Easy aviation entertainment/fun for the weekend....

[Melanie]

I think 2 from Malaysian Airlines and 1 from Asiana.

Right, OEC and OED from MH and OEB from OZ

The ones from MH were a problem as when they were being repainted in QF colours it was detected that that had dubious repairs to cracks in their wing joints I think.

I did not know about that.

I believe the OZ one is still in service but will be retired

Philips Island still going strong!

only keeping the 3 youngest 747-438

Not correct, sorry. I studied the Qantas 747 fleet and its retirement plans as a good example that not always the oldest planes gets retired first but the planes with the highest upcoming costs, as D-Checks for example. (OJB retired while OJA will still stay etc.). Interesting as well that not even hours nor cycles are really that important. The last retired Qantas B744s had between 78k to 100k hours.

and 6 747-438ERs.

Easy to remember, the only 6 B747ER ever build.

 

[Blackcloud]

Right, OEC and OED from MH and OEB from OZ

Not correct, sorry. I studied the Qantas 747 fleet and its retirement plans as a good example that not always the oldest planes gets retired first but the planes with the highest upcoming costs, as D-Checks for example. (OJB retired while OJA will still stay etc.). Interesting as well that not even hours nor cycles are really that important. The last retired Qantas B744s had between 78k to 100k hours. Easy to remember, the only 6 B747ER ever build.

Yes that is correct, those needing the heavy checks go first.
The remaining birds are OJA, OJC, OJE, OJI, (Configuration 56J, 40W, 275Y) OJA is the oldest operational aircraft in the fleet (11/08/1989)
OJL, OJM, (Kangaroo Configuration 14F, 52J, 32W, 255Y)
OEB (Pacific Configuration 14F, 66J, 40W, 183Y)
OJS, OJT, OJU and the 6 ER's (OEE-OEJ) (58J, 35W, 270Y) These have been refurbished with A380 seats and will be the ones retained by QF as they are the youngest in the fleet.
The only passenger ERs ever built

 

[Melanie]

The only passenger ERs ever built

Yup, there are 40 747ERF around....

 

[Melanie]

Easter Weekend, some light and easy stuff:

The largest aircraft ever to have disappeared without a trace, The 727 that Vanished:

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/The-727-that-Vanished.html

Enjoy!

PS: If anyone is interested/fascinated by this story, send me a pm and I will send you a link to some more personal insights from people that "know" a bit more....

 

[Melanie]

This story is just too good. Imagine you had to transplant several beaver colonies into a "generally inaccessible wilderness” in Idaho. Exactly, you drop them from a plane with parachutes:

http://blogs.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/2012/11/beavers-on-parachutes/

Enjoy!

 

[melony]

Melanie thanks for that story. that's the funniest thing i have ever heard. i cant stop laughing. beavers with parachutes! thank you

 

[Melanie]

Hello aviators,

todays post is all about astronauts and the lighter side of them and their crew posters..

Enjoy:

When you think of astronauts, several descriptions come to mind: Brave. Intelligent. Heroic. Probably not “humorous.” But once you’ve taken a look at their crew posters, you may change your mind.

Shuttle and space station crews customarily take a series of photographs near the end of their pre-mission training, all shot on the same day. There’s a group photo, individual photos, family shots, and pictures taken with co-workers, foreign aides, and the crew secretary. But the last 15 minutes of the photo shoot are set aside for what has come to be known as a “fun photo.” Over time, the fun photo has transformed into a parody, due to the efforts of one man, Sean Collins, the graphics technical lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

to be continued....

 

[Melanie]

Part II:

To be continued...

 

[Melanie]

Final part III:

Hope you like...


Thanks to airspacemag.com for all the info and pics.

 

[Melanie]

Regarding the Atlantis 125 poster, Scott Altman was the Navy Tomcat pilot that provided the in-flight middle finger in Top Gun.

 

[Uncle Mans]

Regarding the Atlantis 125 poster, Scott Altman was the Navy Tomcat pilot that provided the in-flight middle finger in Top Gun.

Are you telling me that it wasn't Goose that did that?

Next you'll be telling me that Tom Cruise didn't spike that volleyball on a standard height volleyball net!

 

[Melanie]

Why continue to search for Amelia Earhart?

I hope you enjoy reading...


http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Amelia.html

 

[Blackcloud]

Why continue to search for Amelia Earhart?

I hope you enjoy reading...
http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Amelia.html

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Amelia.html
Early weekend Melanie?

 

[Uncle Mans]

I wonder how much of the AE search has to do with the number of dollars that Titanic recouped those that found it. Just think James Cameron can make another "original" movie.

 

[Blackcloud]

Another weekend past with no update or addition from Melanie

 

[Neil ellor]

Melanie, Blackcould. It's all over you have to read Sahara by Clive Cussler they found her?????

 

[must_dash]

Well, it is the weekend again and now time to read and remember a truly inspirational woman in aviation. So here is to you, Amelia, the story of Amelia Earharts life and dissapearance:

http://www.ameliaearhart.com/about/bio.html

Hope you all enjoy!

Looks like the wait may be over...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/amelia-earhart-plane-found-sonar_n_3360141.html?ir=World


For decades, the question of what happened to the fearless American pilot Amelia Earhart has been an enticing puzzle for history buffs, but a grainy sonar image of possible plane wreckage could be key in answering the nearly 76-year-old mystery.
Possible theories for the heroine's demise include a devastating crash into the Pacific, as well as capture and execution by the Japanese, according to PBS. However, researchers working with The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) believe they have found evidence that Earhart landed on a remote reef, after which her plane washed into the ocean and sank, according to the group's website.
TIGHAR-funded sonar imaging has revealed a 22-foot long object that represents a true "anomaly" in the group's data, Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, told Discovery News. The piece, possibly wreckage from Earhart's Lockheed Electra, is located 600 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean and just west of the remote Nikumaroro Island.
The object came to light during a forensic analysis of data collected during a $2.2 million TIGHAR expedition last July. That trip marked the group's 10th Earhart fact-finding mission, according to ABC News.
The 39-year-old Earhart disappeared without a trace on July 2, 1937, while attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world, with only a navigator as company. Earhart lost radio contact during the journey's most difficult leg, as they headed from Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island in the Pacific, Time notes.
Past expeditions by TIGHAR have turned up other intriguing, albeit inconclusive, clues, including what appears to be a jar of 30s-era freckle cream found on Nikumaroro, ABC points out.
The jar, along with an American-made woman's compact, buttons and the zipper from a flight jacket, lend credence to TIGHAR's theory that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, did not die immediately but were able to make an emergency landing on the uninhabited island's reef.
But the case is far from solved, TIGHAR notes on its website.
"The better a piece of evidence looks, the harder you have to try to disqualify it," TIGHAR writes. "So far, the harder we’ve looked at this anomaly, the better it looks. ... Maybe it’s pure coincidence that it‘s the right size and shape to be the Electra wreckage – the Electra that so much other evidence suggests should be in that location."
The next step is to raise more money and return for an 11th expedition. However, as a nonprofit, TIGHAR will have to raise the funds for the trip themselves.
"We currently project that it will take nearly $3,000,000 to put together an expedition that can do what needs to be done," Gillespie told Discovery. "It's a lot of money, but it's a small price to pay for finding Amelia."