Avensa operated a sole 737-300 between 1990 and 1996 registered YV-99C. I originally made a custom model of this aircraft using a GeminiJets U.S. Airways donor and decals from V1 Decals. As you can imagine, the project took a lot of work as the donor had to be paint stripped and repainted before applying the decals. And as expected, it does look very homemade. When JC Wings released their blank 737-300s I decided to do another custom of YV-99C to take advantage of the blank model, especially since the Avensa billboard livery has a completely white fuselage. I can do decals at home, but to reduce the workload, I decided to order them from V1 Decals, which I already had experience working with, and were readily available on their site. Pretty easy, right? a blank donor, a simple livery, pre-made decals, and no painting required. What could go wrong? In fact, it looked so easy that I decided to do 5 at once (that's the minimum number of decals you need to order from V1 decals for free shipping ;)) Since the project was so simple, I decided to add a little bit of complexity to it in order to achieve better results. The engines on this airplane had a very light shade of grey on them. I have seen many customs of this aircraft in which the engines are simply left white. In my first custom of this model, I painted them grey, but much darker than the actual aircraft (you can see this in the two pictures above). I decided to take it upon myself and give these engines the slightly darker tone they needed to replicate the real YV-99C more accurately. So I removed all 10 engines, started to mix up grey and white enamels until I found a shade that I was happy with, and started to airbrush. After they dried for a couple of days I re-did the chrome engine lips and clear-coated them. Then the decal application process went well, or so I thought, up to the fifth one. After doing four of these, and being in a bit of a rush to get them done and scratch them off of the project list, I ended up breaking the starboard billboard titles decal of the fifth and last one. So that one was written off and sent back to the donor's drawer. Last minute I also decided that it was too boring to do 4 of the same aircraft, so decided to apply homemade decals of the late 1990s Avensa tail logo to two of them (V1 Decals only has the early 1990s Avensa logo variant of the livery). Below: YV-99C wearing the early 1990s Avensa tail logo, with an outline and only showing the map of South America. This is the logo included in the V1 Decals artwork. Below: The only publicly available photo of YV-99C wearing the late 1990s Avensa tail logo, without the outline and showing the map of South, Central, and part of North America. This photo was taken on July 1995, close to the end of its service life with Avensa. Finally, everything seemed to be done, and I took two of them for a photoshoot. It was not until I had posted the pictures online that I realized that I applied the engine decals backward to one of them. I hope that I got the other two right, they are back home and I am currently on a different continent. We shall see when I get back. Below: The example with the engine decals backward, and the early 1990s tail logo that comes with the V1 Decals set. Below: The example with the correctly applied engine decals and the homemade late 1990s tail logo. So there you have it, one out of 5 didn't make it because I mishandled the decals, then I incorrectly applied the engine decals backward to - hopefully - one of them. And I forgot to mention that I had to reprint the homemade late 1990s tail logo in order to get it right. It goes to show you that to accurately represent a livery, even a simple one, a lot of work goes into it. When you start experimenting with this kind of stuff you also very quickly start to understand why so many models come out of the factories in China with so many errors, I am actually surprised we don't see more. Stay tuned for more updates on this and other projects through YankeeVictor400's social media outlets! Facebook Instagram YouTube Jorge A. Zajia

The atmosphere was appropriately festive for the occasion. I had been walking around the premises saying hello to old acquaintances and striking casual conversations with new faces when my eyes locked on her across the room. I zigzagged in between the tables without losing sight of her. As I got closer, she turned around, smiled, and revealed that her olive eyes went perfectly well with her skin. Up until then, it all had been purely carnal, but this glimpse that she gave me into her soul made the situation all the more promising. Things flowed smoothly, and even though I noticed that the worn logos of high-end apparel adorned her outer layers, I quickly realized that this was genuine elegance and not a sign of pretentiousness. As I tried to get my act together, I could not believe my luck as she, clearly aware of her desirability, suggested that I better took her to a quieter place quickly, if I truly wanted her. I grew suspicious as this seemed too good to be true, but I figured we could go and have some coffee, and if she hung around long enough for wine, that would be enough time to feel things out. ...even though I noticed that the worn logos of high-end apparel adorned her outer layers, I quickly realized that this was genuine elegance and not a sign of pretentiousness... “So, you are from Lebanon? How funny, that weird last name of mine is the Spanishized version of a Lebanese last name, my family loves to brag about our ancestry, but the truth is most of us will struggle to find the country on a world map.” Among laughs and rejoicing the sun came out, and with my eyes full of grit looking out to the horizon I giggled as I thought to myself that I did not know you could have this much fun without undressing. Though through the marks on her outer shell one could tell she had loved, much to my surprise these marks must have been from her shielding off, as I was greeted with the most youthful skin underneath. We talked, and she let me know that she had never trusted anyone to get this far, but she made it clear that if we were going to do this, I had to keep her for life. If I wasn’t committed, this was my last chance to leave her untouched and send her off to continue the search for her final destiny. I told her that though my hands were rough, this sort of thing had to be done with bare skin, and assured her that I would be very gentle... And that is the story of how I came across my BigBird TMA of Lebanon 747 (along with the full set) and how I decided to keep it in my collection. Hey, I grew up in a world that conditioned me to the fact that sold-out BigBird 747s were not to be had, even if you were willing to drop some cash, so I couldn’t let this find just go to waste! Oh, and I forgot to mention that she brought along her sister 707 which made things all the more fun! Happy collecting! Jorge A. Zajia

