Civil Airliners - or Now for Something Completely Different

daifly

Western Thunderer
I take it that was with a BA aircraft?
It was (accident was c1999). The SAS 767 was damaged too.
At most major US airports, the rules seemed to be that aircraft that were capable of being moved under their own power must be taxied not towed. This one was being repositioned back onto a departure gate at EWR (Newark NJ) and was being taxied by a mechanic!
If you think of the ground area (length x wingspan) occupied by a B747 as a moving 'box', it covers more than an acre of ground.
Dave
 

Len Cattley

Western Thunderer
I remember a jumbo breaking away from a tug and crashing into another one, don't know how it did that as it had an engineer onboard the flight deck.
Len
 

daifly

Western Thunderer
Brakes on the B747 are hydraulically operated. If the towed aircraft hydraulic systems are not pressurised (and they wouldn't normally be when under tow) the presence of a mechanic is probably irrelevant.
Dave
See later posts for a correction!
 
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Chris P

Member
Where I work it is a case of there but for the grace of whatever entity you believe in go I!!!
I still love it!! Airside is still damn sexy!!!
The Big C meant I am on the loading bay doing security stuff so I'm not playing airside, hopefully that will change soon.
chris.
 

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jamiepage

Western Thunderer
Brakes on the B747 are hydraulically operated. If the towed aircraft hydraulic systems are not pressurised (and they wouldn't normally be when under tow) the presence of a mechanic is probably irrelevant.
Dave

Dave,
Sorry to butt in, but I've been thinking about this ever since I read it. It's depressing quite how much I've forgotten, especially after too long on the gallic pretender, but didn't the Classics have an Aux (Electric) pump to pressurise sys 4 for brakes in case of towbar snapping? Assuming APU was not supplying an ADP that is.
I'm sure ours were never tugged without someone covering brakes in the cockpit.
Not that it matters really, except as a howgozit on a crumbling memory!
Thanks
Jamie
 

daifly

Western Thunderer
Jamie
You're absolutely right! I'm going to plead advancing years in defence and the fact that it was a facility that, operationally, I don't recall ever using. As for cover in the cockpit, it still requires the tow crew member in the cockpit to be sitting with seat adjusted correctly to cover such an event!
The 'new' B787 doesn't have hydraulic brakes at all - they're all-electric!
Thanks for the reminder and correction - I've modified my earlier post
Dave
 

jamiepage

Western Thunderer
Phew, that's a relief. Every day brings up a micro check on the little grey cells and it's nice to still get the odd success!
An ageing rock god once said 'If marijuana wrecks the short term memory, what does marijuana do?' but the rock 'n roll years completely passed me by unfortunately so it's simply down to age in my case.
Now, where did I leave the house keys?
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
There are two indications that you're losing your memory. One is that you can't remember things, but I can't remember what the second thing is.

Brian
 

Deano747

Western Thunderer
Dave,
Sorry to butt in, but I've been thinking about this ever since I read it. It's depressing quite how much I've forgotten, especially after too long on the gallic pretender, but didn't the Classics have an Aux (Electric) pump to pressurise sys 4 for brakes in case of towbar snapping? Assuming APU was not supplying an ADP that is.
I'm sure ours were never tugged without someone covering brakes in the cockpit.
Not that it matters really, except as a howgozit on a crumbling memory!
Thanks
Jamie

Jamie, on the classic you had an electric pump for system 4 (Primary brakes) which used to trip off if there was a power interruption. (A trap in the sim!) You had to run No1 ADP in 'AUTO' or 'RUN' for towing/ pushback, for body gear steering.
The -400 and -8 still incorporate the same hydraulic circuitry, but electric Aux pumps, known as demand pumps, on 1 and 4 hydraulic systems. (Not all -400's have Aux 1 so it has to be in 'AUTO')

Regards, Rob.
 
