Old Timer's Airline Quiz and Discussion.
May 11, 2016, 2:50 pm
#9001
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completely sans any research, but taking "unfortunate" as a hint, I would have to speculate either DED or DOA
coincidentally (or perhaps ironically), the highlight color I chose is called "SandyBrown"
May 11, 2016, 3:07 pm
#9002
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May 11, 2016, 3:26 pm
#9003
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7x 737s
as I alluded to a couple weeks ago, I was recently obsessing to put together an itinerary that featured seven consecutive flights aboard 737s, one of each model (-300 thru -900)
technically I flew on eight in a row, as my last positioning flight (LGA-YYZ) was on a -700, and technically I messed up by not including the soon-to-disappear -400 Combi, but I can now point to these log entries:
2394 4-May YYZ-LGA WS 1204 736 C-GWSL
2395 4-May LGA-BNA WN 783 73G N233LV
2396 4-May BNA-MSY WN 3102 733 N374SW
2397 5-May MSY-DAL WN 2790 735 N521SW
2398 5-May DAL-PHX WN 2757 738 N8672F
2399 5-May PHX-SEA AS 633 739 N481AS
2400 10-May SEA-ONT AS 530 734 N799AS
I just noticed this is Post #9003 in this thread ... N9003U was the first 737-200 that I ever saw: a high school classmate and I were hanging out with our cameras at DCA when it came through on a route-proving flight a couple weeks before entering service in 1968; we spoke with the UA gate agent, who spoke with the flight engineer, who spoke with the pilots, who escorted us up the stairs and gave us a brief look at the flight deck
I have two flights aboard this jet: LAX-SFO in Mar 1979 and ICT-ORD in Apr 1996
technically I flew on eight in a row, as my last positioning flight (LGA-YYZ) was on a -700, and technically I messed up by not including the soon-to-disappear -400 Combi, but I can now point to these log entries:
2394 4-May YYZ-LGA WS 1204 736 C-GWSL
2395 4-May LGA-BNA WN 783 73G N233LV
2396 4-May BNA-MSY WN 3102 733 N374SW
2397 5-May MSY-DAL WN 2790 735 N521SW
2398 5-May DAL-PHX WN 2757 738 N8672F
2399 5-May PHX-SEA AS 633 739 N481AS
2400 10-May SEA-ONT AS 530 734 N799AS
I just noticed this is Post #9003 in this thread ... N9003U was the first 737-200 that I ever saw: a high school classmate and I were hanging out with our cameras at DCA when it came through on a route-proving flight a couple weeks before entering service in 1968; we spoke with the UA gate agent, who spoke with the flight engineer, who spoke with the pilots, who escorted us up the stairs and gave us a brief look at the flight deck
I have two flights aboard this jet: LAX-SFO in Mar 1979 and ICT-ORD in Apr 1996
Last edited by jrl767; May 12, 2016 at 2:15 pm Reason: added true Old Timer's factoids
May 12, 2016, 8:00 am
#9005
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Bonus Questions:
1. Name two different airlines that once offered scheduled commercial air service to Mt. McKinley National Park (Now Denali National Park)
A N S W E R E D
2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
1. Name two different airlines that once offered scheduled commercial air service to Mt. McKinley National Park (Now Denali National Park)
A N S W E R E D
2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
And did Talkeetna (TKA) to the south of the park ever have scheduled air service?
2. Perhaps this was a DC-3; however, I'm unsure of the carrier. Era Classic Airlines operated a DC-3 out of ANC on a flight seeing tour of the area (back in the 90's, I believe) but I cannot recall if they also flew the aircraft in scheduled point to point service.
May 12, 2016, 1:14 pm
#9006
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And speaking of national parks here in the U.S., here's a bonus quiz item:
In 1999, only one air carrier was operating turboprop equipment on scheduled flights serving Oakland (OAK). This small airline only had two daily departures from OAK at this time with nonstop flights aimed at transporting passengers to two different national parks located in the western U.S. Name both of these parks and also identify the airline in question as well as the aircraft type it operated on both services. ANSWERED
In 1999, only one air carrier was operating turboprop equipment on scheduled flights serving Oakland (OAK). This small airline only had two daily departures from OAK at this time with nonstop flights aimed at transporting passengers to two different national parks located in the western U.S. Name both of these parks and also identify the airline in question as well as the aircraft type it operated on both services. ANSWERED
Last edited by jlemon; May 12, 2016 at 9:26 pm Reason: answer update
May 12, 2016, 6:02 pm
#9007
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Originally Posted by kochleffel
Or, if we should be thinking "unfortunate" in a different way, perhaps
F U C
or
F C R
F U C
or
F C R
May 12, 2016, 6:10 pm
#9008
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2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
If memory serves, some time back you mentioned having seen a (doubtless rather lightly loaded) DC-6 there -- Everts Air Cargo, perhaps?
