Ah... therein lies the point, the hope being that our collective experience and accumulated memory will lead us to the correct answer or at the least an educated guess for the questions posed here. When it gets reduced to simply looking the answer up in an OAG, the challenge of solving it is removed and the entire exercise is reduced to no more than using a calculator to solve a basic math quiz.

For the most part I stay away from questions asking to identify 4-5 stop itineraries - especially back east - as well as most of jrl767's questions because they are a bit more complex than my limited intellect can cope with. That's not to say they're bad questions but rather that they're beyond my abilities to solve without using an OAG. I still remember the day I got lucky and solved a jrl767 query involving a Continental flight through MCI, perhaps connecting to a TWA DC-9 into ORD if I recall. And of course there's jlemon's famous name all the California airports and equipment Air West served and used in 1968 - in exchange for a gourmet dinner in New Orleans. I've actually been to every one of those airports as well as flown into most of them (plus a couple more - Apple Valley and Death Valley) as well as every single commercially served airport in Colorado. I've almost completed flying into every current jet served airport in Alaska (no way I could fly into all of the villages! Even if I could afford it!) My focus on those states is because I lived and went to school in each of them - and flew extensively through and around them. To be honest though, regarding jlemon's question, I did have to electronically verify Air West's use of the Piper Navaho. Lemme buy you dinner in Alaska sometime, JL!

Anyway, nobody can stop someone from using their schedules or the internet to solve a question. We're all on our honor here. And, as for jrl's questions, it could be that the only way to solve them IS with the use of an OAG or other such schedule. That could explain why for the most part participation in jrl's questions has mostly been limited to jrl767 and Bluehen1 as the sole participants.

Finally, as has been noted, it's quite the time consuming process to research and then type up a likely scenario for each of these questions. Additionally, the answers all have to be transcribed so they can be provided later. It's really a bit of a shame to see all that work denigrated by simply turning to an OAG to find the answer. At that point it's no longer a quiz but rather just a simple exercise in research.

Any way, just my two cents. What do ALL OF YOU think about this? I will hold off posting my next set to allow any and all who wish to comment an opportunity to do so without getting lost in the shuffle of questions, responses and responses to responses.

P.S. The initial impetus for my having started this quiz with a set of 70 questions some 11 years ago was the Sunday morning breakfast quizzes we used to have as part of the Day 3 closing ceremonies of the annual Airliners International conventions. I'm talking late 1970s, early 1980s. There were no smart phones or laptops back then and participants had no choice but to rely upon their experience and/or memory. The winner(s) would get something like an old TWA flight bag. It was all in fun.

I concur completely. Simply looking up answers takes all the fun away and is obviously not in the spirit of OTAQ&D. And by doing so, I would think other possible participants might become discouraged and thus choose not to throw a good old fashioned guess or two out there.

So I would suggest that others be given the chance to do so. I'm sure I speak for Seat 2A when I say that we very much welcome new participants (as well as the regulars here, of course) and truly hope other folks will join us.

Aside from jlemon, we haven't heard from any of our other regular participants. I think it's only fair to offer an opportunity for rebuttal here. To wit -

Are any of our participants past, present or future IN FAVOR of the unfettered and totally accepted use of personal OAGs, timetables or internet sites to answer questions posed here?

If so, what is your thinking in support of this?

I must admit I've used a timetable to verify a hunch I already had, but to systematically go through such resources to answer the questions seems a bit unsporting.

I don't have any personal timetables or OAGs. I have used departedflights.com but it has never had the timetable for the year in question, so it wasn't very much help. I also don't have exhaustive knowledge of any airline's or airport's history, so I rarely answer any quiz questions, either. Once in a while a question triggers one of the few things that I do know.

having researched and offered up a handful or three of Quiz questions over close to nine years, I'm at the point where a *lot* of deposits in the memory banks represent information that may not have been there before

I won't go look something up for the sake of providing an answer, but I'll certainly admit there are times when playing strictly by the rules generates a fourth or fifth cryptic "Nope" response to "throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks" guesses ... and that can be *exceedingly* frustrating

So is it the "Nope" that you don't like or is it the frustration of having guessed incorrectly a few times? :D

Maybe it's just me, but every "Nope" type response allows me to cancel off one of the possibilities I'm thinking of. Sure it's frustrating to miss repeatedly, but I personally am not bothered by how the questioner responds. Per my recollection of your situation with the repeated use of that term last week, I am reminded of Wiley Coyote having missed another chance at the ever so elusive roadrunner and how annoying it must be to hear yet another "Neeb Neep!" as he's left once again empty handed. Occasionally I just give up and move on to another question. Other times, those "throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks" responses sometimes do actually stick. I guess it all depends upon how much patience and/or stick-to-it-iveness you feel like exercising on any given day. Good luck!

