CP Air Empress of Santiago -
Douglas DC-8-55CF 'Jet Trader'
My article in our previous issue (NetLetter #1518) featured an aircraft that carried several liveries while remaining in the Air Canada / Canadian Airlines family.
This issue features an aircraft that has carried multiple liveries for a variety of operators around the world for over half a century.
Line #274, a Douglas DC-8-55CF, was built in July 1966 at the Long Beach plant. It was registered as N1509U and initially leased by the Douglas Corporation to Pan American-Grace Airways (September 1966), Braniff Airways (February 1967) and then leased by Braniff to Seaboard World Airlines (May 1967).
It was acquired by Canadian Pacific Airlines in November 1967, re-registered as CF-CPT (Fin #608) and christened the 'Empress of Santiago' (classic livery below). It was leased to air cargo operator Flying Tiger Line, re-registered as N789FT, from September 14, 1977 to January 31, 1978.
I asked Ken Pickford if he had any memories of this aircraft while it was with Canadian Pacific:
"At CP Fin #608 was used almost exclusively in all-passenger service, except for a couple of years (1972/73 or thereabouts) when it did operate in combi configuration with 69 economy seats at the rear.
'Jet Trader' was the Douglas marketing name for the combi/convertible model with main deck cargo door that could be used as all-passenger, all-cargo, or mixed passenger/cargo.
I remember that period quite clearly. It operated 5 days a week (except Thursday and Friday) YVR-YEG-YYZ-YUL as CP82. Overnighted YUL and returned on same route the next morning as CP83 (except Friday and Saturday).
On Thursday the incoming aircraft on CP83 continued as CP405 YVR-TYO-HKG arriving HKG Friday night. Overnighted HKG and returned Saturday HKG-TYO-YVR as CP406 arriving YVR Saturday morning (same day due Date Line) and continued as CP82 to YEG-YYZ-YUL.
CP405 / 406 had a restriction due to the bilaterals with Japan and Hong Kong that it could only carry passengers going all the way YVR-HKG. No local traffic on that flight YVR-TYO or TYO-HKG. It was probably for that reason that for one schedule period in 1973 they stopped selling the passenger seats on CP405/406 although I'm pretty sure they remained on the aircraft as it still operated CP82/83 on the other 5 days Y class only.
In mid-December 1973, the first 2 B-747-200's went into service on the YVR-TYO-HKG route, replacing DC-8-63's. By late 1974 or so the aircraft returned to all-passenger configuration and remained that way until it was sold to a British cargo carrier in 1978 and its passenger-carrying days ended."
As Ken says, the aircraft was acquired by IAS Cargo Airlines (United Kingdom) and re-registered as G-BSKY in February 1978, to be followed by a list of cargo operators:
Aerolineas Nacionales del Ecuador (1982), African International Airways (1985), Flash Airlines (Nigeria, 1985), Liberia World Airlines (1993) (photo below), Air Cargo Plus (Liberia, 2001) and finally Kinshasa Airways (Congo, 2002), which ceased operations in 2006.
Planespotters.net shows that aircraft being bought by Hewa Bora Airways (Congo) in September 2007 and currently in storage, presumably somewhere in the Congo.
I could not find a photo of the aircraft in its current state, the most recent photo I could find is from January 2003 at Sharjah International Airport, United Arab Republic.
It can be seen at:
www.jetphotos.com/photo/45849
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