Dublin Airport Historical Movements

This listing covers only part of the month, as I was away on holiday for a couple of weeks.   The summer peak saw continued charter activity, many of these flights carrying student s either from or to Ireland for educational and/or recreational purposes!  Where I have a note of flight numbers, I have included these.  With a lot fewer airfields in the country than there are now, several European general aviation visitors were to be seen visiting Dublin, which was a lot more GA-friendly in those days. 1 July EC- CTR          DC-9-34          AO G-BAVX         Herald              BMA N448PA         B707-321C    Pan Am OH-LSC         SE210            ...

With the summer holiday season in full swing, charter flights were to be seen in some numbers.  DC-8s and 707s were the main equipment for the long-range operators and for Aviaco, which was almost the only Spanish charter carrier to be seen in Dublin during this period.  I remember the CP Air DC-8 on the 27th being delayed for several hours, but it was worth waiting for!  The carrier's orange, red and bare metal livery made for a striking sight. Boeing 720 N1776Q was noteworthy, as it had been Aer Lingus's first jet, delivered in 1960 as EI-ALA.  The two Viscounts of Swedish operator Skyline were former British Midland examples.  SE-FOX returned to that carrier in 1978 but was withdrawn from use at East Midlands and eventually broken up.  SE-FOY also later returned to BMA and was restored as G-BAPF, in which guise it flew for many more years, including service with the garishly-marked Hot-Air.  It then survived for many years as a training aid at the ...

Not the most exciting of months, though my lack of records of interesting traffic may have been influenced by approaching exams!  Aeroamerica's assorted Boeing 720s, plus their sole BAC 1-11, provided the interest on the maintenance front.  N302AS was a former Alaska Airlines example acquired as a spares source, and Ralf Manteufel captured it arriving at Tempelhof some weeks later, on its final flight.  Photo at THF Eagle Air (Arnarflug) was a new operator and would last for several years.  TF-VLA was its first 720 and a pure-jet example which had last been operated by Air Viking, a short-lived Icelandic airline. 1 May D-ABEA         B737-130       LH                   EC-BYM         DC-9-32         IB       ...

It's interesting to note how dominant the HS125 was on the modest bizjet scene of the mid-1970s.  There was almost no other executive jet type on the UK Register at the time. The Italian example was visiting in connection with the Air Corps acquisition of SF260 training aircraft.  Some heavier Italian equipment appeared in the shape of two Alitalia DC-10s and a couple of visits by one of their 747s; these were operating charters to Rome for the Easter period. The Transair Canada 737 on the 14th was Aer Lingus's EI-ASH returning after a winter lease.  It would retain that carrier's garish yellow and brown livery for quite some time afterwards. EI-ASH photo   Also returning from lease was Boeing 747 EI-ASI, which had been leased to Air Siam as HS-VGB; this was one of the first major lease deals attributed to Tony Ryan, who later left Aer lingus to set up GPA. Wren 460 EI-ARN, which I noted on 15 April, was operated by the Irish Parachute Club from Edenderry; this was ...

The month saw my first sighting of BAF's bare-metal Carvair G-ASDC, named "Plain Jane".  Photo This was quite a novel look for a European cargo operator. I have a clear recollection of it landing on runway 17 on a typically dull St. Patrick's Day.  The National Day probably also accounted for the visit of ONA DC-8 N868F, in that carrier's elegant livery. Photo of N868F   The Egyptair 737 on the 31st was actually Aer Lingus's EI-ASB returning from a winter lease. It would be leased out again the following winter, to Brazilian carrier VASP. 2 March F-BPRE            King Air 90 G-APEJ           V953F              BE3332 G-AWZV         Trident 3B         BE G-AZWW        PA-23-250 214       ...

A typically quiet winter month.  The SABENA 737 was on a one-off charter; the carrier's scheduled service to Dublin would not start for another year or two.  TWA 707 N775TW on the 8th was the first one I had seen in the carrier's bold new livery. 1 February EC-CFJ           B727-256                    Iberia OY-KGL         DC-9-41                      SAS D-ABBE          B737-230C                 LH 6 February F-BTOV         V952 Vanguard            EAS G-AVPN         Herald BIA...