Final Flight for First QANTAS 747

Qantas' first-ever Boeing 747-400 will makes its final flight on Sunday March 8, landing in its new home at Wollongong's Illawarra Regional Airport to become a permanent attraction at the Historical Aviation Restoration Society.

It was this jumbo – named City of Canberra, with the registration VH-OJA  (CN 24354)– which opened up the one-stop Kangaroo Route between Australia and London with Singapore as the sole stop-over.

VH-OJA in fact made a promotional non-stop flight from London to Sydney in 1989 – albeit with very few passengers and cargo – to highlight the jumbo's long-range capabilities, speeding through the 18,000 kilometre (11,190 mile) journey in just over 20 hours.

Fittingly for its final journey, one of the flight deck crew on March 8 will be Captain David Massy-Greene, the now-retired Qantas captain who operated the historic flight from London to Sydney.

Qantas says a GoPro video camera will be fitted to the cockpit to record to the jumbo's take-off from Sydney Airport as well as its landing at Illawarra Regional Airport, to provide footage which will later be shared on the airline's YouTube channel.

Canceled Flight

For the first time ever (that I can think of) my flight has been canceled.

Due to Cycolone Lam up in North Queensland the aircraft couldn't get out, hence it didn't arrive.

The flight, QANTAS 2305, should have departed at 10.45. I am due to depart now at 2.30 pm on QANTAS 2313

More From Cairns

I love visiting Cairns because the Hotel I stay at has views of the complete runway, and at night you can get shots like I have taken below. Not only that when they are using 15; which is most of the time; as aircraft depart they bank right in front of the hotel. I usually get the corner room at the end which offers a better uninterrupted view, this time they put me half way down the corridor, but I still managed to get a few shots in. Due to Chinese New Year Cairns saw a few more chartered A330's today; two from China Southern and one from China Eastern.

RUNWAY 15/33 (33 IS THIS END)

 

CHINA SOUTHERN A330-323 B-5939 (CN 1494)
CZ8511 FROM GUANGZHOU

CHINA SOUTHERN A330-323 B-6087 (CN 889)
CZ8509 FROM GUANGZHOU

 

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-6123 (CN 735)
MU 731 FROM SHANGHAI

TOLL EXPRESS ATR 42/72 VH-TOX (CN 024)

WEST WING BEECH 1900 VH-XDY (CN UE396)

CUSTOMS De HAVILLAND DASH 8-202 VH-ZZC (CN 433)

JESTSTAR B787-800 VH-VKH (CN 36233)

ALLIANCE F100 VH-XWS (CN11314)

VH-EMK BEECH 1900C VH-EMK (CN UC159)

QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE RAYTHEON B1900D VH-PSK
(CN UE311) THIS AIRCRAFT IS USED TO TRANSPORT PRISONERS

PRIVATE GULF STREAM G550 VP-CGN (CN 5149)

AIRNORTH EMBRAER ERJ170 VH-ANT (CN 357)

VIRGIN B737-8FE VH-YFN (CN 41009)
TAKEN FROM MY MOTEL ROOM BALCONY




TAKEN FROM MY MOTEL ROOM BALCONY, SEE THE RAINBOW



 

Cairns Trip

Today my job took me off to Cairns for the first of four visits this year, I arrived at the airport at 6am for my 7am QANTAS flight, after checking in and going through security I headed for gate 18 were I found VH-VYB a Boeing 737-838 (CN 33763) my seat for this flight was 8F.

QF798 pushed back at 7.03 and after taxiing along bravo we went right to the end to alpha one for a runway 19 departure. We stopped at the hold point for about a minute while a company 737 VH-VXP (off to Melbourne) began his roll, we then did a rolling start and at 7.10 we rotated and climbed into the air. Sitting on the right hand side of the aircraft gave me a good view of the international terminal as we got airborne. We maintained runway heading for about 2 mins then we banked right, right over the heart of the city. The flight was 2hrs and 13 mins long and despite the low thick rainy clouds on the way in; at 9.23am we landed on runway 15.

