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Minerve Magic: French Deregulation Pioneer

17/5/2018

Charter airlines have come and gone regularly and many barely merit a mention. Some however deserve recognition and Minerve definitely falls into that category. It was a pioneer in opening up the tightly regulated French market. Not only was it first in France to operate the MD-80, it was also the first French charter 747 operator, first to challenge Air France in the overseas territories and Air Inter domestically.

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CAAC Tupolevs: 154s in China Pt2

9/5/2018

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Although the PLAAF and its China United subsidiary would get the first 4 TU-154s in China the CAAC itself would acquire some of this first batch of TU-154s too. In fact it got the lion's share with thirteen aircraft joining in 1985/86. They didn't remain with the CAAC for very long however due to the changes afoot in the Chinese industry.

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CUA Tupolevs: 154s in China Pt1

27/4/2018

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Despite being fellow Communist states relations between the Soviet Union and China were often poor, especially during the 1970s. This and the limited needs of the CAAC meant that it wasn't until the mid-80s that TU-154s found their way to China, by which time they were obsolete. So why were the Chinese buying them at all?

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City Jets: Lufthansa’s 737 Launch

21/4/2018

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Boeing focused its initial jet offerings on the long and then medium range sections of the market leaving fertile ground for competitors to produce jets for the short hauls. In fact Boeing was so late to the market that it couldn't find a launch customer out of the traditional US trunk airlines and instead surprised everyone by looking towards Europe. Lufthansa and the 737 would prove a match made in heaven.

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Cathay Cargo: Global Jumbo Freighters

14/4/2018

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Cathay Pacific has been in the cargo business since it began operations in 1946 when it uplifted 15 tonnes. It has grown that modest result into one of the largest airfreight businesses in the world, largely off the backbone of the Boeing 747-400F. Success and expansion have gone hand in hand at least until the Global Financial Crisis negatively impacted the air cargo marketplace.

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Southern Flight: Südflug Seven Seas

1/4/2018

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Südflug International was a pioneer of aviation in Germany. It was the first airline in West Germany after the war, was instrumental in the development of the Canary Islands as a tourist destination and was the first German airline to operate transatlantic charters. Nonetheless today it is largely forgotten and so it was a pleasure that Aeroclassics recently saw fit to release an example of its fleet as it lets me explore their history a little.

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Air West Pt1: The Airline That Had to Happen

21/3/2018

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As the 1960s drew to a close the CAB in the USA was looking for ways to wean the local service airlines off of subsidies. This meant a gradual movement away from serving local communities and instead using economies of scale to serve wider regions. The result was mergers, including the unique tri-merger that created 'The airline that had to happen' - Air West!

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Hippie Express: Loftleidir's Low Cost Long-haul

8/3/2018

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Iceland sits in a fortuitous position in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Wow Air is currently leveraging this benefit but it is hardly the first airline to do so. That accolade goes to Loftleidir Icelandic, which for many years found a way around the strict regulated transatlantic market to provide the world's first low cost long haul scheduled service.

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Western to World: Seaboard's Golden Sixties

27/2/2018

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By 1960 Seaboard and Western had seen both the highs and lows. It had grown from a charter airline to the USA's selected scheduled freight airline across the Atlantic, a market that it dominated. Unfortunately however it was also in a perilous financial state. Fortunately under new leadership the 1960s would prove to be a prosperous time for the carrier, which constantly led the field in all freight operations.

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East Meets West: Malev’s First 737s

14/2/2018

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Nowadays the end of Cold War seems obvious and the thought that the Soviet Union could have persisted bizarre; however in the 1980s this was far from the case. Aside from Tarom the airlines of the Warsaw Pact appeared staunchly pro-Soviet so the pivot to the West by Malev, prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, was an important harbinger of things to come.

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Big Bunny: XA-JEB’s Unusual Career

6/2/2018

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Aeroclassics has firmly supported Mexican collectors in 2017 with a selection of great releases, one of which is an Aeroméxico DC-9-32. Looking into the particular aircraft’s history it is obvious that it was not chosen at random. For although Aeroméxico flew many DC-9s none had the unique back history of XA-JEB.

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Malta's Military Lease: Air Malta's 707-3F5C

23/1/2018

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The Republic of Malta consists of a pair of islands (Malta and Gozo) close to Sicily in the central Mediterranean. Although small they attract large numbers of tourists but air traffic volumes are highly seasonal. To meet that demand the national carrier has long leased extra capacity for summer seasons and one of the more interesting leases was a former and future military 707.

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Eights to the Orient: Northwest DC-8s

19/1/2018

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By the late 1950s Northwest had solidified its place as a prime mover across the Pacific Ocean, but the landscape was changing and to keep its place it needed to select equipment to take it out of the piston age and into the jet age. Few were surprised when it looked towards Douglas for its first jets, however they would wear the red tail for less than four years.

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1:400 Review of 2017: Panda & Skywings

13/1/2018

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Panda Models and Skywings have both grown their brands in 2017 often sharing moulds but also doing their own thing. However the nature of their connection and their connection to other newer names in China is confusing at best. Certainly there are various moulds being shared between brands. Does this matter? I don't know - the models are almost universally excellent and the range has increased to the point that Westerners are beginning to take notice.

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1:400 Review of 2017: JC Wings

5/1/2018

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JC Wings got something of a whipping in the review last year but how 365 days can change an opinion. In fact they are the only manufacturer that has actually changed much in the past year. They have gone from near last to one of the best makers in 1:400 scale. All credit to them and here are my thoughts about JC Wings releases for 2017.

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<<Previous

Minerve Magic: French Deregulation Pioneer

CAAC Tupolevs: 154s in China Pt2

CUA Tupolevs: 154s in China Pt1

City Jets: Lufthansa’s 737 Launch

Cathay Cargo: Global Jumbo Freighters

Southern Flight: Südflug Seven Seas

Air West Pt1: The Airline That Had to Happen

Hippie Express: Loftleidir's Low Cost Long-haul

Western to World: Seaboard's Golden Sixties

East Meets West: Malev’s First 737s

Big Bunny: XA-JEB’s Unusual Career

Malta's Military Lease: Air Malta's 707-3F5C

Eights to the Orient: Northwest DC-8s

1:400 Review of 2017: Panda & Skywings

1:400 Review of 2017: JC Wings

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