WHBM

Gosh that was quick ... 1 minute apart, in different continents. And yes. So, another bonus, how many different aircraft types did BOAC run on the New York to London route at the time.

jlemon

8. Nope and nope!

jrl767

8- ah, one last go ... Northeast, Convair 880

jlemon

Well, we'll count that as a correct response.....although it wasn't quite the answer I was looking for, sir!

And here's why.....a Comet operated by BOAC had just operated the first transatlantic jet flight to New York International (a.k.a. Idlewild) on October 4, 1958. However, not to be outdone, Juan Trippe with Pan Am had arranged for one of the new Boeing 707 aircraft that was being operated by the airline on a route proving flight that same day to be parked at an adjoining gate at IDL when the Comet arrived from London. Mr. Trippe had also reportedly arranged to have the 707 polished to a "mirror finish". So on that day, a Comet and a 707 appeared for the first time together in New York.....and the Jet Age was underway.

jlemon

I'll guess four different types of aircraft including the Comet. I think the other three were the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, the Bristol Britannia and the Douglas DC-7.

And one more bonus question....

What was the name of the service provided by BOAC on board the Comet between London and New York? ANSWERED

Toshbaf

6. American Airlines

21. 65

KT550

I'll try "Monarch Service" for that.

WHBM

Well if Juan Trippe did a little show for the arrival of the first westbound Comet, he'd missed all the fun. And knowing Juan Trippe (well, not personally), somehow I doubt that.

The start of service was dependent on the approval of the New York Port Authority commissioners. Juan Trippe wanted to start at the end of October 1958, and the commissioners monthly meeting was on Friday October 3. Juan Trippe tipped them off that after all their stonewalling, to prevent BOAC stealing a march with the Comet, this was the month that Pan Am were now ready.

BOAC meanwhile had ferried a Comet 4 across on a proving flight, and on Friday morning went to see the commissioners and invited them to come and view it before the meeting. Who came, if any, not recorded. But Friday afternoon they announced permission granted for jets.

At 5pm Basil Smallpeice, BOAC Managing Director, who had come over in the Comet, stood up in front of the press in the BOAC Speedbird Club at Idlewild and announced that jet services, both ways, would start the next morning and were open for reservations. They were going to start both ways at once. Comet G-APDB was to set off from New York on Saturday morning, to arrive in London while it was still daylight for news photos, also making it the first ever daylight flight. G-APDC, with Chairman Gerard d'Erlanger on board, was to come the other way to be the first arrival in New York. They passed one another at 47 degrees west. Apparently the departure of the Comet from Idlewild was a spectacle in itself, they passed over the runway end already at 2,000 feet and steeply climbing.

Here are some further details and pictures of the first departure, including words by Basil Smallpeice himself.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...20york&f=false

Now both Basil and Gerard were Decent Chaps in the UK tradition, and would surely have invited Juan Trippe to the first departure. But maybe he was over at the Pan Am hangar with a polishing rag in hand, getting their 707 ready for the afternoon when the second BOAC Comet of the day came through

By the way, if you have ever been inside that Dan-Air Comet 4 at Duxford museum, and I know some reading here have, it's G-APDB, the aircraft from that first morning departure from Idlewild. After an interesting life.

jlemon

8. Correct! Here's the sched....

NE 34: Miami (MIA) 2:00p - 2:45p Tampa (TPA) 3:15p - 4:00p Jacksonville (JAX) 4:30p - 7:00p New York Idlewild (IDL)
Freq: Daily
Service classes: F/Y (First & Day Coach)
Meal service: Dinner JAX-IDL
Equip: 880 JET

jlemon

6. Correct! The Convair 990 did not match several of the original guarantees stated by the manufacturer and I think at one point American nearly cancelled their entire order. Convair reportedly responded with even deeper price discounts and also accepted a cancellation of five 990 aircraft by AA which meant the airline ended up operating 20 of the type. American also found that the airplane could not dependably fly transcontinental nonstops westbound against prevailing winds and reportedly only briefly operated the 990 eastbound from San Francisco to New York nonstop. In the end, I believe only 37 CV-990 aircraft were built which resulted in a large financial loss for the manufacturer.

21. Nope! It was less than 65.

jlemon

Correct! Now I'm not quite sure what "Monarch" service entailed on board the BOAC Comet flights between London and New York but I'll wager that it was a very nice experience.

jlemon

My source for this quiz item is the book "From Props To Jets" by Jon Proctor, Mike Machat and Craig Kodera. Here's a quote from the book concerning the events I described above in my response:

Saturday, October 4, 1958, saw the world's first two jet airliners together for the very first time at New York International Airport. On the observation deck of the International Arrivals Building a crowd of nearly a thousand spectators greeted the BOAC Comet that had just flown world's first commercial revenue passenger service across the Atlantic in a jet transport. Not to be outdone, Pan Am's Juan Trippe ordered one of his new 707s, in New York that day on a route-proving flight, to be parked at an adjoining gate when the Comet arrived from London. The 707 simply dwarfed the smaller British jet, its fuselage polished to a mirror finish. Excitement filled the air along with the new scent of kerosene, and the piercing jet-engine noise was simply deafening. No one really cared, however, for this was the moment that signaled the official start of the Jet Age.

jlemon

BTW, a very interesting episode of "Ice Pilots NWT" last night on The Weather Channel....

"Buffalo Joe" McBryan, the owner of Buffalo Airways in Yellowknife (YZF), dispatches a team of pilots and mechanics down to Red Deer (YQF) to pick up a stored Lockheed L-188 Electra which had been sitting outside for quite some time and apparently was not being run up on a regular basis. The predictable result was the crew experienced problem after problem after problem and only got airborne on the third take off attempt....only to experience more problems on the flight from YQF up to YZF. At one point they are having to navigate at night using maps and by looking outside for hopefully familiar landmarks.

Here's a photo of the aircraft, being C-GZFE which was formerly operated by the Atlantic Airlines in the UK as G-LOFE. Note the flag on the fuselage just aft of the flight deck of the aircraft....

https://www.airliners.net/photo/Buff...pl8Gj72mAuoowp

Seat 2A

13. Name the first airline to operate the Boeing 707 that was not based in the U.S.

QANTAS comes immediately to mind, operating its 707 V-Jet.

jlemon

13. Correct! And I believe QANTAS was the only customer for the specific 707 model which the airline initially operated. I believe that Boeing removed ten feet from the Boeing 707-120 fuselage design, aft of the wing, to create the "short body" Boeing 707-138 for QANTAS.