Finding the City of Everett

BOEING 747 FIRST FLIGHTAs claimed in my previous post: I am an aviation enthusiast, or an #avgeek as we are called on Twitter. As a kid I had an aviation history book, with photos of all milestones until then. One of the last pages in that early 1970’s book showed pictures of the first flight of a revolution in passenger transport: the brand new Boeing 747. With its two-storey and double aisle design it was the first truly large capacity airliner, aptly named “Jumbo Jet”. An image that I remembered for the rest of my life. Years later I ended up flying many variants of the 747 as a passenger, from the early -100 to the stretched upper deck -300 and -400. A few years ago I had the opportunity to spend a day in Seattle, which I dedicated to finding this first Boeing 747, named “City of Everett”, after the home town of the Boeing company. Continue reading

Flightblog: Qantas QF005 Sydney naar Singapore

Vanuit een zomers Sydney naar Singapore. Middagvlucht QF005, die na Singapore doorvliegt naar Frankfurt, daardoor veel Duitsers aan boord. Business class (upper deck) was niet geheel vol, dus had ik twee stoelen voor me alleen. Boarden verliep enigszins chaotisch, maar op tijd. Ontvangst uiterst keurig en drinken geserveerd nog voor pushback. Comfortabele stoel, nog van het ‘oude’ type, dus geen flatbed. Wel veel been en -armruimte en prima verstelbaar. Normaal ‘klein’ scherm voor Inflight Entertainment (IFE), met vaste starttijden van films. Nieuwe QF business class schijnt met 180-graden flatbeds en on-demand IFE veel beter te zijn. Continue reading