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THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010
Historical Flight Foundation (HFF) Press Release, Wednesday, June 2, 2010.
Come Fly With Us! Become a Member today and arrive in style at Oshkosh Airventure 2010.
There only 35 (out of 58 total) seats available for Members* to join us on the flight from Miami’s Opa-locka airport to Oshkosh. Flight will depart Saturday, July 24th. The airplane will be on static display during the show at AeroShell Square. No local flying will be done during the show.
The 1335 mile trip will be about 5 hrs 40 minutes. En route altitude will vary from 3500-6500 feet. Cruise speed is 205 knots. We may make a fuel stop along the way.
The flight will be staffed by a complete cabin crew. Beverages and elegant refreshments will be served to make your trip even more enjoyable.
A special set of souvenirs commemorating this trip will be included for each member/passenger.
FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt wrote to us:
"May your work and passion in restoring this historic aircraft inspire, educate, and interest
people in the rich history of commercial aviation. "
He also told us that it has a close place in his heart, as both he and his Dad were part of the Eastern family. We look forward to hosting the Administrator at Oshkosh.
For more detailed information and reservations, visit http://www.hffshop.com/bookmyseat.html
Members* cost is $1,250.00 for this one-way trip. Hurry, as reservations are on a first come, first served basis.
*Members: Paid up annual dues of $250.00 a minimum of 7 days prior to the re-positioning flight date.
Flight Scheduling
Local flights departing and returning at Opa-locka airport (OPF) are expected to commence before the end of June, 2010.
Our appearance at Oshkosh will begin with a departure from OPF on SATURDAY, July 24th. Reservations for Annual Members who would like to accompany the airplane should contact us at: roger@historicalflightfoundation.com
The airplane has 60 passenger seats, and 4 lounge seats. The lounge seats will not be used for take offs or landings. Two seats will be for cabin crew. Maximum passenger capacity is for 58 persons.
APPROVED FOR FLIGHT!
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March 23, 2010
In part, “The FAA finds that a grant of exemption would be in the public interest and would provide an equivalent level of safety to that provided by current regulation."
The HFF is unique in that its Douglas Aircraft Co. DC-7B aircraft represents the only U.S. based, four engine, passenger prop-liner in operation today. With the advent of jet aircraft, most of the DC-7 aircraft disappeared from commercial airline service by the early 1970s. The majority of the DC-7 were simply scrapped as they were seen as being un-economical to operate. In this unique case, the aircraft being operated by the HFF was still in its original passenger configuration as delivered to Eastern Air Lines in January 1958. Of the 112 DC-7 aircraft produced, this is the only surviving passenger configuration aircraft.
Signed: John W. McGraw, Acting Director, Flight Standards Service
The HFF sincerely appreciates the great effort on the part of the FAA to promote the living history program it has been approved for. The HFF is an IRS certified 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. The airplane will be touring the continental USA in the years ahead creating a passion for aviation not seen for a long time. We will be taking reservation deposits on a first come first served basis. Contact the HFF for details.
Sincerely,
Roger Jarman, Secretary
Historical Flight Foundation, Inc.
Miami, FL
May 24th, 2010
Since receiving the exemption, we have been working with our partners at the FAA finalizing the airplane manuals, prepping the cabin, and training syllabus based on the Exemption rules and requirements.
We have scheduled our final inspection from the FAA prior to flight, beginning on June 15th.
Some more details: The HFF, while not required to equip the airplane with evacuation slides, has agreed with the FAA that it is prudent equipment to have on board. As a result, we have now adapted two slides that originated on the Boeing B-727-200. There is one in the forward crew door on the right side, and one in the rear passenger door on the left side. This replaces what originally were slides that had to be held by two crew members on the ground. They had to first shimmy down the rope to set up. My, how times have changed. The cabin details, including the lavs, lounge, and emergency exit windows, are all getting their final touches.
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FLORIDA AIR TRANSPORT FLYING ROUND THE CLOCK FOR HAITI RELIEF
Carlos Gomez, Frank Moss, Glenn Moss and crew have been flying Florida Air Transport's DC-4 and DC-6 round the clock to get supplies to Port-au-Prince.
One more DC-4 will be en route to OPF by the end of the week to expand the fleet and the lift power for relief efforts. There is a possibility one additional DC-4 will join the fleet as well.
Go to www.defense.gov there is a single photo of N70BF tail-on in the roll call which is updated periodically, then at the bottom go to "Lead Photos" & "News Photos" where there is another pic of the ramp from the west.
