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My 1st Go Around – Northwest Airlines Flight 691 Philadelphia to Minneapolis DC-9-30 17-Mar-2005

Have you ever been on a flight when it gets to the point of reaching near the runway, the pilot suddenly guns the engines and aborts the landing? That’s what we will be discussing here. I was so excited to get to fly that I was in a rush to [...]

Where did the Lockheed L-1011 Aircraft Production Program Fall Short?

The Lockheed L-1011 became one of my favorite jetliners of all time. Reading about the advanced systems it had for its time fascinates me. However, it is my opinion that there are a couple of areas, if took into consideration, could have benefited the program to the effect of more [...]

Is it Possible to Open Aircraft Door in flight?

If the conditions are right and configuration of aircraft entry systems coincides, then yes it is possible to open an aircraft door in flight. Ideally, this is not something that you should aspire to do. Nor, should you attempt this at home. There would be some stiff legal penalties for [...]

How Did the Airlines Keep Track of Their Inventory Back in the 1930s?

With so much capital spread through out multiple destinations, how did the airlines know where the aircraft were systemwide? Before the days of computers, GPS, and real time digital data, there had to be a system and in this article we will explore such systems. Until the 1950s, airlines used [...]

Detroit to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Northwest Airlines Flight 845 – Boeing 757-200 – 10-Sep-2005

This is a continuation of the trip from Northwest Airlines flight 1061, the DC-9-40 flight. I was quite thrilled to get to ride one my favorite types, the Boeing 757-200. It appears that this day we rode the Boeing 757-251, the 51 being Boeing’s customer identifier for the type. The [...]

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Brief Layover Northwest Flight 1061 10-Sep-2005

During a stopover in Detroit, I was able to snap some photos of aircraft that I do not normally see everyday. I was eager to see the 747-400, Airbus 330s, Avros, and other types. Detroit was a major hub for Northwest Airlines in those days. This would be the layover [...]

What happened to Los Angeles International Airport LAX Terminal 3 for TWA & Eastern?

In a short quick answer the “rotunda” and all has been demolished according to Google Earth. As a young child growing up in southern California, I have visited that old terminal 3 on several occasions back in the 80s. When we were allowed to meet relatives at their gate, or [...]

Replacement of Regional Prop Flying with Regional Jets

In the early days of powered machined flight for mankind, propeller based propulsion systems were the norm. The limitation of the propeller was the speed and altitude it allowed aircraft to fly, its large diameter rotation zone, the complexities of the the combustion engine, and the feathering propeller systems for [...]

The Magic of Coast to Coast TWA L-1011 Tristar Jet Service From LAX-JFK-PHL in 1985

It was the summer of 1985, and at the time I lived in Carson, California. I can remember from a young age being fascinated with aviation. I have flown numerous times before, but I was too young to understand or recall details of those trips. In the spring of the [...]

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