Savannah Jet

Posted this elsewhere but seems more appropriate on this thread...

I think this event should not pass without some acknowledgement, so for all you Gulfstream fans out there...

Chicago-Palwaukee, IL - Sunday Sept 9th 2012.

Almost 46 years after first taking to the air, and following 42 years of service with it's only owner, the late Robert W Galvin and family, the very first Gulfstream jet N55RG serial number 1, departed PWK for the last time. At 10 AM local, she roared into the air off RW34 for a 1h 25m flight down to Charlotte, NC.

She will shortly go on display at the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

Here she is at PWK shortly before departure...

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N55RG by bethpagejet

And at Charlotte later that afternoon...

[img]
N55RG by bethpagejet

So the sun sets on a long and distinguished career...

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N55RG by bethpagejet

If you live in Wheeling, the world suddenly got a whole lot quieter. For everyone else, a sad day...

Bethpage Jet

Umanc71

Great Airplane I flew a G2 for about 250hr and loved every min of it sad to see these great airplanes just thrown away.

Savoia

BizJets: In response to your 125 image .. yes this was a well-known craft in her day .. perhaps best remembered as the 'Shell Jet':


HS125-3BRA G-AVRG (cn 25144) belonging to Shell Aircraft Ltd, parked in the old light park at London Heathrow in July 1978 (Photo: Paul Seymour)

412SP: Given your username can one assume that you are a 'rotarian'- lol? Enjoyed your nostalgic clips (although the Bob Hope JetStar video seems to have posted twice for some reason)!

Another nostalgic JetStar:



This JetStar, N207L, is attributed as having been used in a trans-Atlantic crossing by the late Howard Hughes. Sister ship N208L was similarly associated with the reclusive billionaire evidently having been regestered to the Hughes Tool Co. (No dates and my apolgies for the atrocious quality image).

A slightly better shot of N207L here:


Lockheed JetStar N207L at Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, in August 1972

Savannah Jet: Great shots and what a great moment to capture as Serial No.1 embarks upon her final voyage! If you get the opportunity .. please post a shot of her once she has 'settled' into her new home at the Carolinas Museum.

Mike Echo

Savoia
G-AVRG - great picture and takes me back an awful long time. She was one of the first Biz jets I ever worked on (huge jump from a PA28 and C150) at Field Aircraft Heathrow. I did once get a short ride out of Hatfield on her as G-OHEA after she was bought by Hatfield Executive Aviation (Rogers)
Sat in front of me as I write are pictures of G-BATA, G-AVAI, and G-BFSO all around 1979/80 at Heathrow. Some day I'll learn how to post them.
Mike Echo

Mike Echo

Attempt 3! Aghh at posting pictures
All taken around Field Aircraft Services about 1979/80


G-AVAI belonged to Brown and Root 25125


G-BATA Belonged to Beecham's 25257
Geoff Shaw was, I think, the Chief pilot and was kind enough to take along a "Young Engineer" for his first HS125 flight when he had no pax.


G-BFSO Belonged to Dravidians/De Beers 257028

All sadly now scrapped or parted out but I think G-BATA is used as an instructional airframe at Kingston

LAS1997

Some great photographs ME; can you post any of G-DBAL? I think this 125-3B ended her days on the fire dump at SOU. I also think G-DBAL was originally G-BSAA? JB once said it was so old it flew for British South American Airways (BSAA) thus the registration! I seem to recall it had a lovely 70's cabin interior lots of orange and browns and one FJC hostess used to report that when it took off the smell of old socks would float back into the cabin from the flight deck! Ahh great LHR days!

Mike Echo

Hi
G-DBAL 25117 (Built 1967) was owned by Aravco 1978 to 82 registered as G-BSAA and re-registered to DBAL by Echo Aviation in 1984. Registered to FJC in Oct 1984.
It seems to have ended it's days with Osprey. Myself and G-DBAL only overlapped by a couple of months and I don't remember having any pictures of it. There are one or two that can be found on the www and at least one as G-BSAA. T.M. was much more involved with the aircraft. I do remember some fairly heavy repairs to the lower wing skin.
M.E.
Just looked up the Original registration was 5N-AET, followed by 5N-AKT then G-BSAA

Savoia

ME: Some enjoyable nostalgia from the Fields/Hunting days!