Aircraft models are not cheap, and there is an ever-increasing inventory to choose from. Therefore, it is important for airplane lovers to define a focus for their collection in order to avoid succumbing to every single new release and subsequently running out of space and money in a hurry. Collecting criteria is a topic often discussed among collectors, and it ranges widely from people that focus on aircraft they have flown on, to those that collect only one aircraft type or one particular model brand. I personally have a number of criteria, but the overarching theme is that I need to have some sort of meaningful connection with the model, other than it being an airplane model and me liking airplanes. Although I have to admit that there are a handful of models that have found their way into my collection just by virtue of being nice and me not having anything better to do that particular day. Recently I got a set of new arrivals that included some airplanes that I chose to add to my collection for rather unusual reasons. So, I thought it would be fun to take a look at them and see some of the weird stuff that goes on in the mind of some collectors before deciding to drop cash on models. Number 1 Air France Cargo 777-F28 F-GUOB by Phoenix Models: I have always seen freighter aircraft as exotic subjects since they usually are aircraft from a previous generation and wear not-so-common liveries. This is not exactly the case for an Air France Cargo 777-200, but it is the case for many of the other freighters in my collection, many of which were common visitors of IAH during the 2010s. Air France Cargo 777s were also common at IAH during that time, so based on that I could start tying this 777 to an existing criterion in my collection: The IAH Exotic Freighters. Additionally, Air France happens to be the European airline that has brought the most variety of aircraft types to Venezuela, the country in which I was born and raised, and because of that I also have a significant fleet of their passenger aircraft in my collection. So that’s another section of my collection in which this model could fit right in. But there is a third reason that pushed this aircraft over the edge and into my collection. While flying light aircraft in the Houston area in the 2009-2013 period, I used to practice instrument procedures using a navigational aid called the Trinity VOR located to the east of Houston. During my time as a student and instructor pilot in the area, the Trinity VOR was not used by airline traffic arriving or departing Houston, and I remember jokingly saying to colleagues that the VOR was put there exclusively for training. One night in what I think was the fall of 2017, I was at home without much going on, while a massive thunderstorm was unfolding outside. I went to check Flight Aware.com to see how the air traffic over Houston was being affected, and to my surprise, an Air France Cargo 777 coming in from MEX was on approach to runway 27 at IAH. The airport was covered by red radar returns and my night suddenly turned a bit more exciting as I kept following the flight wondering how things were going to pan out. Watching on FlightAware I saw the flight discontinue the approach - thankfully - and proceed to, you guessed it, the Trinity VOR to enter a holding pattern. I took a picture of my laptop monitor as I had never seen the VOR being used for anything other than training. Over the years I have shared that picture with colleagues from the flight training days any time the situation calls for it. When I saw this model of an Air France Cargo 777-F28 available in stores it immediately reminded me of that night and that picture of my monitor, which I still keep. Number 2 Aerocaribbean Ilyushin IL-18 CU-C1515 by Aeroclassics When Aeroclassics released two Aerocaribbean IL-18s in September 2022 this picture immediately came to my mind: As it turns out, the aircraft in the photo was CU-C1515, one of the two IL-18s released by Aeroclassics. The photo was taken at CCS airport in 2009. The largest category of my collection is composed of aircraft that have visited Venezuela. However, this criterion generally focuses on international carriers that visited the country during the eighties and nineties. I become a lot more selective with anything that falls outside of that time period, such as this IL-18. In this case, however, the decision to add it to my collection was easy because the subject is very unique. So much so, that I still remembered seeing that particular picture of it at CCS after many years. Another thing that prompted me to get this model is the lack of propeller-driven and soviet aircraft in my collection. This wouldn’t be the first time that I add a model to my collection because it reminds me of a picture that left a lasting impression on me. One of my first models in 1:400 scale was Ecuatoriana DC-10-30 HC-BKO by GeminiJets, and I got it because it immediately reminded me of a photo taken by Girmay Tesfay that I had seen on Airliners.net years before. Number 3 Mesa Airlines CRJ-900 N924LR by GeminiJets This one becomes the first CRJ to join my collection of 280+ aircraft models, so that should tell you how I feel about this aircraft type. I can also tell you that I don't think Mesa’s current logo (it’s not much of a livery) is attractive at all, which is a shame because I really liked their previous classic sun logo. Finally, while current U.S. carriers do have a place in my collection, they are pretty low on the priority list. So, why did I get it? Well, I got to wear wings with that ugly logo on the left side of my chest for almost six years. So needless to say, I was very moved when I saw this CRJ released in the colors of a company that will forever be an important part of my life. I should point out that I didn’t fly the CRJ, I only flew the E-175 with them. However, since the only aircraft that wore the company's own logo were three CRJ-900s, I knew this was, for the time being, my only opportunity to have a true Mesa Airlines model in 1:400 scale, instead of one wearing the livery of one of the major airline partners with the “Operated by Mesa Airlines” titles. And that is how three scale models representing aircraft from very different walks of life find their way into the same collection due to reasons as different as the aircraft themselves. Or this could also be an example of how collectors rationalize their aircraft model problem :). Happy collecting! Jorge A. Zajia

