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Wing Walking on a 747! – A Trip to Longreach, Australia, on Qantas

Wing Walking on a 747! – A Trip to Longreach, Australia, on Qantas

Old Jan 10, 2012, 7:26 pm
  #76  
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Originally Posted by Padmeister
Your a Very Talented Man matthandy you get my vote! ^

I always enjoy your TR's.
Thanks Padmeister, I hope that you enjoy the next one too.

Originally Posted by kpc
If I arrive on a Sat at 1120am, and leave on Sun at 1610pm, is that enough time to do the Qantas Founders Musueum (747 tour) and visit the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame? Probably would book the 747 tour on the Sun am in case my inbound was delayed.
Go for it kpc! I would suggest that you book the 747 tour for the morning, say the 9.30 or 11am tour. You can do the Stockman's hall of fame in the afternoon that you arrive. $590 is about $100 less than I paid and probably as cheap as you are going to get it, unless there is a sale on.

Originally Posted by Jinxy
I def want to do this after this amazing report!
Thanks Jinxy, you should!
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Old Jan 10, 2012, 9:13 pm
  #77  
 
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Wink

[QUOTE=matthandy;17784034]Where was I?




Early travelling merchant carts

Off topic:
Could not help but notice that the traveling merchant chart had the name "BAVA SINGH" which is a name common amongst an Indian community settled predominantly in the UK and Canada. I guess they made inroads in early days of Australia also:-)
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Old Jan 11, 2012, 10:59 pm
  #78  
 
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Originally Posted by matthandy
Interestingly, I don’t remember any discussion about oxygen masks, maybe that is just my lack of memory, or something to do with the fact that we cruise at an altitude that doesn’t require them? Maybe someone more knowledgeable can confirm.
Dash8s don't have oxygen masks nor are they required to, due to the fact that the max altitude is 25,000ft, there is a modification for the Dash8-300/400 to add oxygen masks and increase the altitude to around 30,000ft for flying in mountainous terrain.

Portable oxygen bottles are used in the event of a decompression
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 2:45 am
  #79  
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Originally Posted by otambalkar
Could not help but notice that the traveling merchant chart had the name "BAVA SINGH" which is a name common amongst an Indian community settled predominantly in the UK and Canada. I guess they made inroads in early days of Australia also:-)
Yep, very much so. Some of the early travelling traders were Indian, providing goods to some of the most remote communities.

Originally Posted by AC681
Dash8s don't have oxygen masks nor are they required to, due to the fact that the max altitude is 25,000ft, there is a modification for the Dash8-300/400 to add oxygen masks and increase the altitude to around 30,000ft for flying in mountainous terrain.
Thanks very much, I knew that there would be a logical reason.
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 2:46 am
  #80  
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Longreach to Brisbane in Economy with Qantas

After lunch, we headed back to the terminal to wait for the aircraft to arrive. We thought that we had it sussed and knew where the aircraft would come from so we stood around waiting, near to the Qantas hangar.


Qantas Hangar

I had my camera and was ready to take a few shots as it passed over. However, at about 2.05, we heard a roar of engines, but from the other direction. Ooops, the aircraft had snuck up on us!


Here she comes


Getting closer


Parking up

Boarding was reasonably organised. The agent stood at the door and ushered people through to board. There was quite a large crowd of people, mostly saying good bye to friends and relatives.


Flight: QF2533
Carrier: QantasLink
Aircraft: Bombadier Dash 8-300 - VH-TQH
Scheduled Departure time: 14.25
Duration: 2h 25m
Scheduled Arrival time: 16.50
Class: Economy
Seat: 3A seat plan)

I was about fourth or fifth in the queue and was on board before my seat mate, this allowed me to get a couple of very quick snaps of the cabin. The 300 series Dash-8 is smaller than the 400, with 50 seats, versus 74. The seats are the same though, and the cabin width is also the same, the aircraft is just shorter.

I was seated in 3A for this flight and as my seat mate joined me, it was clear that I was going to feel much more cramped in than the last flight. As mentioned before, the curvature of the cabin encroaches on the feet space for those seated in the window seats. This was certainly the case for me.


Boarding


Boarding


The cabin, looking towards the rear


3C and D


View from my seat, 3A

The woman next to me seemed to have no idea that it was a bit cramped and decided to stick her phone in my face by leaning herself towards the window whilst texting. She also decided that it was ok to take the middle arm rest too. Very annoying.

