quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I still miss seeing the Delta L-1011’s lined up at the concourses at ATL. At least we’ll still be seeing 747’s flying cargo for years to come.

Here'a an L-1011 article with some history and info about one that may be still flying:

https://www.airlinereporter.co...istar-returns-skies/

Virgin Atlantic runs 3 or 4 747s MCO-Gatwick so every day between 3:30-5:30 I can catch them on approach.

It's disappointing to not see these beauties flying commercial as much anymore. I understand the transition to the 777/787 and the Airbus equivalent, but none of these jets have the soul of the 74, IMO.

You'll see plenty of them at any large airport in Asia. Most hauling cargo overseas.

I agree. I miss the 747s, but more than that, the three holers... specifically the older DC-10s, 727s, and TU154s (not that you ever got to see any of those stateside...but we had about 5 a day come over our school where I grew up). There was just something about those old engines dumping exhaust and leaving a trail miles long out the back...and they'd rattle the windows of buildings for miles around on takeoff. Even the old 737-100s and 200s were pretty spectacular in the noise department. As a kid I could stand at the airport windows for hours...it was almost like watching rockets take off.

Nowadays it's a boring collection of CRJs, ERJs, A320-derivatives and next-gen 737s...with the occasional widebody twin thrown in. Couple that with the demise of observation decks due to security purposes, and mandatory molestation by the TSA, and the airport has become a lot less fun than it used to be.

quote:

Originally posted by KPSquared:
Although they are cargo UPS has a large fleet of DC-10s. There are always a bunch at Louisville airport flying in and out. Same for 747s.

UPS flies the MD-11. It looks similar to the DC-10, but is larger, has a gross weight nearly 50% higher than the original DC-10, has an all-glass cockpit and no flight engineer, a smaller tail, and winglets. (FedEx flies the MD10 and the MD11).

UPS has 38 MD-11's. Other than that, they operate the A300, B747-400, B747-8, B757, and B767.

I used to fly frequently from Hong Kong to Khaborovosk, Siberia, then to Anchorage, Chicago, etc. Also going west, but less often. I'd frequently see Northwest Airlines cargo 747's flying those routes, and would often pass them, going opposite directions.

Northwest eventually was bought and merged into Delta, who shuttered the cargo side and parked all the 747's. They were in the storage yard in Marana, AZ (Pinal/Evergreen). An operator for whom I was working bought the entire fleet, and I ended up ferrying them out, one by one, to another location.

Two of the airplanes were passenger configuration, and had last done troop hauls from the sandbox. On one of those airplanes, as I walked through, troops had signed every window shade and walls with markers, probably on the last flight or two before it got parked. The airplane hadn't been touched since, except to wake it up for the ferry flight. Kind of a neat bit of history.

Sns3guppy: why Khabarovsk? Very near but not in China? Why not Vladivostok?

Vladivostok was a typical alternate, though when that region gets socked in, it goes all the way to Vladivostok, in many cases, making Nagoya the next best choice, often stretching fuel.

Khabarovosk was used primarily because it was on the routing and a technical fuel stop. Good prices, no delays, fairly hassle-free. There are a number of volcanos on the Kamchatka peninsula, and a flight via Siberia on the Khabarovosk side puts the routing upwind of the volcanos, which is also a plus. Those stops were in the Classics, which were thirstier. The -400's didn't need the stop and went straight to Anchorage.

The Russians used big blocks of cement for the runways, which could be pulled and replaced if needed and which avoided cracking due to the freezing conditions there. It meant the runways were rough and uneven with all the blocks, and it often tore up tires. Deicing was done by the Russians using turbojet engines mounted on large trucks; they'd fire up the jets, which pointed down at a 45 degree angle, and use those to melt the ice and blow it away, and they'd drive up and down the ramps and runway like that, clearing it off before a flight.

I can still recall the downing of KAL 007. The russian aircraft that shot it down came out of Khaborovosk, and the base is just alongside final approach to the civil airport. The first time I landed at Khaborovosk, there was a strange sense of irony, overflying the base that shot down the Korean 747, to buy fuel at the same location, in a 747. We were always treated well there, though. They were very strict with passports, taking them if we went outside to walk around the aircraft.

Just drove by LAX (on a freeway) and a KLM 747 was racing us down the runway. Magnificent. My passenger works for a company that makes sat antennas for in-flight entertainment. His family recently (this year) flew to Europe on a 747. He says the 747 shows it's age in his field with decades old shit. Oh, the 747 beat us.

Anchorage o nbn Friday night almost made up for SeaTac. Sitting against the window in Silver Gulch Brewery on C concourse I had a great view of a parade of international 747 freighters rolling through de-icing. It brought out my inner 19 year old, except there was beer...

quote:

Originally posted by 2000Z-71:
Anchorage o nbn Friday night almost made up for SeaTac. Sitting against the window in Silver Gulch Brewery on C concourse I had a great view of a parade of international 747 freighters rolling through de-icing. It brought out my inner 19 year old, except there was beer...

Bullshit. Don't tell me you waited until you were 21 to drink.

Got the treat of seeing a Korean Air 747 in ATL the other day.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
I fly widebody, so I see 747's all day long, but they're not prevalant as they once were. DC10's and MD11's and the Tristar faded from the scene, with a few MD11's and MD11's doing freight. The 747's have been dropped by many operators in favor of the 777; it's more efficient and has what's called ETOPS certification to do long routes over the water, etc, on two engines instead of four.

Even the A340's are drying up, and the A380 has always struggled and is drying up, too.

I flew the 747, started in the -100, -200, etc, and I miss the airplane. It's reassuring, especially in the middle of nowhere, to have four engines, four systems, and a ton of redundancy in an airplane that flies and handles like a big, heavy Cessna.

There are a few 747-400's flying passengers, and the -400 and -800 are found flying cargo, but any more that's when you'll see most 747's...at night, doing cargo.

I'll take a 747 any day over a 787.

We saw our first A380's last year...damn those are big !!!
Saw them at both LHR and JHB

Not enough lavatories.