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Top 10 Aircraft Types In My Collection

29/6/2015

There is a literal avalanche of new Waffle Collection sale items on their way but before they arrive I thought it was an opportune moment to take a look at what types of airliner rank highest in my collection to date. As of June 29, 2015 my 1:400 model collection stands at 948 aircraft (some 748 above what I originally planned on collecting)! Here's the top 10 aircraft in the fleet:

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LCCs Go West: Chongqing Airlines Transforms

28/6/2015

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Airline ownership within China follows several models. The largest and most powerful airlines are Government owned, there are a raft of government and local government joint ventures, a small number of truly private airlines and some companies either owned or partially owned by state owned enterprises. Chongqing Airlines falls into the latter category being a joint venture between the Government owned China Southern (60%) and the Chongqing Municipal Development & Investment Company (40%).

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Obscure Russians 4: Baikal Airlines

27/6/2015

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Irkutsk is a city of extremes - freezing in winter down to -49.7°C and heating up in the summer to up to 37°C. Despite this it has a history as a city of culture on the shores of Lake Baikal. It is the lake which gave its hometown airline its name and also inspired what must be one of the most attractive liveries worn by a Russian airline in the 1990s. Baikal Airlines was one of the many 'Babyflots' that sprung up in the 90s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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Obscure Russians 3: MAVIAL Magadan

24/6/2015

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There are some places in Russia so remote that air travel is the only sensible way to reach them. The city of Magadan is one such place - somewhere with a dark history and a hostile environment to match it. From 1993-2006 the city's main link to the outside world was via MAVIAL Magadan Airlines, which even acquired some small recognition outside of Russia by operating direct to the USA across the freezing Bering Straits.

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Southern Cross Caravelles: Cruzeiro do Sul's First Jets

22/6/2015

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Brazil has a rich history of great airlines but since the 1990s the old industry has been almost completely swept away so that now in 2015 none of the original players remains, not even Varig itself. One of the most pioneering of the original airlines was Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul - the second oldest airline in the country. For many years its colourful blue aircraft were common on a wide domestic network and the French Caravelle introduced the carrier to jet operations.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt6 - Beige, Ochre & Turquoise

21/6/2015

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Probably the most obscure of the primary colours used in the Jellybean era are Beige, Ochre and Turquoise. The funny thing is that both beige and ochre were actually two of the commonest of the colours used and lasted beyond the H&G colour switch of 1967 - the only original Jellybeans to do so.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt5: Yellows

19/6/2015

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As with the oranges the yellow Jellybeans made a particularly attractive aircraft combination and also like the oranges two shades were used over the 1965-1971 Jellybean era. In addition like the oranges the two shades, though similar, did look different in service and can be told apart if you know what to look for.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt4: Oranges

18/6/2015

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Orange is perhaps one of the signature Braniff Jellybean colours, though frankly I think you'd have to be a genius to be able to distinguish between the two different orange shades that were used - at least if you are using only old photos anyway! It's just as well that John Evanich III (JEE3) has done the hard work for us. It's certainly a personal favourite of mine amongst the Braniff fleet.

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Braniff Jellybean Pt3: Red

16/6/2015

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In comparison to the greens and blues red is an easy Jellybean colour since there was only one version used. In fact red didn't even feature as a 'End of the Plain Plane' shade until the 1967 H&G refresh. All the earlier 7 shades were much more pastelly. Despite this late start red would go on to be one of the most popular of the colours used and I must say it does look superb.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt2: The Blues

15/6/2015

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Braniff's brilliant Alexander Girard designed Jellybeans were loud and proud but for the colour-blind aviation enthusiast sitting in 2015 it isn't half difficult to work out which shades were which. Nowhere is this more difficult than with the blues, since there were no less than four different shades throughout the Jellybean era. Fortunately John Evanich III (JEE3) over at www.airlinercafe.com's forum has done a quite astounding job of sorting it all out. Looking at my Braniff blues it appears that Aeroclassics could have done with checking out his work!

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt1: The Greens

14/6/2015

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In 1965 Harding Lawrence was appointed to the Presidency of Braniff International. Up till then it had been a well run but relatively small trunk airline. Lawrence had other ideas and the wild ride that characterised his tenure would change Braniff from an also ran to a colourful and vibrant airline. Unfortunately Lawrence would also prove to be the downfall of Braniff but that wasn't until 1982. First there was the 'End of the Plain Plane' era.

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Court Line: Halcyon Days

13/6/2015

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Court Line started as just another of the small independent airlines fighting for crumbs from BEA's table during the early 1960s but following takeover changed into something altogether brighter. The new swinging garish Court Line was an airline that burnt brightly but also burnt out quickly - a pioneer in IT charters that helped shape the British charter industry, which became such a huge player in the UK aviation scene until low cost airlines arrived. Even in failure it helped shape the industry's practices.

