dylan

I flew on this bird no less than 7 times during my 6 1/2 years at Delta, including the last ever flight: 9930 ATL-VCV...the employee party plane to the desert.

I thought I had a pre-order in on this bird, but through MY OWN complete and total F@$#k-up, i didn't. So here I am without my precious bird (que the worlds smallest violin).

I am in desperate need of this bird, and am willing to pay cash or a trade with cash

I have the PSA L-1011 and TWA 747 (solid titles) for trade.

I also have memorablia from the last flight including windaw shades, tray tables, seat back and bottom cushion, coffee pots, GTE airphone, Captain Bill Arnolds hat, and a Poster of her .

If none of the above work, I will throw in a free flight from KSLC to Charlotte, NC on-board our newest PC-12 on 8-28-08!

Who will be the hero and save me from the depths of depression and despair?
ANYBODY out there willing to part with theirs??

Thanks

Dylan

__________________
mmmmm, beer.

Javier

I'll save you.

I ordered two, and once I get them, I will contact you and perhaps trade your for one of your planes--either the TWA 747 or the PSA L1011. However, [www.diecastairplane.com] had 5 extra ones for $149 and free shipping (plus if you enter coupon code WINGS900), you get 10 percent off. In addition, Just Plane Fun (www.justplanefun.com] has them listed for $109 plus shipping and still available (on backorder, meaning "have not arrived yet.").

Good luck.

maverick231

id kill for one of these aircraft i just wish i could get rid of my courtline L1011

__________________
TRN231Heavy beeing prepared at Saint Martin for her next long-haul flight for Trent Valley Air Cargo to East Midlands Airport.

Our Problems are man made therefore man has the power to fix them.
Visit my site!
www.radfordinternationalairport.piczo.com
My collection:
http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...tion-7212.html
aslo visit:
www.tvas.info

B773ER

I've been in contact with JPF for months re: this model, and when I chatted with Doug about it two weeks ago, he didn't know exactly when they'd be arriving and how many he'd be receiving. And apparently, had quite a few pre-orders to fill.

Dylan, you are quite fortunate to have memorabilia from N728DA's final flight. Wish I had been able to fly it one final time before retirement.

__________________

B773ER

Well, for those of you who are still looking for this model, they seem to be appearing on eBay now. I am shocked at the Buy It Now price on this one:

Inflight 200 Delta Airlines L-1011 Tristar - sold out! - eBay (item 290255712584 end time Aug-27-08 19:08:20 PDT)

__________________

crownvic

Dylan, you are quite fortunate to have memorabilia from N728DA's final flight. Wish I had been able to fly it one final time before retirement.[/quote]

I flew on the last scheduled passenger flight of Delta's L1011 in July of 01 and it was this aircraft...MCO-ATL I was hoping for a flyby on takeoff from Orlando as it was hinted and landing in Atlanta but nothing...I did get the 3 pilots to sign a bunch of gemini models and boxes of that same plane..I also brought 2 sets of PacMin 1/100 scale wings to a Delta L1011 display model and had those signed and inserted them in the models when I got home...

When we landed the only fanfare was a water cannon salute taxiing in as it was the capatains last flight..Upon disembarkment there was a cake and an awards ceremony in the lounge..As the 250 plus passengers passed thru the waiting area not one cared that it was the last L1011 flight for Delta and were running off to make their connections. The only ones who did care were the handful of hardcore enthusiasts on board such as myself and a few others which totalled about 20. We all got certificates signed by the crew..The highlight for me was signing my name in black marker right above the number 1 entry door...The only person I knew as an enthusiast on the flight was the mgr. from the Aviation Mega Store in Amsterdam....I left on the next flight out about 2hrs later MD-11 back to MCO.

The next day the plane left for Victorville with a low flyby of the grand canyon enroute with Delta employees only...That was the lucky flight Dylan got on...

__________________
***SOON CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS STUPIDITY AND STILL FOLLOWING NOT LEADING***
"Hey Andy, unless we get some Police Package Crown Victorias, I'm quitting, and you can have your bullet back!"
And yes, I did do Aunt Bea,,,she was great!

dylan

I flew on the last scheduled passenger flight of Delta's L1011 in July of 01 and it was this aircraft...MCO-ATL I was hoping for a flyby on takeoff from Orlando as it was hinted and landing in Atlanta but nothing...I did get the 3 pilots to sign a bunch of gemini models and boxes of that same plane..I also brought 2 sets of PacMin 1/100 scale wings to a Delta L1011 display model and had those signed and inserted them in the models when I got home...

