Farewell, KLM MD-11s!

And so, the moment came, and I finally had to say good-bye to KLM's MD-11s.  The blue Tri-jet touched-down at YVR ahead of schedule at around 1325hr, and pushed-back on time at 1600hr.  The only regular scheduled MD-11s that comes in everyday makes it extremely hard for me to face the fact that this favourite of mine will stop coming to YVR.  Though it looks like KLM planned for the B772 during Summer and Fall operations, and A332 for winter Ops, I look forward to the come back of my MD-11 !  KLM's MD-11s is planned to continue operations and will gradually be phased off by 2014.  

Registered as PH-KCF, this was the 6th delivered MD-11 to KLM on 17 December 1994.  Named Annie Romein, this baby is almost 8 years old! 

As we always say, a picture means a thousand words; well, here are millions of expressive words: 
 

KL 681 Approaching YVR 26R (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 681 Almost Touching Down on 26R (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 681 Touched-down on 26R (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 681 Thurst Reversal on 26R (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 681 Taxi-ing to Gate with Spring Flowers (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 681 Taxiing by De-icing Pads (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 681 Parked at Gate 67 (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 682 Taxi for Take-off (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 682 Taking-off on 26L (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 682 Lifting-off on 26L (MD-11, PH-KCF)

KL 682 Off It Goes (MD-11, PH-KCF)

Gears-up.  Farewell Baby!  Bon Voyage! (MD-11, PH-KCF)

   

 Stay tune for great KLM MD-11 memories and collections at YVR over the coming week!

 

Book Your Sunday Off for KLM's MD-11 at YVR !

Looks like KLM's MD-11 will operate the last AMS-YVR flight this Sunday, 29 April 2012!

KL681, AMS-YVR, Scheduled Arrival at 1340
KL682, YVR-AMS, Scheduled Departure at 1600

(Picture taken on 23 April 2011 - KLM MD-11 touched-down at YVR 26R)

Over the past year, I've noticed that I've really fell in love with MD-11s.  Now, don't mix up DC-10 and MD-11, because MD-11 has a set of well-designed winglet.  I do not like the DC-10s at all.  Launched in December 1986 (hey, just 6 months after I was born), the MD-11 was designed for a greater range, capacity, and technological components than the DC-10s.  After the first flight in January 1990, the first MD-11 was delivered to Finair in 1990 and entered first commercial service on 20 December 1990.   
                      

Why am I addicted to MD-11s and in particular the KLM MD-11s?  Well, I really don't have an explanation for that.  It's a feeling; you know, the feel of it.  The KLM livery just fits so well on the body frame of the MD-11s.  The little KLM logo on the winglets make it further hot!  One thing I noticed is that regardless how nice air carriers design their liveries, there will be aircraft types that will not take on the livery well.  It's just like Cathay's livery; it's a very nice livery, but it will only look best on the 747s (in my opinion).

First received in December 1993, the first KLM MD-11 entered commercial serivce in 1994, celebrating the airline's 75th anniversary.  The first routes include flying to Africa and the Caribbean.  KLM currenly has a fleet of 10 MD-11s, and sadly, they will be phased out by 2014.  It is also the only remaining carrier that operates the MD-11s for intercontinental routes.  The MD-11s operated the AMS -YVR route over the past many years and it looks like KLM decided to replace this spectacular aircraft for the AMS-YVR route sooner than 2014.  KLM currently also operates the MD-11s to another Canadian city, Montreal.

I love the KLM MD-11s, and it will be a very sad Sunday afternoon for me as I catch the last MD-11 touch-down and take-off at YVR.  Hey, but you never know, Aviation is ever-changing!  I'm looking for one day, due to capacity alteration and fleet changes, the MD-11s will be arranged back to YVR again!  Stay tune for a detailed rundown of this coming Sunday!

History Sources:  Wikipedia.org (2012), KLM.com (2012), McDonnell Douglas Corp (1993)  

B748i At YVR

Surprise, surprise!

Boeing 747-8i (Passenger Version) came for a visit at YVR today.  Registration A7-HJA, Qatar Amiri BBJ, First Delivery from KPAE, ferry flight to YVR, and off to home.

Is this call fate?  Wasn't tracking, wasn't stalking, but coincidently saw it parked outside AC South Hangar, and took off shortly after.  Just got a blurry iPhone shot!  Stuff like these are things that makes me happy :)

  

Initial Take-Off - Cseries

 I'll kick off with the proudly Canadian made Cseries!  

Had been a great fan of the Bombardier Cseries but don't ask me why.  Aside from it's Canadian made, I'm sure there is something that attracted me to this new innovative aircraft that'll be set for first flight in December 2012 - Montreal.  That something is still unknown.  

With the many criticisms of the production, how it will fail and screw Bombardier over as the company tries to enter this new market and compete with Airbus and Boeing, well I don't care!  What I appreciate is the company's contribution to the Aviation industry!  I would deeply appreciate if investors and business men would stop criticising based on money - oh money this money that, its all about returns.  In a way, yes companies need money to function, and it would be quite irrational to invest if the return is negative.  I don't care - what I care is the beauty of the product.  Hey, it's made in Canada by the way!  Do I care if it losses money?  

What I really believe is that even if this piece of master work fails to sell its expected orders, Bombardier can still afford to continue business as with its existing diverse product lines.  What this plane will offer is a new capacity range with innovation new features.  And if you're gonna say, oh it's just a copy of the 737MAX or A320NEO, or the composite of the 787, well shut up!  In case you don't know, the 737MAX and A320NEO came way way way long after the Cseries, and the A320NEO will be using the new PW1000G engine technology, which was initially made for the Cseries and will be used first by the Cseries.  And, I believe in collaboration and sharing of great ideas to generate better and more powerful outcomes!    

Glancing through the orders, including firm orders, options, and letter of intent (LOI), the total for the Cseries comes to 324 units.  Compared to other recent new aircraft, the Dreamliner 787's net orders total to 855, and the A380's orders total to 253 plus 72 in delivered.  Oh, and the A350, with 555 firm orders.  (Orders as of today, from Wikipedia).  Well, its really hard to compare because all the these newly designed aircraft are manufactured by Airbus and Boeing, which they've been in this market segment for ages.  Plus, the dreamliner, A380, and A350 all falls in a separate market segment than the Cseries, mainly in terms of capacity and flying range.  

The fact that this is the first time that Bombardier enters in such a new market with a capacity ranging from 100 to 150 seats, flying with the new mechanisim of the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines, and plus, to me, it never experienced delays in production (oh btw, the Dreamliner 787 and A380 both delayed for 3-4 years, even with ages of commercial manufacturing experience), I think this new baby is doing very well.  Unless Bombardier is hiding any news or issues, otherwise, there are 8-9 months till expected first delivery and there are no signs of delays.  Even if it delays till Q1 2013, I'll still consider it on time.