Wow! That would be a sight to behold! But no - it was not a DC-6... Please, guess again.
If memory serves, some time back you mentioned having seen a (doubtless rather lightly loaded) DC-6 there -- Everts Air Cargo, perhaps?
Wow! That would be a sight to behold! But no - it was not a DC-6... Please, guess again.
May 12, 2016, 6:37 pm
#9009
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1. Name two different airlines that once offered scheduled commercial air service to Mt. McKinley National Park (Now Denali National Park)
Curious to know if Alaska Aeronautical Industries (AAI) operated Twin Otter service into the Mt. McKinley/Denali airstrip......
I am not aware of AAI ever operating into Denali. Aside from 40 years of personal time here, I also referenced the "Denali - Symbol of The Alaska Wild" as well as book one of "Crown Jewel of The North - An Administrative History of Denali National Park" - both superb histories of human activity in and around the park.
So, we are still looking for the mystery airline that briefly operated flights into the park on two separate occasions. Neither occasion proved sufficiently profitable to warrant longer service.
And did Talkeetna (TKA) to the south of the park ever have scheduled air service?
A casual perusal of the internet did not turn up any information on scheduled airline flights into Talkeetna. There are however an abundance of air taxis serving climbers and tourists. Also, the town has long been served by the Alaska Railroad.
That said, I've got old OAGs showing Wien flights (Northern Consolidated) into much smaller and less populated settlements such as Circle, Livengood, Border and Chicken. It seems likely that Talkeetna would have had airline service at some point. I just don't have time to search right now
.
2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
Perhaps this was a DC-3; however, I'm unsure of the carrier. Era Classic Airlines operated a DC-3 out of ANC on a flight seeing tour of the area (back in the 90's, I believe) but I cannot recall if they also flew the aircraft in scheduled point to point service.
I have pictures of an Audi Air DC-3 that popped in one afternoon with a gaggle of Tauck Tours' most tenacious travelers. It landed and took off with room to spare!
The largest commercial aircraft to land at the park was a third again larger than the DC-3 and carried twice the passengers!
Curious to know if Alaska Aeronautical Industries (AAI) operated Twin Otter service into the Mt. McKinley/Denali airstrip......
I am not aware of AAI ever operating into Denali. Aside from 40 years of personal time here, I also referenced the "Denali - Symbol of The Alaska Wild" as well as book one of "Crown Jewel of The North - An Administrative History of Denali National Park" - both superb histories of human activity in and around the park.
So, we are still looking for the mystery airline that briefly operated flights into the park on two separate occasions. Neither occasion proved sufficiently profitable to warrant longer service.
And did Talkeetna (TKA) to the south of the park ever have scheduled air service?
A casual perusal of the internet did not turn up any information on scheduled airline flights into Talkeetna. There are however an abundance of air taxis serving climbers and tourists. Also, the town has long been served by the Alaska Railroad.
That said, I've got old OAGs showing Wien flights (Northern Consolidated) into much smaller and less populated settlements such as Circle, Livengood, Border and Chicken. It seems likely that Talkeetna would have had airline service at some point. I just don't have time to search right now
.2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
Perhaps this was a DC-3; however, I'm unsure of the carrier. Era Classic Airlines operated a DC-3 out of ANC on a flight seeing tour of the area (back in the 90's, I believe) but I cannot recall if they also flew the aircraft in scheduled point to point service.
I have pictures of an Audi Air DC-3 that popped in one afternoon with a gaggle of Tauck Tours' most tenacious travelers. It landed and took off with room to spare!
The largest commercial aircraft to land at the park was a third again larger than the DC-3 and carried twice the passengers!
May 12, 2016, 8:28 pm
#9010
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And speaking of national parks here in the U.S., here's a bonus quiz item:
In 1999, only one air carrier was operating turboprop equipment on scheduled flights serving Oakland (OAK). This small airline only had two daily departures from OAK at this time with nonstop flights aimed at transporting passengers to two different national parks located in the western U.S. Name both of these parks and also identify the airline in question as well as the aircraft type it operated on both services.
In 1999, only one air carrier was operating turboprop equipment on scheduled flights serving Oakland (OAK). This small airline only had two daily departures from OAK at this time with nonstop flights aimed at transporting passengers to two different national parks located in the western U.S. Name both of these parks and also identify the airline in question as well as the aircraft type it operated on both services.