For the review, and comparison photos of the two models skip to the Model Review section. A Bit of Background... It took a while for European 767s to appear in my collection. They were not common around the airports I frequented as a child, and usually were overshadowed by bigger and more interestingly-shaped aircraft. During my teen years, they became more common as CCS became one of the few destinations in South America served by KLM and British Airways 767s. However, these 767s represented a downgrade as KLM 747s and MD-11s, and BA 747s and 777s were the aircraft these airlines used to serve CCS around the end of the last century. These downgrades eventually culminated with both airlines leaving Venezuela for good in 2004 and 2005 respectively, while the wake of 9/11 was still felt around the world, and amid new levels of social instability brewing in the country. In the case of KLM, the consolidation of many South American routes as a result of the then newly created Air France-KLM group also played a significant role in the Dutch flag carrier leaving Venezuela after having served the country for more than half a century. So, as you can probably tell based on the previous paragraph, I did not associate European 767s with particularly exciting times in my life as an aviation enthusiast. But the passage of time has a way of making the past look like better days. So with that in mind, in recent times many 1:400 models of European 767s that visited Venezuela started to wink at me. KLM’s last AMS-CCS-AMS flight took place on May 30, 2004. When a former KLM employee from CCS posted pictures from that day on Facebook I was pleased to learn that the aircraft used, PH-BZA, was still wearing the delivery colors (it never got repainted before leaving the KLM fleet). Since I already had a small fleet of KLM aircraft in that livery, the discovery that their 767s also visited Venezuela while wearing it quickly made me want to add a KLM 767 to my collection. So, I set out on a hunt for a 1:400 KLM 767 in the old colors. Aeroclassics had produced two in 2004, but they were long sold out. As luck would have it, as I was combing the internet in search of one of these models, and even asking friends to keep an eye for them at collectible shows, JC Wings made their June 2022 announcement and it included KLM 767 PH-BZK in the old colors. JC Wings had been producing some really nice 767-300s after injecting new life into the old GeminiJets mold, so I was really excited to see an old c/s KLM bird in the batch. Fast-forward some 4 months and the model has arrived at my doorstep from Pandafox Toys. The model did not disappoint. However, when looked at from the side, the cockpit windows seem to have been printed just a tad high. Just out of curiosity, I googled the Aeroclassics version to see how they had done their windows. To my surprise, there was one on eBay going for cheap, potentially devaluated as a result of the JC release (?). The listing had good pictures, and it showed the model had a solid printing job all around. I also realized the model had the “The world is just a click away” titles, which made it more in line with the period these aircraft visited Venezuela, and thus better suited for my collection. So in the end I also got the Aeroclassics version. This is not going to be a super detailed review, instead I’m just going to give my general observations and offer you some high-resolution pictures to appreciate the models and make your conclusions. Model Review The models in question are two KLM Boeing 767-306/ERs: PH-BZK by JC Wings, and PH-BZF by Aeroclassics. The JC Wings one has more printed details, especially around the nose area – I really love how the radome outline looks on models nowadays. The cockpit windows actually look really good on the JC version (as usual on their current 767s), but unfortunately, the slight misplacement gives my model a bit of a wonky face look when looked at from the side and up close (I could very well be looking for an excuse to justify the purchase of the AC one as well). The Aeroclassics version does not fall short on the printing department, as it has a solid application and a healthy amount of detail also. However, the nose area elements look pretty crude when compared to the JC counterpart. But the windows are properly aligned, so no wonky face. Ironically, the overwing markings on the Aeroclassics win over the JC version. I particularly like the tiny “no step” signs printed on the Aeroclassics version. The Aeroclassics one also has strakes on the engine nacelles, while the JC does not. They are oversized, but I like the model having them. I didn’t do an exhaustive analysis of the placement of the livery elements, but at a glance, both models seem to have it right. There is no SATCOM dome outline on the Aeroclassics, and there should be one, but that does not bother me in the slightest. On that note, JC did place all the domes and antennas correctly. Finally, there is the tone of the blue color on the upper half of the fuselage. The Aeroclassics one is clearly too dark. But it could be argued that the JC one is slightly on the too-bright side. At any rate, I find them both to be wearing fine representations of the basic livery in which they were delivered to KLM. JC definitely wins on the cheatline color though. These are both very nice models portraying an iconic livery, and I am very happy to have both of them in my collection. It is difficult for me to choose a winner. As of the writing of this article the JC Wings one can still be found on some retailers, so hurry up! Jorge A. Zajia