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Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I just discovered this thread and am in need of a break from modelling, so may I share some memories? Here is a photo of my Mother and I arriving at Ronaldsway, Isle of Man in a Lancashire Aircraft Corporation DC3 having flown in from Elmdon. My father is in another photo and as he died when I was 10 this dates it at around 1953. My first flight in an airplane (or do we use aeroplane on WT?).

191503351_a5d85841f2_o.jpg

All very nostalgic. Do you remember when we dressed up to travel and of course the only clothes us boys had back then were our school clothes, the cap always being too big - don't worry, you'll grow into it!

Much later in life I flew several times in DC3s, first in 1971 between Abu Dhabi and Das Island, later in 1975 from Singapore Paya Lebar to Haadyai and then hedge hopped over to Songkhla in southern Thailand. Both these events were during my early days in the oil industry, the latter to get to the beach at Songkhla where we then took a Bell 212 chopper to a drill ship in the Gulf of Thailand.

I think those were my only DC3 flights that I remember but much more recently I worked in West Africa and survived a number of flights in older planes. We had a company rule that was very specific about who crewed the flight deck on our charter flights.

I only once saw the result of an accident. A Russian freighter's brakes failed while taxiing at Pointe Noire, Congo and it ran into a local airline's 727. There was nothing about this in the local news, surprise, surprise!

2220529838_1077a44460_o.jpg

I've got lots more to share if anyone's interested, though not that many photos

Paul
 

Deano747

Western Thunderer
I just discovered this thread and am in need of a break from modelling, so may I share some memories? Here is a photo of my Mother and I arriving at Ronaldsway, Isle of Man in a Lancashire Aircraft Corporation DC3 having flown in from Elmdon. My father is in another photo and as he died when I was 10 this dates it at around 1953. My first flight in an airplane (or do we use aeroplane on WT?).

View attachment 102242

All very nostalgic. Do you remember when we dressed up to travel and of course the only clothes us boys had back then were our school clothes, the cap always being too big - don't worry, you'll grow into it!

Much later in life I flew several times in DC3s, first in 1971 between Abu Dhabi and Das Island, later in 1975 from Singapore Paya Lebar to Haadyai and then hedge hopped over to Songkhla in southern Thailand. Both these events were during my early days in the oil industry, the latter to get to the beach at Songkhla where we then took a Bell 212 chopper to a drill ship in the Gulf of Thailand.

I think those were my only DC3 flights that I remember but much more recently I worked in West Africa and survived a number of flights in older planes. We had a company rule that was very specific about who crewed the flight deck on our charter flights.

I only once saw the result of an accident. A Russian freighter's brakes failed while taxiing at Pointe Noire, Congo and it ran into a local airline's 727. There was nothing about this in the local news, surprise, surprise!

View attachment 102243

I've got lots more to share if anyone's interested, though not that many photos

Paul

Flying in luxury!!

Regards, Rob.
 

Pencarrow

Western Thunderer
Concorde test flight 50yrs ago today. Before my time and near got a chance to have a flight, such a shame. Beautiful aircraft.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I have a Singapore $20 bank note with an engraving of Concorde in Singapore Airlines colours - on one side, the side always on view at Paya Lebar Airport. The lengthening of the Bahrein flight to Singapore was short lived. On Sundays we used to spend the day at a beach north of Paya Lebar and the sound of Concorde taking off over our heads was truly deafening.

IMG_2496.jpeg

I knew quite a few colleagues in America who managed to upgrade to Concorde for the once in a lifetime trip but never managed to do it myself. I did visit inside the prototype Concorde 101 on display at Duxford though.
 
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Focalplane

Western Thunderer
One more before I get back to the work bench. Earlier mention was made of the Vickers VC 10 and what a fine plane it was. My first intercontinental journey was by BOAC from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi (the original airport) in 1971. The flight was delayed for some reason and we were given dinner in a restaurant set up airside for the purpose at Heathrow. Does such a place exist today? I think not! The result was that we arrived in Abu Dhabi at 3 in the morning.

The return journey three months later was also by VC10 but on one of BOAC's in Gulf Air colours.