May 12, 2016, 8:40 pm
#9011
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I can just see some tourist from a cooler climate stepping off the Bonanza DC-3 in the summertime in 110 degree heat. And I'm pretty sure his initial comment would have sounded very much like the airport code with a rather large exclamation point at the end of his heartfelt observation.....
On the other hand, I know the late, great author Edward Abbey (the "Monkey Wrench Gang" and many other books) would have positively loved it (being an intrepid and self described desert rat, he did visit Death Valley on several occasions).
I also think the Death Valley airport code is almost as interesting as the one for Fak-Fak, Indonesia: FKQ (and BTW, that place was served with Twin Otter equipment)......
But let us return to our lofty and intellectual discourse here on the OTAQ&D.......
On the other hand, I know the late, great author Edward Abbey (the "Monkey Wrench Gang" and many other books) would have positively loved it (being an intrepid and self described desert rat, he did visit Death Valley on several occasions).
I also think the Death Valley airport code is almost as interesting as the one for Fak-Fak, Indonesia: FKQ (and BTW, that place was served with Twin Otter equipment)......
But let us return to our lofty and intellectual discourse here on the OTAQ&D.......
Last edited by jlemon; May 13, 2016 at 10:01 am
May 12, 2016, 9:21 pm
#9012
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How about Scenic Airlines with an F-27 to Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. I think all of the Grand Canyon tours go out of Las Vegas these days, and I don't know if there are any fixed wing aircraft tours of Yosemite -- in fact, there was legislation proposed to ban any aircraft tours of Yosemite -- not sure if it passed.
However, these were not air tour flights - they were point to point scheduled air carrier services.
And, indeed, Scenic Airlines (YR) was operating point to point scheduled service with Fokker F27 turboprops at this time (1999) between Las Vegas (LAS) and Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN).
But the airline in question here was an air carrier with a very similar name: Scenic Air. And it used a different two letter code: 3L
The equipment operated by Scenic Air was different as well: the Grumman Gulfstream I propjet (OAG aircraft code GRS).
Scenic Air operated daily OAK-GCN and OAK-COA service at this time. COA is the code for Columbia Airport located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Sonora, CA and Yosemite National Park.
Last edited by jlemon; May 12, 2016 at 9:41 pm
May 13, 2016, 3:10 am
#9013
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http://www.centovalli.ch/?lang=EN
It's an area of northern Italian Alps popular with cheap ski trips for teenagers from Britain, and many non-enthusiasts nevertheless bring home photos of trains and buses from there.
The bus on page 3 here would be a typical shot
http://www.centovalli.ch/fart/fartin...informa_13.pdf
May 13, 2016, 8:22 am
#9014
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These on tickets etc are nothing compared to the independent railway and its associated local buses that connect Locarno in Switzerland with Domodossala in Italy, which has its initials emblazoned on the front of all trains, the Local Railway of the Ticino Region (Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi, in Italian).
Indeed.....and then there's Wizz Air....although they have apparently become quite the success story since commencing operations back in 2003. I believe Wizz Air may have around 70 or so Airbus 320/321 aircraft in their fleet at the present time with more on order.
I also wonder if they ever undertook an ad campaign featuring this question: "Why don't you take a Wizz?!"
Indeed.....and then there's Wizz Air....although they have apparently become quite the success story since commencing operations back in 2003. I believe Wizz Air may have around 70 or so Airbus 320/321 aircraft in their fleet at the present time with more on order.
I also wonder if they ever undertook an ad campaign featuring this question: "Why don't you take a Wizz?!"
May 13, 2016, 9:34 am
#9015
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Alright then - let's close these out...
1.Name two different airlines that once offered scheduled commercial air service to Mt. McKinley National Park (Now Denali National Park)
ERA and Alaska Airlines. ERA served the park back in the early 1990s with DHC-6 Twin Otters and, as needed, the occasional DHC-7. Alaska Airlines served Mt. McKinley National Park for short time in 1945 (As a flag stop on the ANC-FAI run) and in 1961 (from ANC).
2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
It was an ERA DHC-7, 86 feet long and capable of carrying 50 passengers - not to mention its ability to easily land or take off from the 3000' strip.
1.Name two different airlines that once offered scheduled commercial air service to Mt. McKinley National Park (Now Denali National Park)
ERA and Alaska Airlines. ERA served the park back in the early 1990s with DHC-6 Twin Otters and, as needed, the occasional DHC-7. Alaska Airlines served Mt. McKinley National Park for short time in 1945 (As a flag stop on the ANC-FAI run) and in 1961 (from ANC).
2. What was the largest commercial aircraft ever to land on McKinley Park's 3000 foot long air strip?
It was an ERA DHC-7, 86 feet long and capable of carrying 50 passengers - not to mention its ability to easily land or take off from the 3000' strip.