Dan-Air Skyways
Thread Starter
Even among all the Dan Air Skyways- painted 748s, the tailfin logo was different. In fact, this was something common to all the Dan Air fleet up until the time the 146s arrived. As WHBM says, no two alike - subtle but noticeable differences - but quality control and consistency finally came along to coincide with new aircraft. By this time, the tail logo could well have been a decal/transfer so easy to produce lots of identical sets, albeit in different sizes.
Skyways with their Coach-Air-Coach were a competitor to the Silver City "Silver Arrow" service, Rail-Air-Rail, both on London to Paris. The latter used train to Gatwick, and a custom French railway branch into the airport at Le Touquet.
By 1960 allowable road coach sizes had grown a bit to 45 seats. This suited the initial Skyways fleet of DC3s, with their standard 21 seats, one coach feeding two aircraft running together. The 748, with 48 seats, did the job of two DC3s, and filled the coach on both sides more efficiently. When the 748s came along the DC3 fleet was not disposed, but they set up a package air freight operation with them.
Skyways did some other charters with the 748. Attempts at Mediterranean charters with them, from Lympne to Palma or Venice, were rather a failure (although doubtless a better experience than unpressurised piston DC4s still being offered), but they picked up various contract work, such as the Ford daily shuttle from Southend to Cologne, which had the advantage that it didn't run at weekends when the Lympne traffic peaked, I'm sure if Skyways had lasted a few years longer into the 1970s you would have seen them running out of Aberdeen (as their actual aircraft then did with Dan-Air)...
By 1960 allowable road coach sizes had grown a bit to 45 seats. This suited the initial Skyways fleet of DC3s, with their standard 21 seats, one coach feeding two aircraft running together. The 748, with 48 seats, did the job of two DC3s, and filled the coach on both sides more efficiently. When the 748s came along the DC3 fleet was not disposed, but they set up a package air freight operation with them.
Skyways did some other charters with the 748. Attempts at Mediterranean charters with them, from Lympne to Palma or Venice, were rather a failure (although doubtless a better experience than unpressurised piston DC4s still being offered), but they picked up various contract work, such as the Ford daily shuttle from Southend to Cologne, which had the advantage that it didn't run at weekends when the Lympne traffic peaked, I'm sure if Skyways had lasted a few years longer into the 1970s you would have seen them running out of Aberdeen (as their actual aircraft then did with Dan-Air)...
The 748, with 48 seats, did the job of two DC3s, and filled the coach on both sides more efficiently. When the 748s came along the DC3 fleet was not disposed, but they set up a package air freight operation with them.
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I'd forgotten the FH-227s! Blimey, yes! Nice shot at East Midlands there, ABC as well... Sigh.
Have wondered how Skyways got the Fairchild FH-227 onto the UK register. Their two aircraft were the only ones. The Fairchilds, which looked identical, were more different structurally to the Fokker F-27 than you might think, for example all the design drawings were converted from metric to US standards for the US tooling and sheet metal sizes at the Fairchild factory, done at a fairly early development stage - the first Fairchild was delivered several months earlier than the first Fokker. Must have needed separate UK certification, surely.
G-SKYA in the picture had an unfortunate end, after a couple of years with Skyways, when they closed down it went back across the Atlantic, to a Brazilian passenger operator, where after only a few months service it crashed into an airport car park on approach, with total loss of life.
G-SKYA in the picture had an unfortunate end, after a couple of years with Skyways, when they closed down it went back across the Atlantic, to a Brazilian passenger operator, where after only a few months service it crashed into an airport car park on approach, with total loss of life.
Last edited by WHBM; 14th Apr 2022 at 09:56.
Thread Starter
I remember hearing from colleagues in the 1990s taking an F27 maintenance course at Exeter. During their stay, there was an Irish-registered FH227 undergoing a large check with JEA or Westcountry - whichever one it was. As JEA was an F27 operator, I assume the MRO was either approved for both types or the relevant authorities considered both as a single type. TAT in France also operated the FH227 - perhaps it was easier to obtain in the 1970s or was otherwise preferable to the F27. None of which has anything to do with Dan Air Skyways! Interesting stuff in its own right though.
