July 29, 1975 just arriving from JFK to Antiqua - then on to St. Marten. Capodilupo as a child on his first flight on "Marcella". Photo from David Capodilupo
Most of you guessed correctly: the logo and font were wrong. You can check out the before and after-photo to see the change. As I was doing research on the fixed logo, I found the story was much more interesting than I expected.
My research led me to David Capodilupo who has been following N8160G almost his whole life.
Capodilupo first flew on N8160G in July of 1975 (that is him and the plane in the first picture). He fell in love with the tri-engined “whisper jet” and started a life-long relationship with the plane. After his flight he would purchase different airline models and make them look exactly like N8160G by painting the “160” on the nose.
He had a hard time following the plane through most of his life since there was not an easy way to do so. About eight years ago he was able to track her down and see she was flying for FedEx as N124FE. FedEx had named her “Marcella.”
Capodilupo in front of N8160G at the Future of Flight. Notice the "160" on her nose.
Most Boeing 727-100’s were being retired and scrapped by the early 1980’s, but since Marcella was a 727-100 Quick Change (meaning she could quickly be converted to a cargo carrier), she already had a large cargo door built into her side, allowing her to have a second life with FedEx.
Marcella flew with FedEx from November 1981 until October 2003. In December 2003 she had her last flight from Oakland to Paine Field in Everett, WA where she was to have her front end preserved and displayed in the Future of Flight.
Capodilupo told me it was hard to be sent photos of Marcella being cut up, however he was happy she would find a loving home with the Future of Flight, instead of being sold for scrap.
After Marcella was set up in the Future of Flight, Capodilupo flew out from Boston to visit her. He was very excited to reconnect with the same plane that first flew him as a child in 1975. Once he saw her, his joy turned to disappointment when he noticed the logo and Eastern font were incorrect.
For years Capodilupo has been making his own models (and what airline enthusiast wouldn’t want this 6′ Eastern L1011 model he made in their living room?) and since most model companies didn’t make the Eastern logos properly, he would create his own. Faced with a similar problem, but on a little larger scale, Capodilupo told the Future of Flight “I will fix this.”
He donated his own time and money to put the graphics and logo properly on Marcella and of course the “160” back on the nose. He is not quite done with Marcella. Can you tell a difference between the two pictures still? The one from 1975 has a black tip on the nose and the current one does not. Capodilupo is hoping to help fix that during a future visit to the Seattle area.
Marcella doesn’t only live on at the Future of Flight. Some of her parts are also being used to restore the first Boeing 727 (which is interesting enough for its own blog in the near future). Hopefully pieces of Marcella will be back in the air in the next few years.
I first got to meet Liz (@ImperfectSense) at the Aviation Geekfest back in early December and since then she has done a wonderful job following the Boeing 787. I always look forward to her newest Dreamliner or Dreamlifter photos. This video captures ZA001 landing at Boeing Field yesterday with a very beautiful Mount Rainier in the background. Great work Liz!
Court Line as a major playing in the holiday charter business in Britain during the 70’s. With the purchase of One-Eleven 500s, the airline went with a very special
In 1973 Court Line took a big risk and took delivery of two Lockheed L-1011’s. Then the 1970’s oil crisis hit and in 1974, Court Line filed for bankruptcy.
Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 at the Future of Flight.
This is a front section of an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727-200 located at the Future of Flight. There are two things not quite right with the photo (except half the plane missing). Can you tell what’s wrong?
Tomorrow I will give the answer and a nice little story how it was fixed.
UPDATE: This story has gotten more interesting than I thought. I will be posting the answer and story on Monday.
Need help traveling? Cranky Concierge is there to help!
Remember the days when you talked to someone called a “travel agent” and told them what you wanted and they would do all the work? Good ones would even assist you if your flight was delayed or canceled. In the age of Expedia, Orbitz, and Kayak some people feel they can get the best price, but are they getting the best deal? Does your flight have Wi-Fi? What if your flight is delayed or canceled?
This is where your own professional airline dork sure would come in handy — and now you can hire your own, Brett Snyder. Snyder is an airline dork! It is ok, he is the one that calls himself that. He is also the creator and blogger behind CrankyFlier.com and now he wants to share all his knowledge and experience to help make your flying experience the best it can be.
* Flight Planning: Snyder will hunt for the lowest overall fare, best way to get there and where to book your flight.
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Cranky Concierge has been going for a few months now and he has heard a lot of positive feedback from its 75 users. Things have gone so well that the service has grown beyond just Synder. “I just brought on two concierges to help with this, so we now actually are a ‘we.’ One has just started and he will be training as new clients come on. I expect the other to start soon as well. The plan is to have each concierge assigned to a client, so that client will always have a single point of contact with someone who knows exactly what has been happening at all times,” Snyder explained.
Snyder’s friends really motivated him to start this service. “Back in July 2009, I helped a couple of friends get out of a jam, and they really pushed me to turn this into a business. It’s funny, because they’re also the friends who pushed me to start The Cranky Flier back in 2005. I owe them a lot,” Snyder said. Those are some special friends!
This service is a genius idea. Only $30 for to have peace of mind about your flight? Checking two bags costs more than that on most airlines.
Snyder has big plans for the future. When asked if he has thought about working with Expedia, Orbitz, or other travel sites, he told me, “There’s no question that I’ve thought about that, and I think it could be a really nice service for an airline or online travel agent to offer. But I haven’t made any real efforts on that just yet.” He hopes to be able to build the business. If his blog’s success is any indicator I am certain Cranky Concierge will be around a long time, helping travelers be a little less cranky.
