September 7, 2025Sep 7 Before I bid farewell, on this outing, to the Boeing 707, the legendary quadjet of yesteryears (see my previous post), I wish to fly it one more time today, along with a remembrance of the other (and more modern) quadjet, from the other side of the fence...🙂...the Airbus A340. Over a two-decade period, the A340 has been a trusted friend of mine, that has transported me across the far oceans and lands, more than 30+ times; safely and on time, every time that I can recall. Now, if you are an aviation enthusiast of the type that is not limited to only those in-service (and most commonly found) airliners of today's world...i.e., the ones with usually two (and sometimes gigantic two...🙂...) engines; the 3 or/and 4 engined jetliners of current and bygone era, bring in interesting facets to our hobby (see e.g., a recent member post on the B727 Trijet and my previous post on the B707 quadjet). The B707 was Boeing's first quadjet, and similarly the A340 was Airbus's first quadjet, and that's where pretty much the similarity ends...🙂....The B707 (see my first 10 images below) was a narrow-body (i.e., single-aisled) airliner that flew for the first time in 1957 while the A340 (see my last 10 images below) was a widebody (i.e., twin-aisled; see one cabin shot below) airliner that flew for the first time in 1991, though the A340 was conceived much earlier in the mid 1970s. So, in our modern times, the age (and tired soul...🙂...) of 340 clearly shows, and its days are numbered. Nonetheless, the A340 (valiantly) continues to ply the long-haul skies even today. For example, the LH A340 (D-AIGS/Bergisch-Gladbach) that you see in my images below, is now 26 years old, but still active, and, in fact, as of the moment I write this, is en-route flying at FL360, on a 6 hr (and 3000 miles) flight, from Ikeja, Nigeria to Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Though the B707 and the A340 flew first time more than 30 years apart, the CFM56 series engines that were initially tested on the (last proposed -700) B707 variant, went on to become the standard offer on the earliest (-200/-300) A340 variants (examine the close-up shots of the A340 engines below; first generation high-bypass turbofans to be used on commercial jetliners). The B707 (D-ABOB) that you see below, was Lufthansa's very first Boeing 707, christened "Hamburg", which made its first flight in February 1960. In 1976, (D-ABOB) was sold in Africa and then written off and disappeared in Africa. Lufthansa's Boeing 707-430s, including the D-ABOB (fictional because this here is actually a B707-300 model), were powered by Rolls-Royce Conway 508 turbofan engines (rather than the standard (P&W) JT3D engines). Lufthansa was a prolific operator of the B707s, starting service with the type just 2 years after Pan Am. Between, 1960 through 1969, Lufthansa operated 30 B707s in its fleet. So, in this post, I fly two of Lufthansa's most-loved (single deck) quadjets: the historic B707 and the currently active A340. First 10 images, show the LH B707-430, lifting off Frankfurt Airport (EDDF), up and across Main River, and then touching down back in Frankfurt, while the rest 10 images show the A340-300 also lifting off and touching down in the same Frankfurt Airport. And, guess, which a/c I'd more fun and challenge in landing today...🙂...it's the B707. This 707 SIM is not perfect, but it was a pleasure to execute a (smooth) touchdown with the B707, assisted by the available LOC/GS guidance from this aircraft's (rudimentary) avionics suite. Hope you enjoy this collection of two sets of images, of two of Lufthansa's quadjets, belonging to two (drastically) different eras of aviation history...34 years apart... Thanks for viewing...!
September 7, 2025Sep 7 Fine shots, thanks for sharing ! cheers 😉 08.2024 new PC is online :  ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-F GAMING WIFI Mainboard, AMD Ryzen™ 9 7950X3D Prozessor, G.Skill DIMM 64 GB DDR5-6000 (2x 32 GB) Dual-Kit, MSI GeForce RTX 4090 VENTUS 3X E 24G OC Grafikkarte, 2x WD Black SN850X NVMe SSD 4 TB - Drive C+D, WD Gold Enterprise Class 12 TB for storage  HDD, Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W PC - Power supply, Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO CPU Aircooler with 7 Heatpipes, Design Meshify 2 White TG Clear Tint Tower-Case, 3x 4K monitors 2x32 Samsung 1x27 LG 3840x2160, Windows11 Prof. 23H2 - now Windows11 Prof. 25H2 Flightsimulator Hardware: Honeycomb Throttle Bravo, Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, Logitech Flight Joke System, XBox Controller, some Thrustmaster stuff, Winwing CDU Panels.
September 7, 2025Sep 7 A classic livery on a very classic airframe (the B707...obviously! 🙂 )! Great photos! Doesn't matter the generation...always love to see the LH liveries that you've posted here. Interesting story of the B707 that disappeared in Africa...I need to read up on that one...reminds me of the B727 that also disappeared from Africa... Thanks for the post! Â
September 7, 2025Sep 7 Author 5 hours ago, pmplayer said: Fine shots, thanks for sharing ! cheers 😉 Thanks, pmplayer. Glad you liked...your national colors ...🙂...while we all wait for better version of both the B707 and the A340...in MSFS...  5 hours ago, rmeier said: A classic livery on a very classic airframe (the B707...obviously! 🙂 )! Great photos! Doesn't matter the generation...always love to see the LH liveries that you've posted here. Interesting story of the B707 that disappeared in Africa...I need to read up on that one...reminds me of the B727 that also disappeared from Africa... Thanks for the post!  Appreciated the comment. Yes, let me know what happened to your missing 727 in Africa...🙂... BTW, Lufthansa's very first B707, the (D-ABOB) "Hamburg", that's in my pictures (a rare -430 variant with RR Conway Engines), was sold to Pearl Air in Zaire. It was then involved in an accident in Africa, written off, and apparently disappeared by disintegration for spare parts. However, Lufthansa did one thing to remember this special B707.  Another 707 aircraft (D-ABOD), christened "Frankfurt", was re-painted and given the fictitious registration (D-ABOB) to mark the 50-year partnership between Lufthansa and Boeing. This Boeing 707 is now on display (ironically or coincidentally) at "Hamburg" Airport. So, it stands for two 707 airframes, and is preserved for anyone to see...if interested...🙂...
September 7, 2025Sep 7 2 hours ago, P_7878 said: It was then involved in an accident in Africa, written off, and apparently disappeared by disintegration for spare parts. Thanks for the update...hadn't heard that story about the B707. Very similar to the movie "Lord of War" where Nick Cage (Yuri Orlov) asks his Russian pilot to land the AN-12 in the desert to avoid being caught with a cache of illegal firearms...over the course of the night, as Cage/Orlov is stuck in the desert for 24 hours, the locals had stripped the AN-12 aircraft down to nothing. The B727 story, if you hadn't heard it, is an unsolved mystery that happened not long after 9/11...and the world was still edgy with anything aircraft related. To this day, no one has reported a sighting of the missing B727 airframe...speculation is that it crashed over an ocean, not having had a full compliment of qualified flight crew. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-727-that-vanished-2371187/
September 7, 2025Sep 7 Author Agree, some of these old jetliners, beyond their profitable life, end up forgotten (and discarded) in remote parts of the world…not excluding use for less than reputable assignments… Yes, I now recall that B727 incidence….quite a mystery…missing without a trace… Thanks.
September 7, 2025Sep 7 Author  3 hours ago, John F said: Excellent. Always good to hear more of your keen enthusiasm for Lufthansa. Thanks, John…🙂… Without LH, I would not have got to travel in the A340, since the type is/was pretty much non-existent with U.S. carriers…just as the ubiquitous B777 was absent with LH. So, the Star Alliance with UA and LH did it for me…🙂… Have a good Sunday evening…!
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