Welcome
Hey all! Jen here, welcoming you to December's edition of the Airliners Live newsletter.
IT'S CHRIIIISTMAAAAAAS!! Well, maybe not just yet, but if I can't say it now, when can I? Plus, it's door number 1 of our Lindor advent calendar, so that's good enough for me. The boys (cats) also have their own treat-filled advent calendars. Yes, we're crazy cat people!
Coming up later this month will be the VIP best dressed Christmas tree competition, where one lucky VIP will be in with the chance of winning a £20 merch voucher. Keep your eyes peeled on the VIP lounge over on Discord in the coming weeks.
By the time the next newsletter comes around, we'll be in 2024, so I'll take the opportunity now to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year! Take care of yourselves this festive season, cherish your loved ones, and be kind.
See you all soon!
Jen x
Captain Mark Makes it Big
Andy
This last month, we had our first video hit one million views, and it just so happens to be our first ever pre-recorded video with Captain Mark!
In this video, Mark spoke about the most common fears of flying that a passenger may have, and one by one explains why each of the fears are not worth worrying about with how safe flying is in todays world.
It was originally uploaded way back in November 2022.
The video originally didn't grow fast, which we were a bit gutted about, because we truly thought it was a good video and we had spent a lot of time editing and working on it.
After a few months, Jon Fezza decided to spruce up the thumbnail for the video, and I believe we also changed the title, and slowly, the video began to gain views, and continued to grow and grow. Every day thousands of people watching the video at one point.
In the last month, the video passed through a whopping 1,000,000 views.
Captain Mark often gets recognized while on his duties flying at Manchester Airport, many of the familiarities come from this exact video, and the video itself has amassed over 2,100 comments, and that number seems to climb every single day.
For anyone out there who does have a fear of flying, this video is definitely a good place to start. I'm also aware of a number of paid courses you can undertake, such as that offered by easyJet, that you can get onboard with to really ease any fears you may have of flying.
Farewell TUI 767s
Andy
On November 1, 2023, TUI UK said goodbye to its last two Boeing 767s, G-OBYK and G-OBYF, marking the end of an era for the widebody twinjets in the UK. The two aircraft were ferried to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, where they will be stored before allegedly being converted into freighters. One flew from Manchester Airport, the other from Palma De Mallorca, following the plane temporarily getting stuck out there after a technical issue.
The Boeing 767 is a versatile aircraft that has been in service since 1982, powering various passenger and cargo flights across the world. It has a seven-abreast cross-section, a two-crew glass cockpit, and a conventional tail. It can seat 216 to 269 passengers over 3,900 to 5,980 nmi (7,200 to 12,200 km). The 767 family has several variants, each with different capabilities and specifications
The two Manchester based TUI 767s were both 767-300ER models, which have a length of 180 ft 3 in (54.94 m), a wingspan of 167 ft (50.9 m) with winglets, and a maximum take-off weight of 412,000 lbs (186,880 kg).
They are powered by two General Electric CF6 engines, each producing 62,100 lbs of thrust. The CF6 is a high-bypass turbofan engine that is based on the TF39, the first high-power high-bypass jet engine. The CF6 engine family has been in production since 1971 and has powered a wide variety of civilian airliners and military aircraft.
G-OBYK and G-OBYF have had a long and interesting history, serving multiple airlines and countries before joining TUI UK. G-OBYK was first delivered to Air 2000 in March 1999 as G-OOAL. It later flew for First Choice Airways, Aeroflot, TUIfly Nordic, and TUI UK. It has accumulated over 102,000 flight hours on more than 17,000 flights. G-OBYF was first delivered to Britannia Airways in June 1998 as G-BYAF. It later flew for Garuda Indonesia, Britannia Airways Germany, Thomson Airways, Thomsonfly, and TUI UK. It has accumulated over 94,000 flight hours on more than 20,000 flights.
G-OBYK also had a special nickname on our live streams, "The Stealth Plane", as for a long time, a certain alteration on the transponder made it undetectable by public radar applications, such as Flightradar24, specifically when the plane was on the ground. She also had a slightly crooked nose caused by a mismatching nose cone paint scheme from the rest of the plane. These characteristics did get rectified, but her charming personality, paired with epic legacy will never be forgotten.
We at Airliners Live have been fortunate to catch these two beautiful aircraft many times on our Manchester live shows. We absolutely love the sound of their CF6 engines, which gave them a distinctive roar as they rolled down the runway. I was also a massive fan of their huge sweeping winglets, especially in the TUI colours, I always admired the looks of these planes. We will miss seeing them here at Manchester, but we hope they will find a new life as freighters and continue to fly for many more years.
We would like to thank TUI UK for operating these amazing aircraft and for giving us the opportunity to share them with our viewers. We would also like to thank our loyal fans and supporters for watching our live shows and for joining us in celebrating the legacy of the Boeing 767.