Hopefully our recent dialogue here has established that looking up the answers to questions via use of personal timetables or the internet violates the spirit of fair play. Apologies to Bluehen1 who may have been unaware of this. We are on the honor system here and while there’s nothing to stop anyone from looking up answers, I should think any sense of accomplishment derived from such "success" would ring hollow at best compared with the well earned satisfaction of basking in the glow of victory after having persevered through all the "nopes" in their various forms and laboriously worked your way through to the thrill of a gloriously correct answer!

Pause here for a harp glissando and a chorus from the heavens

Carrying on then with a few more quiz queries...

Before we get started, I do want to update you on my current travel situation as it will pertain to responding to your responses in a "timely" manner . At present I am in Florida City, Florida having spent a fine spring day enjoying lunch seaside at Key Largo followed by a sunset drive down the 39 mile road to the bottom of Everglades National Park. Tomorrow (4/28) is casual - I'll drive up to MIA and should have some free time to address your responses while in the Admirals Club before my flight to LAS departs late afternoon. I'll have a two hour layover enroute before arriving at my destination late night. The next three days (4/29, 4/30, 5/01) should see internet access in the mornings (one hour of so) and evenings (longer) to address your responses, while the 2nd of May will offer a nice chunk of mid-afternoon access. Then it's on to Colorado. I'll have as yet undetermined amount of access (Possibly none) on the morning of the 3rd with the afternoon/evening looking pretty spotty at present. The same goes for the 4th of May with the 5th and 6th offering good access in the mornings and evenings. The 7th will see me flying back up to Alaska but I may have some access in the morning.

As to the questions, the usual stuff still applies. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar, please provide complete answers rather than partial answers and please limit your responses to two questions per day so that others might have an opportunity to test their memories as well. It's always nice to see a few new faces around here, although given the number of questions from 1973 and 1986, I suspect many of those faces might have to belong to old timers in their mid-fifties at least. But hey! We don't discriminate on age around here. All are welcome to participate and/or pose questions from/about their personal past travels (i.e. What airline or kind of plane was I on if I flew from XXX to YYY in the summer of 1973?) to the assembled cognoscenti. We love answering stuff like that. Right then - on to the questions!


1. (1986) Christmas Island (In Kiribati) offers arguably the best fishing for bonefish in the world, so good that you’ve come all the way from Bangladesh to enjoy a week of tropical splendor and lots of delicious bonefish. Now it’s time to return home to Dhaka. You’ve found a great itinerary involving three nonstop flights on three different airlines, each operating a different jet type powered by a cumulative total of eight engines. One of them is a widebody. Along the way you’ll spend two full days seeing to business interests at the second stop. Please identify all the usual stuff - airlines, aircraft and route.

2. (1992) You’ve got to fly from Perth to Buenos Aires next week and as luck would have it, you can accomplish this feat in just two nonstop flights. Two airlines will be involved, both of them operating the same type of aircraft. You’ll have most of the day to enjoy at the connection point and best of all First Class is available on both flights. Please provide the airlines, aircraft type and connection airport.
Please see #25707

3. (1987) Well this oughta be fun! You need to fly from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Burbank, California and you’ve put together a nice little itinerary featuring three nonstop flights aboard three different airlines. Best of all, each of the three flights will be aboard 4-engine aircraft. If this sounds like your kind of trip, identify the three airlines, the routing and the three aircraft types.

4. (1973) Miami International is a pretty good place for plane spotting. Jets, props from Central America and the Caribbean, even a small aircraft graveyard… it’s all good. There is one jet aircraft however that is extremely rare at MIA, so rare that as of the January 1973 North American OAG it’s limited to just a single daily flight. Please identify the aircraft as well as the airline and airport that it flies into Miami from.

5. (1993) What a wonderful week you’ve had in Aruba. You might even consider buying a beachfront condo here someday. In the meantime, it’s back to the cold gray skies of the Windy City. On a positive note, you’ll get to fly back into Chicago’s Midway Airport, much closer to your home on da South Side. Your trip will involve two nonstop flights, each on different airlines. Although both airlines will be operating the same model of aircraft, you’ll be transferring to a different variant for the flight into Midway. Please provide the name of the two airlines, the two different aircraft and of course the connection airport.

