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RETRORIDAIR FICTION, LOWFARE ahead coinage, the return to Douala

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  • RETRORIDAIR FICTION, LOWFARE ahead coinage, the return to Douala

    Well time of return was set. I had mixed feelings as I wished the small vacation could have lasted longer, on the other hand, I managed to meet my agenda of visits which turned the vacation as a time-racer since I used either trains or coaches as means of transportation. On the morning of the planned departure, I was still in Lyons, so I was facing a dilemna. Either I resorted to call on Air Inter to make it back to Paris, although they landed at Orly, or else ...
    So, in the wee morning, my uncle Gerald drove me up with his Citroen DS 21 sedan to Bron where I purshased a ticket to Paris on the next flight. Boarding pass in hand, I sat to a bar sharing a coffee with Gerald and finally we parted when the flight was called.

    F-BLHI
    Vickers 708 Viscount
    Air Inter
    [photoid=230503]
    Lyon-Bron/Paris-Orly

    Lyons Bron's layout was pretty similar as many a major French Airport in term of building architecture and overall layout. Reaching the Viscount was by going on foot and in procession behind the ground hostess. Loaded with a new Kodakchrome 64 roll, the camera started working when I got Hotel-India in frame. The Vickers classic was fairly well loaded, a good point for the airline. Founded in 1954 and starting trading 4 years later, Air Inter overcame objections at best, hurdles at normal times from various parties especially Air France as soon as DAY ONE !!! But much to the chagrin of everyone, Admiral Hébrard, a strong-willed former french Navy top officer, who among others took part to WWII on the Free French Navy's escort Flower class ships, was the CEO !!! And fairly soon, i's were dotted...
    We entered the aircraft thru the rear main exit and I sat on a window seat ahead the engines and prop, eager to take advantage of the broad ovoid window and camera on knees. Sitting next to me was a uniformed IT captain who was flying to assignment. He straightforwardly introduced as Jacques Dubreuil, the airline's chief pilot and altogether the living legend on the being.
    The Rolls Royce Darts were spooled up and soon we taxyed to runway from which we rotated under full crescendo of the unique Darts' tunes. When at cruise level, conversation actually started with Mr Dubreuil, who explained me his employer was not at all an AF subsidiary. "Well, let rank them as some nemesis .... See, we got the Viscounts from them back in 1962, but their after sale servicing proved so bad, that type ratings were and are still completed across the Channel !!! I remember the final written exam session. Our British instructors did not lose from sight the French penchant for working collectively in sharing data when outside, so tea-time was served in the exam room Time was again elapsing too fast as the Viscount banked over Bretigny, and then above Villeneuve Saint-Georges prior to finals on runway 08/26 which we kiss landed one hour and twenty minutes after rotation from Bron. Mr Dubreuil added "Old chap Chapuis is a compulsive magic carpet driver, even when we got back from over Germany with our battered (Handley Page) Halifax, he could not help".... Pretty soon we taxyied to our allocated stand on remote Juliet ramp and came to an halt between two Air France Boeing 707-328s. Mr Dubreuil introduced me to his old friend and crew mate Bernard Chapuis and Mr Delbarre the first officer.
    Looking to the AF birds, he bluntly stated :"I can't wait to kick their b*lls ....
    At year end, we get our three first Caravelles IIIs out of 15 ordered new and fitted with Cat III .... ha-ha-ha, some are up to start wimping even if they are not yet fully aware of it Mr Dubreuil laughed so heartily that it seemed he wanted the Seven-O-Sevens' drivers to hear it resounding from their respective office ... Finally, he asked : "By the way, how do you plan going to Le Bourget ? No problem, I spoke to Yann Delbarre who lives pretty close, he accepts making a detour to drop you" ...
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  • #2
    Which he did with his VW Beattle. On the way, Yann Delbarre charted his carreer and Air Inter was the first civilian employer. Prior to that, he spent 10 years with the airforce driving a wide assortment of birds ranging from french license built JU52s tri-engined and fixed gear aircraft also known as AAC1 "Toucan" (Tucano) to ubiquitous C.47s while taking part in Indochina and Algeria wars. Air France turned down his application because his background was not enough transport focused !!!. When at LBG, I offered him to share a cup of coffee, but he declined the invitation.
    Checking-in went fairly fast and soon I could indulge to another plane dual picturing and observing session at the viewdeck, which I ended up knowing by hart as with either Orly and Geneva ... The tarmac part open to commercial traffic featured its mix of residents, such as some UTA DC.8s, scheduled ones such as a Sabena Caravelle VIN, a brand new KLM DC.9-15, a Tarom Ilyushin IL18, an Aeroflot Tupolev TU104 which could be heard miles around, a BEA Comet 4B and interesting vistors in the shapes of an ONA/Overseas National DC.8F54 Jet Trader convertible pax/cargo, a British Eagle Britannia and a Nice-based TransUnion DC.6B. Afar, our Iberia DC.9-32 had just landed on runway 10/28. Just a few months old, EC-BIJ "Santa Cruz de Tenerife" gleamed under the sun altogether showing off her unstained paint job when parking on stand 12. A couple of pics of India-Juliet full frame, side-on, and time was to make it to the gate and associated waiting room. I was none the wiser, as when clearing the customs, Schengen was certainly still beyound even Sci-Fi, I probably managed to pick up the only and real dork from the staffing officer !!!
    The waiting room at LBG was in fact a wide open space adjacent to the gates and amid a very cosmopolitan pendominium, IB station staffers managed to retrieve everyone due to Madrid. Boarding was soon processed with the usual nice walk to aircraft under the ground hostess' stewardship. Parked beside KLM shorty 15, India-Juliet gave a good idea of the bodylenghs differences and a reminder that compulsive airframe stretching was an art Douglas came second to none ... We finally lined up behind the integrated rear collapsible airstairs. I positioned myself last in rank for viewing Douglas' latest release on close quarters and get some associated close-up pics. A good aeronautical topic in the pipeline when back at DLA as the Douglas was still an UFO while Caravelles were barely acquainted with thanks to Air Afrique's freshly delivered 11Rs. Last to get inside India-Kilo, I noticed an empty window left side seat to which I walked straight to. Although the Nine was well patronized, row 18A/B looked as waiting for occupency by your (occasional) reporter.
    "Santa Cruz de Tenerife" - Photo taken at Paris - Orly (ORY / LFPO) in France on August 14, 1978.

