evolante

There's a B747-SP partked in Jakarta at present owned apparently by a Mr Luke Butler of Australian origins - heard he may not be everyone's favourite person down under..... .. .Can anyone confirm if he owes money on this aircraft or related services?

DivergingPhugoid

I will try not to denigrate one Luke Bulter, but like a dog has fleas, Bulter has debt! I would consider the proof of burden to be upon Bulter to prove that it is not part of a scam. There is a large amount of posts with "Bulter" in them. Try the seach engine; read the posts; and then you may see why Bulter will need to prove that it isn't a scam.. .. .I was in CGK last evening but didn't see an SP, but then I wasn't particularly looking. It may have been over in the 'bone-yard' with the HS48s etc. Next thing you know once Butler gets knowledge of this, is that the SP will be in the Russian parking lot in SHJ (Sharjah).

the wizard of auz

And it aint got nuttin to do with me. (getting in first)

18-Wheeler

Erm, I'm in Jakarta right now (WOO-HOO LAST TRIP TO FARKING JEDDAH!!!) and on departure a couple of days ago I noticed an SP sitting off the RH side of 25L. I couldn't see the rego or the markings, as I was flying and thought it was probably a good idea to pay attention to the flying stuff ... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />

Flight Detent

Hi all,. .Wasn't that SP flown from Brisbane to Jakarta, for some engineering work prior to being let out on contract work, but that was back in July 2000!. .That was after it was stored on the ground at Brisbane for some time, with Butler trying to get rego and AOCs sorted.. .It's an ex-China Air SP, not the one that had the flying incident going into SFO, seems a good bird, extra reserve tanks and PW7J engines, if I recall.. .Cheers!. .. .I think it's now painted in darkish tones, no reflection on anybody!

3 Holer

18 Wheeler - are you in the left seat yet Mate? Heard you were on hold after Sept 11th but were back on the program for the Haj. Congrats if you're through anyway!

luna landing

18-wheeler I'm fascinated about the Haj!! Must have some interesting stories. Jeddah must be packed with aircraft. How far and how do pax get from there to Mecca? Any pictures anywhere?

18-Wheeler

Not *quite* in the left seat yet, so yes, it got put on hold. I've heard rumours that there's a command course later in April, so if that's the case I assume that I'll be on it.. .. .Not sure how far Meccah is from Jeddah, I'd guess about 100km's or so ... Being a non-Muslim I can't go there. (I'm over the shock of that now ... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> ). .The Haji's are almost always on tour groups, and so they all have busses and so on organised. They also go up to Medina, another holy city, then leave via Jeddah again.. .Yeah, lots of interesting stories.. .. .One I partook in yesterday - Handed back a 747-300 to Pratt & Whitney in Singapore, and I flew it on the test flight. Had to test the high-speed clacker, and so I have a blurry photo of me hand-flying the thing at M 0.92 at 33,000', and another one going down through 17,000' at 400 KIAS.. .Fun!

Going Boeing

I managed to get some info on the SP from ground staff at CGK last year. Apparently, Butler's original Chief Pilot resigned (in 2000, I think) and was replaced by a Dutchman who was not B747 endorsed. His other pilot is an Iranian and I believe that he conducted the conversion course for the CP which culminated in a limited number of circuits at CGK. Apparently, they have not acquired any spares for the aircraft and tried on a number of occasions to "borrow" spares from Garuda and QF. Appears to be a lighter weight SP than the QF model as there were significant engineering differences including smaller wheels.. .On completion of the pilot "conversion" the aircraft carried out a six week charter operating out of a small group of islands off the east coast of Africa. On completion of that charter, it returned to CGK and I have not heard of any further charter ops.

Classic Dick

18 wheeler, you exceeded Vne twice in the one sortie, I do hope Alan was with you, otherwise, take my advice and don't relate this story to anyone from 25 deg. west to 5 deg. east - at least until you've completed you're upgrade.

18-Wheeler

Hmmm ... how else do you test the Mmo/Vmo warning?
It was all part of the pre-planned flight test, and we did precisely that, nothing more.

Whiskery

Maybe tricky Dicky was implying you don't need to reach speeds of M092 and 400kts to check the serviceability of the high speed clacker.

However, Dick, you don't know what the test flight schedule specified. What I do find interesting is why Pratt & Whitney are in the 747 leasing arena.

18-Wheeler

What, like this?



or this?



All part of the planned flight test, and the owner of the plane was standing right behind me, watching the whole thing.

Mind you, when they asked me to do the high speed runs, I went a little wide-eyed, and said, "You're asking the right guy!", and the F/E and Capt both started looking a little nervous .... they both know I race sports cars as a hobby.

ausflyer

Hi there Going Boeing
Was the Dutchman that you refer to from Tocumwal? Mixed with gliders, a citation & an albatros??????
Cheers,
Aus'

Capt Vegemite

18 wheeler do the hadjis still do the projectile sh!tting while somersaulting in the loo?
They had a ripper roast lamb they did on a burner in the aisle as I recall .

Taildragger67

On the subject of SPs, any truth in the rumours of the new ownership of one of the ex-Qantas examples? One helluva toy...
(wonder if he'd put an adrenaline kit in it???!!! Or a flashing dance floor... )

18-Wheeler

Didn't see much of that, I was flying for Garuda, and the Indonesians were very well behaved indeed, quite happy to have them as pax.
But yes, the toilets were a bit of a mess at times ...

Warning Star

Taildragger67

The rumour about John Travolta purchasing Qantas 747-SP VH-EAA is just that - one big rumour, with no truth to it. It is known that he did have some initial talks with the airline months ago about that particular aircraft, but no deal was reached, and certainly nothing will come of it now. The fact the the Herald newspaper ( I think it was, or maybe the Age ) was sprouting this story again a week or so back did not help matters.
VH-EAB is now a sorry sight at Marana with engines, APU, avionics suite and undercarriage removed. EAA is following the same path. Both aircraft have had the data plates removed, and can only be used for scrap recovery or a possibly static museum exhibit.

Regards

mutt

18-wheeler

As this years Haj is finally over, whats next on the cards for Air Atlanta?



Luna Landing
For information on the Haj, just do a www.google.com search...


Mutt.

Taildragger67

Warning Star - thanks for the info.
Funny how perceptions change, in the old days I'd think nought about getting on a Jurassic to cross some wide sea, but in mid-last year felt a bit uneasy getting on one just for a hop across the Med!!