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Post by jesse on Apr 9, 2010 9:03:00 GMT -5
George, that looks like it may have been a Tech School class photo. Also, it looks like everyone in the class with exception of the two instructors are A2C.
Jesse
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Post by vhbob on Apr 9, 2010 9:40:31 GMT -5
G'Day All
Stratocruisers and their millitary brethren were not seen in my part of the world either, although Pan Am did operate them across the Pacific into Sydney when I was a kid, but I was never there to see one. On visits into the city of Adelaide, I would nag my parents to call at a local travel agency where a 6 foot long model of a Stratocruiser was displayed in the window. It had one fuselage side molded in clear plastic with rows of seats and passengers and the famous spiral stair case leading to the lounge. Topped off with navigation and interior lighting, it was a 9 year old's dream. Eventually it was replaced with mass produced model of something boring, a 707 I suppose, and trips to the city were never the same.
Trev. (vhbob)
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gdmii
ConvairLiner
Posts: 66
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Post by gdmii on Apr 9, 2010 12:39:05 GMT -5
George, that looks like it may have been a Tech School class photo. Also, it looks like everyone in the class with exception of the two instructors are A2C. Jesse Yeah, Jesse, that was at Sheppard AFB. I think there was a couple of one stripers but the rest of us were 2 stripers. The KC-97 was one of the first airplanes I got trained on. That aircraft was the one where a bunch of us were getting checked out on the engineer's panel and I was talking to the instructor as I was backing out of the cockpit. As I turned around, my first step was down the ladder hole to the lower level because the door got left open. I've had back problems ever since and two spine surguries. Guess who always made sure that door was closed from then on. George
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Post by dave mcqueen on Apr 9, 2010 18:05:35 GMT -5
You caught a rare flight - CCR to LAX on a PSA BA146. I flew on one from SFO to LAX - interesting plane. Flew SMF to SFO on a HAW DC-9-32 "Flying Banana". And Pima is a nice way to ease the disappointment. I recalled that I took a picture of that '146 a half hour before riding the jump seat from CCR to LAX. Found it in my archives. Can't believe that was over 20 years ago. The jumpseat was very comfortable and the high wing made for a great view looking down: home.comcast.net/~davethemac/psa ccr 2.jpg[/img] When I got to LA I took this shot out the terminal window: home.comcast.net/~davethemac/psa ccr.jpg[/img]
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Post by dave mcqueen on Apr 9, 2010 23:58:25 GMT -5
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Post by Tom/CalClassic on Apr 10, 2010 10:34:37 GMT -5
Great pics - are the lower doors with steps on them entrance doors, cargo doors, or both?
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Post by dave mcqueen on Apr 10, 2010 23:21:08 GMT -5
Great pics - are the lower doors with steps on them entrance doors, cargo doors, or both? They are entrance doors to the cargo area not the downstairs lounge........... however, as some Strats varied the location of their galleys I think there possibly may have been an opening from the lower deck to the upper deck to service those areas from below. I'm not sure though because there was also a small rear door on the starboard side that could be used to transfer necessities too. My memory is not clear on that but I recall when climbing around on the Clippers (DC-4 DC6B DC7C B377) when I was a kid there were "trap doors" on the main cabin decks that were often open when the aircraft was in for maintenance to the cargo holds and you had to be very careful not to take that long step down! I think the B377s had those but I'm certain the DC-4s did because I remember nearly falling through one when I was about 3 years old.
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