DT Custom Models - Tu-154MsUpdated: May 2024
|
|
It is not just the NG Tu-154s that my friend Đặng Tùng has been customising as his relationship with Phoenix has allowed him to acquire a couple of blanks from which he has made a lovely pair of Tu-154Ms.
For more on DT Customs and other custom models they have made see here:
Tatarstan is a republic of Russia, which has at times been semi-independent from Russia. It's capital is the city of Kazan and Tatarstan Airlines was formed from the Kazan element of Aeroflot in 1993. It didn't last long disintegrating in 1997 into four companies, but a second attempt to create a single airline occured in 2000 when Tatarstan Air was formed. It's fleet included 5 Tu-154B-2s, supplemented by a pair of Ms in 2002 taken over from Tatneft'aero. In 2007 several Tu-154Ms joined indirectly from China, including RA-85101, which had been B-2615 with China Southwest but also had seen service with Aviaexpresscruise since 2002.
The airline's livery at this time was mainly white with the Aq Bars (Ak Bars) emblem of Tatarstan on the tail. This features a winged snow leopard. RA-85101 looks like it was a common visitor to Barcelona during 2007/08 as well as Mediteranean hotspots such as Antalya in Turkey, Pula in Croatia and Hurghada in Egypt. I can't see any photos beyond 2009 and this frame was withdrawn at Kazan by 2011 as Tatarstan Airlines moved over to Western equipment.
As the registration indicates LZ-BTN was a 1990 build Balkan Bulgarian Airlines aircraft. It was leased to Lao Aviation towards the end of 1991 for a short period as the country gradually came out of its totalitarianist phase. It wasn't in service for long, probably due to a lack of funds and the enforced pivot away from the Soviets towards China and the West. Instead 737-200s were the adopted flagships of the Lao Aviation fleet. Nowadays Lao Aviation is known simply as Lao Airlines and operates a mix of A320s and ATR-72s.
LZ-BTN subsequently saw service with other Bulgarian operators, Hemus Air and BH Air, from 2001 as LZ-HMN. Aeroflot took ownership in 2005 but I don't think the aircraft ever flew for them.