I had checked the Cairns arrivals on flight board before I left home and knew there was going to be a China Eastern A330 on the ground as well as a Cathay A330, so I quickly grabbed my bags and my hire car and raced around to a viewing point I know well. I didn't have to wait long because as soon as I got my camera out of the suitcase China Eastern pushed back and then Cathay followed.
Cairns Airport has a single runway which is 15 / 33 and it is 3,156 m (10,354 ft) long.
A smaller runway 12 / 30  which was 925 m (3,035 ft) was used for general aviation; its final approach crossed the main runway, so in April 2011 this runway was closed and it is not expected to reopened.



EMIRATES A 380 AND A JETSTAR 787

VIRGIN 777, QANTAS A330 and a 747, AIR NIUGINI 767
and a SOLOMON'S  A320

BRISBANE'S STORY BRIDGE (OPENED 6th 1940)

BRISBANE RIVER AND THE CITY IN THE BACK GROUND

AERO RESCUE DORNIER 328 VH-PPF (CN 519765)

SKY FORCE CARGO CONVAIR 580 VH-PDW (CN 460)

CAIRNS INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL

CHINA EASTERN A330-200 B-6123 (CN 735)

CATHAY PACIFIC A330-343 B-LAC (CN 679)

QANTAS LINK  DASH 8 Q 400 VH-QOH (CN 4132)
KNOWN AS THE "PINK LADY" FOR BREAST CANCER

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQZ (CN 2292) FLEW OVER ME AT LUNCH

 

Melbourne's turn for Antartic Flight

Last Sunday (8th Feb) it was Adelaide's turn for the Antarctic flight and once again it was VH-OEH. QANTAS 2905 departed from runway 23 at 6.50 (Adelaide Time) banked left and climbed to 290. 12 and 1/2 hours later 2905 returned and touched down again on runway 23 at 7.19 pm (Adelaide Time)

Today is Melbourne's turn for the last Antarctic flight for this season; so last night VH-OEH positioned Sydney - Melbourne as QF6107 in preparation for today's flight. It departed Sydney's runway 34L at 8.10 pm (Sydney Time) and touched down on runway 16 in Melbourne just after 9.30 pm.
According to Flight Aware QFA 2907 should have departed 8.10 am (Melbourne Time) but it has been rescheduled for a 12.40 pm departure. (Melbourne Time).
4 hours 30 mins  late VH-OEH jumped in the air off runway 34, made a long slow right hand turn before setting course for Antarctica via Mallacoota and Wynyard in NW Tasmania.

VH-OEH B747-438 (CN 32912) off to Antarctica

It is 8.45 pm Brisbane time and I just thought I would check on QANTAS 2907 to see where it was and I discovered it is not due back into Melbourne until 1.15am Monday morning... I think there would be a few angry customers on this flight.

Aircraft Changes for QANTAS

Yesterday QANTAS played around with a few of its aircraft, QANTAS 11 Sydney - Los Angeles which is operated by an Airbus A380 changed to a Boeing 747-400 and VH-OJT did the honours, meanwhile QANTAS 127 Sydney - Hong Kong which is operated by a Boeing 747-400 was replaced by an Airbus A380 and VH-OQL did that run.

Brisbane After Dark

While my wife and eldest daughter attended a 'One Direction' concert here in Brisbane my younger daughter and I headed off to the airport to do some night photography for the very first time.
Although these shots are far from professional, I thought for the first time I did OK.

BRISBANE TOWER STANDS 75MTS HIGH AND WAS BUILT IN 1985

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA GATES

TIGERAIR A 320-232 VH-VN?

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VYD (CN 33992)

VIRGIN B 737-8FE VH-VUX (CN 37823) AND
ATR 72 VH-FVX (CN 986)

QANTAS TAILS

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZC (CN 39361)