TAA and the DC-9
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This thread is really working! There are now two Diesel-9-30s on my local apron; all white with strange regos ....... I though maybe it was my over inventive imagination but other pilots and engineers can see them too.
I actually heard one of them before I saw her; do you remember to sound of a DC9 taxing in? It always was distinctive:- a whine behind whoosh is the only way I can describe it.
My crew, not to mention the boarding pax, were surprised to see their Capt leap out of his seat, rush to to boarding door and watch, misty eyed, as the old girl taxied in and shut down. (Whoosh stops, whine slows down to a whimper followed by the clackety-clack of the fan blades winding down)
Back in the cockpit my puzzled young F/O is looking, "What the ****", at me. I just turned and mumbled- "an old flame I still love dearly......"
He is none the wiser as he doesnt even know what kind of aircraft it is....
I actually heard one of them before I saw her; do you remember to sound of a DC9 taxing in? It always was distinctive:- a whine behind whoosh is the only way I can describe it.
My crew, not to mention the boarding pax, were surprised to see their Capt leap out of his seat, rush to to boarding door and watch, misty eyed, as the old girl taxied in and shut down. (Whoosh stops, whine slows down to a whimper followed by the clackety-clack of the fan blades winding down)
Back in the cockpit my puzzled young F/O is looking, "What the ****", at me. I just turned and mumbled- "an old flame I still love dearly......"
He is none the wiser as he doesnt even know what kind of aircraft it is....
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"He is none the wiser as he doesnt even know what kind of aircraft it is...."
Gawd... that's as bad as the ones who don't know what a DC-3 is... too much sheltered life and silly bloody computer games.
Gawd... that's as bad as the ones who don't know what a DC-3 is... too much sheltered life and silly bloody computer games.
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Sorry Chaps, I am not in Oz at the moment but in a far flung corner of a foreign field ....... (with apologies to Rupert Brooke who's WW1 poems I recommend to you all) ..... well actually it's not really a field as such... more of a sand pit actually
I have found out what these -9s do:- they ferry VIPs in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan and they are South African registered. Which makes one wonder if you are a VIP why would you go there yourself when you could send one of your underlings?
I have found out what these -9s do:- they ferry VIPs in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan and they are South African registered. Which makes one wonder if you are a VIP why would you go there yourself when you could send one of your underlings?
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I think you may find that those "VIPS" may be casualties. Way beck when, the USAF had all white medevac DC-9s with a military designation C-9.
See McDonnell Douglas C-9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don't know if they're still in service. (Possibly with Reserve or ANG unit?)
See McDonnell Douglas C-9 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don't know if they're still in service. (Possibly with Reserve or ANG unit?)
C-9 Nightingales. One or two were x Ansett. About 18 are stored at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson AZ. Do a search on the google Earth and you can see them sitting in the sun amoungst hundreds and hundreds of other a/c.
Quite a site to see. The Pima air museum conducts daily tours through the AMARG base, very worthwhile.
click here for their home page.
Pima
Quite a site to see. The Pima air museum conducts daily tours through the AMARG base, very worthwhile.
click here for their home page.
Pima
US Navy still operate C9's in a transport/medivac role from Bahrain to some of the exclusive holiday destinations in the middle east
Occasionally you get one of the VIP ones in the polished and Blue/white livery....very specky
We were parked next to one on the north side apron between the DC8s a while back and got to chat to the crew, although they liked the old lady they were a bit peaved that they were meant to be getting 737NG but there was no money left in the pot so to speak.
Personally I would have stuck to the Diesel
One question though, why when they came onto the ramp did they shutdown with the reverser buckets open???
Occasionally you get one of the VIP ones in the polished and Blue/white livery....very specky
We were parked next to one on the north side apron between the DC8s a while back and got to chat to the crew, although they liked the old lady they were a bit peaved that they were meant to be getting 737NG but there was no money left in the pot so to speak.
Personally I would have stuck to the Diesel
One question though, why when they came onto the ramp did they shutdown with the reverser buckets open???
Last edited by TWOTBAGS; 26th Mar 2009 at 10:30.
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ACMS and Wiley,
The DC9s James4th was referring to were operating 'shuttles' to/from the places he referred to, for and on behalf KBR, and most, if not all, of the SLF on most of those flights weren't VIPs. Trust me!
The DC9s James4th was referring to were operating 'shuttles' to/from the places he referred to, for and on behalf KBR, and most, if not all, of the SLF on most of those flights weren't VIPs. Trust me!
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and also to stop the sand/dust blowing in. There has been a lot of it about lately; Mrs Jimmie is sick of sweeping out the flat ....... and you cant see what colour my my jeep is for the muddy/dusty/sandy covering.
Those -9s come and go with only crew getting on and off; maybe they load/unload elsewhere?
BTW, if you look carefully at the C-9 you will see that there is no door where the forward cargo hold was. The whole cargo hold was pulled out and another centre fuel tank was inserted. I am not sure if it's capacity but it would increase the range somewhat A?
Those -9s come and go with only crew getting on and off; maybe they load/unload elsewhere?
BTW, if you look carefully at the C-9 you will see that there is no door where the forward cargo hold was. The whole cargo hold was pulled out and another centre fuel tank was inserted. I am not sure if it's capacity but it would increase the range somewhat A?
Whilst not a TAA pilot Capt Vince Collins of AN flew the DC9 (ex Viscount) in command from early 70 to late 79 before he went to the B727. I think Vince held the AN record for the most number of DC9 hours. Some may remember Vince as Capt Cadbury.
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An absolute gentleman. I remember on many occasions buying chocolates from Vince in the mid 70's at Tulla. Also remember the other "syd based" guys Les Butterworh, Jack Heyns and Dave Miller from ADL
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Hours?
What is the highest number of DC9 hours we have got fellahs? I did 8 years as F/O, 8 years as skipper and 4 years on 717. I havnt added up the hours but I will do. It would be great to know how many hours we have between us all.
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James I will put my hand up for about 2,000 hrs, cannot check at the present time, as we have packed up, as the missus has decreed we are moving, due to relocation of sprogs and grandsprogs. I have spent most of my life moving due to the whim of the Airlines and one small matter in the late 80s, and I am STILL doing it. Onya Jetstar!
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How come our thread has been moved to "history and nostaglia"? All this stuff is vital info. for today's pilots.How else would they know that aviation used to be fun
- before the avalanche of stupid rules we live under today.I demand that that this thread be restored to the main forum by the 5th of April ...............oops CASA's new AOD calander has abolished that date - along with a host of others.
It's enough to drive a man to drink
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Because the young blokes think that us old fossils and our clanking ol aircraft are BORING, not like their glass cockpits, super technology, hubcaped, well behaved aircraft, which are far more interesting, as we probably thought about piston aircraft, when the drop dead beautiful nine arrived. Sadly for them they will also become fossils, and it is going to very hard to brag about their days on a (wait for it) 737, or a 747, ho hum, no, we have everything to be grateful for, we flew REAL aeroplanes, not something that only requires you to feed it 20cent pieces to fly, leave em to it, we were the lucky ones.