We were all on board by 2.25pm and the doors were closed. The engines were started up and the peace and quiet was shattered once again. I really cannot believe the noise of these things! The recorded audio safety demo was completed and we taxied out to the runway.

We took off at 2.35pm and started to climb to our cruising altitude. The Captain came on to the PA at 2.45pm to give us some information about our flight. The flight was expected to take two hours, and we should arrive into Brisbane on time.


Taking off


Nice views of the Australian outback


Small town, with it’s own air strip


Still climbing

As the seat belt sign was turned off, the man in the seat in front of me moved up towards the front where there were two rows of empty seats. I prayed that the woman next to me would do the same, but she didn’t seem to think it was necessary. I was really starting to resent her at this point.

The crew came around to offer a refreshment box. It really wasn’t as good as the catering that we got on the outbound flight, with a homemade sandwich, some biscuits and juice. The crew did announce that they would be service wine, and beer was available on request.


Snack box


Spare seats up the front

The sandwich was ham and cheese which was good, so I took a bite and…yuck! There was piccalilli in it That’s the end of that then. I’d have to eat in the lounge.

The rest of the flight mostly involved me trying to watch my iPad whilst the woman next to me tried her best to encroach even more on the little space that I had.

We hit some turbulence at 4.10pm which was interesting in a small aircraft, and then shortly after we started our descent. The Captain asked the crew to prepare for landing at 4.20pm and the seat belt sign was turned on. I packed everything up as best I could but that basically meant sticking a few things down by my feet.

We had a very bumpy approach and landing, although it was fun to be able to turn around and watch the landing gear make contact with the tarmac, something that isn’t possible on with most aircraft, unless perhaps you are right at the back. We were on the ground at 4.40pm.

We taxied around to the same area where we had departed from before, except that this time we were much further away from the terminal, so that meant a bus. It wasn’t too bad though, the entire journey can’t have lasted more than 30 seconds!


Bags being offloaded

I met up with my friends after they arrived on the second bus. I’d managed to leave my hoody on the floor by my seat and had completely forgotten about it. My friend’s wife spotted it and handed it to me. Rather lucky really, since I probably wouldn’t have realised until I was home in Sydney!


Verdict

I can’t say that I enjoyed this flight. It was loud and cramped and the food was not as good as the previous flight. To be honest, the novelty had worn off! I’d try to avoid flying on this type of aircraft again in the future if possible. Still, the views from the air were great, and boarding and disembarking were both easy and efficient. So it wasn’t all bad.
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 4:04 am
  #81  
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My friends were staying in Brisbane, so we said our goodbyes at the check in area and then I made my way through security to visit the Qantas Club lounge. Anyone arriving on a QantasLink service exits to the check in area, so you have to go through security before re-entering the main terminal.


Check in desks at Brisbane Domestic terminal

I made my way through security, which was very quick and I was in the lounge by 5.05pm, only 25 minutes after landing, so not bad at all.

The lounge was much quieter than last time and I had my choice of places to sit. I decided to take a spot in the corner, in the thin section of section that is directly in front of you when entering the lounge.

I put my bag down and decided to take advantage of the lack of people by taking some snaps, something that was more difficult before.


Looking into the lounge from my corner seat


The bar – serving drinks this time


Food station with a selection of hot and cold items


Main seating area

On the return to my seat I picked up a glass of sparking, Seppelt Fleur de Lys and some water to go with it, before settling down in my corner to browse the internet and watch a bit of TV on my iPad.


Getting comfortable

This didn’t last long, as I was hungry so I decided check out what was on offer food wise. There was tomato soup, hot ciabattas with different fillings as well as a chicken casserole with rice that looked quite tasty. On the cold side there was the usual antipasto items such as cheese, biscuits, olives etc. I helped myself to some marinated feta, cheddar and some biscuits before heading back. On the way I stopped off at the coffee machine to see what was on offer as the lounges normally have a selection of sweet treats available. I spotted ‘Jaffas’ which I’d not heard of before until Moomba explained them to me when he was over my way before Christmas.

