interesting history. I love this old airplane, one of the most beautiful airliners. I have very fuzzy memories of flying aboard one or two of these as a very young child - I believe an Air France and an Alitalia example. Several years ago, when I was visiting Col...
Jump to postIt's noteworthy that this aircraft continues the Cessna tradition of wing braces. Anyway, a versatile aircraft such as this should do well.
Jump to postTwo respected names are also involved:
Lufthansa:
https://www.designboom.com/design/lufth ... 9-17-2019/
Airbus:
https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/news/en ... parts.html
Tokens & Icons sells items from the fuselage of Boeing 321B N880PA, the aircraft that in 1983 re-created Pan American's first New York-to-Paris jet flight. https://tokens-icons.com/products/pan-american-fuselage-desk-art There are some interesting pieces on eBay - search for "fuselage art.&...
Jump to postAir France and the CV990 and DC-8-61
Before COVID-19, Passengers in the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, PA, area flying various domestic routes had a strange choice: United actually had a bus between ABE and EWR. Not an A320, but a motor coach! That's about a two-hour trip without leaving. They were not the first airline to do this, howeve...
Jump to postFor flying old airplanes, Everts Air Cargo is king. Among the airline's DC-6 fleet are several civil examples (the rest being C-118As), including at least one -B version. Of course, the airline also flies some "brand-new" DC-9-30s.
To me, the most distinctive turboprop was the Rolls Royce Dart series (e.g., Fokker F-27, Vickers Viscount). They had a sound all their own.
Jump to postI came across this remarkable Telegraph photo essay about children in Goma, Congo, playing on abandoned jetliners. It's a bleak landscape, in which airplanes may provide respite, however fleeting. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/congo/11374135/Congo-where-aircraft-gra...
Jump to postAn ABC News reporter was aboard an American Eagle flight that slid off the runway at ORD this morning. Fortunately, there no injuries among the passengers. She captured some moments on video.
https://twitter.com/AndreaABC11
Pity those splendid old Convair CV580s or Nolinor no longer carry passengers. That would have been quite a thrilling ride on a 1950s airliner with (very loud) 1960s turboprop engines.
A perspective from this superannuated plane spotter: the distinct sound of the Rolls Royce Dart is still very much in my mind. Living along the flight path to Schiphol as a 10-year-old, I saw many interesting planes from my 14th-floor apartment, including the (then) brand-new KLM and Pan Am Boeing 7...
Jump to postA little off topic, perhaps, but I thought this would be of interest: I'm old enough to remember taking a trip aboard an SN.R4 hovercraft, from Dover to Calais. The attendant aboard this air-cushion ferry referred to the trip as a "flight." Beyond the Rolls Royce Proteus engines, the word ...
Jump to postOkay... When I first saw the term "biomimicry," I'll admit I had images of the onithopters of yore - the few that were able to get off the ground would "plummet with style." However, I am very intrigued by the propulsion. What kind of hybrid power plants would they be? I would li...
Jump to postAbsolutely love this article and the one that follows it. Thank you for your very detailed article and description of this iconic airplane and airline. This is museum-quality!
Jump to postWhat a super article! Thank you for this detailed walk-through. I still recall how huge the Boeing 747 cabin seemed, in comparison to the 707s and DC-8s I had flown on. That was back in 1971, N743PA, Clipper Derby (later, Clipper Black Sea), when she still had that "new airplane" smell. As...
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