Len Cattley
Western Thunderer
I take it that was with a BA aircraft?
Len
I take it that was with a BA aircraft?
It was (accident was c1999). The SAS 767 was damaged too.I take it that was with a BA aircraft?
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
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?).
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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!
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I've got lots more to share if anyone's interested, though not that many photos
Paul
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.
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.
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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!