Kip Powick Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 How old is that plane, anyway? Northwest carefully maintains a fleet of aging DC-9s. If you remember when LBJ was president, you might have seen them; they first flew in 1965. Analysts say Northwest's 1995 decision to gut and refurbish those planes rather than replace them helps it weather high fuel prices and low-fare competition. For one thing, Northwest owns much of its fleet. "Putting a plane down is much different when you own it than when you're paying $330,000 per month" in debt payments for a new airplane, Tom Bach, Northwest VP tells The Associated Press. Northwest's DC-9s account for more than a third of its 432-plane fleet, giving the carrier an average plane age of about 18 years, according to BACK Aviation Solutions. By contrast, the average plane age of the other five U.S. major carriers is about 10 years. Safety isn't an issue because of federal rules, according to Ed Greenslet, publisher of the Airline Monitor trade journal. At the Federal Aviation Administration, it's not the age but the number of times a plane flies, determined by how often it pressurizes and depressurizes — generally, once a flight. The DC-9 is approved for 105,000 of these cycles. Bach said some of Northwest's are nearing that limit and being retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Limit shmimit! Re-skin the blighters and keep on a goin'! Pull out the flap handle and build a new beastie around it.... On second thought.. ...maybe retirement for old American operated dc9's is a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 ...one more thing.... "Mighty"???? I'm not so sure...: Not-so-mighty-when-you-plant-em-hard video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 Hey Mitch... Job security for Mech's Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 I suspect that the mighty DC3 will continue to hold the all time record. Following information found through a Google search: Douglas DC-3 Year of first flight: 1935 Country of origin: United States of America. - 10,655 built - civil DC-3 and military C-47. - 7,485+ built during World War II by Japan and Russia. - First aircraft to make air travel affordable for passengers and profitable for airlines. - In demand more than any other type of cargo aircraft during World War II. - Flew for the USAF in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. - First aircraft (LC-47H) to land at the South Pole. - Still in commercial revenue service today, (although mostly scenic flights). - Up to the year 2000 still flew with many military forces worldwide. Known as the "Skytrain", "Dakota", "Gooney Bird", "Dak", "Tabby", "Cab" among many other names, Perhaps not as readily recognized by the general public as the Boeing 747, Concorde or Spitfire, but the old DC-3 was out there doing it when everything else was just a dream! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsbs Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 And Buffalo Joe will still be flying it in 50 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted February 22, 2005 Author Share Posted February 22, 2005 I suspect that the mighty DC3 will continue to hold the all time record. Known as the "Skytrain", "Dakota", "Gooney Bird", "Dak", "Tabby", "Cab" among many other names, Ah....the "Gooney" !!! Have over 3300 hrs in that machine including an unforgettable trip where over Timmins we got into a slight spiral dive/spin when we inadvertently flew into the bottom of an imbedded CB at 8000 ft. Hail pounded the crap out of the "Gooney". Popped out of the bottom at 2000 feet. Landed at Timmins with no forward windscreens, kicked out the glass and the crew man sewed up the tail with fishing line, cut the trailing HF antennae off with pliers and we flew it home to to CFB YYB at 100kts. Yes, kids...the old days were kinda fun !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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