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Long-legged Cranes: Lufthansa's Long Haul 720Bs

11/6/2015

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Lufthansa had only been allowed to restart flight operations in 1955, yet by 1960 it had already regained its position as one of the leading European airlines thanks to excellent levels of service, punctuality and reliability. It certainly wasn't to be left behind with jet operations either and on January 23, 1957 it made its first order for jets. These would be Boeing 707s started a long tradition of being a staunch Boeing customer.

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Private In China Pt4: Kunming's Ruili Airlines

9/6/2015

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The first wave of Chinese private airlines were not an overwhelming success with most failing or falling under the ownership of the big four Chinese airline groupings. The CAAC announced a moratorium on new airline licenses from 2010 but as airport capacity issues have eased and the concept of low cost airlines in China has gained official backing the CAAC has begun to issue new licenses. One of the first of the new breed of private airline to start operations is Ruili Airlines based at the popular city of Kunming.

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SAHSA & TAN: Honduran Partners to the End

8/6/2015

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Servicio Aéreo de Honduras SA was the national airline of Honduras for nearly fifty years. It was founded in November 1944 with the assistance of Pan American who had a 38% share in the carrier. Flight operations began on October 22, 1945 using a Douglas DC-2 on domestic flights. Soon afterwards a DC-3 and Beech 18 joined the fleet. Along with its at first competitor and later sister TAN the airline would provide a dash of bright blue throughout Central America.

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Private In China Pt3: Springing to the Fore

6/6/2015

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Until very recently China has had only one airline that could claim to be a low-cost carrier. Despite initial disapproval from the CAAC Spring Airlines has managed to survive the tumultuous period since private airlines were allowed in 2005, which saw off most of the other private airlines, to become a major player in the Chinese market with huge potential for growth. Spring is now inspiring the majors to try their hand at LCCs, but remains far ahead of the field.

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Private in China Pt2: Auspicious Juneyao

5/6/2015

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Juneyao Airlines was formed in 2005 as one of the first batch of private airlines allowed by the CAAC. It is based in the Changning District, Shanghai and operates primarily from both of Shanghai's airports - Pudong and Hongqiao. The airline is wholly owned by the Juneyao group whose name literally translates as "Auspicious" in English. Unlike its Shanghai based competitor Spring Airlines Juneyao has positioned itself as a full service 'boutique' airline but unlike many of the original startups this has not hindered its success.

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Private in China Pt1: Increasingly Okay

4/6/2015

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Prior to 2005 there were no fully private airlines in China. All the existing carriers were either government owned (the Big Three), joint ventures between regional governments and private interests (Hainan Airlines) or owned/co-owned by State Operated Interests (China United). This changed when Okay Airways was given its license in February 2005 and made its first flight on March 11 from Tianjin to Changsha.

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Channel Airways Pt2: Boom & Bust

3/6/2015

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By the mid 1960s Channel Airways was unusually flush and was for the first time able to begin to acquire new rather than second-hand aircraft. It first did this with the purchase of four HS748s but following hot on their heels would be pure jets. Unfortunately its jet operations combined with a major economic downturn would lead Channel towards its own bankruptcy just months after it celebrated its 25th anniversary.

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Channel Airways Pt1: High Density & Low Cost

1/6/2015

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Channel Airways was a pioneer of cheap low-cost air travel in the UK. It became famous for its thriftiness and high density seating. Along with older aircraft and an intensive schedule these factors helped Channel achieve its aims of making travel no more expensive than by boat. The airline even went so far as to not bother repainting its aircraft fully and in the mid-60s effectively stole the livery of Continental Airlines whom it had purchased second-hand Viscounts from!

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Top 10 Aircraft Types In My Collection

LCCs Go West: Chongqing Airlines Transforms

Obscure Russians 4: Baikal Airlines

Obscure Russians 3: MAVIAL Magadan

Southern Cross Caravelles: Cruzeiro do Sul's First Jets

Braniff Jellybeans Pt6 - Beige, Ochre & Turquoise

Braniff Jellybeans Pt5: Yellows

Braniff Jellybeans Pt4: Oranges

Braniff Jellybean Pt3: Red

Braniff Jellybeans Pt2: The Blues

Braniff Jellybeans Pt1: The Greens

Court Line: Halcyon Days

Long-legged Cranes: Lufthansa's Long Haul 720Bs

Private In China Pt4: Kunming's Ruili Airlines

SAHSA & TAN: Honduran Partners to the End

Private In China Pt3: Springing to the Fore

Private in China Pt2: Auspicious Juneyao

Private in China Pt1: Increasingly Okay

Channel Airways Pt2: Boom & Bust

Channel Airways Pt1: High Density & Low Cost

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