    Spooling the engines went on quickly and soon taxy to runway 10/28 followed. We then litterally darted into the allocated corridors. Dealing up with the courtesy breakfast went on quickly enough to allow a tour of the aircraft including a stint in the "Office" where Captain Ruiz and Copiloto Vargas made their best to introduce me with the DC.9 in understandable terms, while conducting the driving. "Un avion marabilloso, muy limpio" (a wonderful and clean bird) stated Mr Vargas, while Mr Ruiz added "a delight to fly" and stressed adaptation to a two pilot cockpit layout was a piece of cake, although not as straighforwardly as Mr Vargas who upgraded from a Convair 440. Descent started when over Zarragozza, I rose to vacate the jump-seat, but Mr Ruiz extended an invitation to stay. Duly advised, the purser killed two birds at a stroke by coming back to the office about ten minuites later by both delivering my stuff and giving the "OK-la-Cabina" verbal advise.
    Two hours and 11 minutes after rotating from LBG, we touched down at Bajajas where we met our allocated marshaller driving a small yellow Seat 600 adorned with a broad "SigaMe (seegah-mey)/Follow me" signpost on the roof top. But when at stand, the engine of the locally license built Fiat 600 sub compact showed it had got enough amid thick puffs of black smoke. Captain Ruiz told me these mishaps occured regularly especially in Summers .... I eventually parted with MM Ruiz and Vargas who I pictured next to India-Juliet nose section and joined my envious fellow travellers, some of whom simmering, in the trailer-truck engine. Meanwhile, some Bomberos doused the agonizing SigaMe's rear mounted engine !!! Time to enjoy my second stop over ...

