Approaching runway 09L on a very bright autumn day.

In this evening lineup at the BA maintenance area are 747s G-BDXH and G-BDXD, TriStar 500 G-BFCD, 747 G-AWNC and, in the distance, a BA Cargo 707.

Ex British Airways G-BDXL. With remains of the BA livery and less apparent Garuda Indonesia titles and tail logo still slightly visible...

BDXO accumulated 61,796 flying hours with British Airways between Apr 1987 and Oct 2001, after which it was stored at Cardiff, Mojave and then Manston. A sale to Air Atlanta Icelandic fell through and on 31 Oct 2003 the aircraft was flown to Amsterdam to be prepared for delivery to European Aircharter. It was painted in their colours, but never delivered. It remained stored at Schiphol, engineless as seen here. The aircraft was eventually broken up here in late 2005. Only the cockpit section survived, which went to the MBO College of Amsterdam Airport in nearby Hooddorp, for instructional use.

This is one of the old British Airways "classics" and now operates for European Aircharter, this same aircraft operated a limited number of flights from Glasgow to Orlando over a 4 week period.

European had a short mid Summer flight program to Orlando this year and this was a paricularly hard landing touching down earlier than normal and doing a 100 yard hop. (D60 1/500th & F9.5 105mm)

G-BDXI was sold in Iceland as TF-ADI in January 2002.

G-BDXC was scrapped at Cardiff.

G-BDXJ was withdrawn from use at Dunsfold where it became a prop in a James Bond movie.

9M-MHJ seen here wearing its Visit Malaysia Year 1990 markings, which it carried from 1989 until 1991.

Very rare shot of this leased Jumbo, waiting to take us home after a great holiday in the Cook Islands. This aircraft was built for BA and allocated G-BDXL, but delivered straight to MAS in March 82. Ten years later it was leased to Garuda, and in 1994 to ANZ. In late 94 it was converted to a freighter and re-delivered to MASkargo in December that year. In Sept 05 it was re-registered N362FC to Focus Air, and in July 08 to TF-AAB with Air Atlanta Icelandic.

Later to TF-ARG

Delivered 6.77, wfu 9.01 with 100,115 hours and 16,182 landings; dismantled for parts by European Aviation 7.02 and b/u

A part of the story of G-BDXO... Between April 1987 and October 2001 this machine logged nearly 62000 hours on British Airways flights averaging more than 7 hours and then was stored at Cardiff, Mojave and Manston. 2003 ended halfway the preparations for its new owner in the UK, XO being parked engineless at Schiphol-Oost.

MAS's then new 747 9M-MHJ tucks its gear away after departing Sydney . It left the fleet in 2006.