City of Canberra (aircraft)
City of Canberra | |
---|---|
The City of Canberra lands for the last time at Illawarra Regional Airport, 8 March 2015 | |
Type | Boeing 747-438 |
Construction number | 24354 (Line Number 731) |
Registration | N6046P (Boeing Test) VH-OJA (Qantas) |
First flight | 3 July 1989 |
Owners and operators | Qantas |
Last flight | 8 March 2015 |
Status | Preserved by Historical Aircraft Restoration Society |
Preserved at | Illawarra Regional Airport |
The City of Canberra is a Boeing 747-438 delivered to Qantas in 1989. During its delivery from the Boeing Everett Factory in the United States, it made a non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Sydney. As of February 2015, this remains the longest non-stop un-refuelled delivery flight by an airliner.[1][2]
Aircraft
The City of Canberra, registered VH-OJA, named after Australia's capital city, was the first Boeing 747-438 delivered to Qantas.[note 1]. It was not modified for the flight in any way – such as by the installation of extra fuel tanks – but some items of equipment were removed from the galleys and cargo compartments to save weight.[1]
Record-breaking flight
The 747-438 took 20 hours and 9 minutes to fly a distance of 9,720 nautical miles (18,001 km) from London Heathrow to Sydney. The elapsed time was six minutes longer than the quickest non-stop England to Australia flight, which was made by an Avro Vulcan of the Royal Air Force in 1961.[1][3] The City of Canberra set a record for the longest un-refuelled flight by a commercial aircraft, as the Vulcan was a military aircraft and had to be refuelled in flight several times while flying from RAF Scampton to RAAF Base Richmond near Sydney.[1][3]
Subsequent service
City of Canberra remained in service with Qantas until January 2015, when it was retired as part of the draw-down of the airline's fleet of 747s.[4] The last commercial flight was from Johannesburg to Sydney. It was subsequently donated to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society at the Illawarra Regional Airport via a delivery flight on 8 March 2015, and was placed on public display after a short period of decommissioning.[2]
Namesakes
The City of Canberra name has also been carried by other first deliveries for Qantas. The first Boeing 707-138 delivered in July 1959, the first Boeing 747-238 delivered in August 1971 and the first Boeing 747-338 delivered in November 1984, all carried the name.[5][6][7]
See also
Notes
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to VH-OJA (aircraft). |
- 1 2 3 4 "Qantas flies London-Sydney non-stop". Flight International. Sutton, Surrey: Reed Business Publishing Ltd. 136 (4179): 8. 26 August 1989. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- 1 2 Freed, Jamie (29 January 2015). "World's longest flight record-holder, Qantas 'City of Canberra' 747-400, retires". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- 1 2 Jacobs (2011), p.96
- ↑ O'Sullivan, Mark (19 January 2015). "Wollongong final resting place for Queen of the Skies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ↑ Qanras Inaugural Australia-USA Boeing 707 Service - 1959 Civil Aviation Historical Society & Airways Museum
- ↑ First 747 Canberra Times 16 August 1971 page 3
- ↑ New Boring for Qantas rolls off assembly line Canberra Times 26 September 1984 page 13
- Jacobs, Peter (2011). Stay the Distance: The Life and Times of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84832-552-4.