3 hours ago, aldridgem said:

I also remember a F1 racing livery but this may have not been this aircraft.

Ah yes, that would be VH-OJC, I believe. Another RR powered non-ER -438.

18 hours ago, aldridgem said:

That is one smart repaint I have to say!

If I remember, this particular aircraft VH-OEJ has worn a number of different, special liveries over the years including the World cup livery with the football (soccer), the boxing kangaroo livery etc. I also remember a F1 racing livery but this may have not been this aircraft.

 

Mark:

You seem to be curious about some of these (historical) details as I sometimes am....

(BTW, I also notice a bit of common interest in our "IDs"....🙂...I've used "7878", because, many moons ago, I had seen one of the very first 787-8s, I recall it was probably in the ANA colors, roll out, during one of my visits to Seattle and the Boeing plant tour...)

Anyway, yes, the VH-OEJ, briefly, did wear the "Socceroos and World Cup" livery in July, 2016. I cannot show those images here, because of copyrights, but, you can search for the key-words, "Images for Qantas (Socceroos and World Cup livery), VH-OEJ, Boeing 747-438 ER" to be led directly to these pictures of VH-OEJ...(with imprints of one Soccer ball each on both RHS/LHS (rear) fuselages)...!

However, very next month of this livery introduction, in August, 2016, it was changed to the "2016 Olympic Games" decals. For these pictures, you can search for "Images for VH-OEJ 2016 Olympic Games"...it was an interesting livery, indeed....!!

Here is the related news excerpt, dated (August 22,2016):

"After 16 days of competition, Australia’s Olympic athletes will soon begin the long journey home from Rio de Janeiro on a Qantas Boeing 747-400ER decked out in special livery. The aircraft to bring the team back to Australia, VH-OEJ, left Sydney on Saturday morning operating QF73 bound for San Francisco. The aircraft features a Boxing Kangaroo decal on the fuselage, as well as a medal draped around the neck of the Flying Kangaroo carrying an Australian flag on the tail..."

I am (now) straining my eyes a bit...to catch the medal around the neck and the flag on the tail of the Kangaroo...🙂...

Finally, below, a couple of (SIM) images of your "Formula 1 Grand Prix" Qantas livery on the VH-OJC (mind you, not VH-OEJ)...And, exactly as Rashid has pointed out, it was a "-438" RR but not "-438(ER)" model....

This color-pattern looks somewhat complex...! Here, in my virtual world, (VH-OJC) is lifting off KSEA...!

Enjoy...! And, a good weekend, ahead...!

Thanks for the historical info. She's a beauty! Its a great livery from the early 2000's with the F1 Ferrari on the side.  I'll have to research this aircraft a little more I just found this site: http://www.aussieairliners.org/b-747/vh-ojc/vhojc.html

I now know that this particular aircraft is named the City of Melbourne. How apt. That one is not in my hangar - yet! You've given me the impetus to take to the air this weekend!

I have to admit, the Queen has a special place in my heart, and so does Oz. I lived there just outside of Melbourne when I was a kid for a number of years. That together with our memorable flight back to the UK on a B747-200 in 1976 (not a Qantas unfortunately) and of course my passion for F1 racing, this brings everything together for me in one shot. You made my day!👍 I am glad you found the aircraft and were able to fly it in the sim and share some great screenshots.

As for my ID/Avatar, I'm a general aviation nut at heart and the Dreamliner is also one of my favourite aircraft. I was there at Frankfurt airport in the fog when the first ANA Dreamliner landed and took off. That 787 ID is also on my car reg as well! Yes, I am nuts!🤩

 

Anyway, back on topic talking about Qantas, the livery as we know it today has evolved over many years. The titling on the fuselage for the airline name as evolved through various "mutations" and also the kangaroo icon on the tail has evolved in style/shape over time
Do you have any info on that and the reason for the subtle changes Qantas made? I am curious.

Cheers
Mark

 

Edited July 25, 20205 yr by aldridgem

 

6 hours ago, P_7878 said:

 

 

Finally, below, a couple of (SIM) images of your "Formula 1 Grand Prix" Qantas livery on the VH-OJC (mind you, not VH-OEJ)...And, exactly as Rashid has pointed out, it was a "-438" RR but not "-438(ER)" model....

This color-pattern looks somewhat complex...! Here, in my virtual world, (VH-OJC) is lifting off KSEA...!

Lovely livery, that. There was an excellent repaint of OJC for the PMDG 747 for FS9 here in the library. Haven't seen one for the 400X or V3, though. A lot of fantastic liveries from the 90s seem to be forgotten by our talented painters. 😁

Very interesting and informative thread,Thank You

Patrick and Rashid:

Many thanks and for the additional comments...!!

