A380 Super Jumbo Fly - Past

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chestermikeuk

chestermikeuk

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May 29, 2001
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Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK
Good morning to you all

Have just been to Sainsbury to by bulk laundry supplies and upon coming out of the store heard a very deep huummmm etc, upon looking up nearly dropped the bags of ariel....

The new Super Jumbo was literally "there" just hovering right in front of us....most surreal moment of my life...

I knew it was making its first flight into London Heathrow today but like thats a long way away, then I realised it must
be coming into Boughton, Chester, North Wales where the wings are made, the factory is about 10 mins away from the house by car.

BUT, it cant be this low because it couldnt possibly land...

What I did`nt know , which was unusual for me, was that it had taken off from the Berlin Air show, this morning, and had a Fly-Past at Boughton with all the employees outside, and then down to London Heathrow.

The point I saw it was at its lowest as it did a sharp bank to line up with the runway at the factory...having realised what was going on I quickly got into my car and carried on down the express way that runs along side the runway...

What a sight, I managed to drive along whilst watching it perform its flypast, then it soured up for its final journey to London Heathrow,...that was at 11.30am, GMT.

Back home now just in time to watch it land at Heathrow and just listened to the Pilot about flying this new plane...

What an extraordinary and surreal start to the day, in its honour and all the excitement the Bendix auto will have to wash today, my hands are still shaking too much to do a twinny wash...

Funny thing is we are used to seeing "The Beluga" plane which is a double decker transporter that holds two A320 Airbus wings, this does the same flight path, in fact when it first started to land here the dogs would go ballistic, well before humans could hear it , and would race upstairs, jump on the bed and watch as this plane flew past the window, and virtualy launch themselves at the window,barking furiously to get at it...LOL

Plane Spotting in Chester

Mike (who will definatly keep the camera in the car from now on)

p.s. the pic in the BBC link is the factory near me...

 
How cool!

That bird is bigger than the 747 too!
Those are 12' fans on those engines too.

I remember I was 6 when the 747 came out, and my dad taking me to O'hare for an open house at PanAm for the 747. The plane was parked out on the tarmac and we took a tram to it, then climbed the outside steps. What an enormous plane! It was very exciting for 6 year old me!
That plane was called "Clipper Victor". Victor lives in infamy today, it was destroyed in 1977 in the runway collission with the KLM 747 in the Canary Islands. The worst aviation disaster ever.
I've only flown 747's twice, to Hawaii and back in 1980 on United Airlines. Flying was very different then!
I'm looking forward to seeing this new Airbus in the skies here, it looks like a real beauty!
 
Wonderful but I barely ever get on a plane now because they're so crowded that one would totally put me off, unless of course it was near empty just for me. Did you read about Airbus is working on standing room seats for busy short hauls, how much lower can you go.. LOL
 
When I flew to Tennessee a few weeks ago, I rode on the antithesis of that monster, an Embraier something or another. It was a jet plane, just small.
 
For all the delays I did have trying get home, I could've flown TDI Airlines in a luxurious VW New Beetle complete with Pioneer sound system, Sirius radio, and a navigation system.
 
to Omaha last Friday

We flew one of those Embraier things... not the comfy-est plane around. Coming back to Chicago on Sunday we were on a Boeing 737, it was roomy and very comfortable.

Last summer when I went to LA for the VCCC convention we flew an MD-Super 80 out, and coming home a Boeing 767. The 767 was very nice, the Super 80 not so much so...
 
When we went to the Convention last June, the Houston to Omaha flight was on an Embraer jet. Basically the Geo Metro of aircraft...small, cramped, and a rough ride! The ceiling is very low and dips even lower where the seating is, and the aisles are narrow and cramped; I'm not very tall and I still hit my head a couple of times in there, and I had to practically bend over when I stood in the aisle to talk to Bob.

Tucson on the other hand was on a 737; much better, but next time I am definitely flying first class, TYVM!

--Austin
 
out the window

I took this picture, November 19, 1980, on the flight to Hawaii, United airlines flight #1, non-stop 747 service from Chicago-Ohare to Honolulu
This was the view from my seat, those engines have 8' fans!
This flight, as well as the one back 2 weeks later remain my most memorable.
Anyone who's ever been to my house has seen my row of 747 models atop the kitchen wall too...
I love that plane!
 
Jeff,
That pic creeps me out. I hate flying, tons of steel is not supposed to be 20,000 feet in the air! Plus, 9/11 did me in. Those poor people in those planes (and everywhere else). I actually get sick to my stomach before a flight. This is the one thing I'm dreading about St. Louis.
Bobby in Boston
 
As RoseAnn AnnaDana would say: "It's always something",

Tons of steel should not float, but yet ships do, nor should heavy objects defy gravity and fly but yet planes and space crafts do as well.

When one's number is up, one's number is up and it does'nt really pay to worry about much about how or when it's going to happen. There are many stories of persons living careful and some may say even extremely healthy lifestyles, only to drop dead of a heart attack while jogging.

Yes, 9/11 was a tragic event, but it shouldn't make one stop enjoying life. Soon as that starts the terrorists have won.

L.

P.S.

BBC World News (seen on many PBS stations in the United States) has a great spot on the Airbus 380 today. Apparently all the workers at the plant where the wings for the plane were made, got the today off to wait for the plane's "flyby". Scores more of employees and fans were at Heathrow today to welcome the A380. Of all the persons interviewed by BBC there was only one wet blanket. Some tree hugger was complaining that because the A380 was so large and could carry so many passengers, more persons would wish to fly and go places they have not been before. Apparently in this person's mind this could lead to all sorts of goings on in parts of the world being trod upon by thousands of persons on package tours! *LOL*

L.
 
These things were big too! This print is the US Akron built in 1931, crashed in 33. It could launch and retreive small planes dubbed Sparrowhawks in flight although the pilots would practicaly have to put the plane into a stall to go slow enough to catch the hooks called a trapeze. The frame is left over peices of the airships girderwork. It was a Goodyear dealership promotion that I found in an attic of an old ford dealership along with a 1926 model T and Fordson tractor dealer handbook.
 
Tons of steel flying doesn't scare nearly as much as 3000 pounds, (or more), of SUV driving around with one hand on the wheel while the other is holding a cell phone, putting on make-up, adjusting the radio, reading whatever, eating, drinking, etc. Far more frightening to me!

And, I've been a stew for nearly 30 years. Give me the highway in the skies anyday with educated and controlled pilots manning our Boeing 757/767/Airbus Family aircraft.
 
Oh Pan Am!

The only reason one ever considered becoming an airline hostess, was to get one's hands on one of those uniforms. *LOL*

Even today they go for dear sums on eBay. IMHO the only other airline hostesses that looked nearly so great were those from Air France. From the Hermes scarf down to the white gloves, they were chic.

L.
 
Wow!! Airbus 380! Pretty nice-but can the airlines get enough people to ride on it?-and to justify its cost-I used to enjoy flying-but the last trip did it for me-Poor service-late connections,rude airline staff-and to top it off-rough baggage handling-their "Samsonite Gorilla" wrecked my new bag!!Will drive at this point.I did ride on a brand new Boeing 777 the United folks proudly annouced we were the second group of people to ride it-was very nice--and the "new plane" smell-just like a new car!There were LCD video displays on the backs of each chair.Made watching the "safety video" much easier.I too,remember when the 747 first came out--watching them take off was something.
 

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