Highest time airframe ever
Avoid imitations
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The ISS isn't technically an "airframe" but it's a manned craft in our skies and must have surely clocked up the most hours, having initially been launched on Nov 20th 1998 and hasn't landed yet.
The ISS isn't technically an "airframe" but it's a manned craft in our skies and must have surely clocked up the most hours, having initially been launched on Nov 20th 1998 and hasn't landed yet.
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With3Tees
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I flew on DC-3 N136PB between Key West and Marathon Key Florida in the 1980s as a kid. Just me, my brother, the pilot, co-pilot and one air stewardess on board. We sat in the cockpit as they started up and were allowed to sit anywhere we liked for the flight. It's one of my best memories ever. The pilots were aware the it was the highest time airframe and delighted us with the notion that it broke a new record every time it flew (and so we broke a record!).
Magic!
Magic!
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I flew on DC-3 N136PB between Key West and Marathon Key Florida in the 1980s as a kid. Just me, my brother, the pilot, co-pilot and one air stewardess on board. We sat in the cockpit as they started up and were allowed to sit anywhere we liked for the flight. It's one of my best memories ever. The pilots were aware the it was the highest time airframe and delighted us with the notion that it broke a new record every time it flew (and so we broke a record!).
Magic!
Magic!
Just shy of 142k hours would definitely put it in the running for high time - that's ~13.6 hours/day, every day, for 28.5 years.
Part of me thinks it would be somehow fitting that the high time aircraft would be the 747-400 that was nearly lost in a volcanic ash encounter when new.
Perhaps, someday, the high time aircraft will be one of those new-fangled carbon fiber 787s or A350s - carbon fiber doesn't fatigue the way aluminum does. But it'll be a couple decades before that can possibly happen.
Part of me thinks it would be somehow fitting that the high time aircraft would be the 747-400 that was nearly lost in a volcanic ash encounter when new.
Perhaps, someday, the high time aircraft will be one of those new-fangled carbon fiber 787s or A350s - carbon fiber doesn't fatigue the way aluminum does. But it'll be a couple decades before that can possibly happen.
142 thousand hours is the highest I’ve heard, impressive, if I remember correctly after that volcanic ash encounter that aircraft required significant repairs, rework and general ‘TLC’ to restore it to flight status
Perhaps that was a factor in its longevity, being brought back to a fairly new standard ?
Curious to know about the highest time DC8’s as well, the re-engined CFM airframes went on a long, long time
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Upon some research I found out that one of the first A320 to fly (since 1989, still in service with Lufthansa) only has ~71000 h and ~57000 cycles. Amazing that a short haul aircraft doesn't rack up more hours.
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What is kind of surprising on Airbus widebody side, the fleet leaders are 4x A340-300 of TAP Portugal with 110k FH each (CS-TOA/B/C/D). And one-off AirTransat A310 which made a bit more that that.
Wideroe's are currently updating their Dash 8-200 fleet to run them out to 120,000 cycles - this in an environment of 20-30 minute legs with frequent moderate to severe turbulence in the lower levels. These a/c fly the public service routes connecting the STOL ports along the rocky Norwegian coast!
https://www.bombardier.com/en/media/newsList/details.20190405Wideroe.bombardiercom.html?filter-bu=commercial-aircraft&f-year=all&f-month=all&f-type=all&show-by-page=50&page=1&f-min-year=2002
https://www.bombardier.com/en/media/newsList/details.20190405Wideroe.bombardiercom.html?filter-bu=commercial-aircraft&f-year=all&f-month=all&f-type=all&show-by-page=50&page=1&f-min-year=2002
My understanding is that it's not the airframe itself that is the principal reason for retirement (and it not having any operational secondhand value), but all the fittings, the wiring especially, the control runs, the need for cabin refreshes, the IFE becoming outmoded, etc. This becomes cumulative over many of these items as time passes, and progressively impacts on dispatch reliability. It particularly applies where some of the hundreds of initial suppliers of these smaller components have gone out of business over the years, and spares and support for them becomes increasingly expensive or difficult.
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I seem to recall from around 30 years ago that a Braniff 747 was reported as clocking up flight hours faster than any other airframe, possibly around 20 hours per day, six days per week. Is my memory correct and does anyone recall what happened to it?
Avoid imitations
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142 thousand hours is the highest I’ve heard, impressive, if I remember correctly after that volcanic ash encounter that aircraft required significant repairs, rework and general ‘TLC’ to restore it to flight status
Perhaps that was a factor in its longevity, being brought back to a fairly new standard ?
Curious to know about the highest time DC8’s as well, the re-engined CFM airframes went on a long, long time