When we landed the only fanfare was a water cannon salute taxiing in as it was the capatains last flight..Upon disembarkment there was a cake and an awards ceremony in the lounge..As the 250 plus passengers passed thru the waiting area not one cared that it was the last L1011 flight for Delta and were running off to make their connections. The only ones who did care were the handful of hardcore enthusiasts on board such as myself and a few others which totalled about 20. We all got certificates signed by the crew..The highlight for me was signing my name in black marker right above the number 1 entry door...The only person I knew as an enthusiast on the flight was the mgr. from the Aviation Mega Store in Amsterdam....I left on the next flight out about 2hrs later MD-11 back to MCO.

The next day the plane left for Victorville with a low flyby of the grand canyon enroute with Delta employees only...That was the lucky flight Dylan got on...[/quote]Two weeks before the final flight, a company email was sent out stating that employees would be given the opertunity to fly THE FINAL FLIGHT on 8-1-01 from Atlanta to Victorville. Only one catch: you had to bid on the seat with proceeds going to charity. Each department at Delta was given an allotment of seats. Ramp got so many, inflight, pilots, res and so-on. The two highest bidders got the two first class seats allotted to each dept. I stuck in a bid of $50.00 expecting not to get it (I was completely broke at the time). Two days later, I recieved an email saying that I had bid high enough and gotten a seat aboard the last L-1011 flight!

Communication was poor after that. We all had questions about seat assignments, what time departure would be, etc. It seems Atlanta employees got somewhat preferential treatment on seat assignments. Once I had the lady's info (the one that would be assigning the seats) I emailed her my preference: Window ahead of the wing. I got 25B, an isle over the wing. No matter, I was still excited to be a part of history.

Departure time would be 0830 for DL 9930 ATL-VCV. Now, the hard part. Non-reving on the ATL-SLC flight at 2340 was hard enough. It seems alot more employees than usual were listed on an already full flight. At about 7pm I checked the list. 44 nonrevs for 6 seats. Not good. Worse yet, I was down in the 30's! I had to get creative. I hopped a flight to Denver at 2035 for the DEN-ATL red-eye. 6 people on the list for 12 first class, and 67 coach...home free! Enjoyed an uneventful flight in first class to ATL arriving shortly after 6am.

All the way at the end of the A gates, gate A2 was DEFINITELY hosting a party! Baloons, 200 boxes of Krispy-Kreme doughnuts, OJ, Champagne, and coffee, a HUGE banner comemmorating the final flight. A chief engineer for the L-1011 program (forgot his name) was on hand signing t-shirts, ball caps, and anything else he could take a Sharpy to. Capt. Bill Arnold showed up in a polo and slacks and was treated like a celebrity. Arnold and the other two crew members wore Ball Caps saying "Last Flight Out". N728DA was towed to the gate with all of us clammoring for window position for a few shots of the LAST time a Delta L-1011 would be towed to the gate at ATL.

The night before, over at Delta Tech Ops, N728DA was the guest of honor at a party commemorating the sad end to Delta L-1011 ops, her date was the The Flying Hospital L-1011, to whom 728 would be donated as a spares a/c. N728DA appeared WAY hungover from the party the night before. Every square inch of the plane that was within arms reach was covered in signatures, poems, farewells (both good and bad), and a beautiful piece of nose-art applied by a mechanic...that is where she became the famous "Delta Belle".

As departure time neared, an announcement came over the PA: the flight was delayed due to...what else? A mechanical! Those of us that worked the Tri-tanic over the years were used to this. It was par-for-the-course. L-1011's, although a trusty/reliable/workhorse of a bird, were never one for puncuality. They were ALWAYS plagued by mechanical issues, almost ALWAYS resulting in a delay/cancellation. Today would be no exception.

Boarding was finally called, and we had used the old sticker-style seat assignments: a chart of individual stickers resembling the seat charts in the back of the OAG. As I passed the podium, I noticed 25A still was up on the seating chart. Would I be lucky and have the row to myself? Yes! The lady who was supposed to be in 25A didn't make it....her flight out of CMH was cancelled.

Once inside, the old school Hawaiian music was playing over the PA, and a video of Palm Trees swaying on a beach in Hawaii were showing on the pull-down screens. In my pocket, I had brought a red permenant marker to sign my name on the inside. As the forward boarding door was closed, I put down both tray table's, and, using them as a canvas, drew a Delta L-1011 across both with the date and flight#.

