Home Blog Page 186

WATCH: Relive Delta’s Last Flight of The Lockheed L1011 Tristar

Avgeekery
-
0
WATCH: Relive Delta’s Last Flight of The Lockheed L1011 Tristar

Call us a sucker for a good Avgeek video, no matter how old or VHS looking it may be.  We’ll admit it. We have a bad habit of binge watching L1011 videos.  It’s almost as bad as twenty-somethings who just found out that a new season of “House of Cards” is released on Netflix.

[youtube id=”fqu-YEcl0e8″ width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

The Delta L1011 Tristar aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed, was magnificently designed but definitely had its faults too. It was a wide body, trijet airliner, with a seating capacity of up to 400 passengers.  In many ways it was an aircraft ahead of its time. It was on of the first airliners to be able to fly a CATIIIa ILS that allowed the jet to land in extremely poor weather conditions.  It also had many amenities that were previously only found on the larger 747. Some aircraft had a lower deck galley with lounge facilities. Unfortunately, it was also a commercial disaster.  The program was delayed which meant that the jet hit the market later than planned. Promised performance never materialized and the complexity of its systems made maintenance a challenge. Lockheed never turned a profit on the trijet. Its failure led Lockheed to exit the commercial aircraft market.

17097549 10211023591121791 8256074679473461690 o Mike Runnicles Lockheed
Image via Delta

Delta’s first L1011 arrived on October 3rd of 1973. It’s first revenue flight was on November 15th of that year, with 39 passengers onboard. Join in the retirement of the last Delta L1011 Tristar. The historic flight to Victorville, California happened the following day. A specially selected group of Delta employees accompanied the aircraft to its final resting place.

This plane was (and still is) loved by scores of avgeeks everywhere. Despite the adoration, Delta’s L1011 Tristar (ship number 728) was retired as the last L1011 passenger plane on July 31st of 2001, after serving for 28 years across 40 U.S. cities and 39 International cities.

10bl Delta Air Lines Lockheed L 1011 TriStar 250 N737D@TPA27.01.1998 6138548678 Aero Icarusa
Image via aero icarus

Traditionally, every airline service bids a final farewell to its retired planes, then flies them to the desert southwest for final storage and breakup.  The L1011 fleet met the same unfortunate end.

Sighting of an active L1011 is extremely rare today.  Of the 250 of this type of aircraft built between 1968 and 1984, the only active aircraft is flown by Orbital ATK.

How Do You Convert a C-130 Into a Firefighting Aircraft?

Avgeekery
-
0
How Do You Convert a C-130 Into a Firefighting Aircraft?

It’s a well known fact that C-130s are one of the tools that firefighters use in their arsenal to fight wildfires.  But how do they convert a standard Hercules aircraft into a MAFFS airplane?

This footage, which was published on September 11th of 2015, shows the MAFFS being added to a pair of C-130 Hercules aircraft. MAFFS is an acronym for the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System. To put it simply, MAFFS is a giant water/chemical tank loaded into the cargo hold. It holds about 2,700 gallons of water. This is the best weapon the military has to combat fire. MAFFS is used in the C-130 aircraft of the Colombian Air Force, the Brazilian Air Force, the Royal Moroccan Air Force, and the Royal Thai Air Force.  While the C-130 is not the only aircraft that can drop chemicals or water on a fire, it has an advantage in that there are many C-130s where as larger tankers like the DC-10 or 747 are more limited resources.

Members of the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard are preparing two C-130 aircraft in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for MAFFS missions in the Rocky Mountain region.

The MAFFS program was established by Congress after the Laguna fire of 1970 overwhelmed available aviation firefighting resources. The idea of stuffing cargo planes with water tanks was meant to integrate military air tankers into the national response system. Today, MAFFS equipment is stationed at eight locations throughout the United States.

The MAFFS consists of five pressurized, fire retardant water tanks. The system can disperse all 2,700 gallons of water in five seconds over a fire. This produces a fire line that is 60 feet wide and a quarter mile long. Not only that, but all that water can be reloaded in only eight minutes.

