kochleffel

It would have been my only flight in one, and 1984 is about right.

jlemon

Besides my flights with ConnectAir on the Fairchild F-27 between SBA and SJC, I had earlier flown on Fokker F.27 aircraft operated by Swift Aire between San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles several times. These were new aircraft which had been delivered to Swift Aire by the manufacturer shortly before my flights. They had that "new plane smell" and the Swift Aire folks were very proud of their F.27s which represented a big leap forward, equipment-wise, at the time for this little ol' airline that was based in San Luis Obispo.

Seat 2A

You guys have done good! Better yet, it appears we have gotten our internet connection here in the park at least partially fixed. Here's some more questions to go with JoeDTW's remaining Ozark questions...

36. (1986) You’ve just returned to Los Angeles and are looking forward to a few days of R&R back home when you get a call from your department head. Welcome back! Terribly sorry about this Mate, but it seems your technical skills are required to solve a wee problem in Pretoria, South Africa. The Travel Department has found you a great itinerary though - a couple of nonstop flights aboard two different widebodied jets with just a single connection, both on the same airline. Even better, you’ve been booked in Business Class on both flights. Identify the airline, route and both aircraft types involved.

37. (1992) Tahiti can be flown to from Stockholm via just two nonstop flights and a single connection? No way! Way, Dude… Two airlines are involved, each of them operating a different aircraft type. Your job now is to identify the two airlines, the connection airport and the aircraft types.

38. (1987) Your Tennessee Vols are playing Alabama’s Crimson Tide in a major SEC showdown next weekend. A good buddy of yours has called to say he’s managed to procure a couple of tickets on the 40 yard line. Can you make it? Oh, you betcha! Better yet, if you fly down to Birmingham, he’ll pick you up and drive you back up to Knoxville after the game. As for the flight, this really must be your lucky day. There’s a daily nonstop from Knoxville straight down to Birmingham. Book it Danno! Name the airline and the aircraft please.

39. (1973) Never one to take a simple online connection, you’ve found a great way to fly from Dallas to Vancouver, BC. It involves three nonstop flights on three different airlines with each flight operated by the same model of four engine jetliner. Can you provide all of the usual details?

40. (1986) Following a productive three days in Abu Dhabi, it’s time to move on to your next assignment in Nairobi, Kenya. There is a once weekly nonstop ABU-NBO flight, but alas, not on the day you need. Thankfully, another airline offers a convenient online connection departing early tomorrow morning and arriving NBO in the early afternoon. The first flight to the connection point makes a single enroute stop, followed by a nonstop into Nairobi. It is the only airline offering an online connection where both flights are aboard vintage four engine jetliners of the same type. As an added bonus, First Class is available on both flights. Airline, routing and equipment please

41. (1987) With its acquisition of Republic Airlines, Northwest has an even larger presence in the Southeast. Its new hub in Memphis, Tennessee was never a hotbed of activity for widebody aircraft but Northwest has introduced MEM’s first 747 service along with DC-10 nonstops from four different U.S airports. With this question, we’re looking to identify those four airports. Are you up for it?

42. (1973) Based upon schedules published in the January 1st, 1973 North American OAG, Miami is served by twelve 747 flights most days. Seven of those flights are offered by one airline, flying into Miami from four different cities. Name the airline and the four airports.

43. (1986) Nairobi is a huge city but unfortunately there is a real dearth of good German restaurants in the CBD. Thankfully your next project has you working in Frankfurt, so you can practically taste that delicious German spaetzle accompanying your freshly grilled brat as you ponder your upcoming travel options. There are many, available on many airlines, but the most affordable one appears to be with an airline that operates all Y configured equipment and offers a single online connection featuring two nonstop flights - one aboard a jet and one aboard a turboprop. It is the only airline offering service between NBO and FRA that meets these parameters. Identify the airline, the routing and the two aircraft types.

dfw88

I know Varig had a fleet of 747s and given the long history between Miami and Brazil I could see them flying several a day to MIA. How about flights from Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador?


Edit: I just noticed the "North American OAG" part. I'm not familiar enough with the OAG to know whether the flights I proposed would even be in it if they existed. I'll leave this guess here for now.