These little airplane models give us a tangible way to appreciate and honor these wonderful flying machines, engineering marvels, country ambassadors, and world shrinkers. Each one of us has personal reasons to be particularly fond of some aircraft types and airline liveries. In those cases only one model might not be enough, after all, it doesn’t hurt to have a little more than enough of a good thing. Such is the case for me with the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 in the American Airlines livery. The T-tail design of the DC-9 family is exotic and I find it more pleasurable to the eyes than the wing-mounted twin-jet design that is all too common today. And even though the latter design is the clear winner, I am grateful for the decent success that the DC-9 family had, as it has allowed us to delight ourselves with such a beautiful airliner design for several decades. I find the MD-80 to be one of the most attractive members of the DC-9 family, especially the early ones with the pointy tail cone and black nose radome. Its good fuselage and engine proportions give it a balanced appearance without looking too modern or too vintage. I have always perceived the DC-9 family to be poorly represented in the scale model/toy world. The DiMA database agrees with me as it has a combined total of 985 DC-9s (DC-9 + MD-80 + MD-82 + MD-83 + MD-87 + MD-88 + MD-90 + B 717) in 1:400 and 1:200 scales. For reference, there are 1932 B 737 models and 1721 A320s (A318 + A319 + A320 + A321) in 1:400 scale alone. This isn’t an exact calculation as some models are listed under more than one type field, and some others are not registered at all in the database, but it gives a general view of the under-representation of DC-9 models. In spite of the MD-80 shortage in 1:400 scale, one airline that has not been underrepresented is American Airlines. American MD-80s were iconic, and even though they were predominantly seen in North America, it is safe to say that aviation lovers worldwide have no issues connecting the aircraft and the airline. For 37 years the airline got to operate close to 400 of these aircraft with the same livery throughout, making AA MD-80s a bridge that connected the modern aviation scene with that of the eighties and nineties. The first American MD-80s in 1:400 scale date from 2001 and were produced by Dragon Wings. Then around 2011 Jet-X produced some more. And finally, GeminiJets released some more in 2013, 2014, and 2019. My first American MD-80 model was a GeminiJets MD-82 registered N573AA, I bought it when released in 2013. I was pretty happy with it, even though I was acutely aware of the oversized engines and oddly shaped nose. Years later one of the original Dragon Wings examples from 2001 crossed my path at an accessible price. It was also an MD-82, but registered N473AA. Dragon’s example has a black radome and pointy tail cone, which places the aircraft in the pre-2003 period, in line with its release date. Its Gemini counterpart comes with the grey radome and the new-style flattened tail cone. Additionally, the fuselage of my DW example is painted, while the GJ example is bare metal. Beyond those basic differences come the differences inherent to the two molds. I will not go into a detailed comparison/review of these two models as that has been done before at Yesterday's Airlines. I will say, however, that if I had to choose between the two, I will personally keep the Dragon Wings version. Enjoy the pictures and compare: Jorge A. Zajia

Twenty-nine years ago today, November 26, 1993, Viasa DC-10-30 YV-135C was written off after being severely damaged due to a runway overrun at Buenos Aires-Ezeiza (EZE). The aircraft was performing flight VA940 non-stop from Caracas-Maiquetía (CCS). Poor weather with rain showers prevailed at EZE at the time of the mishap. This was Viasa’s only hull loss. There were two other hull losses involving Viasa aircraft, but none were being operated by Viasa. For many years, YV-135C was the registration of choice by scale model manufacturers to use on Viasa DC-10 models. Schabak used the registration on all the Viasa DC-10s they produced since 1988 up until 2001, including a version wearing the airline’s last Iberia-style livery, which is incorrect as the aircraft had already crashed when that livery was introduced, and YV-134C was the only DC-10 to wear that livery. Then, in 2005, the first Viasa DC-10 to appear in 1:400 scale – produced by GeminiJets, but marketed as Aeroclassics/Latinclassics – also wore the registration YV-135C. This remains the only Viasa DC-10 produced in 1:400 scale wearing the airline’s three-shades of blue livery. It is a very fine model with very detailed artwork for the time and the solid printing quality associated with scale models in those years. Aeroclassics is responsible for breaking with what seemingly was a tradition to use YV-135C as the registration of choice for Viasa DC-10 scale models when YV-134C and -137C were released in 2009 in 1:400 and 1:500 scales. Up until March 2012, the remains of YV-135C could be seen through Google Earth laying on a grassy area in the proximity of Los Chivatos maintenance complex at EZE. Sources: Roll Out: Un DC-10 Abandonado (Spanish) Richard Stretton: McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Moulds in 1:600 Scale Aviation Safety Network: YV-135C

Hoy hace 29 años, el 26 de noviembre de 1993, el DC-10-30 YV-135C de Viasa estuvo envuelto en un accidente al salirse de la pista luego de aterrizar en el Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini de Ezeiza, zona metropolitana de Buenos Aires, Argentina. El avión operaba el vuelo VA940 procedente sin escalas desde el Aeropuerto Internacional Simón Bolívar de Maiquetía, zona metropolitana de Caracas, Venezuela. Las condiciones meteorológicas en Ezeiza al momento del accidente eran adversas. Este fue el único accidente de Viasa que resultó en pérdida total del avión. Es importante acotar que en los otros dos accidentes graves en los que estuvieron envueltos aviones de Viasa, los vuelos no estaban bajo el control operacional de la misma. La matrícula YV-135C tiene un lugar importante en el mundo de los modelos a escala, ya que fue la matrícula utilizada en los modelos de DC-10 de Viasa desde 1988 hasta el 2005. La alemana Schabak la utilizó primero en sus pequeñines a escala 1:600 entre 1988 y 2001, incluyendo un modelo que porta erróneamente la última librea de Viasa al estilo Iberia (el YV-135C ya se había estrellado cuando dicha librea fue adoptada por Viasa, y encima el único DC-10 de Viasa en portarla fue el YV-134C). Luego, fue la librea utilizada para producir el primer DC-10 de Viasa en escala 1:400 en el año 2005. Este modelo fue fabricado por GeminiJets, pero mercadeado por Aeroclassics bajo su serie LatinClassics. Hasta hoy este ha sido el único DC-10 de Viasa producido en escala 1:400 portando la icónica librea de los tres tonos de azul. El modelo es una pequeña obra de arte con muchos detalles para la época, y con la excelente calidad de impresión de aquellos años. Hoy en día ya han salido varios modelos a escala de DC-10s de Viasa con otras matrículas. Los restos del YV-135C podían ser vistos en un área boscosa del complejo de mantenimiento de Los Chivatos, en Ezeiza, hasta marzo del 2012 por medio de la aplicación Google Earth. Fuentes: Roll Out: Un DC-10 Abandonado Richard Stretton: McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Moulds in 1:600 Scale Aviation Safety Network: YV-135C