 

Mark:

Good notes....!

Regarding Car Registration, many years go, while living in Chicago, I used to (daily) take the same segment of a local freeway, that led into the O'Hare....and, I recall, occasionally, running into License Plates with writing on them, such as, "My other vehicle is a 747", or some such thing....probably the driver was on his/her way to the O'Hare for a longreach flight...🙂...

What is striking about the (VH-OEJ) 747 is that, often, the last (such) airplane acquired by an Airline, is not necessarily the last one to be retired....an earlier acquired one might actually outlast the other siblings in terms of useful life with the Airline. In this case, however, this youngest Qantas 747 was a LILO (Last-In-Last-Out), so to speak...

And, yes, that link is a great resource for any Oz tail numbers....in fact, was one, I'd looked up earlier (for our F1 Racer)...The "City of Melbourne" naming was a good catch there, surely, of special significance to you...!

Also, isn't it interesting (I notice now) that the (VH-OJC) was ferried from Seattle to London (reaching there October 11, 1989), with a stop-over at East Midlands,...I guess, for RR's blessings.....🙂..., and then right-away, next day itself (October 12, 1989) did its first revenue service (London-Singapore-Sydney). So, it looks like the Ferry Pilot (Captain D. Massy-Green) thought he did not need any more familiarity with this (mint-new) 747...all felt right...🙂...before immediately putting it to a (long-haul) revenue flight...(why wait to get to Australia first...to make extra money for the Airline)....?

Agree, the Airline Logos (their history and meaning etc.) have always fascinated me....I'll look into it, here, and PM you anything I can dig up....

[Finally, you've mentioned a memorable flight on a B747-200...so, if you wish, please take look back at one of my recent posts on the 747 Classic "747 Classic and CP Air (with 20 images)". No need to comment there or here...but, I think, you might enjoy that thread. Of course, it's not about the Kangaroo, but, there is a bit of interesting discussion about the Classic CP Air Logo...]

Hope you do find a "good" (e.g. PMDG) B747 (and the repaint for it) to fly one or more of these (classic) Oz liveries....now, left, only to be seen in the virtual skies...!! Cheers..!

Thanks for the additional info on the Qantas Queens.  😉. Very interesting background and history including that ferry flight you mentioned which ultimately was a revenue generating flight. I guess its a long way to Sydney and expensive to shuttle a 747 that distance with very little payload on board. From an airline perspective, you might as well get it working for you from Day 1.

 

I'll certainly take a look at the 747 Classic post you mentioned. That trip I mentioned on a BA 747 was most memorable for me as it was a very circuitous route flown back to the UK out of Tullamarine based on those old P&W engines on the classic were not the most reliable at that time! This particular Queen got stuck in Hong Kong for 2 days since BA had to fly out a replacement engine to us from LHR and repair the aircraft. Boy that was a journey and a half!.

BTW- I spotted a typo in my post above and it should have read 747-100 since BA didnt introduce the -200s with RR engines into their fleet until mid 1977.

 

[Great tidbits of aviation...This post entry was just 15 mins of an after-thought (from the headlines news feeds...when I was actually looking for one bright spot of news (amidst the usual multitude about the Pandemic)...and, I'd noticed the last flight of 747 (VH-OEJ), arriving at LAX...!]

Mark: Thanks for the correction about the BA 747-100. Correct! BA Fleet, indeed, shows that they operated 19 "-100"s (1974-1999) and 26 "-200"s (1977-2002) etc. So, you barely missed being on board the "200"...🙂...

Wrap-up of notes of interest:

David Massy-Greene, (mentioned above), was also the Captain of Qantas’s record-breaking Boeing 747-400 nonstop flight from London Heathrow to Sydney, at the controls of the delivery flight of Qantas’s very first Boeing 747-400 (VH-OJA), City of Canberra, in August 1989, when the aircraft flew nonstop for 20 hours, nine minutes and five seconds, covering 9,720nm. This record for world’s longest nonstop flight by distance stood until Boeing set a new mark with a 777-200LR that flew 11,664nm, heading eastwards from Hong Kong to London flying over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and North America in 22 hours and 42 minutes, in November 2005.

This famous plane (VH-OJA) now resides at the HARS Aviation Museum, Australia. You may search for "HARS Boeing 747-438 “VH-OJA, City of Canberra” to be led to a fascinating article from HARS Museum that's worth reading (along with an equally fascinating 4 min (embedded) video, of Massy-Greene and this LONGREACH's flight clips). (VH-OJA) had reached KSA, Sydney, with 45 mins of fuel left (against unfavorable winds on the way). [Must have been a remarkable gentleman, Massy-Greene, (he passed away August, 2016).]