[youtube id=”qtOVQf8LgCo” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

A C-141 Pilot Remembers the Time Mother (Now Saint) Teresa Boarded His Jet

Avgeekery
-
0
A C-141 Pilot Remembers the Time Mother (Now Saint) Teresa Boarded His Jet

The following story was written by Joe Blewitt, a retired C-141 Starlifter pilot about his experience meeting Mother, now St. Teresa of Calcutta. It was originally posted on Facebook.  Joe has graciously allowed Avgeekery to share his special memory.

The weekend of the canonization of Mother Teresa seems like the appropriate time to post this image, along with the story behind it. This picture of Mother Teresa was taken in July of 1991 in Tirana, Albania. I was blessed (literally) to be standing just to the right of Mother Teresa when this photo was taken. I was on my first overseas mission flying the C-141. Every mission afterwards had the misfortune of being compared to this one. I’d be hard-pressed to pick one that topped it – although there were many more incredibly memorable, in their own way.

In July of 1991, we were withdrawing troops and materiel from the Gulf War region. It was also a time when many former communist countries were moving towards democracy. The first open elections in Albania in 60 years took place on March 31, 1991. Prior to then, the country was basically cut off from all western influences. This new political climate created an opening for diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Albania, an extremely poor country – to the point of starvation in some cases.

There was a request from the new Albanian government for food. This connects back to the first part of the story – the end of the Gulf War and bringing home troops and materiel – which included massive amounts of unused MREs, since the ground war was much shorter than expected. The request for assistance was granted and we set up an “air bridge” from Sigonella Naval Air Station in Italy and shuttled MREs into Albania several times a day for a week.

What does this have to do with Mother Teresa? Albania is her birthplace. It was one of her lifelong goals to return and establish a mission in her home country. She happened to be there opening an orphanage and learned we were bringing in these supplies. She requested some MREs for her orphanage and the request was granted. Mother Teresa came out to the plane and helped unload the boxes. She didn’t hesitate at all and began picking up boxes and carrying them to her vehicle. She was one month shy of 81 years old, stood about 4′ 6″ – although she was technically 5′ tall. It was amazing to witness her in action.

I had the honor of giving Mother Teresa a personal tour of the airplane, walking her around the entire perimeter of the plane and then inviting her to come in and take a look around. As soon as we stepped inside the airplane, she blessed herself and began to pray. Everyone standing there joined her – as best they could – no matter their religion. She said the Our Father, The Hail Mary and The Glory Be, blessed the airplane, blessed our crew and thanked us for bringing the supplies. Then she signed our log book (AFTO 781 for all you Air Force types). It was a surreal experience to say the least. It’s hard to describe, but I knew then I was standing with a saint – amazing to see it as a reality today.

mothert
Mother Teresa was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in Rome on September 4th, 2016.

Three Gatling Guns, 6000 rounds Per Minute: The AC-47 Was One Bad Ass Plane

Avgeekery
-
0
Three Gatling Guns, 6000 rounds Per Minute: The AC-47 Was One Bad Ass Plane

The Douglas AC-47 Spooky (also known as Puff the Magic Dragon) is one rough and tumble aircraft. Manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, and introduced in 1965. It was developed from the C-47 Skytrain. There were 53 AC-47 Spooky aircraft produced. It is more than 64 feet long, with a wing span of more than 95 feet. It holds a crew of seven: pilot, copilot, navigator, flight engineer, loadmaster, and two gunners. The AC-47 has a cruise speed of 175 miles an hour, and a maximum speed of 235 miles an hour.  It wasn’t fast but it sure was deadly.

This footage shows fighter planes in action, including the Douglas AC-47 Spooky. Some other war planes used were the Phantom, the Corsair, the Intruder the F-111, the Thunder Chief, the B-52, and Skyhawk.  But take a look at the footage around :40 into the short clip.  You’ll see what those 6,000 rounds per minute look like as the tracers turn night into day and rain death upon the enemy below.

Primary users of the AC-47 included the United States Air Force (USAF), the Vietnam Air Force, the Royal Lao Air Force and the Colombian Air Force.