JoeDTW

As usual, you're 100% correct. Here's the routing of OZ 711:

Lv MSP 0700, arrive RST 0729
Lv RST 0744, arrive ALO 0814
Lv ALO 0830, arrive DSM 0903
Lv DSM 0914, arrive MCI 1007

Unfortunately, I never flew the F.27, the F-27, the FH-227, or the F.50. Mesaba flew F-27s for a few years, and I've always regretted not flying one when I had a chance.

JoeDTW

41. MSP and DTW are obvious. For the other two, I'll go with MKE and PHX.

42. I'll guess DL, with 747-132s from ATL, DTW, ORD, and TPA

WHBM

.
I think that most of the intercontinental carriers out of Nairobi would serve Frankfurt from their own base with jets, so my guess is that the turboprop is on the first stage of the trip. I wonder about Uganda Airlines then, with an F.27 on Nairobi to Entebbe, then a 707 running Entebbe-Frankfurt-London.

I went in a few. My only F.27 trip was on an obscure carrier called Euroceltic, which was just running from Waterford in Ireland to London Luton; Waterford's only scheduled service, and the aircraft wasn't doing anything else apart from a twice-weekdays round trip. On reflection, it was my last trip of a long line by Dart turboprop power as well. Two aged around 65 pilots, both with four captain's rings, ran it, and looked like they would have a lifetime of experience and stories to tell. Shortly afterwards they got a government-subsidy contract to run Dublin to Sligo, in far north-west Ireland, and not long after starting the F.27 we went on (they only ever had two) overran the Sligo runway and ended its days, fortunately at slow speed, running over the weeds, then rocks, and dipped its nose in the Atlantic Ocean

Picture EuroCeltic Airways Fokker F-27-500F Friendship G-ECAT (planepictures.net)

The airframe of the F.27 was of course by Fokker, in The Netherlands, but the aircraft had probably 50% British content. Rolls-Royce Dart engines, of course; Dowty (from Gloucester) propellers; cabin windows same as the Viscount; most of the instruments etc.

The F.50 successor used to operate a lot of flights out of London City with carrier VLM, and I used them quite a few times. The engines were new but inside the cabin it had an old familiarity. The Fokker always seemed a bit dark and shadowy inside, from the high wing, something a bit absent from the Dash 8.

jlemon

The North American OAG covers an area that includes every state in the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean (including the Dutch ABC islands off the coast of Venezuela) plus the Bahamas and Bermuda. Every other location in the world including South America is covered by the international Worldwide edition of the OAG.

So it appears that Seat 2A may be looking for domestic flights in the U.S. as the 747 was being operated on such services in 1973 by several U.S. based air carriers. And I believe all of these airlines discovered the 747 was just too big for such service and was thus unprofitable to operate on domestic flights (although service between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii may have been an exception, especially with freight being transported in the cargo hold). But it was fun while it lasted and I enjoyed my flights on B747-100 equipment operated domestically by American and United back in the early 1970's (as well as flights on board UA B747-400 aircraft in later years between LAX and DEN).

jlemon

39. Wild guess time......Braniff International operating a Boeing 720 from Dallas to Denver, Continental operating a Boeing 720B from Denver to Portland, and Western operating a Boeing 720B from Portland to Vancouver.

jrl767

pretty early in the game for a “wild” guess, sir!
40- I’m leaning toward a routing with a short hop from AUH to another major Persian Gulf city and thence to the airline’s hub … “vintage four-engine jetliner” suggests a 707-320, which could be any of several Middle Eastern or African carriers

I’ll open with Sudan Airways, with the stop in Doha/DOH and the connection in Khartoum/KRT

JoeDTW

I can save you a little time, because a few months ago, I put together a question here about the routes UA flew their 720s on at the time they were retired. UA's final 720 flights operated on 10 Sep 1972, so it wouldn't have been possible to fly one in 1973.

dfw88

Thank you very much for the explanation. Maybe I should actually go buy an OAG and then I would know these things

jlemon

Thank you, sir! I shall amend my guess.

Seat 2A

Seat 2A