KLM’s original blue top livery is as iconic as an airline livery can get. Not only were they one of the few airlines to choose a vivid color as the main component of their livery, but they chose a beautiful one too. After all the personally relevant types that wore this livery entered my collection – that is, after I got at least one example of each one of the KLM long-haul types that were commonly seen in my neck of the woods during the 1990s – I decided it was prudent to push the limit of my main collection focus and see about adding a short-hump 747-206 to my blue top fleet. After all, when it comes to such a beautiful livery, the more the merrier. Plus, even though by the time I was born all KLM jumbos belonged to some sort of stretched upper-deck variant, it was just rude not to have a short-hump blue top 747 in my classic euro-jumbo family. Now, as many of you may know, or at least can guess, these are in short supply and high demand, with only three versions having been produced (two by Aeroclassics and one by GeminiJets) in the 2006-2007 period. I had been closely monitoring eBay for over a year in search of one of these, as well as looking periodically in other places with no luck at all. Then, in October 2022 two of the GeminiJets’ example (PH-BUN), popped up on eBay within days of each other. IIRC, the first one had a starting bidding price of about $60, with a Buy it Now option of about $90. This was not bad for such an attractive and hard-to-find model, and apparently I was not the only one thinking that because early on during the bid period the model disappeared; presumably after someone (not me) paid the Buy it Now price. Then I moved on to the second option, this one was located in Australia, it was damaged - missing the starboard HF antenna, and already had some bids. My initial reaction was that I was not going to go to a bidding war for a broken model. But after putting some thought into the situation I realized that I had a few things in my favor. I happened to just have bought a box of 700 sewing pins and was cutting them to varying lengths for a diorama project. I also have a parallel project that required me to do some color blending to paint some engines with a very light shade of grey (or a darker white). So, I thought maybe I was well-positioned to attempt to fix the model in question. As an added bonus, the exchange rate was working in my favor, and knowing how hard it is for these things to pop up I decided to give it a try. Below you get a sneak peek of what goes on behind the scenes around the house, and why attempting this fix was not going to be a particular nuance. Left: painted engines with a color blend. Right: sewing pins cut to use them as fence posts and parasol sticks. Let’s say that the cost of the model was very reasonable, but, as is the case nowadays with overseas shipping, postage was a bitter pill to swallow. So, while not exactly cheap, the purchase ended up costing less than what the first model had gone for, and not too far off from what I'd expect a current production 747 retail for. At any rate, three weeks later the model showed up at my door very well-packaged and in very good shape, barring the missing HF antenna. It went straight to the shop. To fabricate the HF antenna, I took the edge off of one sewing pin by scrubbing it against a brick wall in the side of the house (a public sidewalk will do just fine too) and then did my best to cut it to size with pliers. (It is wise to use eye protection when choppin sewing pins) After a touch of super glue, and some tense seconds holding it in place with my shaky thumb, this was the result: Later that evening I fine-tuned my previously mixed light grey paint to match it as close as possible to the color of the model. I must admit that getting the color right was a lot easier than what I had expected. I do hate painting however, so I just did the best I could. You can see a small chip on the tip of the homemade antenna as a result of handling the model before the paint was fully cured. Obviously, it is not a perfect job, but as far as I am concerned, I have restored a lot of the value of this hard-to-find beauty. And given the fact that I had to go a bit out of my way to make it work makes me appreciate the model a lot more. Special thanks to JC and GJ for keeping those fine 747 molds safely stored away so they don’t get in the way of the production of disproportional amounts of more modern subjects. Otherwise, I would have missed out on all the fun of hunting this one down and my creativity would have been hampered ;) Jorge A. Zajia

El primer avión de Viasa fue un aparato un tanto inusual que hoy en día ha quedado en el olvido. A pesar de que su lugar en la flota de Viasa es un tema discutido con frecuencia por entusiastas e historiadores de aviación en Venezuela y el mundo, para el resto de las personas - sobretodo los de generaciones más recientes, como a la que pertenezco - la existencia de este avión es un tanto desconocida. El aparato en cuestión es el Convair CV-880M. El Convair CV-880 fue uno de los tres aviones estadounidenses que protagonizaron el principio de la era del jet, pero a diferencia de sus rivales de Douglas y Boeing el CV-880 fue considerado un fracaso y solo se fabricaron 65 unidades. A su derivativo, el CV-990, le fue aún peor con solo 37 unidades producidas. Luego de haber sido un fabricante prominente durante la era de los aviones de propulsión a hélice, a Convair no le fue bien en la era del jet con su estrategia de priorizar la velocidad en lugar del alcance y la eficiencia. Luego del programa CV-880/990 Convair no desarrolló más aviones civiles. Pero, ¿cómo terminó este peculiar avión en la flota de Viasa? Para responder a esta pregunta necesitamos dar un leve repaso de lo que se movía en la aviación civil venezolana hacia los años cincuenta. Viasa se crea como una aerolínea exclusiva para cubrir rutas internacionales desde y hacia Venezuela en buena parte por la necesidad de crear una entidad que asumiese las tareas de la división internacional de la aerolínea del gobierno en ese entonces: Aeropostal, la cual estaba sufriendo debido a dos hechos particulares: Primero, fuerzas mayores se interpusieron en los planes vanguardistas que Aeropostal tenía para convertirse en la primera aerolínea venezolana en contar con aviones jet. Aeropostal había sido uno de los primeros clientes del turborreactor británico de Havilland Comet. Lamentablemente, el Comet pagó el precio de ser el primer turborreactor comercial en entrar en servicio con una serie de accidentes fatales. Estos accidentes se debieron a vulnerabilidades estructurales, hasta entonces desconocidas, asociadas con el vuelo presurizado a las nuevas alturas que los motores a reacción permitían alcanzar. A raíz de estos