About the AC-47 Spooky

The Douglas AC-47 Spooky is a modified C-47 transport plane equipped with three gatling guns, each one capable of firing six thousand rounds of ammunition a minute. It was developed for the Viet Nam war, and designed for heavy ground attack and close air support. The Spooky flew only at night, but carried flares to light up enemy positions. It was especially valuable in defending bases against night time attack.

There are two air bases in Florida where the AC-47 Spooky is on display. They are the Air Commando Park at Hurlburt Field, and the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force base near Valparaiso.

[youtube id=”JAFVuG2KQqk” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

This Is One Spooky Abandoned Airport

Avgeekery
-
0
This Is One Spooky Abandoned Airport

Nicosia Airport in Cyprus has been abandoned since 1974. Ever since the Turkish invasion on July 20th, all commercial activity had ceased. The airport, which was constructed in the 1930s, had been the scene of some heavy fighting between Turkey and Cyprus. After that, the United Nations Security Council declared the Nicosia airport a United Nations Protected Area during the battle. Both sides had to retreat more than 500 meters beyond the airport’s perimeter.

On August 16th of 1974, a ceasefire agreement was signed. At that point, the airport became part of the UN’s controlled Buffer Zone, separating the two warring communities on the island.

Nicosia airport has not been a fully functional airport since then. Still, the site supports active United Nations helicopters, and headquarters the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. The airport is also used for international peace talks. The airport was, and is, owned by the British Ministry of Defense.

In 1975, both the Greek and the Turkish communities agreed to jointly reopen the Nicosia airport. However, talks regarding this matter did not progress smoothly. In fact, this video footage seems to show that they never did any remodeling after the war. The entire property is in ruins. See the derelict buildings. View the broke down planes. Listen to the jaw harp music twanging in the background. It is a spooky, lonely, trashy looking place.

This video also shows a few nice vintage photos from when Nicosia airport was open for business. It would bring a tear to the eye of any avgeek.  It’s a snapshot back to the airport scenes of the 1970s.

[youtube id=”k47m8OZkfug” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

Relive The Glory Days of the American Airlines MD-80 MadDog With This Noisy Takeoff

Avgeekery
-
0
Relive The Glory Days of the American Airlines MD-80 MadDog With This Noisy Takeoff

Back in the early 1980s, American Airlines took a bet on the MD-80.  McDonnell Douglas was desperate for business.  American’s CEO at the time (Bob Crandall) negotiated a sweetheart deal that allowed American to establish hubs (and eventually a fortress hub like DFW) across the United States. After the acquisition of TWA, the fleet grew to approximately 370 in service at its peak. It  was the go to jet for short and medium routes until the 737-800 and eventually A320 series began to take over its duties in the mid-2000s.

By the end of 2019, American will have removed all of its MD-80s from service.

This video features a sleek, shiny, red, white, blue and silver Mad Dog 80 screaming down the runway on a hazy afternoon at San Jose International airport. View the surrounding office buildings and the beautiful mountains beyond. Notice how the plane’s wings are located near the tail, toward the end of a very long fuselage.

The MD-80 featured in this video, with tail number N557AN, was retired  in 2015.

About the MD-80

The MD-80 is twin engine, single aisle, narrow body commercial jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, and later by Boeing. It is a mid size, medium range airliner. This slender aircraft has a number of variants, including the MD-81, the MD-82, the MD-83, the MD-87, and MD-88. The MD-80 can seat anywhere from 130 to 172 passengers, depending on the variant. Each variant also features upgrades in the cockpit and avionics.

The aircraft took its maiden voyage on October 18th of 1979. However, two MD-80 aircraft were severely damaged during the test flights. Despite the early design issues, the MD-80 underwent improvements. The first variant of the MD-80 was introduced with Swissair in October of 1980. The MD-80 series was eventually modified into the MD-90 series.

Almost 1,200 MD-80 aircraft were built between 1979 and 1999, at a unit cost in the 40 million dollar range.

[youtube id=”7lTiEcBhv9o” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

The Antonov An-225 Mriya Was Huuugge!