So here’s a photo just for you Moomba:

Jaffas (on the left), and other sweets

The next hour or so was spent relaxing, before I noticed that my flight to Sydney had started boarding. I gathered up my things and headed a short way down to gate 22 to join the queue for boarding.


Brisbane to Sydney on Qantas

Flight: QF533
Carrier: Qantas
Aircraft: Boeing 767 - VH-OGT
Scheduled Departure time: 18.25
Duration: 1h 35m
Scheduled Arrival time: 21.00
Class: Economy
Seat: 36A seat plan)


There was already a rather long queue unfortunately, and it took about 5-10 minutes to actually get on board the aircraft.


Heading down to gate 22


The 767 operating the flight today


Waiting to board

My boarding pass was scanned and I made my way down the air bridge. The CSM was waiting at the door and greeted me by name before directing me down the left aisle to my seat. On turning right I was very surprised to see blue seats and a 1-2-2 layout in business class, very odd indeed! Doing a little research I discovered that this aircraft is actually leased to Qantas, which might explain the odd seating and layout.

As I made my way down the aisle I was surprised to see that there were actually two economy cabins and that I was seated in the rear most one. Perhaps I hadn’t clicked the seat map forward when I was checking in online and hadn’t noticed this earlier. To be honest, though, it was probably better since there was more likelihood of an empty seat next to me the further back I went.

I sat down and emptied out the contents of my pockets and took out my camera and iPad before storing my bag in the overhead locker. I noticed that there was an abnormally large number of babies near to me, including plenty sitting on their parent’s laps. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be a quiet flight after all. Luckily however, the seat next to me remained free.


Weird seats in business class


Legroom shot


Looking forward

There was an experienced crew on board the flight and they seemed very friendly, greeting passengers and helping them sort out their bags etc.

The Captain started his announcement at 6.20pm saying that we were expecting to push back on time, that the flight time was 1 hour and 5 minutes and that there wasn’t expected to be any bad weather or turbulence for the flight.

We pushed back right on schedule at 6.25pm and made our way towards the runway, whilst the crew performed the safety demonstration. Take off was quick at 6.35pm and we were soon chasing the sunset as we climbed to our cruising altitude. Queensland does not observe daylight savings time, which meant that it was getting dark at around 6.45pm, and this is during summer. Pretty depressing actually and I have a colleague who moved away from Brisbane and down to Sydney simply because of that.

The seat belt sign was off quickly and the crew came around to hand out the specially ordered meals. 10 minutes later and the crew came around to offer dinner to everyone else. On offer was a ‘Portuguese style hot pot with beef and chorizo’. I think that there was a second choice, but I can’t remember what it was. Wine and beer was also offered but I declined, and went for lemonade instead. As the trays were handed out the woman across the aisle started complaining that there was nothing that was suitable for her to eat. Of course, she had not ordered a special meal. I always struggle with people that do this. Why chance it and then complain to the crew? The crew tried their best, but she ended up going hungry, which was of course, entirely her own fault.

The food itself wasn’t particularly good. I have had much better hot meals on Qantas domestic flights before so this was a let down. Still, it would fill a space.


The meal tray

The trays were collected after about 20 minutes and the Captain announced 10 minutes later that we would be starting our decent soon and should be at the terminal at 8.55pm, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. He explained that we’d be taking a slightly different route than normal, approaching over Coogee and Bondi.

We had a smooth descent and landed on the ‘cross runway’ at about 8.50pm. This meant that as we exited the runway, we were very close to the international terminal. I was lucky enough to see an aircraft that I’d only seen pictures of before, the Qantas 747 Wunala Dreaming, which is painted in an aboriginal style. Apparently, this is being taken off next month when she does in for heavy maintenance . I also saw a number of other Qantas 747’s parked up including one that is currently sporting an F1 style livery.


Disembarking

We parked up at gate 2 at 8.55pm, just as the Captain had said. Disembarking the aircraft was quick and by 9pm I was at the baggage belt. The bags were slow to come out and quite a few people crowded around. I remember thinking that there has to be a better system than this. Most sensible people stand back slightly, to get a good view of the belt but others then move forward, blocking their view which means that the people standing back then have to move forward too. The concept of personal space goes out of the window as people crowd around to ensure that they have the best view. Throw in a handful of kids running around all over the place accompanied by oblivious parents and it all ends up to be one great big mass of tired, unhappy people.