As we pushed back, hundereds of employees were gathered around 728, watching for the last time a Delta L-1011 would ever grace the ramp of KATL. Taxiing out, we recieved a water-cannon salute for AFD's finest, and as we took position on runway 8R, Capt. Arnold came on stating he had a surprise for us: after takeoff, we would make a low-level pass of downton Atlanta, followed by a low pass down the runway, then off to VCV. Well after the quick level-off at 2000 feet, we swung back around for the high-speed pass down 08R. What a fu@$ing feeling! at the end of the pass, a HARD pull-up, followed by a hard left turn.

During the flight, the champagne and wine was in no short supply and everyone was walking around, visiting with eachother and just enjoying this 5 hour party. The cockpit door was open for the duration (remember, the was a Pt. 91 flight) and I had a good five minutes visiting with Capt. Arnold while I was sitting in the jump-seat. A quick elevator ride down to the galley, and then it was back to my seat.

A few folks noiticed my L-1011 drawing on the tray tables and asked if I would do the same to theirs. I gladly obliged. Then more requests...overhead bins, t-shirts, you name it, I was drawing an L-1011 on it.

Capt. Arnold had a few more surprises for us. We descended down to 15,000 feet for a nice tour of the Grand Canyon. A half hour of steep S-turns later, we pointed the nose for VCV and we all relaxed into our seats to take in the last 45 minutes of this incredible experience.

I noticed a man two rows ahead of me get out his Swiss Army knife and start cutting at the plastic seat assignment strip o he could forever have a little keepsake from this flight. That set off a chain reaction. Everyone started cutting, prying, and biting off the plastic seat assignment strip. Then, the F/A came on the PA putting an abrupt end to our melee. "Folks, this aircraft is being donated, please don't destroy it". A few groans from the pax...then Bill Arnold came on the PA and said "Folks, this plane is gonna be stripped of doors, flight instruments and anything else that will keep it flying, that DOESN'T include the interior...TAKE WHAT YOU WANT!"

Pandamonium borke out! Anything that wasn't permenantly attatched to the A/C was fair game. Overhead bins, tra table's, windaw shades, seat cushions, you name it!

As we lined up on a short final, Capt. Arnold once again showed us he still had a fw tricks up his sleeves. "Not yet folks, one more pass.....let 'em know we're here!" Another high-speed pass down the runway, followed by a sharp right climbing urn into the downwind. At touchdown, everybody was clapping, screaming, laughing, crying....it was great but sad.

We were towed up to the Hangar (occupied by a Sabena MD-11) where an even bigger party was being thrown. After I carried down my loot (with the help of some new friends) I stashed it in a corner of the hangar, and went to join the festivities. I met Captain Bill Arnold in the crawd and talked his ear off for a bit, at the end of our conversation, I asked: "Know where I can get one of those hats?" He smiled, took his off his head, and put it on my head! "There ya go buddy". Dude. Wow. Was I a happy camper!

After a couple hours of partying hard, it was announced that the busses were ready to take us away. We had our choice: LAX or ONT. The loads were lighter out of ONT so that was the bus I took. At ONT, a 727 with only 30 pax was waiting for us. It was one of the last hold-outs of the interior refurb program, sporting Purple, orange, and red flowery seats and orange carpet.....looked almost exactly like the interior of the first flight I ever took, the flight that got me hooked on Aviation: a PSA 727 from SLC to SFO in June of '82.

What a great day!

p.s. Russ, the F.O. for your flight from MCO to ATL on 7-31-01 was Ted Eyre. I went to shool with his son Dave Eyre. Dave is a shaved-headed, tatoo-covered, lead singer of a local Punk band and has never had an interest in aviation...funny, eh?

__________________
mmmmm, beer.

crownvic

great story Dylan, Im glad you and I were a part of Delta L-1011 history! R.I.P. L-1011!!

__________________
***SOON CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS STUPIDITY AND STILL FOLLOWING NOT LEADING***
"Hey Andy, unless we get some Police Package Crown Victorias, I'm quitting, and you can have your bullet back!"
And yes, I did do Aunt Bea,,,she was great!

SDF

Thanks for the great memories Dylan! When I was still at DL in ORD, we had three widebodies a day; first a 747, then a DC 10, finally the TriStar. Once we got familiar with it, we really prefered it to the DC 10, if for no other reason, the seperate catering door.

Garuda747400

if anybody still needs this i was second offered it for $110,00

__________________
Rate my collection http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...ge=1&sort=&dir=

FAEDC3

What a great story!! I really enjoyed reading it, thanks Dylan!

Jstar

Hi Garuda.

Unless someone else inquired about it...I would be interested in acquiring this module.

Thx.

Jstar