Originally Posted by
aloominumtoob
Hi,
When I started working with Antonov Design Bureau (ADB) on the 124-100, we would trundle around with a total crew of.......22. at the pointy end, there were: 2 pilots, 1 Navigator, 2 Flight Engineers and 1 Radio Operator. Therefore,a
basic operating flight deck crew of 6. To this we had an extra pilot and an extra navigator for "long days." In addition, up front we had 1 Western Flight Manager (Air Foyle's rep.,) and 1 Ukrainian Flight Manager (ADB.) So, pointy end = 10. In the rear compartment, there was 1 Loadmaster and 11 Technicians/Loading crew. which puts us up to the 22. Over a period of a few years, we AF Flight Managers put it across that if some of the Techies were cross trained it would save the company roundabout $4 million per year. The crew was then reduced to 18, knocking off 4 techies. It does seem a lot of people, but remember, the techies were also the loaders, and with the type of aeroplane, the aircraft equipment and systems plus the type of loads we carried, western ways of doing things etc., would not have worked. On quite a few ocaisions we have taken over 24 hours to load, (we didn't have unions), and that was not due to the loaders being slack, but due to the complexity of the load. We started the load and did not stop until it was all on. Meals taken in shifts.
I was proud of the time I worked with ADB and the work we all did. A very strong, dependable aeroplane as is the 225.
Cheers the noo,
alt
Nice post. Flew in one...once, Got the opportunity after stripping down the last "Nimrod " due to be converted....but wasn't as we know, from Waddington to Woodford. The front crew were as you stated, the rear crew slightly fewer as I recall,
As engineers, we were fascinated by the interior and systems on display, plus the high tech broom !. One of the more interesting flights I've been on.......also notable was the, ahem, demarcation between front and rear crews. Have to say those guys worked hard though, laying out the ramps isn't a light task and we noticed they opened the cowls on the T/R at Woodford.
Here's one, of several, clips showing our arrival at Woodford and emptying the contents of the hold......it has to be said the landing was "firm ".....