6. (1986) From your base in Los Angeles, you’ve been requested to fly to Vienna, Austria next week to consult on an agricultural project. Oh sheesh… the thought of having to connect through a crowded East Coast gateway airport and/or London’s byzantine Heathrow Airport is unsettling at best. Imagine then your surprise and delight to discover that one airline offers a single one stop direct flight from LA to Vienna with no change of equipment enroute. Identify the airline, the enroute stop and the aircraft type.

7. (1992) You need to fly from Perth up to Hong Kong next week and you’ve found an intriguing itinerary involving the same airline all the way through operating a pair of single aisle jets (same type for both flights) nonstop to the connecting point and, following a two hour layover, nonstop on to Hong Kong. Airline, route and equipment please.
A N S W E R E D

8. (1987) Spring skiing is the best and this April you’ll be spending a week at Jackson Hole. From your home in Santa Barbara, CA you’ve found an online connection with a nonstop flight from SBA to the connection airport followed by a one stop flight into Jackson. You’ll also be changing to a smaller aircraft at the connecting airport. We’re looking for the usual three things here, and don’t forget to identify the enroute stop on the second flight.

9. (1986) Well this oughta be interesting. You’ll be flying from Buenos Aires to Mexico City on one airline all the way through utilizing two nonstop flights and a single connection. Two different four engine aircraft will be involved and First Class will be available all the way through. Can you identify the airline, the enroute stop and both aircraft types?

10. (1973) What a great way to do an air tour of America - aboard a widebody jetliner flying a four stop itinerary from Los Angeles to New York (LGA). Of course, it goes without saying you’ll be sat in First Class. Hey, there’s the boarding call for First Class. C’mon, let’s go! Please identify the airline, the four enroute stops and the aircraft type.

11. (1993) From one side of the country to the other - You’re traveling from Vancouver, BC to Halifax, NS. Your first flight will be nonstop, after which you’ll connect to a one-stopper to Halifax. Two small twinjets of different manufacture will be employed and you’ll be fed breakfast, lunch and dinner along the way. Please identify the two airlines, the two enroute stops and the two equipment types.

12. (1986) Not many people working with the Peace Corps come from Mexico. Indeed, you may the only one. It’s been a great experience though, with the only downside being the travel to and from Lome, Togo. Imagine then your surprise and delight upon learning that one airline and only one airline can get you all the way from Lome to MEX if you travel on Saturday. Two one-stop flights through a single connection point will be involved, each flight operated by a different type of equipment. Identify the airline, all three enroute stops and the two aircraft to be flown.

13. (1992) Who’d have ever thought you could fly from the little town of Derby on Australia’s northwest coast all the way to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea in a single day? In the old days… no way, but in 1992 it’s possible, if you get an early start. To that end, you’ve cobbled together a three flight itinerary involving three airlines, each operating nonstop flights with different equipment, none of which are of American manufacture. Which airlines and equipment types will you be flying upon? What two airports will you be flying through enroute to Port Moresby?

14. (1987) It used to be that if you wanted to fly nonstop between San Diego and Tucson, you called American Airlines. No more. In the spring of 1987, three other airlines each offer a single daily nonstop. Each airline also operates a different equipment type. We’re looking for a complete answer here identifying each of the three airlines and the aircraft each operates on this route.
Please see #25706

15. (1973) You’re traveling from Montego Bay to Tampa. You’ll be making an overnight connection in Miami where you’ll visit with your cousins before continuing on to Tampa the next day. Two things: One - You’ll be flying aboard the only flight in each market (MBJ-MIA and MIA-TPA) operated with single class aircraft and two - your flight from Miami up to Tampa will have a single enroute stop. Please identify the two airlines, the aircraft each operates on this trip and the enroute stop between Miami and Tampa

16. (1972) Normally you book Delta to get from Caracas to Los Angeles, but alas, they’ve no seats available on the day you need to travel. Thankfully another airline does, in First Class, on a two stop direct flight no less. Identify the airline, the two enroute stops and the aircraft type.

17. (1986) Per 1986 standards, if you were flying aboard scheduled flights from the southernmost airport in the world to the northernmost airport in the world, where would you be flying from and to? What two airlines would be involved? What type of aircraft does each airline use to serve its respective airport?

