The Chart:

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Long Overdue First Flight for Line 1429

 Thanks to Matt Cawby for the photo:

Following in the footsteps of other long neglected frames that had to sit around for over two years before flying for the first time, like line 1426 for Korean Air Cargo (now in service) and line 1430 for AirBridgeCargo (also now in service), line 1429, likely destined for Saudi Arabian Cargo, went on a B1 today. Here are some less impressive pictures of her returning to KPAE:

 
 

Again, 1429's first flight is extra savory because she was not taken up by Atlas about two years ago, so her prospects of flying seemed especially distant. There's such a contrast between an unfinished frame inert and ungainly anchored to the ground, and a finished one soaring full speed through the sky. She rolled out from the FAL around August of 2010 and had engines on the whole time. Here she is at one of many storage locations (thanks to Lee A. Karas):


And here she is during refurbishment last year:


Next up is a paint job, and then finally delivery into service. Also, for remaining Atlas NTU frames 1432 and 1437: line 1432 should follow in 1429's footsteps in the next month or two, while line 1437 still has no apparent customer. Both frames are undergoing simultaneous refurbishment.

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