Avgeekery
-
0
The Antonov An-225 Mriya Was Huuugge!

Was bigger better? In the case of the Antonov 225 heavy cargo jet, I think it was!  After all, 6 soul-shaking jet engines screaming at full power is always a rush. The video is the taxi (back-taxi on Rwy 16 at ZRH) and takeoff of a flight from Zurich, Switzerland. The plane is an An-225 Mriya (In Ukrainian, mriya means dream, or inspiration). The An-225 Mriya (Cossack) was the only one of its kind ever built. A second airframe was partially constructed, but production was halted due to lack of funding. An agreement between China and Ukraine was signed at one point to explore China producing additional copies in the future.

About the An-225

The An-225 was a strategic airlift cargo plane, designed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. It was originally intended for transporting the Buran space shuttle for the Soviet Space Program, which is why the plane loaded cargo through its nose. The pressurized cargo hold was 46,000 cubic feet in volume. After its military missions were completed, the An-225 was put on hold for about eight years, then it was reintroduced as a plane that could carry oversized cargo loads. 

The An-225 was the longest and heaviest plane ever built, and powered by six turbofan engines. Its landing gear system had 32 wheels, and the plane was equipped with a twin tail design. It also had the largest wing span of any plane in operational service. The An-225 was destroyed on 24 February 2022 by invading Russian forces at Hostomel airport in Ukraine.

[youtube id=”gwDhsgSeXc4″ width=”800″ height=”440″ position=”left”]

Cover photo by: Alex Beltyukov

WATCH: How Boeing Built Their Legends

Avgeekery
-
0
WATCH: How Boeing Built Their Legends

Classic Video Looks at the Certification Process for the 727 and 747

When Boeing built the revolutionary 727 and 747, it had to develop equally revolutionary ways to test and certify the advanced aircraft. Boeing faced a number of challenges along the way. Spray patterns of the 727’s tires could have quenched the outboard engines. A redesign was necessary to prevent potential flameouts. The 747 also faced a number of challenges.  One was a surprising difficulty when starting engines in windy conditions.  The turbofan engines would overheat if there was a tailwind during starting. The engineers had to devise a way to overcome these challenges…and they did.

This video is a Boeing documentary was released way back in 1990. It documents the test programs of the legendary 727 and 747 aircraft.  If you can get past the cheesy music, it’s a treasure trove of rare airplane facts for Avgeeks.

[youtube id=”uni6HVfthKs” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

About the 727

The loud, smokey Boeing 727 is a mid size, narrow body, three engine jet aircraft. It can carry up to 189 passengers. Between 1962 and 1984, 1,832 Boeing 727 jets were manufactured. All of them had three Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines, located below the T-shaped tail. The 727 was not exactly the perfect jet. In fact, airport noise regulations have led to all remaining 727s being fitted with “hush kits”, much to the disappointment of plane watchers who love loud noises. The Boeing 727 was built with three engines. Also included in its design was an emergency exit door at the back of the plane that also served a dual purpose as a tailstand to prevent tipping during loading. The 727 is now in limited service for cargo and private transport.

About the 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide body commercial jet aircraft, often referred to as a Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It has four engines, and can accommodate as many as 400 passengers. The Boeing 747 was introduced in 1970 to Pan Am Airways. Its primary users today are British Airways, Korean Air, Lufthansa, China Airlines and various cargo operators. As of July 31st of 2016, there have been 1,523 Boeing 747 jets manufactured.

Lufthansa Makes The Queen Of The Skies Look Good!

Avgeekery
-
0
Lufthansa Makes The Queen Of The Skies Look Good!

This video footage takes us “backstage” at Lufthansa, where a Boeing 747-8 sits idle in a giant hangar. Then the action takes us onto the plane, giving a glimpse into the latest and most likely last generation 747 Jumbo Jet.  Although the video is short in length, it’s amazing to get a glimpse into how far the Queen of the Skies has advanced since it’s debut in the late 1960s.  Her lines remain nearly as graceful.  Her engines and wings have evolved but the essence that evokes luxury travel remains.