We hope you enjoyed this article and we look forward to bringing you more live aviation content in the future.
Beanies - A Winter MUST
Don't forget, the Airliners Live Beanies are available here on the website, they are a MUST for the winter, extremely warm, and water resistant, double knit layer thermal "Thinsulate" material, and as of the release of this newsletter, they're in stock!
Concorde Gala Evening: A Great Night
Sam
October 2003 saw a retirement take place greater than any retirement of an aircraft we have ever seen: Concorde. An aircraft of Anglo-French magnificence, grace, and skill. The world said farewell to an aircraft like no other available for commercial flight or to spot. Her Russian sister now long gone, the time for supersonic transport became no longer public to the public 20 years later, people still crazy about Concorde celebrated her spectacular career. Andy and myself were among one of many to have celebrated her.
On the 27th of October, we attended the Concorde Gala Dinner, hosted by The Aviation Society under the wings of Concorde G-BOAC at the Runway Visitor Park, Manchester. We glammed up, a rare occasion for me to swap my boots for high heels!! Andy looked dashing!! And in my newly painted car, we arrived and were welcomed by the beautiful sound of the lady singing. Her voice was incredible!!
Greeted with a glass of bubbly, we mingled for a while and chatted to a few people we knew. Eventually we were invited to make our way to our tables where we met more familiar faces! We spent the evening with some members of Peter Hampson's family and Debbie Riley from TAS. Debbie performed a beautiful speech about Peter's ambitious journey of getting G-BOAC to her new home in Manchester. She told the story of Peter and the Concorde beautifully; it was called "How to Catch a Concorde", a title that to this day brings a smile to my face. Shortly after followed Fred Finn taking the stage to tell us all his experience on Concorde. Fred Finn was a humorous fellow and is the world's most travelled Concorde passenger, recognised by the Guinness World Records.
Debbie Riley's presenting "To Catch A Concorde"
And finally John Tye, former Concorde Pilot. Food was served during the speeches and it was so delightful. Probably one of the nicest meals I've had this year!! Looking over at Andy's plate, I'm sure he would agree!! With the drinks flowing and the food all eaten up, we were then treated by Concorde herself. Heritage Concorde work hard to keep G-BOAC in such a pristine condition. So much so, we were able to witness the full drop cycle of the nose... Twice!! The evening ended in some more socializing a d a brief chat with John Tye who was selling his book prior to it's release.
John Tye's Q&A Session
Andy treated me to a copy for my birthday to which John kindly signed with birthday wishes. I was over the moon with. We actually left rather early to many at around midnight due to me being in work at 7am the following morning. The night was perfectly orchestrated by The Aviation Society.
You can see G-BOAC at the Runway Visitor Park, and have a selection of different types of tours.
Don't forget to wave at the lads if you pop down during a show!
Until next time!!
A New Channel Favorite: EgyptAir A321
Andy
Back in July 2023, EgyptAir started flying a new route, Cairo to Manchester, where to start with, they opted to use the Boeing 737-800 for them particular flights. Although it's always nice to have another operator at Manchester, the 737 was slightly underwhelming, visually. But, we'll take it.
Photo by Martin of EgyptAir 737-800 departing Manchester Airport
A lot of questions were asked about how well EgyptAir would do at Manchester, and speculation about whether they'll introduce a larger airframe into the mix, since EgyptAir also operate Boeing 777s, Dreamliners, and Airbus A330s, along with the Airbus A321, and a few others.
Another fairly recent new addition to Manchester Airport was Kuwait, who initially flew the A320neos, on what was regarded as the second longest commercial A320neo flight in the world, but just after a few months they upgraded said airframe to an A330-200, and then also occasionally throwing in an A330-800neo in there.
We suspect the same may happen with EgyptAir, but recently they have been on the rise, and introduced the A321neo to Manchester Airport, and wow does that look good!
Pictured below is said aircraft, and I must admit, it's very quickly growing as my favorite plane to spot at Manchester Airport, purely on visuals alone. Very curious to see how this airline will manifest in the new year at Manchester Airport.
Screenshot from one of our Manchester live streams
EgyptAir also recently announced a large order of A350-900s, another aircraft that I'm sure will be breathtaking upon delivery to the operator.
Airbus: EgyptAir A350-900 Announcement Graphic
Progress
Loopy
On December 1st 2022, we were proud of the fact that we had doubled our subscriber count from September and were sitting at the giddy height of 210,000. Now, one year later and with an approximate additional 700,000 subs, we find ourselves getting ever closer to our next target of 1 million. That is progress.
But oddly enough, most of the subscribers come from people watching our short videos on YouTube. Just in the last month (November 2023) over 70,000 new subscribers have joined from watching shorts, compared to just over 2,000 from watching our live streams. And that’s fine. We welcome it.
