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Don't think that there will ever be a documentary on the 50th anniversary of the A380.

An ex-RN helicopter pilot friend of mine gave up flying helicopters in our Company on the North Sea in '87 and went to BA flying the 748 around the Highlands and Islands. After other types he eventually became a Capt on BA 747's and when he retired at 55 he spent his last 5 aviating years tootling around flying 747 freighters for Singapore Airlines. He reckoned the 747 was such a dream to fly that even I might have managed to hack it.....

Watched the second part of the two part series tonight and it was interesting to hear Captain Eric Moody's recollection of the night when all four engines on the 747 he was flying flamed out as it penetrated a volcanic ash cloud.

One can only imagine the stress as the flight engineer worked with rest of the crew to restart the engines but Moody found the time to utter his now famous passenger announcement.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British ... s_Flight_9

The programme also featured Bruce Dickinson, Captain Yvonne Kershaw and another Scottish pilot whose name eludes me now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-40804199

Enjoyable television for once. Thank you for pointing the programme out Capetonian.

Caco

Heard an interview with Capt. Moody and a woman who was a passenger on the flight, and later wrote a book about the incident. The interviewer asked Moody if the book was accurate. his answer was that the book was fairly accurate, but the language was a little stronger.

Understandable in the circumstances, I suppose.

I remember the first one I ever saw up close. It must have been 1969 or 1970, 'twas an Alitalia 747 parked at the gate at Montreal Dorval. I was being checked in the left seat of the DC-3, and we were cleared to taxi up the center between the international and domestic fingers, passing behind the 747. It looked like one could taxi the 3 between the main gear. It was a warm day, and I was taxiing with the cockpit window open. At the time there was an observation deck on the roof of the terminal, and it was full of people taking pictures of the Alitalia aircraft, so I waved at the crowd. Our CP, who was in the right seat, remarked that the kids in the crowd were probably asking their dads "What's that funny little airplane behind the Jumbo?"

British Airways 747-436, G-BNLP
It's goodbye to another British Airways 747, this time is G-BNLP's turn. Manufactured in 1990, she spent her entire 28 year career with BA, one of the oldest and few remaining of the -BNL_ series (-BNLK, -BNLN and -BNLY remain). She operated her last commercial flight arriving back from Accra (ACC) early yesterday morning before being ferried later in the day on her final flight to St. Athan (DGX) where she will be scrapped. The British Airways 747 fleet now stands at 35. Next will be -BNLK expected within this month.

Sad to see them disappearing, they are part of aviation nostalgia, really the Queen of the Skies and a magnificent aeroplane. The first time I saw three parked together, I was on the fourth, which I suppose would have been in BOAC livery, in about 1972 at Nairobi, and I realised what a surreal machine it was.

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-BNLP was withdrawn from service at London Heathrow this morning after arriving as BA78 from Accra then positioned London Heathrow – RAF St Athan as BA9170 this afternoon for disposal. The aircraft was in 14F/52J/36W/235Y configuration and White Union Flag with Crest livery on withdrawal. This reduces the Boeing 747-400 fleet to 35 aircraft.

Coincidentally, I am just watching the C5 documentary on Lockerbie, PA103. That aircraft was a 747–121, N739PA, Clipper Maid of the Seas. It was the 15th 747 built and was delivered in February 1970, one month after the first 747 entered service with Pan Am.

As part of our centenary, we will be painting a Boeing 747 in the much-admired design of our predecessor - British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
The livery from the 1964-1974 BOAC era - pictured above and below - will adorn a B747-400, registration G-BYGC. The aircraft will leave the paint shop in Dublin and arrive in to Heathrow on February 18, before entering service the following day. This coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Boeing 747 flight only a few days earlier.

The BOAC 747 will be the first aircraft to receive a popular design from our past with details of further designs to be revealed in due course. Aircraft which receive the retro liveries will go on to showcase them around our route network.

From a BA intranet news item, GC will carry this livery until it retires in 2023

This coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Boeing 747 flight only a few days earlier.

Err don't those few days earlier, mean that they do NOT coincide?

For something so big the Avionics compartment is ridiculously small, hated working on the thing.

It looks great. Maybe the fat Spanish waiter could offer retro-style service, back to the days when people were proud of BA.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... -t-455159/

Quite a few staff echoing your sentiments Cape

Well here it is