A friend of mine that flys for The Sands out of Las Vegas is telling me that they are going to retire their B-747SP that was originally bought and owned by TWA!.
They are looking to donate it to the TWA Museum in Kansas City, MO.
But I am thinking that maybe, just maybe we can get it donated to the Cessna 150-152 Foundation and we can fly it! Sell tickets for rides to and from Clinton, etc...
We Have the flight crew already! Mark as Captain, Me as Flight Engineer and another Club member (Jesse Tidd) as the First Officer!
WOW! How exciting!
I also just found out that the people in KCMO are interested in taking custody of the plane for their museum.
Ron "20"
A&P/IA
1976 Cessna 150M - N820ST St. Charles Regional Airport KSET
Fly Safe... Fly Often...
Super Bowl IV - LIV - LVII - LVIII CHAMPION Kansas City Chiefs!
But if there is any inkling of the Chiefs anywhere at all, even if it’s in the deepest, darkest recesses of some area that will never see the light of day, deal’s off!
20 will have to be happy with TWA red. He can simply tell himself, silently, that it’s Chiefs colors.
Ron, is the museum at Downtown still flying the Connie?
I think so..
but it is not in airworthy condition. They also have a L-1011. I did get an email from someone on the board of directors. and he said they are in conversations with the present owner (again I think that is THE SANDS group).
Ron "20"
A&P/IA
1976 Cessna 150M - N820ST St. Charles Regional Airport KSET
Fly Safe... Fly Often...
Super Bowl IV - LIV - LVII - LVIII CHAMPION Kansas City Chiefs!
Ron, is the museum at Downtown still flying the Connie?
I think so..
but it is not in airworthy condition. They also have a L-1011. I did get an email from someone on the board of directors. and he said they are in conversations with the present owner (again I think that is THE SANDS group).
Flying either of those airplanes would require cubic money.
Wonder how many folks with Connie type ratings are young enough to climb the ladder to the flight deck.
My one friend who flew them passed away several years ago.
Just looked at the beginning of this thread again and realized that I saw that SP the last time I was at McCarran. I thought it was odd to see an SP, as I knew that only a few were built and they were pretty old. Nevertheless, seeing a short-body 747 sure gets your attention.
I hope the donation goes through and that the museum is able to accept and care for the airplane. About 25 years ago, Northwest donated a 747 to Western Michigan University's aviation department. The department didn't think to look a gift horse in the mouth. Big mistake. Airplane is flown in and parked. Big celebration. Northwest then removes the engines and anything of value from the aircraft. The school has to build a structure to keep the airplane from sitting on its tail. And then to secure it because it's now so light that it moves around in a stiff breeze. They thought that it could become classroom space. I seem to recall that it was going to be too expensive to do that. I think they finally gave up and sold it for salvage.
Yeah, back before this thread took a turn that made everything moot, I cringed at the thought of running a certain Cowboys fan through the number 1 engine. You know how expensive those things are! Way too expensive to be used as a garbage disposal. (Oops, did I say that last part out loud? My bad)
Oh, and I thought the SP was most readily noticed by its tail. That thing really stands out.
Just looked up the air museum in Kansas City that has the Connie in TWA colors (Save A Connie) and found out that it's closed because Signature (the, in my opinion, take no prisoners, money-grubbing FBO chain) has padlocked the museum even though the museum has a rent-free lease directly with the City. It's a mess. Airplanes/exhibits inaccessible, unprotected and not maintained since last July. It's a disgrace.
Yeah, back before this thread took a turn that made everything moot, I cringed at the thought of running a certain Cowboys fan through the number 1 engine. You know how expensive those things are! Way too expensive to be used as a garbage disposal. (Oops, did I say that last part out loud? My bad)
Oh, and I thought the SP was most readily noticed by its tail. That thing really stands out.
...not feelin' the L O V E here...
[animatedimages.org] Imagine a united world. Join the Popular Front for the Reunification of Gondwanaland.
If I EVER see or find a D@MN black sheep sticker ANYWHERE!..
Then we get a CHIEFS paint scheme
What makes you think there is not already a Black Sheep Sticker(s) on it already? How about no NEW stickers?
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We have a retired TWA 747 captain here at KUUU - Newport. Lou Burns would love to come out of retirement for this. In addition to being a Captain - he is INTIMATELY familiar with 747 systems. He was on the TWA800 inquiry. He would be a solid on the team. Want me to go ask him?