My bag took a good 15 minutes to arrive, which was rather annoying, given the mess and chaos that was going on around me. I collected it and then made my way down to the train. I only had to wait 10 minutes or so for the next one and by 9.50pm I was sitting on my sofa.


On the train home

Verdict

A pretty comfortable flight with some really nice crew members. The extended sunset was good and having a seat free next to me allowed me to recover from the cramped conditions on the Dash-8. The food could have been better, but that’s not really the main reason for travelling on this flight. Overall, another good and consistent domestic flight with Qantas.


Overall Verdict

This was a very enjoyable trip, a little boy’s dream you might say! Having such freedom to roam all over the 747 was just magical. There were no barriers and stuff wasn’t stuck behind glass so that you couldn’t get hands on with it. The wing walk itself wasn’t the highlight as I thought it might be, it was the overall experience that made the trip.

The flights to and from Longreach were a little loud and I’m not sure that I’d want to fly the Dash-8 on a regular basis. However, there was a certain novelty factor involved and the scenery from the plane was fantastic. I really started to understand how much these more remote communities rely on aviation and it is no surprise to me now that Qantas was formed in the outback.

I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Longreach to anyone with even a hint of an interest in aviation and history. It is a very memorable experience that will bring a smile to your face. Just book some flights and go for it!


Previous Trip Reports

If you liked this report, you might also like to browse my previous reports:

- Sept 2011: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...w-zealand.html
- June 2011: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...d-bangkok.html
- January 2011: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...r-qf-a380.html
- December 2010: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...tas-767-a.html
- November 2010: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...el-qantas.html
- September 2010: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...747-400-a.html
- May 2010: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-business.html
- March 2010: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...a-wedding.html
- February 2010: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...eb-2010-a.htmlBA Forum Trip Report of the Year 2010
- Nov–Dec 2009: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...y-pacific.html
- Feb 2009: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...d-lhr-jfk.html
- Nov 2008: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...rld-777-a.html
- Oct 2008: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...747-400-a.html
- Sept 2008 - My first TR: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...lub-world.html
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 6:38 am
  #82  
 
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I've only just seen this Matt - what a great report! And what an amazing wee museum as well. Sounds like you had a good trip to the outback. Looking forward to your next report already!
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 3:35 pm
  #83  
 
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Originally Posted by matthandy
So here’s a photo just for you Moomba:
Hmmm mint leaves as well.

Interesting to see the leased QF 767. I didn't even know they had any that weren't in the 2-2-2 config in J.

So, did you like the Jaffas?
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 8:52 pm
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The 1-2-2 QF 767s are a legacy of an older (quickly abandoned) cabin design, in which they had F in the A seats, and J in the remainder.
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 9:01 pm
  #85  
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Originally Posted by Must...Fly!
The 1-2-2 QF 767s are a legacy of an older (quickly abandoned) cabin design, in which they had F in the A seats, and J in the remainder.
I do remember seeing a seating plan for that, two rows of F on the A side, with a central cabin wall and biz class on the other side.

anyone still got a timetable with that seating plan in it that could scan it?
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Old Jan 12, 2012, 11:17 pm
  #86  
 
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This is a most excellent and impressive Trip Report. Thank you for putting it together (I cannot imagine how long it must have taken...)

Originally Posted by matthandy
I was lucky enough to convince my friend to take us out sailing on the harbour on Christmas Eve in his 23ft yacht.
If it is under 50 feet, you just say 'My friends yacht' (or boat). If it is over 50 feet, you say 'My friends xx foot yacht'!

Originally Posted by matthandy
Then Christmas happened. It was ok although I felt petty homesick. Australia just doesn't have the build-up that the UK does. I decided that next year I would fly home for Christmas.

Anyway, skip past boxing day, nothing much happened.
We were in Sydney for Christmas, and it was a very different experience for someone from the northern hemisphere. It just never felt right.

We were with some very close friends (Australians) who have moved back down there, and basically we joined them in their traditions and festivities. Went to the Sydney Fish Market christmas eve and it was packed! Bought a bunch of seafood for christmas dinner, which we have never done before... Prawns, lobster, mud bugs(Delicious!), oysters, mussels. The market was really amazing in it's variety and freshness... We ended up having a wonderful christmas!