    To be continued

    Alain
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    • #3
      Madrid offered lots of attractions and activities to overbook an agenda and all too soon, I returned to Bajajas for checking-in. This time, flight to Santa Isabel was a no-stop red-eye enhanced by the agent's statement :"hoy es un D-C-ocho sin escala" when handing me over the relevant boarding pass.
      The customary trailer pulled along EC-ARB, a Pratt & Whitney JT3D turbofan powered 53 named "El Greco". Famous painters came to IB's rescue for individualizing the DC.8s.
      Getting on board was through the rear main exit.
      "El Greco" - Photo taken at Stockholm - Arlanda (ARN / ESSA) in Sweden in December, 1969.

      Aas with the Connie, flight attendants stood in line by the galley. Alas, only one lady was on part of the crew. I recognized the familiar environnment of the (early) DC.8 cabin : well spaced large windows with the side fabric curtains and the Palomar seats typified by their rectangular shaped seat-backs and left side mounted reading lamp on the head rest, not to mention the oxygen mask compartment set in the opposite side of the passenger's seat back. When taking possession of my window seat, I had some ironic winces by rememorizing some people on previous experiences who tried desperatly to open it, ensuring a drop of the content on their knees while thinking they unfolded the tray located below For sure, those features were enough to bring a confirmation one was neither on board a Boeing 707 or a Convair Coronado. The aircraft was not full and soon one of the gentlemen inspected the cabin, apparently to make sure nobody tried to unlid the mask . Quite a few minutes later, a sharp but multi-tuned WWOOOOOO resounded as the engines were being spooled up, in true DC.8 style ! The compressors were making their parts and according to some professionnals, this was termed as the "Mating Call" ... El Greco's winged re-incarnation quitly departed the stand and on the way to the runway, she gently taxyied along an Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 707, as to allow some in better sumarizing the numerous external distinctions between the two jets. High frequency antenna atop the fin, two paned windshield for the cockpit, conic nose, smaller but twice as more windows, leading edge slats, two tiered double slatted intrados flaps and more for the arch-rival Boeing .... I thought of writting a book speciffically detailing them .... meanwhile, El Greco's large intrados flaps deuly deployed as a whole on the regular 25 degree angle in anticipation for the take-off. Fifty seconds or so were necessary for Romeo-Charlie to rotate, next on agenda were 6 hours and fifty minutes. First with the drink trolley, inflight service started when more or less above Malaga. Not surpringly, dinner took some time to land on the trays, and starting over it we were above Oran/Algeria altogether materializing our entry into Africa .... Touring the cabin provided a glimpse on the fellow passengers, pretty much the same mix as with the Connie : priests, nuns, missionaries, tech-reps, civil servants and some loud speaking and laughing African students and interns on their ways back. Conversations in french there and then hinted I was not alone to connect to Douala. The lone stewardess was toiling hard in clearing the trays. Finally, I made up my mind to try squeezing some sleep, was it the wine ? I then streched on the entire row I eventually inherited. Meanwhile, El Greco charted her(?) way deep into Africa with the help of Captain Guitterez. The route description fact sheet called for Ouagadougou, the capital of Upper Volta, later renamed Burkina Fasso as the next major city to unfold under the wings. I was finally awakened somewhere between Ouagadougou and Lagos by the lady who provided for a much more enjoyable sight than her fellows "buenas dias Senor, tiempo para su almuerzo" I understood it was time for breakfast and returned a best "muchas Gracias, con va Usted ?" While laying the tray, she answered things were OK so far. Outside, sun was rise high and fast reminding us we were close to the Equator. Light soon flooded the cabin. The altitude has lowered pretty much and soon we overflew Lagos altogether begining a short oceanic stint until reaching the shores of La Isla de Fernando-Poo. The DC.8 then banked left and then completed the finals to Santa Isabel where she touched down about ten minutes later. In no time Romeo-Bravo pulled alongside the terminal and this was another picture opportunity through a window by framing the left engines with the building and attached control tower as the background set above. In order to correctly frame the DC.8 as a whole, I resorted to undertake the walk to the terminal backward and/or crabewise
      Inside, at the connectin counter, we flying ownwards to DLA were handed over the boarding pass quickly although no other aircraft shared the small ramp with El Greco. Not for long, arriving from Bata our next ride showed up in the lines of a Convair CV440 Metropolitan.