Lufthansa is a German airline that visits 220 destinations. In 2014 alone, Lufthansa carried more than 106 million passengers. With more than 120,000 employees, Lufthansa is the largest German airline. Their fleet consists of 270 aircraft, not even including all of their subsidiaries. Many of these aircraft are Boeing 747-8 models.

About the Boeing 747-8

The Boeing 747-8 is a wide body jet airliner, with two main variants – a passenger version and a cargo version. The 747-8 was introduced to Lufthansa on June 1st of 2012. Its primary users are Lufthansa, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Cargo, and Cargolux. The plane has been in production since 2008. The unit cost of a Boeing 747-8 is nearly 380 million dollars. As of June 2016, there are 125 confirmed orders – 74 of the freighter version and 51 of the passenger version.  The next Air Force One fleet will also be a derivative of the 747-8i aircraft.

[youtube id=”JsKxT9m8CeI” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

Fly West, Baby Boeing: Retirement of a 737 Classic

Avgeekery
-
0
Fly West, Baby Boeing: Retirement of a 737 Classic

For the working class it’s inevitable. Whether you’re a white collar executive or a blue collar plumber, there will come a time when you take your last day’s walk into work.The same goes for hard working aircraft. All aircraft, whether they are a single engine Cessna 172 or a twin engine Boeing 737, will eventually take their final flight.

This is a story about the latter. A working class aircraft in itself. The classic Boeing 737-500. Southwest Airlines was the launch customer for the 737-500, taking delivery of the very first one on February 28, 1990. Designated the 737-5H4 (H4 being Boeing’s order code for Southwest) and built to directly replace the aging 737-200 fleet, the self-appointed “LUV airline” would eventually order only twenty-five of these smaller 737s due to an ever increasing demand for longer haul flights and more passenger space. Two of these 737-500s, N507SW and N501SW, would even take on the very prestigious role as Southwest’s “Shamu Two” and “Shamu Three” respectively. Along with “Shamu One”, a 737-3H4 (N334SW), these three aircraft were painted in the now iconic “Killer Whale” livery that became famous with passengers.

IMG_20160829_192410615_HDR-01

Southwest Flight Attendant Uses Every Looney Tunes Character To Welcome Passengers To Chicago

Avgeekery
-
0
Southwest Flight Attendant Uses Every Looney Tunes Character To Welcome Passengers To Chicago

Southwest Airlines flight attendant Zach Haumesser is a man that obviously enjoys his job. Instead of going through the motions, he put his heart and soul into his duties. On a recent flight into Chicago Midway, Zach is captured on video making a very unique arrival message to passengers.  He did the entire announcement as if the entire Looney Tunes gang was onboard the jet. The impersonation is quite good…scary good.

Southwest Airlines is known for a lighthearted attitude.  This isn’t the first humorous Southwest flight attendant.  Back in 2015, we posted a flight attendant whose pre-departure safety message also went viral. Kudos to Zach for making the fly experience a little more fun.  That is unless you probably happen to be a flight attendant who has to do a three day trip with him.  Then that schtick would get annoying!

[youtube id=”sCVV4pRmvFE” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

Kaboom! Incredible Video of SpaceX Rocket Explosion On Launch Pad

Avgeekery
-
0
Kaboom! Incredible Video of SpaceX Rocket Explosion On Launch Pad

SpaceX rocket explodes during routine test.

On Thursday, September 1st, the Space X Dragon rocket was preparing to undergo a routine pre-launch test firing.  The rocket and payload were destroyed in the explosion.

The rocket was supposed to carry a communications satellite to orbit. The satellite was built by an Israeli firm and contracted for Facebook.  The estimated cost of the payload was $200M.  Future SpaceX launches will be paused while an investigation into the cause will take place.  This is not the first incident for Elon Musk’s company. Last year, another SpaceX rocket exploded during ascent.

The video was posted by USLaunchReport.com.  The explosion begins at 1:10 into the video.

[youtube id=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ” width=”800″ height=”454″ position=”left”]

1...185186187...223Page 186 of 223