KLM 747 puzzling question!
 

To whom can give a positive answer.

As an airline pilot I spend many aday building model airliners, to let the time pass!

I came across something very strange, one of my KLM 747's is registered as PH-BUJ, 747-300 and named "hudson". On investigation of all 747's produced and registered by Boeing not one matches PH-BUJ, there is a PH-BUI and PH-BUK and so on in the PH-BU_ series.

Further I went through the internet to view every KLM 747 photograghed, no PH-BUJ!

Does anyone recall a PH-BUJ or was the model I built just a registration freak?

Regards
Jumbo Mouse with some cheese

as an aside PH-BUF (as I recall) was lost at Tenerife in the 77 ground accident. Not sure about your answer though!

No such animal on the PH register. Click Here

might be worth checking with one of our Dutch-speaking colleagues wether BUJ is a dutch swear word. This could be the reason why no PH-BUJ exists.

Neither the Dutch nor the Swiss issued allocations containing 'J' for a long time. In the same way as there are no 'Q's in the UK.
Recently both have started running out of reggies (no more DVLA threads, please !) so Jays have started to appear in those countries.

There never was a PH-BUJ (would have been a 200SUD not a 300 BTW) and I don't have an old enough KLM list to show which one was 'Henry Hudson', which is now a 737.

[ 05 October 2001: Message edited by: PaperTiger ]

Does anyone out there remember the KLM
registrations PH-BUM & PH-*** around 1987/8

:D :D mysteriously disappeared :D :D

I think they were 747,but maybe DC10.

Any others out there in this vein ?

Sometimes I am so sad that I scare myself :eek:

From my copy of JP Airline Fleets International 1986 (see what did I say sad sad sad :D )

Most of the B747's owned by KLM were named after great rivers, the exceptions being the combi versions being named after famous aviators and/or Dutchmen.

No sign of BUJ or Hudson however.

Fence now departs to sit in the corner and mumble to himself :cool:

If it was in sequence, PH-BUJ would have been a 747-306 combi, and would probably been named after an aviator (BUI= Wilbur Wright; BUK= Louis Bleriot)
PH-BUM Sir Charles E Kingsford-Smith is still operated by KLM

Thanx Mycroft....

Any clues on PH-***
(rhymes with that well known chain of clothes shops FCUK)

A very small point but like I said, BUJ would have been a 747-206B(M) SUD where SUD = stretched upper deck, ie. a retrofit. KLM had only two true 747-306s - BUV and BUW.

[ 07 October 2001: Message edited by: PaperTiger ]

In 1979 Henry Hudson was DC-8 PH-DEF. There were 13 747's in service by that time with PH-BU* registrations.

Once, a long time ago, I had a toy KLM 747 and I remember very well the registration was PH-BUJ. Since then I have seen more models with the same registration and, if I remember correctly, even a poster of this aircraft (not sure though!). The model I owned was one with a short upper-deck, I'm sure about that. (However toy manifacturers are not well known of their accuracy!)

About the meaning of the word BUJ: As far as I know there is none. So it's no swear or 'dirty' word. However, BUI means 'rainshower' and BUK means 'bend over' so maybe it should have ment anything :D .

The first 747 operated by KLM was registered as PH-BUA and named 'Mississippi' and the BUI and BUK are indeed named after aviators, so it would be very strange to put another river (Hudson) in between.

But, it's all speculating, I know! If you really want an answer, why don't you try asking KLM themselves? Link to their e-mailpage

Good luck!
Rog?!

[ 08 October 2001: Message edited by: Red or green?! ]

[ 08 October 2001: Message edited by: Red or green?! ]