      To be continued

      Alain
      Thanks for visiting
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      • #4
        Thats awsome, your really lucky to have travelled on such classic airliners. What are they like on board?
        -Kevin

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        • #5
          ^Life on board a DC.8 for instance. The earliest I remember of are those of both UTA and Air Afrique, models 33s and 53s. To write the fiction, I recollected the memories on UT/RK, given the fact, configurations were already much the same, what really was different unveiled with the fabrics. For instance, seats on UT were blue/green, RK they were grey/green, I think on IB they were read. Also as far UT & RK were concerned, the side-pulling curtains were the same colors as the seat covers. Also distinctive were the Palomar seats and their side reading lamps !!! Not seen on board anything else However, enclosed overhead bins were not yet common. Again as for UT/RK, we got the original hatracks, which were the rule whichever the airliner, and therefore had to stowe the cabin luggage under the seat ... Overhead bins will happen with the 62 & 63 for UTA and RK single 63CF. A contemporary in term of age which came up with overhead bins, in fact the original hat racks with added hatches to make them enclosable were AF's 707-328s, and altogether F-BHSB even when in UY c/s (avatar).
          Alain

          Taking over from the DC.3, two CV440s undertook the same job and on duty for Douala this day was EC-AMV "Giralda" (pronounce : rreerrahldah)

          http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0761432/M/ not EC-AMV, but the view shows how she stood on ground and how IB fleet members were painted.

          Boarding the mighty long nosed Convairliner was through the front exit, by means of an integrated collapsible flight of stairs. The hatch of the door went upwards or downwards according to operational conditions. The otherwise streamlined engine pods and wide diameter three-bladed propellers suggested gracious looking but very powerful bird. I previously read she was powered by the same P&W R2800 radials as the DC.6B. On duty were two stewardesses and a cabin purser, this one not a General Franco look alike Seating arrangement was all economy 2 by 2 abreast. There was no window seat ahead of the engine intakes and propellers, so I picked one overlooking the intrados and the type's exclusive shaped exhaust pipes located at the end of the engine pods. Back at San Diego, home of Convair, the engineers used every solutions to make the aircraft as aerodynamically clean as possible. Now seating by my fairly wide squared window, I was ready to enjoy the show...
          One of the stewardesses activated the mechanisms to hoist back the stairs and then to close the door while the purser conducted his cabin inspection. He stopped at the next row behind me and firmly said
          -"Senor, se ruega a abrachar su cinturon" (seyNYor seh roo-E-ga ah abrAchar soo sin-TOO-ron, sir your are requested to fasten your seat belt)
          -no reaction !!!
          -"Senor, su cinturon por favor"
          -some inertia still prevailed but a "Je crois qu'il veut que tu attaches ta ceinture" (Jeh crooah keel veh keh tü ahtahsh tah ssuntür/ I think he wants you to fasten your seat belt) was then mutured ... and concluded by a "ah oui ..." then a click
          -purser :"Bueno, gracias para su colaboracion" ...
          Now that seat belts were all fastened, he walked to the "office" for delivering his "OK para la cabina" to Captain Calderon and First Officer Maura who fired up the R2800s shortly after completion of the relevant check-list. Clouds of white smoke bleached from Giralda's exhausts. Taxy and rotation came in quick succession and Mike-Victor treated us with a typical Convairliner climb by a steep angle. There was no time enough to allow an inflight service as the mighty Metropolitan stayed at a low cruise level for just a few minutes. Descent to Douala was soon initiated while the river Wouri estuary started unfolding under the wings. As the crow flew, just 60 miles or so to fly The harbour, then the downtown area and the industrial districts were soon maped out at their (quick) turns. Finally Mike-Victor banked sharply over the "Monkey Forest" and catched the runway glide scope. Touching down occured just a couple of minutes later. As with the DC.3 she replaced, "Giralda" parked on the side ramp alongside Air Afrique SE210 Caravelle 11R TU-TCY "Yaoundé" pax/frtr combi, which was just a few months old. Nobody stood at the usually packed vewdeck and the terminal accesses were cordoned, Gotchha !!!, President Ahidjo was again on tour as testified by the government's own short-nose Convair CV340 acting as the local AirForceOne parked alongside Air Afrique DC.8-53 TU-TCB "Brazzaville".
          Well this was a nice trip anyway as no fewer than six new types, namely the Connie, Coronado, Caravelle, Viscount, DC.9 and Convairliner, were added in my meager log together with two more airlines, not to mention the interesting encounters made along and in-between across Europe