And that is what I mean by progress! You could also call it success, and as some of you know, I’m no stranger to success. I was there in the very early days of Iron Maiden, long before they had a recording deal, and for quite a few years after as well. But comparing Airliners Live to Iron Maiden is a ridiculous idea. It’s a totally different ball game. Yes, there are some comparisons, like chatting with the same people all the time or sharing the same passion, but that’s about it.
And that links us nicely to our community.
It’s our community that makes us what we are. You help us in ways that some of you wouldn’t understand, and to be honest, when it comes to technical jargon, I am totally clueless. Martin is your man for that. Equipment grows old and needs replacing, or Andy sets his kitchen on fire, our community gathers to help make things right again, or at the very least, shows its concern. You wouldn’t get that in a football crowd or at a heavy metal concert.
And staying with our community, what I find pleasing is the friendship amongst you all. You all say hi to each other whenever you join the chat, and you all say goodbye when the show ends. I love that! Also, if you have a problem, you deal with it quietly amongst yourselves, or you ask one of us to step in. And that is what we, the mods are here for mostly, to keep the chat friendly and fun.
Together, we make a great team, and I firmly believe that every one of you have contributed to the success of Airliners Live, and for that, we are all truly grateful.
I would also like to say how happy we are that many of you have made the transition over to Discord. We know it was a tough choice to make for some of you, but we are glad to see you all there.
Over time, you will realise how easy it is to use. Of course, there are various chat rooms on our Discord page, so if you have an issue, problem, or just a general enquiry, leave a message and we will get back to you. The chat groups are monitored frequently, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long.
See you next month.
Loopy
Flightlines
Captain Mark Langston
SIDS
And
STARS
So what ARE SIDS and STARS?
You may have heard them mentioned on the live streams and on Fezzas sim shows, so here’s a quick explanation about them. Description
• A Standard Instrument Departure Route (SID) is a standard ATS route identified in an instrument departure procedure by which aircraft should proceed from takeoff phase to the en-route phase.
• A Standard Arrival Route (STAR) is a standard ATS route identified in an approach procedure by which aircraft should proceed from the en-route phase to an initial approach fix SIDs and STARs aim to deconflict potentially conflicting traffic by the use of specific routings, levels, speed restrictions and check points
Typically, each runway will have a number of SIDs and STARs to ensure that air traffic is not unnecessarily delayed by deviation from the direct route from or to the aerodrome. So a Sid is a departure routing for a specific airport. Each runway will have several depending on which direction the departing traffic will go. It will normally have a climb altitude limit and will show the routing you must take.
Here’s one from Manchester:
It shows you the routing, climb limit (5000’) and tracks and radials from beacons to fly it. Most now are called rnav departures so gps is used.
It also shows the minimum safe altitude within 25nm. A star is an arrival routing that brings you towards a fix near the airport.
Some will intercept and link up with the final approach track. It may have levels you must achieve in the descent as well as speeds.
Here’s another from Manchester:
But in reality soon after commencing the SID you’ll be given headings to fly by ATC to get you out of the way and you’re normally picked off the star by ATC and given headings.
So, in conclusion, a SID (standard instrument departure), is a series of prescribed tracks to get you from the runway towards the airway system.
And a star (standard arrival route) does the reverse, it gets you from the airway system to a point near or off the end of the active runway.
So next time we’ll be talking about fuel. Have a great month and I’ll see you then.
A New Community Home
Martin
We have introduced you all to our new community hub on Discord in a previous newsletter but we honestly did not expect the popularity of it! You guys have been getting stuck in - posting your images, updates and of course, your dinners!
Airliners Live is all about community and its been really humbling to see you all move across to the new platform, helping each other get used to it and really making the server your own.
The VIP area has also received a few dedicated channels such as the "Rate my scran" section where VIPs can post a picture of their posh, or not so posh creations along side a description of the recipe. This has proved to be extremely popular!!
Just some of your VIP creations...
We now have over 1,100 members on our Discord server and we believe its a great place to get involved in the community whilst keeping up to date with the channel. All in one place!
Of course, if you have any requests for rooms to be added or ideas for things to include - drop a message in the support section of the server.
Let's Christmas up the place...
As a bit of fun, you may notice some of our channel emotes are now a little more Christmasy.... We will let you take a lot for yourselves on the next live stream! We hope you like them.
We understand Christmas may not be for everyone, be it for personal reasons, or maybe you just aren't that into it. For some, Christmas may also be a lonely time which is why we want to bring the whole community together throughout the period.
So we are bringing you live shows not only on Christmas Eve, but New Years Eve to ensure the whole community stays together through the period. We hope you will all join us on those shows which will be more relaxed, and full of the usual fun and laughter.
From the whole Airliners Live team, where ever you are and whatever you get up to, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a very merry New Year! Thanks for all of your community support this year and here's to plenty of noisy planes in 2024!!