accidentes el Comet fue sacado de servicio en todo el mundo mientras se sometía a un exhaustivo estudio y rediseño. Así que Aeropostal perdió la oportunidad de adquirir su turborreactor como lo tenía planeado. En segundo lugar, alrededor de la misma época Aeropostal sufrió una serie accidentes fatales que resultó en la perdida de tres aviones de la familia Lockheed Constellation en un periodo de dos años. Esto afectó su reputación y puso en evidencia falencias operacionales. Reacio a simplemente ceder el mercado internacional a la compañía privada Avensa, el gobierno venezolano aplicó una de “si no puedes con el enemigo, únete a él.” De ahí la decisión de crear Viasa, una nueva compañía donde se invitaba a Avensa a ser socia. De esta manera se aprovecharía la experticia de esta, sin entregarle el mercado internacional por completo. Avensa por su parte había empezado a adquirir varios aviones de hélice Convair CV-340 y 440 durante la primera mitad de los años cincuenta, así que no sorprende el hecho de que cuando llegó la era del jet Avensa se fue con el Convair CV-880. Esto no fue solo por ser el fabricante con el que ya tenía una buena relación establecida, pero también porque era un avión adecuado para los pocos destinos internacionales que la compañía estaba autorizada a explotar en la época, de los cuales el más alejado de Venezuela era Nueva Orleans. Avensa entonces ordenó un CV-880 en 1959 para luego añadir un segundo avión a la orden en febrero de 1960. Pero con la decisión de crear Viasa, la orden fue traspasada a esta nueva aerolínea antes de que estos aparatos fueran entregados a Avensa. Eventualmente un tercer avión entraría en la flota para formar al trio YV-C-VIA, YV-C-VIB y YV-C-VIC. Hay que resaltar que Viasa, sin embargo, empezó operaciones el dos de abril de 1961 utilizando un DC-8-33 arrendado a KLM, el PH-DCG "Gugliemo Marconi." Y no fue sino hasta la entrega del CV-880 YV-C-VIA en agosto de 1961 que Viasa contó con su primer avión propio registrado en Venezuela. Los vuelos a Europa siguieron siendo operados de la mano de KLM con sus DC-8 incluso cuando los CV-880s ya habían entrado a la flota, ya que estos no contaban con el rango para cruzar el Atlántico. KLM por su parte arrendaba los CV-880 de Viasa para cubrir sus rutas en las Antillas holandesas antes de la creación de su subsidiaria caribeña ALM. De hecho, cuando llegó el tercer avión, YV-C-VIC, este vino pintado con la librea de KLM en el costado de estribor. El avión mantuvo esta librea compartida durante todo el tiempo que estuvo en Viasa. Incluso, portó dos versiones de la librea de KLM, ya que esta fue modificada levemente a mediados de los sesenta, y dicha modificación se le aplicó a la mitad del YV-C-VIC que correspondía a KLM. Al llevar esta librea compartida, el YV-C-VIC se convirtió en el único turborreactor marca Convair en llevar los colores de KLM, que para esta época poco a poco se deshacía de todos sus aviones Convair mientras desarrollaba una estrecha relación con Douglas. De hecho, un par de CV-440s de KLM terminaron siendo adquiridos por Avensa entre finales de los sesenta y principios de los setenta. A parte de los CV-880, la influencia de Avensa sobre la nueva aerolínea también era evidenciada al Avensa encargarse de proveer aviones y tripulación bajo alquiler a Viasa, más notablemente el alquiler del DC-9-30 YV-C-AVD que estuvo involucrado en el infame accidente de Grano de Oro en 1969. Pero poco a poco Viasa empezó a distanciarse de Avensa al evolucionar como aerolínea transcontinental de la mano de KLM. Antes de finalizar la década de los sesenta ya hacía varios años que los tres Convair CV-880 de Viasa habían sido vendidos a la hongkonesa Cathay Pacific. Durante los setenta y ochenta la flota transcontinental de Viasa evolucionó paralelamente a la de KLM con la llegada de los DC-8-30/-50/-60, seguido del ambicioso proyecto 747 (PH-BUG y -BUD) para luego decantarse por el DC-10-30. En el sector de corto alcance también se veia la influencia de KLM, ya que en los ochenta se adoptó brevemente un modelo similar al de ALM, subsidiaria de KLM en las Antillas Holandesas, con la introducción de equipos DC-9 y MD-80. Incluso, algunos de estos equipos venían alquilados de ALM. Por su parte los CV-880 de Viasa sufrieron un destino turbulento en Hong Kong. El ex-VIA (registrado en Hong Kong como VR-HFZ) fue víctima de un atentado con una bomba mientras volaba sobre Vietnam el 15 de junio de 1972. Mientras que el ex -VIC (registrado en Hong Kong como VR-HFX) fue dado como pérdida total al sufrir un colapso del tren de nariz luego de salirse de la pista en el aeropuerto Kai-Tak el 5 de noviembre de 1967. El ex -VIB (VR-HGC) afortunadamente logró sobrevivir su estadía en Hong Kong, y en 1984 volvió al continente americano, esta vez a Estados Unidos con la matrícula N48063 donde voló para los clubs vacacionales Indy Air y SunJet International, antes de terminar siendo utilizado como banco de pruebas por la FAA en la base naval de Patuxent River. Modelos a Escala Los Convair CV-880 de Viasa han recibido buena atención en el mundo de los modelos a escala con un total de seis lanzamientos. Cuatro en escala 1:400, uno en escala 1:200 y otro en escala 1:500. En escala 1:400 la marca Aeroclassics sacó tres CV-880 de Viasa con las tres matriculas que correspondieron a este tipo de avión en Viasa: YV-C-VIA, YV-C-VIB y YV-C-VIC. De ese lote de modelos YV-C-VIA y YV-C-VIC fueron representados correctamente: -VIA con la librea completa de Viasa, y -VIC con una librea hibrida de Viasa y KLM. Sin embargo, el YV-C-VIB fue mal representado al erroneamente traer una librea hibrida de Viasa y KLM, al igual que -VIC. Este error se puede explicar al explorar brevemente la historia de las libreas de KLM entre las decadas de los cincuenta y sesenta: Error del YV-C-VIB de Aeroclassics y La Librea de KLM Hacia finales de los cincuenta la librea de KLM consistía de un par de líneas a lo largo de las ventanas, una celeste y otra azul oscuro. La parte de arriba del fuselaje era blanca con los títulos de KLM en un rojo carmesí, mientras que la panza era metalica o gris. El diseño de la cola consistía en un patrón de rayas celeste y azul oscuro en diagonal con un circulo blanco en el medio en el que se encontraba envuelto el logo de KLM. YV-C-VIC fue entregado a Viasa portando la librea de KLM anteriormente descrita en el costado de estribor. Poco después, a mediados de los sesenta, KLM le hizo una modificación a su librea. El patrón de la cola pasó de tener las rayas orientadas en diagonal a tenerlas orientadas horizontalmente. La librea de KLM que YV-C-VIC portaba en su lado de estribor fue modificada al