          Alain

          Epilog

          Equatorial Guinea was granted its independance a few months later. General Franco reportedly made sure to grasp another opportunity in scr*wing President Ahidjo
          The newly independant country quickly set up a list of top priorities
          - seat at the UNO in New York
          - an expensive embassy at Madrid
          - a flag carrier
          Although high in the list, actual development was behind, FAR BEHHIIIND !!!
          Iberia kept operating the over the local and regional routes from Santa-Isabel until the country set up LAGE/Lineas Aereas Guineas Ecuatorial with the back-up of the Spanish flag carrier which donated the two Convair CV440s. First passengers were welcome in 1971. LAGE initially connected with Iberia's DC.8-63s, but the rug was eventually pulled and the airline went/flew belly-up

          Thanks for reading, your comments welcome and till the next ...

          Alain
          Thanks for visiting
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          • #6
            Originally posted by ACman
            Thats awsome, your really lucky to have travelled on such classic airliners. What are they like on board?
            To fully answer the question

            The 707 was a special case as I have never seen sideway pulling window curtains, not Miss Seven-O already had the integrated one-piece frame integrated up/down sliding screen, which is the norm on every today's airliners.
            Piston-propeliners came up with fabric sidepulling curtains...
            Un-pressurized ones such as AirCameroun and AirAfrique DC.4s had ventilators by the hat racks at regular intervals cabin lengh.
            Common point in life on board was grappling with smockers until the early 70s. Smocking cigarettes was allowed cabinwise until then. Should you had the misfortune to have chain-smockers ahead, you were up to learn the meaning of "Red Eye" at full scale on location
            Alain
            Thanks for visiting
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            • #7
              Originally posted by uy707
              To fully answer the question

              The 707 was a special case as I have never seen sideway pulling window curtains, not Miss Seven-O already had the integrated one-piece frame integrated up/down sliding screen, which is the norm on every today's airliners.
              Piston-propeliners came up with fabric sidepulling curtains...
              Un-pressurized ones such as AirCameroun and AirAfrique DC.4s had ventilators by the hat racks at regular intervals cabin lengh.
              Common point in life on board was grappling with smockers until the early 70s. Smocking cigarettes was allowed cabinwise until then. Should you had the misfortune to have chain-smockers ahead, you were up to learn the meaning of "Red Eye" at full scale on location
              Alain
              Ahah! Smokers heh heh, thank heavens they dont allow it on alot of airlines.

              I think a few DC-8's had those curtain windows?
              -Kevin

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              • #8
                ^DC.8s that had curtain windows
                the ones I personnally know of : UAT, TAI, UTA & Air Afrique :
                models 33 & 53 delvered prior to 1966 ownward, by extension I think all models earlier than the 61 were fitted with curtain windows.
                No more curtain windows : all newer versions such as the 62 (UTA) and 63 (both UT & RK).
                Otherwise, all other DC.8s I have flown came up with those plastic made pull up/down variety ...
                Alain
                Thanks for visiting
                *Avimage's Monthly Slide list *
                *JetPhotos*
                Airliners*Pbase.com

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                • #9
                  Re:

                  Cool flight review, not something you get to read about often these days. Wish I could've flown in those jets!

                  Foxtrot

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