Monday, June 16, 2008

QF DC4 1977


QF DC4 1977_229
Originally uploaded by gtveloce
In 1977 there were 2 ways to get to Norflok Island - by sea, or by air. I guess little has changed in that regard, however the type of aircraft used certainly has changed. This is a Qantas DC-4. Yes, it really is the famous flying kangaroo adorning the tail of an elderly Douglas Commercial airliner, just one step up from the illustrious DC-3. And it's 1977. Why this blast-from-the-past? Because Qantas was obliged to provide a service to the remote Pacific Island (and Australian territory), it retained its fleet of DC-4s until the airstrip was upgraded and the work passed onto smaller but more modern aircraft. The DC-4s had the range and payload to do the job, plus the reliability and safety-over-water of 4 engines, as well as being surprsingly easy on the old grass field at Norfolk.

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