McDonnell Douglas VC-9CIn this issue's 'Featured Video' (at the 19:45 mark) there is a brief view of a specially built DC-9 that had been designated 'VC-9C' and flew American dignitaries (primarily the Vice President under the call sign 'Air Force Two') or the First Lady . I am always looking for stories on unique aircraft and this clip quickly arouse my curiosity. I immediately went digging around the internet for more history of this aircraft. I was able to find three aircraft that had been painted in the familiar white and blue livery that identifies American Forces VIP aircraft. Click the registration for details from PlaneSpotters.com |
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Excerpt from the storyboard text at left (click the image for the YouTube Video). This VC-9C, serial number 73-1682, transported America's top leadership from 1975 until 2011. Much of that time it served as 'Air Force Two' for Vice Presidents Walter Mondale, George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle, Al Gore and Dick Cheney. It served several American First Ladies: Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hilary R. Clinton and Laura Bush. When this aircraft was needed to carry Presidents into smaller airports, it served as 'Air Force One'. |
Found in the July 1943 issue of the 'Between Ourselves' magazine. The Co-Pilot by Ken Murray. I am the co-pilot; I sit on the right, Editors' note: This was in the days of the propeller driven aircraft. |
Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse. |
Gerald White of the EC/UK Pionairs in LHR has passed us this information - Recently he was talking with friends in Calgary via ZOOM who are all AC retirees. Some of them have travelled on AC using passes over the last few months. All of them mentioned the current process for allocating boarding cards for staff. It is assumed you have the ACLife app or the Air Canada app installed on your mobile phone. When the system allocates you a seat it sends your boarding card electronically to your device. They no longer announce your name. However if you don’t have a smart phone you will be unable to download either of the apps. Thus you need to let the gate agent know so they can call you over to give you a boarding card. The ACLife app is for AC employees (active or retired) and has other functions on it, and it has recently been relaunched. Regards, Gerald White Editors' Note: The ACLife app is not available on either the Apple or Google app stores. If you already have the ACLife app installed, it will offer you the update when opened. If you do not have the app installed, go to: appstore.aircanada.com, on your mobile device (phones and tablets only, not computers), to download. |
Gulf Air is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline operates scheduled flights to 55 destinations in 28 countries. The main hub is Bahrain International Airport. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Air Here we have a Gulf Air B-787 departing London Heathrow January 30, 2018. |
Photo by Steve Lynes @ commons.wikimedia.org |
Here is a Gulf Air A320 in the former livery. |
Photo by TJDarmstadt @ commons.wikimedia.org |
Mitsubishi formally cancels airliner program. After a 15-year development program with setbacks, Mitsubishi has finally thrown in the towel on its 'SpaceJet' airliner project. The aircraft was aimed at the small single-aisle market now dominated by Embraer and Airbus and the Japanese mega-company determined it was never going to make the kind of inroads it would need to make a go of it. |