aplicarsele este cambio. La marca de modelos Aeroclassics parece haberse confundido con este cambio de libreas de KLM que -VIC tuvo en su costado de estribor y creer que se trató de dos aviones diferentes, ya que sacó el modelo a escala de este avión portando la librea de KLM con las rayas horizontales en la cola, y al modelo del YV-C-VIB con la librea de las rayas en diagonal. En realidad ambas libreas correspondieron al YV-C-VIC, solo que en épocas diferentes. YV-C-VIB llevó la librea completa de Viasa al igual que YV-C-VIA duranrte todo el tiempo que estuvo en Venezuela. Otro fabricante de modelos a escala 1:400 llamado Apollo Models se encargó de sacar un cuarto CV-880 de Viasa en esta escala, se trata de -VIC con la librea de KLM que Aeroclassics le asignó por error a -VIB. Sin embargo, Apollo le agregó algunos detalles que la versión de Aeroclassics no tiene, como por ejemplo títulos que dicen “Rented by KLM” en el lado de babor. YV-C-VIC también fue lanzado al mercado en escala 1:500 por la marca Herpa, y en escala 1:200 por la marca InFlight 200. Así que de los seis modelos a escala de los CV-880 de Viasa, solo uno lleva la librea completa de Viasa, que es el YV-C-VIA de Aeroclassics en escala 1:400. En la siguiente galería de fotos se muestran los cuatro CV-880 de Viasa en escala 1:400, incluyendo al YV-C-VIB con su erronea librea de KLM en el lado de estribor, y el -VIC 1:500 hecho por Herpa. En Resumen A pesar de que el Convair 880 fue un avión que inicialmente generó un fuerte impacto, no tuvo trascendencia operacional, y debido a esto no es un avión muy presente en la cultura popular actual. Sin embargo, es una suerte haberlo tenido en Venezuela ya que el trio de CV-880 que Viasa operó en sus inicios encapsula una enorme cantidad de información sobre la historia contemporánea de la aviación civil del país. Mediante el tema de los CV-880 de Viasa se observan datos importantes sobre el principio de la era del jet en el mundo y en Venezuela, asi como los problemas que sufrió el Comet británico y como estos afectaron a Aeropostal. También se observa la influencia que Avensa ejercía sobre Viasa al principio, y como esta fue reemplazada por la de KLM con el pasar del tiempo. Abajo: Galería con varias fotos que he tomado a lo largo de varios años de los Convair CV-880 de Viasa en escala 1:400. En esas fotos no sale el YV-C-VIC de Aeroclassics porque lo adquirí hace relativamente poco. Disfruten los increibles detalles que estas réplicas traen. Anécdota personal: Mi primer modelo en escala 1:400, y a su vez la primera réplica en cualquier escala de un avión con los colores de Viasa que sostuve en mis manos fue el YV-C-VIB de Aeroclassics en escala 1:400; el que lleva por error la librea mixta con KLM. Lo compré el 25 de enero del 2009. Este avión había salido al mercado junto a los otros dos CV-880 de Viasa producidos por Aeroclassics, así como dos 747s (PH-BUG y N749WA) en noviembre del 2007. Todos los modelos de Viasa de ese lote se agotaron rápidamente, menos el YV-C-VIB, supongo que esto se debió al error en su librea. Yo en ese entonces ignoraba el error, de hecho, hasta ese entonces ignoraba la existencia del CV-880 y el hecho de que Viasa había operado este tipo de avión. Yo estaba buscando un DC-10, pero en aquella época sin experiencia en esto de coleccionar aviones a escala 1:400 estaba por enterarme de lo difícil que sería conseguir uno. Mientras tanto, tenía tantas ganas de tener un modelo a escala de Viasa que decidí comprar este CV-880 YV-C-VIB. Así que a pesar de contar con garrafal error, ese YV-C-VIB de Aeroclassics tiene un gran valor a nivel personal. Menciones Especiales Sobre las Referencias Utilizadas Gran parte de la información utlizada para elaborar este artículo proviene de dos fuentes específicas: El señor Alfredo Sandor, quien trabajó para Viasa y es el autor del libro "1961-1997 Triunfos y Fracasos (de Viasa)." Este libro representa uno de los primeros trabajos literarios sobre la historia de Viasa, y gracias a él es que pude entender el por qué de el Convair CV-880 en la flota de Viasa, y las razones por las cuales Avensa fue invitada a participar en la creación de la nueva aerolínea. El señor John Proctor, autor del libro "Great Airliners Volume 1, Convair 880&990." El señor Proctor fue un reconocido historiador aeronautico y una de las fuentes de información más fidedignas sobre el Convair 880. En su libro, el señor Proctor incluyó imágenes e información única sobre los Convair de Viasa y la vida operacional de estos aviones. Ya ninguno de los dos se encuentra con nosotros en este mundo, pero afortunadamente antes de partir se encargaron de dejarnos invaluable riqueza informativa.

La Flor de Las Nieves, o Edelweiss en Ingles, es una flor de la que he sabido por muchos años y de la que al mismo tiempo no sabía nada hasta hace poco. Pues verán, alrededor de 1998 había una tienda de modelos en Houston que frecuentaba en mis visitas a dicha ciudad. Pasaba horas en esa tienda viendo la vitrina giratoria que exhibía los modelos Herpa Wings en escala 1:500. A diferencia de hoy en día, que uno tiene acceso a un gran número de modelos en la internet, en aquella época había que conformarse con lo que hubiese disponible en las tiendas. A pesar de que esta tienda tenía una buena selección de modelos de aerolíneas populares en el área de Houston, la mayoría de los modelos eran cualquier cosa. Dado era el caso con dos modelos de una aerolínea de la nunca había escuchado: un MD-80 y un A320 de Edelweiss. Por la bandera suiza que tenían los modelos podía deducir que se trataba de una aerolínea de ese país (a Swissair si la conocía yo), pero más allá de eso, no sabía absolutamente nada de ella. Pues verán, en el 1998 aun no contaba con acceso ilimitado al internet y Edelweiss era una aerolínea muy pequeña al otro lado del Atlántico que apenas estaba empezando, por lo que era de esperarse que un niño de diez años ignorase la existencia de esta compañía. Pero precisamente, esos modelos de esta aerolínea de la que no sabía nada hasta entonces eran la misma razón por la que ahora sí sabía algo de ella. El caso es que terminé comprando el MD-80, pues me encantaba el diseño de cola en T de la familia DC-9 y encontraba la Librea de Edelweiss muy atractiva. Eventualmente también adquirí el A320 para hacerle compañía al MD-80. Lamentablemente mi pequeña colección 1:500 no sobrevivió mi adolescencia. También, con la llegada de la internet, pude averiguar un poco más sobre Edelweiss y descubrí que se trataba de una aerolínea charter con poca presencia global. Que lástima pensé; una aerolínea con una librea tan bonita y tan poco conocida. Y así se cerró el