jrl767

ready, aim, fire

Air China (which is apparently not the same as China Airlines)

jlemon

Yes, one could definitely say that Air China (which I believe was formerly known as CAAC) and China Airlines are not the same!

There are some geopolitical differences between the PRC and Taiwan, of course....

And it was not Air China.....so please guess again!

jrl767

Seat 2A mentioned CAAC which is actually what I was thinking when I first typed "China Airlines" late the other evening ... for some reason I recall seeing a Pocket OAG entry for CA 74L (i.e., SP) in one or the other direction between LAX and SFO, probably in the late 80s or early 90s

all that said, I think the only other Asian operator of the 744 Combi is OZ (Asiana)

jrl767

so ... speaking of Combi, and speaking of something I posted late the other evening, and speaking of our colleague Seat 2A way up there in Alaska ... apparently Combi service from the Lower 48 (not originating SEA) to ANC in the 1977-1978 timeframe remains a puzzler ...

the flight in question actually served SEA-ANC, but it operated two other segments in Combi configuration (all coach seating in the back of the jet, boarding and deplaning through the aft door) en route to SEA ... I flew one of them in Nov 77 and the other in Dec 78

miniliq

I thought maybe the "Asia' designation was a trick part to the question.

Anyway, I don't think anyone has mentioned JL -- they definitely had a lot of 747-400s, although I don't know for sure if that included a 400M.

Seat 2A

Only two questions left! If unanswered, I'll answer these tomorrow...

5. In 1980, this airline operated a short lived service between Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas, continuing on to Los Angeles. Which airline was this and what type of aircraft was used on the route?

25. It’s October of 1981 and you’ve been invited to an Autumn Festival in Bedford, New York. The closest airport to Bedford is in White Plains, just a few miles to the south. A quick check of your trusty OAG shows a single airline operating two daily nonstop flights (1 is X7) from O’Hare to Westchester County Airport in White Plains. Name the airline and the equipment used.

Seat 2A

jlemon

Apologies for my late reply - I've been on the road on biz and am currently in the big city of Houston.....

Asiana with B747-400 Combi (74E) service is correct! Here's the sched from the April 2, 1995 OAG.....

OZ 214: Depart SFO 3:50pm, arrive LAX 5:10pm
Op: Tuesdays, Thursdays & Sundays only
Equip: 74E
Note: Flight originated in Seoul

Also note the flight number: OZ 214. This, of course, is the same flight number used by the ill-fated Asiana B777-200 that crash landed recently at SFO.....

jlemon

I'll close out this quiz item as well....

The final airline in the list of ten U.S. air carriers that were providing service between FLL and MIA in 1981 was Republic (RC) with DC9 and D9S equipment.

WHBM

I did promise some days ago some quiz questions on Old Russian/Soviet Airlines and Airliners, and I’ve assembled a few, hopefully some more straightforward ones rather than “What does the 11th digit of an Ilyushin 86 Serial number mean” (Soviet aircraft manufacturers serial numbers are always huge, and structured). Some are general, others from the 1980 timetable (although the 1980 detail available to westerners is, I am sure, incomplete).

- General ones first.

1. What was unusual about the baggage handling facilities on the Ilyushin 86 widebody ?

2. What was the first “Western” jet supplied to Aeroflot ?

3. What was the first scheduled transatlantic destination served by Aeroflot ?

4. (For one of our contributors) What was the large Soviet helicopter with two big rotors, like the Chinook but mounted sideways. How many engines did it have ? It still said “Aeroflot” on the side, but what was it really designed to carry ?

5. How many propeller blades did the Tupolev 114 have ? What was unique, for a propeller aircraft, about its wings ?

6. Why were Soviet Aeroflot crews not normally seen in hotels at western destinations ? What was unusual about their food arrangements when in these cities ?

7. What is notable about the production quantities of the supersonic Tupolev 144 when compared to Concorde ?

8. What was the principal supersonic route the Tupolev 144 was operated on ?

9. What was the marketing expression used by British Airways about their route from London through Moscow to Tokyo ?

10. What did the letters “CCCP” on Soviet aircraft registrations stand for ?

11. What was the first “private” (non-Aeroflot) Russian carrier of modern times ?

12. What was the Soviet version of the DC3 called ?

13. At which European airport did the Soviets build a large aviation fuel store, supplied by tanker coming from Soviet Black Sea ports, which avoided paying for fuel for transatlantic flights by Aeroflot and their friends in hard currency ?

14. In 1956 General Secretary Kruschev visited London. What was novel about the aircraft used by the support team (he didn't trust it and came by warship).

15. While we're doing history, who flew from Moscow to near Portland, Oregon, in 1936 ?

- These questions from the 1980 summer timetable

16. What are the three principal Moscow airports ?

17. The international airport at Moscow only has one domestic route operated from there, although it has 11 departures a day. Other domestic flights go from the other two airports, which are domestic only. What is this solitary domestic destination ?

18. In 1980, from Moscow, there are a handful of Boeing and Douglas aircraft per day from western operators, along with a daily Trident, from British Airways of course. There is also just one single widebody operator, running twice a week, which is the only widebody flight from the Soviet Union it appears; one BAC One-eleven flight per week, and three Caravelle departures split between two operators. Can you identify any of these foreign airlines? If it helps, they are all the national airline of their countries (knew we had to get a Caravelle in somehow).

19. Which international destination has the most Aeroflot service from Moscow, with three daily flights.

20. Which “free world” airline had the most departures from Moscow, 14 a week ?

21. And following on, which foreign airline had the most departures from Moscow, 6 a day, plus ones from other Soviet points ?

22. How many flights a week in 1980 Moscow to Havana ?

23. How many flights a week in 1980 Moscow to New York ?

24. Aeroflot once-weekly, Moscow-Odessa-Cairo-Aden-Mogadishu-Dar es Salaam. What aircraft type would be employed on such a marathon ?

25. OK, a tough one. There’s a once-weekly Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 from Moscow to Lima, Peru, with four intermediate stops. One of these is Havana. Can you guess even ONE of the others ? If it helps, none have been covered in the questions above.

- Last one -

26. In March 2008 the very last Tupolev 154 schedule to the UK was in its final weeks, just a once-weekly schedule. Which Russian airline, and what route ? And which TWO travellers (of course) had contrived to be on board in those final weeks, one travelling from the start point through to Cleveland, Ohio, all in one day, and by what overall routing (and the other sensibly stopping in the UK) ?

jrl767

A310


A- 8; two counter-rotating four-bladed props
B- TU-114 was a swept-wing turboprop


Cyrillic for "SSSR" ... <something> Soviet Socialist Republic

cs57

Russian Aviation:
1) Ilyushun 86 baggage system-one took ones bags to lower level of a/c and put baggage in as they boarded aircraft.
5)Tupolev 114--4 bladed propellers, and swept-back wing (comparable to Boeing 707/Douglas DC8, gave it quite a cruising speed.
12) Lisunnov Li-2
16) Moscow Airports:
Domodedovo
Sheremetyevo
Vnukovo

cs57

25) Moscow/Lima (1980)
Moscow/LUX/SNN/HAV/PTY/LIM. (SNN is a guess)

miniliq

One variation on cs57's answer: SVO-LUX-SNN-HAV-KIN-LIM

WHBM

Good tries for the Lima flight, all. Miniliq is the closest, two out of the three, but to give another clue ..... you've missed a Continent.