18. (1992) While a few of the stretched 60/70 variants of McDonnell Douglas’ DC-8 can still be found in passenger service around the world, the standard 10-50 variants are extremely rare, most of them relegated to cargo service in South America and Africa. However, you’ve found an itinerary from South America to the U.S. that allows you to fly both the standard and stretch variants of this now venerable aircraft. It will involve two nonstop flights on two different airlines through a single connection point. Please provide all the usual stuff intrinsic to a complete and correct answer.

19. (1987) Normally you call Delta when you want to fly from Portland, Maine to Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, it’s spring break and Delta’s flights are unavailable. Fortunately for you and the Missus, you’ve found a pair of First Class seats on another airline. You’ll have to make a connection but both flights will be nonstop and food will be served on both flights, which by the way both utilize the same aircraft type. Airline, connection point and aircraft please.

20. (1986) Ah, the life of a modern day setter… After a week of sun and fun in the Greek isles, it’s time for you and your girlfriend to pack up and head for Brazil. Of course, you’ll treat your lady to First Class airfare, utilizing two nonstop flights aboard the same airline, thus just a single connection will be involved. Two different aircraft types will be flown. The route you’ll be flying just happens to be the shortest possible routing you can fly between Athens and Rio de Janeiro. So then, can you determine the usual triumvirate of details? Of course you can!

21. (1973) What’s the first airport alphabetically listed in the January 1st, 1973 OAG with scheduled jet service? Which airline and jet serves it. From where?

22. (1993) You’re a professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Tennessee and you've been invited to speak at a symposium on Northern Peoples being held at the University of Ottawa, the capitol of Canada. You can’t help but cringe at what you presume will be a convoluted collection of airlines and flights required to fly from Knoxville to Ottawa. As such, you are positively ecstatic to learn that there’s a two-stop direct flight operating at a decent time of day, too. Book it, Danno! Airline, route and aircraft please.

23. (1986) Bolivia’s El Alto International Airport sits at 13,325 feet. Airliners need a lot of runway to take off (Runway 10/28 13,123’) from such a high elevation and even then cannot do so fully loaded. As a result, flights departing LAP are limited as to how much fuel they can depart with. In consideration of that, what is the destination of the longest flight departure from La Paz? A cyber pat on the back and the unbridled admiration of your fellow participants if you can also identify the airline and aircraft operating this flight.

24. (1992) Who’d have ever thought one could fly from New York all the way to Bangkok entirely on a U.S. built single aisle aircraft? On the same airline no less. Well let’s do it then! You’ll depart New York’s Kennedy International Friday evening on a one stop flight to your connection point. There you’ll spend one night before continuing on the next day aboard another one stop flight to Bangkok. Please identify the airline, the three enroute stops (including the connection city) and the single aircraft type employed throughout.

25. (1987) You’ve been looking for a good deal on a used Semi-truck tractor for quite a while now, but if this 1984 Peterbilt Model 379 C in Great Falls, Montana is legit, you just may have found your deal! Now then, how to get to Great Falls from your home in Wakarusa, Kansas? You were thinking you’d have to drive over to Kansas City and fly from there but are pleasantly surprised to learn that you can fly out of Topeka, just a few miles from your home. Yeah, but is it on a jet? You’re too big to squeeze into one a those little prop planes. Yes, it’s a jet. You’ll fly the same airline all the way to GTF, too. The first flight will be a one stopper to the connection airport, followed by another one stopper into Great Falls. Both flights will be operated by the same aircraft type. Airline, the three stops and the aircraft type please.

I really have no idea, but at least I know where the cities are (I gather that using an atlas is also beyond the pale. Kiribati?), so I'll open with
Continental, 737-300
Southwest, 737-500
America West, A320-200.

Single aisle. Bet is Royal Brunei with 757-200s, connection at BWN. (so PER-BWN-HKG Kai Tak).

Air New Zealand PER-AKL connecting to Aerolineas Argentinas AKL-EZE, both on 747-200s

If not TE (when did Air New Zealand use NZ for int'l flights?), it must have been Qantas.

Let's try Aeroflot, on an IL-62, firstly JFK-Shannon-Moscow, then onward Moscow-Tashkent-Bangkok

Nope, I was 100% aware of a preference for people trying to do it from memory however I was trying to be discreet. Since I’ve been excoriated for using an OAG, I will take my leave of this particular forum. Unfortunately, I’ve seen other people do the same and they’ve left never to return. Best of luck to y’all.