Back on topic for a bit. Quaintarse B747
VH-OJA in Illawarra Aircraft Museum.
Appears as though she landed using about 200m of Runway with a "small" bit of Tyre smoke but she was not loaded except for a bit of Fuel & 4 Flight Deck Crew. She wouldn't have had 5000 suitcase to contend with.
Qantas 747-400 landing at Illawarra Regional Airport (Albion Park) - YouTube
1985 110 Dual Cab 4.6 R380 ARB Lockers (currently NIS due to roof kissing road)
1985 110 Station Wagon 3.5 LT85 (unmolested blank canvas)
Qantas retited their first (?) 747 to the museum in Longreach. When Longreach airport was built, nobody had dreamt of plane as big as a 747, let alone one landing there.
Slide rules and calculators were doing overtime working out how to put the big bird down there. The sums were done and it was determined that there was enough runway, with millimetres to spare to put the plane down, as long as it was stripped bare and the co-pilot left his lunchbox at home.The crew safely got the plane on the ground, at the very end of the runway, where it sat for a few days, whilst it was worked out how to turn the behemoth around.
If you don't like trucks, stop buying stuff.
Wasn't there a similar issue with landing a 747 at Albion Park? I believe it was the 747 that set some sort of record for a London to Australia flight (or maybe in the other direction).
1973 Series III LWB 1983 - 2006
1998 300 Tdi Defender Trayback 2006 - often fitted with a Trayon slide-on camper.
Maybe not so Gav, story.
On the way back from London once we had a few days in Honkers. Came time to leave there was a bit of a Typhoon forecast. Cathay Pacific Airways thought it would be fine.
Would we, wouldn't we? Seated as we were where you turned left on entering, (in POSH Class) we sat at the end of the runway & I mean the end, to achieve a max T/O run) of the then Harbour runway at Kai Tak in Kowloon.
The 747 sat idling while crew ensured all Pax were strapped in tight. Captain's announcement that "Hang on tight it could get a bit rough" 4 engines were brought up to Max T/O Thrust with Brakes on, plane was shaking & vibrating & rocking I expected it to fly apart. Brakes off, & I knew then what it must be like going into orbit. Nearly pushed me through my seat. Down the Harbour extension we shot & I just knew we were going to run out of Tarmac at any moment when suddenly the bird lifted it's nose, all rumbling ceased & we were away out over the harbour & turning for Oz.
Thank **** for that. said me to 'er indoors.
I had full confidence in the Flight Deck Crew, realising that they would have done this a million times previously so wasn't overly bothered.
A Japan Airlines 747 had run out of tarmac not all that long before & finished up hanging off the end of the runway until recovered, with the fuselage in the drink..
If you have been to Honkers way back & used this WW2 era airport/aerodrome you'll know exactly what transpired.
Now there is a new modern International gateway on an island & the old joint has been relegated to a Cruise Liner Port but I bet it doesn't have the "Extra Excitement Factor" of the old Kai Tak 'drome.
Ah Happy days.![]()
Over the years I've noticed that if the SE tradewinds aren't blowing on Hammo the T / offs and landings are somewhat 'measured'.
DL
1985 110 Dual Cab 4.6 R380 ARB Lockers (currently NIS due to roof kissing road)
1985 110 Station Wagon 3.5 LT85 (unmolested blank canvas)
Few years ago now a friend who was a pilot for Cathy was taking off from the old Hong Kong airport in. 747 fully loaded passengers, cargo and fuel. Just at the point of take off where you cannot turn back had an engine decide it did not want to play and any more and caught fire. Made all the more exciting due to the nature of the airport location and where you had to fly once in the air
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