Today I'm feeling a bit sad...OK, you are already saying...Uh-oh...🙂...but no worry...all is good on the personal front...🙂...I'm a bit sad after catching an (aviation) flashback back from 2012. Now, if you're somewhat of an aviation enthusiast as I am, you will be touched by a bit of sadness too (of varying degrees)...so, please read on...

BTW, what's the definition of an aviation enthusiast? A long while ago, I recall reading an article by an (Alaskan?) DC-3 pilot and a life-long associate of the legendary Douglas a/c. I forget the details, but the account involved restoration efforts of a certain derelict DC-3 (that was pictured deserted, left to perish on a frozen tract of land, at the end of its useful life). Maybe this pilot had some prior connection with this DC-3, so, when visiting the a/c, this pilot would "talk" to it...Oh well...that's not too out-of-ordinary, since some of us might be also talking to inanimate objects (if not airplanes) on occasions...🙂...However, what stayed with me from that Pilot's account is his further comment, "The DC-3 would then talk back to me...!" Now that's a real airplane enthusiast...! Personally, I might feel for an airplane that goes through its life, with individual ups and downs of fortune, and typically ending in the (airplane) graveyards of the western (U.S.) deserts, so, I might even talk to it if I happen to see it, but I am quite sure I would not hear it talking back to me...🙂...

Back to MALÉV: The date was (around) Feb 3, 2012. Six 737-600s of MALÉV, young siblings of the same stock (all ~8 years old; born ~2004, within months of each other, in Boeing's Renton (RNT) plant), would fly, far from their home (Budapest), literally in a beeline via (SNN) Shannon Airport (Ireland) and (BGR) Bangor Intl (Maine/U.S.) to their final destination (GYR) Phoenix-Goodyear Airport (Arizona/U.S.). I said "young", because let's assume 20-25 years for the average lifespan of a 737 while noting that the oldest surviving 737, a -200Combi (C-GNLK), is now "50" years old, but still actively flying with Montreal based Canadian (charter) airline Nolinor Aviation. I also noted (C-GNLK) has so far changed ownership 25 times in its life and still keeps ticking...mind-boggling indeed...! So, 8 years out 25 years is hardly prime age yet for a 737-600...!

Anyway, back in Feb. of 2012, six 736s of MALÉV (HA-LOD/HA-LOE/HA-LOF/HA-LOG/HA-LOJ/HA-LON) ...these being the nametags of the young siblings...🙂...were all destined together for their final fate...to be scrapped in Arizona, for valuable parts. No one wanted them. One of these six, (HA-LOF) 737-600, you see in my images below. The RW (HA-LOF), just as the other 5, is gone forever well before reaching the peak of its career, been disintegrated into parts, while, at least, the virtual (whole) form of it is flying here thanks to the creation of an observant 737 repainter...and the attention of yours truly...🙂...

What puzzled me was why they were scrapped despite being so young. I found the answer, after MALÉV faced closure, these six 736s were deemed more valuable for their savaged parts than as whole entities. We must also recall that 737-600, the first of the 737NG series, was the least successful 737NG in the marketplace. Just as, around here, the two (most) 737-600 (diehard) enthusiasts are yours truly...🙂...and one other member... (see one of my recent posts for hint...🙂...), the airlines that had (previously) adopted the 737-600, such as WestJet and SAS, had already moved on, by 2012, to better things. So, there was (apparently) no home (and no workplace) to be found anywhere for these 6 736s...no other viable (living) option for them except all being dispatched to the deserts of Arizona to be broken up together...! Kind of sad...isn't it...?

MALÉV is an airline I know well from the past SIMs, not for their 737s, but for their Tupolevs and Ilyushins (Tu-134/Tu-154/Il-62). The Soviet Era a/c fans of the SIM will certainly remember these a/c from freeware (SIM) offerings. MALÉV was invariably featured by repainters of such a/c. The 66-year-old national airline of Hungary was one of the first to break away from the tethers of its eastern bloc a/c lineage and be a pioneer in opening the doors of aviation for its peers to western-built aircraft. Imagine a (hardened) eastern bloc carrier airline that got to operate all the 737 variants (-200/-300/-400/-500/-600/-700/-800). That shows courage and ambition. Nonetheless, the once proud airline that reached its pinnacle in 2007 by being indoctrinated into the prestigious Oneworld Alliance, fell victim to (catastrophic) hardships, and within short 5 years, would cease all operations in 2012...a most tragic airline story, in the same tragic spirit of the six 736 siblings above...

Please find this collection of images, below, in memory of one of these 6 siblings (HA-LOF), flying here in the reverse route of its final flight, per this pilot's discretion...🙂...from Phoenix (KGYR) to Bangor (KBGR). I just couldn't fly this one to the (hot) and unfriendly desert stores of Arizona...🙂...This is a complete flight from takeoff to touchdown, west-to-east, overland across 2,200 miles (see PMDG EFB Map) with the SimBrief FlightPlan (conveniently) uploaded into the a/c FMC via the (on-board) EFB...for navigation...

Thanks for viewing and your interest...!

Your lead-in story was a tough act to follow 🙂, but fortunately the pics are outstanding in their own right...more than good enough to stand on their own. 🙂 I especially like the last few (night) shots.

Edited August 31, 20241 yr by John F

Beautys, fine set, thanks for showing !

cheers 😉

Very nice pictures! 😉 

John, pmplayer, and Will:

Thanks for the comments, as always...! Appreciated....Cheers...!

Nice shots of the plane gain P_7878, I always want to install it but so far I didn't...

Quite nice shots!

On 9/2/2024 at 2:05 AM, andiflyit said:

Nice shots of the plane gain P_7878, I always want to install it but so far I didn't...

You can't go wrong with PMDG...Andreas...yes, certainly if you like the Baby Boeing, which I think you do...🙂...It is one of those planes that works flawlessly in my Xbox ...never had a single issue with it...I fly it more often that I post...🙂...

 

On 9/2/2024 at 8:54 AM, Jack_Sawyer said:

Quite nice shots!

Jack:

Thanks for the comment. Glad you liked...!