Celebrity 125


Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor arrive at RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire, courtesy of an HS 125 c. 1965

And a black and white shot:



Anyone with any clues as to which 125 this might be .. your input would be most welcome.

Mike Echo

Just back froma 2 weeks holiday with no internet!

With the pull out steps and up and over door I would suspect a Series 1 or 3B, but for 1965 it would probably be a Series 1, I'm not a work but think the 3B came in later than 1965 around 1966/67.

ME

FALCONBOY

Could be G-ATPB s/n 25089.

Mike Echo

The best I could find is HB-VAY 25135 which Richard burton bought for Liz in Sept 1967. the paint scheme matches. I suppose the picture could be a file photo but I'll ask around on Monday

AP :: Images :: Enlarged View :: 6710130367 - Great Britain Abingdon Burton Taylor Private Plane

For reasons I can't work out the photo doesn't always show but if you click Print preview it does?

If it was HB-VAY then it was a 3B and Written off in July 1970.
I'm actually slightly confused as G-INFO and other sources shows this as being constructed in 1969.

M.E.

gaunty

Savoia

What a great thread thank you.

Coupla things.

If you're having a hard time looking for oil paintings you need go no further than your friendly photographic store or somesuch expert.

We had recently had some 'atmospheric' photgraphs taken of our Challenger a little while later a parcel arrived with one of the best printed on what looked like canvas and with, I guess, some Photoshop trickery. You would be hard put to tell it from an oil painting.

We mean to have the same done with our Gulfstream.

The photo of VH-SBG caught my attentioon because it is taken right in front of our then new FBO at Perth Airport and the first for a very long time in Australia. My office was the one with the curtains pulled back. Murchison Air Services of which I was the Ops Director, ran a fleet of 25 aircraft ranging from Piper Cubs to C402 and Navajo aircraft around Western Australia.

I think the Capt of SPG was then Phil Rhyss and his sidekick a rascal whose name escapes me for the moment.

Swan Brewery for some time pretty much owned the supply of beer in Western Australia due to their tied hotel ownership, it eventually was bought by Alan Bond and like most of his "enterprises" fell into the hands of others. During his ownership however he operated 2 Falcon 900 before tyhe roof fell in.

It was fascinating to see the old HS125, we in Australia at the time were subject to a strange regulatory device which denied transport category aircraft to charter operation, presumably to protect our fragile 2 airline policy. In 1970 we ordered a 4BRA but were prevented from taking delivery by Customs for the aforementioned reason.

However 2 private owners, Tom the Cheap (discount food chain) VH-TOM VH-TOM(5) and Bell Brothers VH-BBJ(3) earthmoving contractors were able to bring theirs in. Western Australia was a bit of a performance struggle for the aircraft as the closest 'busy" areas Port Hedland and Dampier were 700nm from Perth with ISA +20 to +30 ambient landing and takeoff temps routine and you hardly ever see it cooler than ISA +10 enroute. In summer you had to get going in the very early morning, overnight usually +15.

There is a place called Marble Bar inland from Port Hedland.
Marble Bar has an arid climate with very hot summers and mild to warm winters. The town set a world record of most consecutive days of maximum temperatures of 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or more, during a period of 160 such days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924.[5]
During December and January, temperatures in excess of 45 °C (113 °F) are common, and the average maximum temperature exceeds normal human body temperature for 6 months each year. Rainfall mostly occurs in the summer months.

The roads were often cut off by flood, I can still see the looks on the thirsty townsfolk faces taxiing in as resupply with a ton of beer barrels for the Iron Clad hotel in an Islander VH-EQE this is one of the three. About a cuppla days supply.

Back to the brewery and VH-SPG, the very hot weather and the light ales and bitters they made drunk ice cold is why they made so much money. We had a couple of sayings peculiar to the area.
"Kimberley Cold" meant whilst the beer might have been between 1 or 2C straight out of the esky it tasted warm.
And when asked how far it was to an intended destination by car the answer would be expressed in the number of cans you would consume for short distances or "slabs" (24 pack) for the longer hauls.

robbreid

photo Kevin Evans/Flickr