This link is a shot of the ramp and the enormous effort taking place.
Track the flights at FlightAware.com - Search for tail numbers N406WA N70BF N460WA for updates and live flight movements.
For those in the Miami area, WSVN news reporter Andy Hepkin will be filing reports starting at 5pm from the
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October 2009: HFF acquires simulator originally built for Eastern Airlines
It was transferred from the Boeing Training Facility in Miami to the HFF warehouse in Opa-locka. At some future date, the unit will be restored and put back into “fun operation” at the future HFF restoration facility at the Opa-locka Airport.
Many thanks to our friends at Dade GSE, Inc. and Alpha Printers Machinist for the move!
- Article on N836D at Global Aviation Resource - Thank you, Paul Filmer and GAR!
Launched just this year, GAR is quickly becoming a reputable source for aviation news - you have to check out the articles section for great coverage of this year's international air shows.
- 08 September 2009 - Still in a holding pattern, waiting for the FAA to approve our application. We've been "tinkering" for the past several weeks, readying everything for the moment when we finally get the good word! Radios are going in, engines are getting tweaked and re-tweaked - lots of little details to take care while we wait.
Keep checking back - more exciting news is just over the horizon!
N836D Engine Run-ups at Opa-locka, now on YouTube! Saturday, July 11th - Another successful four-engine run-up on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/douglasprops#play/all/uploads-all/1/VwNmXIVTTIw
- Thursday, June 18th saw the first engine run-ups in 5 years.
Successful runs on these engines means you're one step closer to skies on N836D, Eastern's last operational DC-7B.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lpenjp5-Fs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_wiYHJN-Zc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfMbh32pN9o
- June 2, 2009:
We put fuel in the starboard wing and began pressurizing the boost pumps, checking fuel lines, and getting them ready to start. Engines number #3 and #4 should be ready to start this week, and #1 and #2 should be late next week. After the engines are on line, we will conduct taxi tests. This should occur in the next several weeks. All in all, there have been no serious issues to contend with. We also have 4 spare engines that can be used if or as needed. From the regulatory side, we are anxiously awaiting to hear from the FAA, so we can finalize the planning of the living history flights.
We have planned and hope that approvals will be in time to take the airplane to Orlando in second half of July. We will not push safety, and we cannot push the regulatory side to do that. If we can make this appearance, we will.
- Monday, March 6th, 2009: Is it ready yet???
Many people have been asking “when are you going to crank engines? ” It is getting more and more exciting as we near that time. As a practical matter, once we do run engines, then there is an ongoing expense of running the airplane, and engines on a regular basis. For that reason we are trying to dovetail the engines and systems timeline with the final approval from the FAA so that we can proceed with flying as we finish it. We don’t want the airplane to sit all ready with “nowhere to go. ”
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March 24th Update: Good news. On Monday March 23rd, Carlos Gomez, and Roger Jarman, met with the FAA Flight Standards Office in Washington D.C. The purpose of the meeting was to try and determine which rules apply to the operation of the DC-7 as an historical airplane for "Living History" flights. Each and every aircraft or application is unique in several ways. Consequently, the FAA requires that the applicant tailor the request that best suits the intended use and operation -- safety being paramount to all. It was a great meeting and we were able to determine most all parameters for the operation. We are submitting an application today to cover the rules as we understand the requirements set out. Should there be no major "hiccups", our application may be approved in the very near future. We sincerely thank the FAA personnel for the time they took to go over the issues, and help move this effort forward. We will update all of you to our progress over the next several weeks.
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February '09 Updates: A group of Civil Air Patrol Cadets from Miami Springs Optimist Cadet Squadron, Florida were given a tour of the DC-7B this past Saturday, February 14th. It was an honor for us to give this great group of our future leaders a tour. We are inviting the other Squadrons to come and visit as well. The more the merrier!The airplane is going through system checks right now, and initial engine start-ups are getting much closer. We will give a heads up as soon as we can.
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January '09 Updates: From the interior side, the bulkhead to the cockpit has been installed, and the rear galley is ready for installation this week. The cushions for the rear lounge are also expected this week, and will be installed as received.We will be putting some fuel on the airplane this week and checking the system for leaks and checking fuel pressures. Each engine will be checked thoroughly prior to engine start. Engine starts will not begin until the interior is complete. This is because we need to be close to the hangar facility for air and power resources for the last of the interior issues. At that point the plane will be pulled out to the open ramp for initial engine starts.
On the regulatory approval side, our best guess is that they will be granted in April 2009, and flight testing will begin! |
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