Jetrader - March/April 2008 - (Page 21)

Northwest Airlines executives Dan Matthews (left) and Dan Pietrzak next to NWA’s ﬁrst B-747 displayed in the National Air & Space Museum. pound weight of the forward fuselage. In June 2006, workers in Maxton carefully disassembled the plane, making painstakingly calculated cuts to preserve the nose section’s structure. Workers meticulously carved the fuselage into 11 pieces to allow them to be trucked to Washington. In January 2007, cranes worked for two weeks gently guiding the pieces into place, where they were seamlessly rejoined. On Display Visitors to the America by Air exhibit will cross a 30-foot-high pedestrian bridge allowing access to a full view of the cockpit and a glimpse of the spiral staircase. The nose section is accurately displayed in N601US’s historic livery of the airline that operated the aircraft from delivery to retirement. “N601US bore NWA livery throughout its service life, so the NWA livery is an indelible part of the history of that aircraft— right down to the NWA ‘ship number’ 6601 displayed on the nose gear doors,” noted Pietrzak. During its 30 years of service, N601US spent more than 95,000 hours in the air—the equivalent of 11 years. NWA employees also supported the exhibit by digging into their own wardrobes, supplying ﬂ ight deck and cabin crew uniforms as used on N601US during its long service with NWA. These uniforms are an integral part of the current display and underscore that this historic aircraft was proudly operated and maintained by NWA professionals throughout its service life. “What is truly unique about 601 is that it’s the only Boeing 747 to have ﬂown for 30 years in passenger service and all with the same airline—NWA,” says Matthews. “Not only is this aircraft of historical signiﬁcance, but it also represents the rich heritage of the airline and its dedicated employees who operated the aircraft.” Eight years after NWA’s initial contact to the Smithsonian, the nose section of N601US is now the dominant presence in the museum’s new America by Air exhibit, which tells the story of commercial aviation from its roots in air mail to the present. N601US serves as the physical symbol of just how fast and far the industry has come. The familiar nose section of the aircraft is an icon of commercial aviation, and the exhibit serves as a proud testament to the B-747 and the men and women who designed, built, maintained and ﬂew them. For more information about the exhibit, visit the Smithsonian’s Web site: www.nasm.si.edu/americabyair INTERNATIONAL Aviation Services PROTECTING YOUR AIRCRAFT’S VALUE Around the World Around the Clock Aviation Consulting Asset and Lease Management Technical Services Main Ofﬁce Memphis, TN USA +1 (901) 405-1353 www.TheLongbowGroup.com 366166_longbow.indd 1 Jetrader 21 2/14/08 7:46:59 AM http://www.TheLongbowGroup.com http://www.nasm.si.edu/americabyair

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Jetrader - March/April 2008

Jetrader - March/April 2008 Contents Calendar A Message from the President ISTAT’s 25th Annual Conference Q and A: R. Stephen Hannahs History on Display Aircraft Appraisals From the ISTAT Foundation Aviation History Index to Advertisers

Jetrader - March/April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.