June 23, 20205 yr [Note: This post was triggered by a (recent) Top-50 (Library) Freeware (Repaint) contribution, that I came across last week...] The 747 is a plane, which, both as a masterpiece of original engineering and because of its rich and abundant history, has never failed to fascinate me on a continuous basis (and, of course, most of us, too) ...I still vividly recall the first time ever, I'd seen, up close, that (bulbous) nose of the big Jumbo (747-400) sticking up against the glass of the waiting (lounge) area, prompting me to wonder to myself, how does this thing get up in the air and stay up there..? The 747, although, is still flying in its most modern versions, the iconic 747 Jumbo, as it was called, is pretty much gone, now, and discarded, in favor of the nimbler and more efficient (2-engined) counterparts... Now, back to this post, and Iran Air 747: The Iranian Airlines' affiliation with (and ability to hold on to) old Boeing commercial jets is quite remarkable...! In my earlier posts, I'd made two references to the world's very last B727 and B707, to ever fly, in commercial service, as belonging to the Airlines of Iran. How they maintain these complex (and archaic) machines, for ~40 years of (mechanical) lifespan, long past their prime, in flyable condition, is frankly, beyond me...! Anyway, here, again, a string of records, for the Airlines of Iran: On January 13, 2019, just last year, the last commercial passenger flight of a Boeing 727 was flown between Zahedan and Tehran by Iran Aseman Airlines. Flight EP851, a two-hour domestic hop between Zahedan (ZAH) and Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport (THR) was operated by a 39-year-old Boeing 727-200 (Advanced) bearing the registration (EP-ASB). When flight EP851 landed in Tehran, it marked an end to the 727’s almost 55 years in service as a passenger aircraft. The very last Boeing 707, to perform civil operations in commercial service, was Saha Airlines' B707-3J9C (EP-CPP). The 1976-built plane, was 43 years old, when, on an international cargo flight (its PAX days already over), on 14 January, (2019), last year, from Manas International Airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Payam International Airport in Karaj, met with a tragic end (per investigation results, likely due to factors, unrelated to the aircraft itself). See one more Iran Air example below, for 747-100SP. The world's last Boeing 747-100 (747-186B), to fly, was EP-IAM (same exact livery used/shown in this post, here), which had spent (a bit unusually) its entire life with just one Airline, Iran Air, since it was delivered, new, to the Airline, from Boeing, on August 2, 1979, 41 years ago. So, it was Iran Air that happened to be the last to bid farewell to one of the classic aircraft in its fleet (closing the chapter on a remarkable piece of aviation history, that had started it all, for the 747 series). The first variant of the 747-100, had a very short upper level that was first envisioned as a lounge with only six upper deck windows (three per side). When airlines started sticking seats up there for premium (higher-paying) passengers (instead of just lounge space use), they changed the upper deck to be more accommodating with ten windows per side - (you may optionally count the number of upper windows, in below images)...This was the version that Iran Air had ordered. The 747-100 variant is very rare to come by, either in RW (or in our SIM)....As you might recall, in my post on the Classic 747, a while ago, I'd shown one 747-100 livery (British Airways) - could find only one..! Here, below, is another (rare) one, of Iran Air, (the repainter, here, has adapted the CLS B747-200PW model to create this livery). And, here is another interesting fact (about Iran Air and Boeing): Following the success of 747-100, Iran Air and Pan Am had made a "joint" request for a (revised) aircraft to be designed for long-range travel. They wanted to connect Tehran and New York City (New York to Tehran was the longest non-stop commercial flight in the world at the time, for a short time, though). (Eager) Boeing responded quickly. So, the "stocky" 747-100 (aka: the B747-100SP) was born, by reducing payload capacity, shortening the aircraft and making other significant changes to the wings. 45 of these aircraft were built. In 2016, the last 747SP in commercial service was withdrawn from service after 40 years by, guess who, Iran Air, again...! The identity (logo) for Air Iran (see images, below) is quite interesting too...their symbol is derived from the mystic Persian bird called "Homa" or (Huma bird). The Homa is a legendary bird of Sufi fable that is said to never to alight on the ground, and instead to live its entire life flying invisibly high above the earth....Hope you enjoy the 10 images below, of an Airline, we don't see much around here...! All pictures are taken at Orbx (KSEA), and, please note I've intentionally used (some) repetitions to illustrate identical shots under (different) lighting conditions of the day. Please, note, also, the Registration (EP-IAM) marking on the fuselage, of this plane, which, was, on record, the world's last flying example of this type. Actual (RW) image/video suggestions, if you're interested: Search for "ep-iam 747-100 images" for images. And, for a few minutes of very interesting video (of landing) of this (EP-IAM), please search e.g. for "ep-iam world's last 747-100 iran air cockpit videos", and look for the 9:59 min video. You may jump just to the few minutes ~(5:00-8:30) of this one. The plane was clearly "hands-on", with all three crew, here, working, quite in co-ordination, (impressively) well-practiced, I would say (speaking as a layman)...I especially, found interesting, the Captain, going around the arms of the First Officer, to apply the (successive) "Flaps", I think...(these guys, clearly, knew how to fly and maintain these (classic) airliners, in flyable condition, for (very) long times...(40 years for any plane is way too long, per recent standards, I would say...)...! Thanks for reading and viewing...!! Good rest of the week...! [CLS(747)/Orbx(KSEA)/REX]
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