How long will you be in Australia for? Is it a permanent move? If you will be there for a long time I would imagine new traditions / new friends will be developed and you will be less homesick with the passage of time...

Boxing day was pretty uneventful for us as well. I think maybe the kids went to see Tin Tin this day, which they all really liked.

Thanks again for the fine TR.

Lark

PS you mentioned flying in over Coogee... We had a great evening in Coogee; walked the amazing beach, ate dinner at Ceviche (I highly recommend this creative restaurant and chef / owner. Some amazing creations.), and then went to a show (Seabellies and Jebediah) at the Coogee Beach Hotel. Coogee Beach Hotel is an amazing place, we could not believe how much they have under one roof!
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Old Jan 13, 2012, 4:26 pm
  #87  
 
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Originally Posted by matthandy
On turning right I was very surprised to see blue seats and a 1-2-2 layout in business class, very odd indeed! Doing a little research I discovered that this aircraft is actually leased to Qantas, which might explain the odd seating and layout.
FYI VH-OGR VH-OGS VH-OGT VH-OGU are the last four remaining INTL configured QF 767s with their Dreamtime seats, which are used on their SYD-HNL runs plus some domestic legs.

http://www.theqantassource.com/763in...alseatmap.html

I'm pretty sure OGT was never a three class aircraft as it wasn't delivered until 1998
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Old Jan 13, 2012, 4:36 pm
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Originally Posted by LHR/MEL/Europe FF
I do remember seeing a seating plan for that, two rows of F on the A side, with a central cabin wall and biz class on the other side.

anyone still got a timetable with that seating plan in it that could scan it?
Got this link from another website, half way through its got a seatmap for the old QF three class 767s

http://ausairuniforms.com/documents/...l1989PartA.PDF

The whole document is actually a good read!
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Old Jan 14, 2012, 4:13 pm
  #89  
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Excellent report as always matthandy. Somehow you make domestic economy travel sound ever-so slightly appealing

Some comments I jotted down whilst reading;

Prices for the tour seem expensive!

Qantas Clubs always seem very crowded to me (when I've walked through the MEL and SYD ones) – I definitely prefer the Business lounges, although they're nothing to write home about either - just quieter.

2.5 hours on a prop is not my idea of fun! Pitch is 31” on Dash aircraft, but the slimline seats that QantasLink have make it seem more I think.

Interesting to fly into very small airports - something I haven't done in a while.

I hate towels on the bed in hotels – towels belong in the bathroom (where most 4/5* hotels put them of course!).

The tours of the Qantas museum were very interesting to read about – exception detail in your write-up, and great that one can touch everything at the museum. Shame no pics allowed inside 707, and I do think that they could clean the 747 cockpit! It would be nice to go to the very end of the wing on the wing walk.

What wildlife did you encounter in Longreach? I am mortally afraid of snakes

I suppose you could’ve moved up to the empty seats on the return QantasLink flight, as the annoying woman next to you didn't? I've certainly never had an airline-provided homemade sandwich on an aircraft – really does look poor.

That 767 on your flight back to SYD is actually a longhaul Qantas configuration. They did used to have an odd F/J mixed layout in the forward cabin, but this is a more recent layout with the old longhaul Dreamtime International Business seats (the version prior to the Skybeds installed on A330s and non-refurbished 747s).

Thanks again for the report, and looking forward to your EK F write-up!
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Old Jan 14, 2012, 6:04 pm
  #90  
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Originally Posted by jazza1971
Got this link from another website, half way through its got a seatmap for the old QF three class 767s

http://ausairuniforms.com/documents/...l1989PartA.PDF

The whole document is actually a good read!
thanks!! (I had a bit of trouble accessing the document direct from the link... but if anyone else has the same problems you can manually enter the address, diminishing with /documents and then go from there)

interesting that the cinfiguratio. differed from why I remember, first class was actually on the right side... three rows of 2.

there is a central cabin divider, with business class on the other side (in a 2+1 configurations).

quite possibly one of the strangest aircraft configurations I have ever seen. would have made far more sense to have one single row of F with a 2+1+2 configuration, then a separate cabin for business class behind that in a 2/2/2 formation. but that would have meant a business class cabin without lavatories I guess (not sure how difficult it is to place a lavatory in a 'non-standard' position)

at the time those maps were put out, business class features a 38' pitch! nice!
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