Our aircraft (11)

I have this urge to record all kinds of information. Whether this is a useful habit remains to be seen but sometimes it comes in handy. In this post, and the previous ones with the same title, I make use of a list keeping track of all the aircraft types my wife and I ever flew in. Hence the plural title of these posts: our aircraft. During my professional life I also recorded the number of miles we/I flew. The first nine posts in this series are in Dutch but I am sure you'll understand the pictures. I am now coming close to the end of this series. This one and the next and that's it.


In 1995 I was still very much involved in attracting customers to KLM's Cargo Service Center. And keeping them of course. If my memory serves me right, I went to Minneapolis on my way to a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft engines in Winnipeg. (I should have kept track of the purpose of my trips as well!)

June 6, 1995, McDonnell Douglas MD11, KL, SPL/MSP, 4,155/406,515 miles
Photo ex fascination-aviation

Those were not holiday trips. The next day after the meeting I left Winnipeg for Montreal and then onwards to Amsterdam making this a trip of approx. 48 hours in total.

June 7, 1995, Airbus A320, AC, YWG/YUL, 1,120/408,029 miles
Photo ex thestar

The marketing guys of McDonnell Douglas operate just like those working for car manufacturers. They start out with a small (and cheapish?) aircraft such as the DC9-10 (length 32 metres, approx. 90 passengers). And over the years the models are growing and growing until you end up with the MD-90 below (length 46 metres, approx. 150 passengers).

Sept. 8, 1995, McDonnell Douglas MD-90, AA, CHI/YUL, 737/416,298 miles
Photo ex markabbottphotos

The last product developed by no longer existing Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, is the F70. It is capable of carrying some 80 passengers and KLM Cityhopper is the main operator of this type.

Feb. 22, 1997, Fokker F70, KLC, SPL/HAM, 236/430,898 miles
Photo ex KLM

CHI = Chicago
HAM = Hamburg
MSP = Minneapolis
SPL = Schiphol
YUL = Montreal
YWG = Winnipeg


The captions mention the date of my/our first flight with that particular aircraft type, the aircraft type, the airline prefix, the route and the distance and the total number of miles u/i this flight. Unless otherwise mentioned, the picture shows an aircraft of the carrier with which we/I travelled.
To be continued.

Our aircraft (10)

When I was with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, I kept track of all the aircraft types my wife and I flew in. Hence the title of these posts: our aircraft. During that period I also recorded the number of miles we/I flew. The previous nine posts in this series are in Dutch but I am sure you'll understand the pictures.
To sell our distribution services I travelled a lot to the States in the early nineties. During that time I ran into the following new (to me) aircraft types.

May 15, 1992, McDonnell Douglas MD-88, DL1577, DFW/ATL, 939/378,568 miles
Picture ex Delta.

Sept. 16, 1992, Boeing B737-400, BA427, SPL/LHR, 230/383,191 miles
Picture ex Airlinergallery.

Sept. 16, 1993, Boeing B747-300, KL, SPL/HOU, 5,011/387,891 miles
Picture ex 2747.com

Around the time I made the trip mentioned above, I apparently lost interest in making notes of the line numbers. So from now on you'll have to do without those (L). On this (above) picture of a KLM B747-300 please note the image of a swan just behind the stretched upper deck. (Please click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Oct. 21, 1993, Lockheed Tristar L-1011, DL, ATL/SPL, 4,393/401,688 miles
Picture by E.M. Chernoff.

During the a.m. flight I passed the 400,000 miles mark.


ATL = Atlanta
BA = British Airways
DFW = Dallas/Fort Worth
DL = Delta
HOU = Houston
LHR = London Heathrow
SPL = Schiphol


The captions mention the date of the first flight with that particular aircraft type, the aircraft type, the airline prefix, the route and the distance and the total number of miles u/i this flight. Unless otherwise mentioned, the picture shows an aircraft of the carrier with which we/I travelled.
To be continued.

Onze vliegtuigen (9)

Eerst een omissie herstellen. In 'onze vliegtuigen (8)' had als voorlaatste machine onderstaande DC9-41 opgenomen moeten worden. Bij deze.

8-10-1987, DC9-41, SK555 STO/SPL, 725/294.023 mijl
foto ex wikipedia

Aan het eind van de tachtiger jaren vloog ik voor het eerst in een B747-400, de machine die als één der eersten gekenmerkt werd door de opstaande vleugeltips. Als ik me goed herinner zaten die er niet voor de sier maar om een efficiënter brandstofverbruik te bewerkstelligen.

19-10-1989, Boeing 747-400, KL644 JFK/SPL, 3.639/333.518 mijl
foto ex Luchtvaartnieuws

Ook de Combi was/is beschikbaar in de 400-versie.

12-8-1991, Boeing 747M-400, KL671 SPL/YUL, 3.422/357.324 mijl
foto ex Boeing

Tot slot een foto van de steeds maar groter wordende DC9. In 1963 begonnen als een machine van bijna 32 meter lang (DC9-10) met tussen de 80 en 135 stoelen, zijn we in 1980 met de DC9-80 series aangekomen bij een lengte van ruim 45 meter en maximaal 167 stoelen. Officieel was de benaming toen geen DC9 meer maar MD-80. 

12-5-1992, Douglas DC9-82, CO219 HOU/MSY, 310/376.089 mijl
foto ex Flickr

Alle bovengenoemde reizen vonden plaats in de periode dat ik bij Speciaal Vervoer (SPL/FK) en Cargo Service Center Schiphol (SPL/CS) aan het roer stond.


HOU = Houston
JFK = John F. Kennedy, New York
MSY = New Orleans
SPL = Schiphol
STO = Stockholm
YUL = Montreal


De teksten onder de foto's geven resp. de datum van mijn/onze eerste vlucht met dat vliegtuigtype, het vliegtuigtype, het vluchtnummer, de herkomst/ bestemming, de afstand in mijlen tussen die twee en het totaal aantal mijlen dat ik t/m die vlucht heb afgelegd. 

In principe toont de foto een machine van de maatschappij waarmee ik die eerste vlucht heb gemaakt.


Wordt vervolgd