DT Custom Models - Tu-154B-2sUpdated: May 2024
|
|
My friend Đặng Tùng is always on the lookout for an opportunity to make some custom models utilising the original as a base. The recent pair of Aeroflot Tu-154Bs from NG Models provided a great opportunity since so many early 154 operators in the immediate post-Soviet era utilised a good chunk of the classic Aeroflot scheme.
Below: The two original NG releases in the middle column, flanked by the four custom models made from them.
I've already shown off the two NG releases albeit with additional wing registrations at the site so check out that page here:
For more on DT Customs and other custom models they have made see here:
Moldova officially became independent on August 27, 1991 and in 1993 Air Moldova was officially formed from the local Kishinev (later Chișinău) Aeroflot directorate. Regardless of this the fleet had been operating with Air Moldova titles for over a year before. The fleet included Tu-134s, An-26s, Yak-42s and 8 Tu-154s (a mix of Bs, B-1s and B-2s). The Tu-154s initially operated in the above scheme without a tail logo and with red titles. A successor livery was adopted in 1994 with a blue nose and tail but it took some time to be adopted.
I wasn't initially attracted to this version since it lacked the tail logo, but the titles and large Moldovan flag give it a splash of colour and it grew on me. This 1980 build aircraft was leased to the Turkish charter airline Sultan Air and finally withdrawn by Air Moldova in 2000.
Air Ukraine inherited at least 36 Tu-154s spread across its Borispol (Kiev), Lugansk and Odessa divisions. UR-85368 was a 1979 build frame with the Kiev division and flew in the first Air Ukraine scheme. In fact, there were multiple variants of the first scheme, some with Ukrainian titles and some without, some with grey bellys and some white and some with yellow roundels and some blue. The airline introduced a more modern scheme in 1993, ditching the cheatline and adopting a blue and yellow rear fuselage but keeping the same logo. I'm not sure if this aircraft ever wore the new scheme. Photos show her in this one still in late September 1995. The aircraft was reported derelict at Kiev by September 1999.
Armenian Airlines was founded on January 1, 1992 and flew ten Tu-154s as part of its fleet from its Yerevan-Zvartnots base. The initial scheme saw the replacement of the Soviet flag on the tail and new titles (in English on the starboard and Armenian on the portside). A new scheme was introduced in 1993 but that was quickly replaced by the well known and colourful blue belly and rear fuselage version. This frame was still in the old scheme in August 1994 but was repainted by May 1995.
EK-85536 was actually a Tu-154B-2 'Salon' configured for government flights in a low density executive layout. She was later converted into a standard 169 seat configuration. The airframe was sold to South Airlines of Armenia in 2005 (after Armenia Airlines 2004 bankruptcy) and last saw service with a Libyan carrier called Kallat Elskar Air. It was withdrawn in 2010.
Latavio Latviyskie Avialinii was the original Latvian flag carrier, founded in 1992 and flew 7 Tu-154s inherited from the Latvian CAD/Riga UAD/280th Flight. YL-LAC was a 1981 build aircraft that had been CCCP-85516 before being re-registered in October 1992. Its service with Latavio was short as it was sold to Aeroservice Kazakhstan in October 1993 where it became UN-85516. This was not before it had visited Manchester several times and I recall Latavio also being a regular at Gatwick, often with Tu-134s. The rest of the 154s were sold in the period 1993-1995 as the airline struggled. It ceased operations in 1995 and was replaced as flag carrier by Baltic International (later airBaltic).