I was about 3 or 4 rows from the back of the B-2 I flew on and when the engines started and it was one of the most amazing sounds I’ve ever heard. And when he throttled up for takeoff… Words can’t really describe it. It was just immense! Certainly not a flight I’ll forget in a hurry. 🙂

Paul

You are one up on me Paul as I only ever flew on the M version, still a lovely sound in the back row though. I’ll miss ’em:(

Sad news, but then I’m very biased:D Whatever your views on Soviet aircraft this is one of the most prolific designs from the Tupolev bureau, but not as beautiful as the Tu134 IMO. At STN we used to see the Balkan and Tarom examples regularly, more so the Balkan as Tarom would sometimes spoil the view and send a 1-11-500 instead. As a T/O I would always grab the Soviet aircraft turnrounds when I could and would walk out with the pushback team just to be close to the aircraft on start up, if you’ve never been close up to a Tu154B on start up then you just haven’t lived:) With its different engines the 154M was not the same. Once again a design with character falls in favour of the ‘twin pods on wing’ brigade…ah well, that progress.

I used to ramp and loadsheet the SAS DC9-40s at STN in the 80s and on a few occasions we had a DC9-50 but I’m not sure that the aircraft belonged to SAS although it was in their full Viking livery, anyone know more about that airframe? Sadly by the time the SAS MD80s came along I had become a desk jockey in Ops 🙂

Thanks for that link Ren. Happy days and nice to see that JAT 727 in those colours, flew on those many times and was lucky enough to have a jump seat round trip STN-PMI-STN on a Dan Air 727 -100 some years ago.

Some years ago I was ramping an Austrian Dash 8 which was on a fuel stop at STN. Whilst waiting for the arrival of the fuel bowser and chatting with the Capt. a Ryanair 737-200 came onto the same apron at what appeared to be very high speed. The quote from the Austrian Capt. ” Gee, someday that guys going to kill somebody” enough said I think.

having taken off from Franfurt in a Lufthansa A340 i was amazed how slow the climb rate was, on our return the substituted a A300 for our short leg to Ringway, only half full it seemed to sore into the ski

I rode on a Lufthansa A300-600 LHR-FRA a few years ago, it was almost full and as you say it soared rapidly into the air. I guess that on that sector and despite being almost full the aircraft was well under max weight. The only other time that I experienced a steeper and sustained rate of climb was on an Interflug Tu134A out of LGW.

Perhaps now that the Union leaders have shown their cards… members might vote no to strike action at the next ballot?

24 hour strike, fine. Even a 48 or 72 hour strike is enough to make a statement.
12 days is greed.

Agreed. No one is holding a pistol to these peoples heads to do that job, no more than they are to mine. I have just completed my 8th 12 hour shift in a row for a great deal less than these BA folks get, and thats my choice. As I said on another thread, if these people are so unhappy with their lot then they should get out and let others who would have BAs arms off have the chance to do it. The courts have done the right thing.

What would you regard as a reasonable settlement ?

The same deal that the LGW crews have settled for, a deal negotiated ironically by the same union people that are masterminding the LHR debacle. I dare say that I’ll be seen as anti union just because I can see the BA managements point of view here and dare to point out the stupidity of the strikers and what they are proposing to pull at this sensitive time of year, but I can live with that. I am in the airline industry AND in a union and neither myself nor the colleagues that I work with would consider pulling a stunt like this at this time and in the present condition that a major part of our industry is in. If those cabin crew were really concerned at the plight of the poor old fare payer, then they should tell the union to sling its hook until the new year, they’ve all got tongues in their heads.