Have you ever wondered what happened to your luggage after giving it to a ticket agent? No? Well too bad, you are about to find out. Recently, Delta Air Lines took a bag that was going from Atlanta to New York and added six cameras to it.
I don’t know about you, but looks like my bag has a lot of fun every time it flies.
Starting with their 3rd 787, ANA will paint all future Dreamliners with this special livery. Photo from ANA.
That chances are that most of you who read this blog, won’t have any trouble telling the difference between a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft. For those who might not have the keen-airliner-eye, it could be a bit more of a challenge. All Nippon Airways (ANA), the launch customer for the 787, is trying to make spotting them a bit easier with an updated livery just for their Dreamliners.
ANA’s first two 787s were painted in a unique livery to celebrate taking delivery of the 787 first. Starting with their third aircraft, the airline will have the numbers “787” clearly painted on the side of the aircraft, where the rest of the livery will be unchanged. So when will ANA take delivery of their third Dreamliner? No one is certain, but Boeing is hoping before the end of the year (aka in two days).
Boeing has stated that they plan to deliver three more 787 Dreamliners to ANA before the calendar reaches 2012. This is yet another delay in the 787 schedule. Normally I am put off when almost any story that is written about the 787 includes the word “delay” — many times even in the title. However, this is a whole new delay and just because Boeing delivered their first two 787s does not mean there aren’t new aircraft hiccups that keep popping up.
According to the Seattle Times, Boeing was planning to deliver five to seven Dreamliners by the end of the year, which is still less than they origionally planned. Then the FAA found some issues with wiring and now Boeing is struggling to deliver any additional 787s to ANA before 2011 is over .
Originally, ANA had hope to take delivery of their third Dreamliner in November and wanted to use it on flights from Tokyo to Beijing in December. Instead, it sits at Paine Field, waiting to head to Japan. At least ANA is enjoying the two 787s they are currently operating (JA801A and JA802A). Airline spokeswoman Jean Saito told the Seattle Times that, “the first two Dreamliners, operating on domestic routes in Japan, have had a smooth entry into service.”
The rumors I am hearing is that Boeing is seriously planning to deliver at least one additional 787 Dreamliner to ANA in the next few days. That doesn’t leave much time — I only hope that the rumors are true.
Friends of mine, Maresa, recently started a new blog that looks at all the great opportunities around the greater Seattle area called AroundPugetSound.net. She recently visited the Flying Heritage Collection and did a great review that I wanted to share. She is not an aviation geek, so it is great to see a review from the perspective of those who just have an interest in the area, history and how things work. Here is Maresa’s review in her own words…
My grandfather came into town from Minnesota last week to visit; he’s been a pilot for over 50 years. My husband and I always like taking Grandpa on flying-related outings whenever he’s in town. Last year we explored the Future of Flight together and he’s visited the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in the past. This year we needed something different. Lucky for us we recently heard about Paul Allen’s airplanes at Paine Field in Everett: The Flying Heritage Collection. When we arrived at the Flying Heritage Collection, we were escorted back through history and it has now become one of our favorite museums.
A look at the Paul Allen's historic WWII collection of war-time airplanes
Next to all of the giant Boeing hangers, Paul Allen’s hangar doesn’t appear very big. But, once inside the museum hangar, you’ll find they have fit 16 aircraft–mostly from the World War II era– two WWII army tanks, and two missiles. They also have a replica of SpaceShipOne, the first private-venture rocket ship. State of the art restoration techniques have been used to refurbish these vintage airplanes and other artifacts. Many of the planes have stories. For example, the Messerschmitt BF 109 E-3 (Emil), was found in several pieces buried in sand along the English Channel by a man walking the beach in the late 1980s. With time and the right replacement parts, plus liberal funding, it has been returned to its original form. The planes look as sharp as they did when they were manufactured over 70 years ago.
The WWII tanks at the museum--yes they can still fire and they have armor that's a good 3 inches thick
Free Fly Days
Our tour was lead by a docent, Jack. Jack was extremely well-prepared and superbly informed about each exhibit in the museum. One of the first things Jack told us was that all of the planes were in flying condition and the all tanks could still be driven and fire ammunition, making this more of a functional collection than simply a museum. As we walked around in the museum, mechanics were working on several of the planes, ensuring that they would be in good operating condition for the yearly Free Fly Days that happen every summer. The “Free Fly Days” don’t afford the public rides in the plane, but allow you to come and be part of history by witnessing the operation and flight of these historic planes as experienced pilots take off and land the planes just outside the hangar.
Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk: it really was painted with a shark face back during WWII
While the Night Witches didn’t end up causing too much damage, their incessant bombing missions kept the Germans up all night, and reportedly stressed and demoralized the German troops. The German troops were also put out by the fact that these were women conducting the raids, and thus they gave them the name, “The Night Witches.” These Russian pilots earned high honors in Russia as being “Heros of the Soviet Union” during the war.
The PO-2 flown by "The Night Witches" during WWII in Soviet Russia
Curtis JN-4D Jenny air-craft manufactured in 1918--Amelia Earhart flew a plane like this one
Back To The Collection
We highly recommend asking for a tour guide when you arrive. Your docent will make the history of the airplanes come to life in a way that they may not otherwise. My grandfather, who has studied and known WWII aircraft for many years, said that he learned a great deal from our docent. We are looking forward to returning to the Flying Heritage Collection for their Free Fly Days to hear the planes’ motors roar and watch history soar.
Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 "Rata"--this was a very sturdy plane that could handle being shot at much longer than many other planes
Things To Know
Directions
From I-5 take the exit to Highway 525 toward the Mukilteo Ferry
Highway 525 will become the Mukilteo Speedway
Turn right onto Beverly Park Road
Follow the “Flying Heritage Collection” Signs to the parking lot
End at: Paine Field 3407 109th Street SW Everett, WA 98204
You can follow Maresa on her adventures at AroundPugetSound.net, via Facebook or Twitter.
How does Boeing paint their largest aircraft — well very carefully of course. This video, posted by Lufthansa, shows how Boeing went about painting a 747-8 Intercontinental (D-ABYA). The Lufthansa livery is very simple, but elegant at the same time. It looks right at home on a Boeing 747-8I.
A brand new Emirates Boeing 777-300ER at Paine Field.
Emirates is planning to start flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB ) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on March 1, 2012. Being based in Seattle, it is going to be great seeing Emirates Boeing 777-300ER operating out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Really, this is going to be huge for Seattle. Emirates will offer a daily non-stop flight which takes only about 14-15hrs. This will be the only non-stop flight from Seattle to Dubai and even the shortest one-stop will take you about 20 hours each way. Even though I have not yet been able to fly on Emirates, I have heard their product and service are pretty darn slick, so the 15hrs should go by quite quickly.
Now is the time to find the best deals. Passengers are able to purchase tickets now, at quite a savings, to fly between March 1 to June 9, 2012. I did a quick search and it is no problem to get a round trip ticket for less than $1200.00 (with fees and taxes) during that time frame. The closest I can find on another airline is $100 more and takes 23.5 hours to get back home (it is also an American “legacy” airline and I would doubt it is as comfy as Emirates anyhow).
’œSeattle has always been an important feeder market and we are pleased to develop our relationship with the city,” Nigel Page, Senior Vice President of Emirates Commercial Operations in the Americas explained to AirlineReporter.com. “Not only will the new route help promote Dubai and transit markets to America’s Pacific Northwest, it will also promote tourism, business and leisure travel to the northwest United States from around the world. We are confident this new route will contribute to growth for the City of Seattle and for Dubai.’
Image: wings777