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Airliner World – May 2018

(Nora) #1 
A Bizarre Coincidence

When Aylesbury resident Graham Ecob

spotted a distinctive Bombardier Dash

8-Q400 with his own name reflected

in its registration – G-ECOB – he was

determined to fly on it. His dream came

true on April 19 when Flybe arranged to

fly him from Heathrow to Edinburgh on

board his namesake aeroplane.

Before the flight Graham said: “I did

a double take when I first spotted the

registration and it made me laugh. So,

I wrote to Flybe with a photo and a

copy of my identification. I was a travel

agent for 42 years and I’m delighted

that this coincidence has led to such an

opportunity.”

Roy Kinnear, Flybe Chief Commercial

Officer, commented: “We’re thrilled

Graham contacted us and we too

thought this a truly bizarre coincidence


  • that also makes our aircraft pretty
    special. I imagine it’s not every day you
    discover you have a plane that has the
    same name as yourself!” (Photo Flybe)


End of a Dream


Following last month’s Airliner World

story about the new museum being

built around the first Boeing 787

Dreamliner prototype at Centrair

International Airport, Nagoya, Japan,

contributor Joe Walker informs us the

fifth flight test aircraft ZA005, N787FT

(c/n 40694) is being scrapped. The

aircraft, used in the certification of the

GE Aviation GEnx powered Dreamliner,

is in the process of being broken up at

Paine Field, Everett, where it had been

parked since completing its test flying

in October 2015. Boeing studied the

potential of returning the aircraft to

flying condition, but decided it was

too costly.

Even as it is being dismantled the air-

craft is still providing valuable

information. The Seattle Times news-

paper reports it is being used as a

teaching tool on how to recycle an

aircraft and, particularly, reusing its

carbon fibre components.

The first three prototypes have been

sent to museums, while ZA004

continued to fly as part of the US

manufacturer’s EcoDemonstrator

and Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 TEN

engine testbed programmes. Its fate

is unknown, and it hasn’t been seen at

Boeing Field for some time. The sixth

and final prototype was refurbished

and continues to fly as a VIP aircraft for

the Mexican Government.

(Words and picture Joe G Walker)

Departure


Gate


84 AIRLINER WORLD JUNE 2018


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