While in Abu Dhabi (I arrived in the Trucial States and when I left it was the U.A.E.) I visited Dubai to take a charter to Muscat for a business meeting and field trip into the Oman Mountains. While in the original airport at Dubai I took this photo of a BOAC VC10. Taken on Extachrome the slide has lasted remarkably well. I imagine the skyline is just a bit different today.

UAE10.jpg

It is said that the ruler of Dubai wanted an airport building and was shown several designs. He chose one that existed in Canada and liked the roof as it resembled Middle Eastern architecture. In fact the roof was designed to assist heavy snow to "chute" to the ground!
 

JimG

Western Thunderer
One more before I get back to the work bench. Earlier mention was made of the Vickers VC 10 and what a fine plane it was. My first intercontinental journey was by BOAC from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi (the original airport) in 1971. The flight was delayed for some reason and we were given dinner in a restaurant set up airside for the purpose at Heathrow. Does such a place exist today? I think not! The result was that we arrived in Abu Dhabi at 3 in the morning.

The return journey three months later was also by VC10 but on one of BOAC's in Gulf Air colours.

I do remember that the best flight I ever had was on a VC10. In the early 70s I was part of a film crew making some promotional material for Caledonian and we had spent a week filming in Rio de Janeiro. To ferry us around the world, they generally placed us in empty seating in what flights were available to save money. So to get us back from Rio to Gatwick, we went via Beunos Aires, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. I think it took about three days. :) But the flight back from Lagos was in a VC10 and first class. What a super ride. The Caledonian person who accompanied us on our journeys was a training captain and I remember him saying that the VC10 was a pilot's plane.

Jim.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
OK, one more! My last job before retirement was working in Africa. The company’s regional HQ was in Pointe Noire Congo. In the early days we had to fly to the capital, Brazzaville and then take an Air France approved local service to PNR. The old airport at Brazza was the pits, nothing worked, staff would try to fleece you at every security check, and so on. Total was the largest operator in the Congolese petroleum industry and they persuaded Air France to fly direct to Pointe Noire, 7.5 hours from Paris CDG. The plane was an Airbus 319-ER with almost as many business class seats as economy. It proved to be so popular that it was replaced by a daily Airbus 330 and must have been Air France’s most profitable route given the price of tickets. One reason for the high price was that the 330 was parked all day while offshore oil crews were changed.

The Chinese built a new terminal to replace the original earth floored open to the elements and mosquitos departure area. The two jet ways were operating a year later. The runway has not been improved and remains unfenced.

Here is the Airbus 319-ER "Dedicate" waiting for the evening return to Paris:

435652034_caa15fc5c4_o.jpg

And a view of the runway from the co-pilot's seat of a Cessna 404:

435721231_ecc7af6605_o.jpg
 

Peter Cross

Western Thunderer
One more before I get back to the work bench. Earlier mention was made of the Vickers VC 10 and what a fine plane it was. My first intercontinental journey was by BOAC from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi (the original airport) in 1971. The flight was delayed for some reason and we were given dinner in a restaurant set up airside for the purpose at Heathrow. Does such a place exist today? I think not! The result was that we arrived in Abu Dhabi at 3 in the morning.

The return journey three months later was also by VC10 but on one of BOAC's in Gulf Air colours.

While in Abu Dhabi (I arrived in the Trucial States and when I left it was the U.A.E.) I visited Dubai to take a charter to Muscat for a business meeting and field trip into the Oman Mountains. While in the original airport at Dubai I took this photo of a BOAC VC10. Taken on Extachrome the slide has lasted remarkably well. I imagine the skyline is just a bit different today.

View attachment 102269

It is said that the ruler of Dubai wanted an airport building and was shown several designs. He chose one that existed in Canada and liked the roof as it resembled Middle Eastern architecture. In fact the roof was designed to assist heavy snow to "chute" to the ground!

One of those my father worked on. I remember a trip around the works in the sixties, and my dad being so disappointed at my sister and I being more interested in the steam hauled train we saw. For us it was unusual amongst all the SR electrics.
 
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