primer capitulo Edelweiss en mi vida. Años después me encuentro coleccionando modelos 1:400. Cada vez que se me atraviesa un modelo de Edelweiss automáticamente me recuerda a aquel par de 1:500 que tanta curiosidad me causaron años atrás, pero no se me ocurre comprar uno ya que ahora, gracias al internet, tengo la posibilidad de enfocarme en un criterio de colección más específico y relevante en vez de simplemente tener que comprar lo que haya en las tiendas. Sin embargo, aparentemente la marca que Edelweiss dejó en mí fue más impactante de lo que pensé. Les cuento. Hoy en día el mercado de los modelos a escala 1:400 es agobiante, con un exceso de lanzamientos mensuales por parte de varias marcas. A mí se me dificulta estar enfocado en mi criterio de colección debido al exceso de oferta. Sin embargo, dentro de este agobio, el otro día un A340-300 de Edelweiss logró ganarse un espacio en mi carrito de compras. Edelweiss Airbus A340-300 HB-JME Phoenix Models 1:400: Nunca pensé que compraría un modelo de Edelweiss en 1:400. Pero al parecer mí experiencia con sus modelos 1:500 en mi niñes fue muy influyente en el desarrollo de mí cultura aeronáutica en la época pre-internet. Me alegra mucho tener este modelo y poder observar su refrescante librea en mi colección. El llamativo y emblemático logo de esta aerolínea se trata de la Flor de Las Nieves, Edelweiss en inglés. Una flor común de los Alpes Suizos, y muy querida y admirada en la región. Se dice que regarle una Flor de Las Nieves a alguien es un gesto de dedicación y compromiso para con esa persona. Jorge A. Zajia

Se termina la época decembrina de 1996 y tengo nueve años. Soy del occidente y a pesar de lo centralizado que es el país, la distancia hace que lo que ocurre en el centro se sienta foráneo. Desde pequeño los aviones y todo lo relacionado con la aviación es lo que encuentro más interesante. Se que contamos con una aerolínea bandera digna de admirar y reconocida en el mundo, pero esta está basada en la capital y solo hace apariciones muy esporádicas en mi ciudad. Cuando viajamos a la capital a visitar familia trato de absorber todo lo que puedo sobre nuestra exótica y elusiva aerolínea bandera. ¿Cuántos aviones tienen? ¿Qué tipos de aviones vuelan – aparte de su buque insignia el DC-10? Al extremo oeste se ven varias colas aranjadas, DC-10 y 727-200. En esta temporada de principio de año, que generalmente se caracteriza por el optimismo que sigue a las fiestas decembrinas y acompaña el comienzo de un nuevo año lleno de oportunidades, tengo la dicha de que la radio habla mucho de nuestra aerolínea bandera. La información esta vez viene a mí en el occidente. Sin embargo, el optimismo del año nuevo se rompe al rápidamente darme cuenta de que no son buenas noticias. Una crisis más. Nada nuevo, pienso yo, el país vive lleno de crises desde que tengo uso de razón. Nuestra siguiente visita a la capital ocurre poco después. Quizás para carnavales del 1997, no recuerdo. El caso es que esta vez no tengo que tratar de alcanzar a ver las colas anaranjadas al extremo oeste. Están ahí, asomadas sobre el muro, arrumadas en la zona de hangares a pocos metros de la autopista que transitamos. Esta crisis no se superó. Aun no terminaba de adquirir toda la información que necesitaba sobre nuestra aerolínea bandera. Todavía quedaban muchos enigmas. Nunca pude volar en uno de sus aviones. Ahora, ¿quién nos representa en el mundo? Cosa mala. A pesar de todo lo amargo que rodea los últimos años de Viasa, su cierre, y lo posterior, me gustaría invitar a los lectores de esta nota a recordar con gratitud los lindos recuerdos, los horizontes abiertos, y todas las otras cosas buenas que nuestra gran aerolínea bandera nos dejó. Y por sobretodo hay que tener presente que, si Viasa fue nuestro destello más brillante, el oro aun está en nosotros, solo hay que pulirlo. Gracias Viasita. Saludos, Jorge A. Zajia

Recently I added to my collection a 1:400 scale model of N263SG. This aircraft along with sistership N322SG were two 747-400s dedicated to the Houston Express route, a link between IAH and LAD for the oil industry operated by Atlas Air for Angola's SonAir. Their unique golden livery, exclusive mission, and elusiveness made them interesting subjects in the aviation enthusiast community. Today, more than four years after the termination of the route, I remember the Houston Express fondly. Besides getting a scale model of N263SG, I also started going through my photo files and rediscovered a nice set of pictures I took of N322SG at IAH on April 1, 2012. One picture from the set made it to Jetphotos.com at the time, but the rest had never been published until the writing of this article. As I remember it, April 1, 2012, was a slow and hot Sunday morning, but things started to get interesting as “Giant 101 heavy” checked in with Houston tower on the approach to runway 27 inbound from LAD. Atlas’s golden 747s had appeared in the background of many of my pictures before, but I had never seen one up close and in good light. It was already noon when the Houston Express showed up, and even though it was early spring, in Texas the light was already very harsh, but manageable. I was taking pictures from the now demolished terminal D (international arrivals building) garage. Most of the shots looking southeast towards runway 27 were backlit and affected by heat haze, so I had to wait until the aircraft entered the D ramp and then proceeded to press the shooter, repeatedly. There wasn't much else going on at terminal D at the time, though that was about to change as the European arrivals were about to start, so I decided to document all of the attention that this big jumbo got after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier that day... The highlight of an otherwise pretty mundane morning was the arrival of Cathay's 747-8F B-LJF on their usual MIA-IAH-ANC run. Where was BA... Finally, in case you are wondering where was British Airways... they brought a 777 but landed on runway 27, on the south side of the airport, and parked on the east edge of the terminal so I could not get a clear shot. But for the record, here you go: At this point, I was feeling pretty satisfied with the set of shots I had gotten of N322SG, as this was the first time - and also the last - for me to catch one of the Houston Express 747s at close range, and in decent light. Besides, even though I had only spent a little over two hours at the rooftop level of the parking garage, I'm guessing I was probably starting to feel pretty drained thanks to the Texas sun. So I decided to follow Cathay's lead, and when they packed up and took off I did the same. Jorge A. Zajia